clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

White Sox Minor League Update: August 25, 2021

Kannapolis rallies for the only win of the day

By Joe Resis
Minnesota Twins v Chicago White Sox
Starting the party: Jake Burger put the Knights on the board with a two-run homer.
Ron Vesely/Getty Images

Both offenses started out quietly, but the Bulls eventually broke through against Knights starter John Parke and ultimately ran away with this one.

Parke retired the first seven and nine of the first 10 Bulls to step up to the plate. Unfortunately, the Knights could not put any runs on the board during that time, so after three relatively drama-free innings, it was scoreless. Opposing hitter No. 11 was more of a struggle for Parke, who gave up his first run of the day on a Taylor Walls solo homer.

After a quiet fifth inning on both sides, the Bulls exploded with a huge sixth inning. The first four Bulls to bat that inning reached base safely (single, double, walk, RBI single). After a grounder that scored another run, the Bulls got a rare double-steal to put runners on second and third. That set them up for another infield grounder that scored a run, and a single later, it was 5-0. That last single prompted a pitching change, so Parke’s outing was over. His line: 5 2⁄3 innings, five earned runs, six hits, one walk, and five strikeouts.

From there, it was smooth sailing for Durham. The Bulls tacked on another pair of insurance runs to go up by a score of 7-0 in the seventh. The Knights got those two runs back on a Jake Burger home run.

Burger’s season continues to be quite the pleasant surprise, but in terms of this game, it was too little, too late.

Poll

Who was the Knights MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 95%
    Jake Burger: 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI
    (78 votes)
  • 4%
    Hunter Schryver: 1 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 2 K
    (4 votes)
82 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Knights Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 57%
    Gavin Sheets: 0-for-4, 4 K
    (47 votes)
  • 2%
    Bennett Sousa: 1 1⁄3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K
    (2 votes)
  • 10%
    Lane Ramsey: 1 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 K
    (9 votes)
  • 29%
    John Parke: 5 2⁄3 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 5 K
    (24 votes)
82 votes total Vote Now

This game played out pretty similarly to the Knights game. Both teams struggled to score early on, but once the Biscuits got cooking on offense, the game got out of reach rather quickly.

Emilio Vargas, who started for the Barons, got off to a strong start. Vargas kept the Biscuits off the board until the fifth, when Montgomery broke the ice to take an early lead. Jim Haley hit a two-run homer against Vargas, but those turned out to be the only two runs Vargas allowed in six innings.

The Barons got back one of those runs in the bottom of the sixth with some two-out life. Carlos Pérez doubled with two outs and nobody on base, and Jameson Fisher drove him in with a single to right.

Trailing 2-1 in the seventh, reliever J.B. Olson took over on the mound, and it was not his night. Olson allowed six runs and only recorded four outs. Although the Barons picked up a run in the ninth on a single by Xavier Fernández, it was not nearly enough.

Reliever Alec Hansen had a strong performance in mop-up duty in the top of the ninth inning. It is nice to see this kind of performance from the tall righty, who retired all three batters he faced, striking out two of them.

During a game in which the Barons struggled to get on base, it is worth noting that Indiana Hoosier Craig Dedelow reached base three times (a single and two walks).

Poll

Who was the Barons MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 9%
    Craig Dedelow: 1-for-2, 2 BB
    (5 votes)
  • 0%
    Jameson Fisher: 1-for-4, RBI
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    Xavier Fernández: 1-for-4, RBI
    (0 votes)
  • 68%
    Emilio Vargas: 6 IP, 2 ER, 8 H, 0 BB, 8 K
    (37 votes)
  • 22%
    Alec Hansen: 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K
    (12 votes)
54 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Barons Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 93%
    J.B. Olson: 1 1⁄3 IP, 6 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 1 K
    (42 votes)
  • 2%
    Vince Arobio: 2⁄3 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 K
    (1 vote)
  • 4%
    Ian Dawkins: 0-for-4, 2 K
    (2 votes)
45 votes total Vote Now

Dash starting pitcher Dan Metzdorf had a strong start in an otherwise rough year, but it was not Winston-Salem’s night on offense. The offense couldn’t rally, so the club took a 4-0 loss.

Metzdorf retired the first seven batters he faced en route to an excellent start. Through three innings, the game was scoreless, but that changed in the top of the fourth. Indiana Hoosier Elijah Dunham led off with a single, and Andres Chaparro followed with a single to set the Renegades up with a golden opportunity to score. After a sacrifice fly, a single, an error, and an RBI ground out, it was 2-0, Hudson Valley.

The Renegades doubled their lead in the sixth inning against reliever Wilber Pérez. Chaparro drew a walk, and Jake Sanford launched a two-run homer to give the Renegades some breathing room. In this game, however, insurance runs were not required, as the Dash could not put anything together on offense.

The Dash only recorded three hits, so they rarely put runners in scoring position. Even when they did, they failed to cash in on the opportunities, finishing 0-for-5 in those situations. On the bright side, Karan Patel struck out six in two scoreless innings of relief.

Poll

Who was the Dash MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 37%
    Harvin Mendoza: 2-for-3, 2B
    (17 votes)
  • 2%
    Gunnar Troutwine: 1-for-3, 2B
    (1 vote)
  • 60%
    Karan Patel: 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 6 K
    (27 votes)
45 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Dash Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 2%
    Wilber Pérez: 1 IP, 2 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K
    (1 vote)
  • 30%
    Alex Destino: 0-for-4, 2 K
    (12 votes)
  • 7%
    Lázaro Leal: 0-for-3, K, error
    (3 votes)
  • 60%
    José Rodríguez: 0-for-4, K, error
    (24 votes)
40 votes total Vote Now

Life has not been easy for the Cannon Ballers, who entered with only two wins in August. However, the Cannon Ballers managed to bump that number up to three thanks to a big fifth inning and a strong bullpen.

This game got off to a rough start, as starter Matthew Thompson gave up an RBI single in the third that made it 1-0. Then, the Hillcats picked up an insurance run when Thompson balked with runners on second and third with one out.

Meanwhile, the Cannon Ballers struggled to get any kind of traffic on the basepaths early on. That changed with one out and nobody on base in the fifth. Misael González got hit by a pitch, and James Beard singled González over to third. Then, with runners on the corners, Wilber Sánchez homered, and Kannapolis suddenly had a 3-2 lead.

Down the stretch, relievers Hunter Speer, Fraser Ellard, and Theo Denlinger were outstanding. The bullpen made it so that the three runs that scored on the Sánchez home run were enough to secure the win.

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 16%
    Adam Hackenberg: 2-for-3
    (7 votes)
  • 71%
    Wilber Sánchez: 1-for-3, HR, 3 RBI
    (30 votes)
  • 11%
    Fraser Ellard: 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 BB, 2 K
    (5 votes)
42 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 2%
    Shawn Goosenberg: 0-for-4, 3 K
    (1 vote)
  • 2%
    Bryan Ramos: 0-for-4, 3 K
    (1 vote)
  • 94%
    Jason González: 0-for-4, 4 K
    (35 votes)
37 votes total Vote Now

More From South Side Sox