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White Sox Minor League Update: August 8, 2021

Lenyn Sosa and Mikie Mahtook have themselves a doubleheader, with a homer and then some, on a day with a lot of games but not nearly enough wins

By Darren Black
Lenyn Sosa hit his 10th homer of the year, the most in a single season of his professional career.

The opener of the doubleheader was a bullpen game and that seemed to doom Charlotte right away. Up 1-0 already, Tanner Banks got the start, allowed two runs in the first inning — and the Knights never got the lead back. Overall, the rest of the pitchers were fine, Ryan Burr allowed the third run and Lane Ramsey allowed the walk-off hit, but Matt Foster was good again. He got four outs without allowing a run, and three of the four outs were strikeouts.

For the hitting, Mikie Mahtook had the majority of the offense, with a two-run homer in the fifth inning. Danny Mendick reached base twice, with Yermín Mercedes and Micker Adolfo getting hits as well. The offense was actually pretty good, just without runners on base. They were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position which, you know, is bad, and is the reason they lost the game. The prospects did well overall, though so there’s that, at least.

Poll

Who was the Knights MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 56%
    Mikie Mahtook: 1-for-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
    (37 votes)
  • 6%
    Laz Rivera: 2-for-3, 0 BB, 0 K
    (4 votes)
  • 36%
    Matt Foster: 1 1⁄3 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K
    (24 votes)
65 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Knights Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 53%
    Tanner Banks: 2 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 2 K
    (25 votes)
  • 14%
    Lane Ramsey: 2⁄3 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 K
    (7 votes)
  • 31%
    Deivy Grullón: 0-for-3, 0 BB, 2 K
    (15 votes)
47 votes total Vote Now

The nightcap was even worse, Nothing, and I mean nothing, was going for the Knights tonight. Mahtook, who homered in the opener, was probably the player of this game, too. He had a couple of hits, including a double. In all, Charlotte only had five hits. Mercedes and Adolfo had hits again today, just weren’t as impressive as Mahtook. Adolfo did have a double to himself, his second since his promotion to Triple-A.

The pitching was bad, and it started with Jimmy Lambert. He allowed three runs in 3 1⁄3 innings, as he just got hit around the first two innings. The bullpen wasn’t any better. Nik Turley and Ofreidy Gómez allowed five runs over the next five outs to put the game out of reach. The only positive for the pitching was Bennett Sousa. He had a perfect sixth inning with two strikeouts.

Poll

Who was the Knights MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 20%
    Bennett Sousa: 1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K
    (11 votes)
  • 80%
    Mikie Mahtook: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K
    (44 votes)
55 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Knights Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 28%
    Jimmy Lambert: 3 1⁄3 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 4 K
    (15 votes)
  • 3%
    Nik Turley: 1 1⁄3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 3 K
    (2 votes)
  • 67%
    Ofreidy Gómez: 1⁄3 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 0 K
    (36 votes)
53 votes total Vote Now

An early deficit and the Barons could not recover, as the lost their 39th game of the season. Davis Martin got the start and everything was fine — for an inning. By the second, Martin had allowed four runs and then left the game, and no other Birmingham pitcher allowed an earned run after that. Blake Battenfield replaced Martin and did a great job saving the rest of the pen. He went five innings, and his only blemish was an unearned run in the third inning. Félix Paulino and Anderson Severino continued that success in the eight and ninth with shutout innings, just to help the offense stay in the game.

The offense did not do much to earn that bullpen support. They only scored two runs, off of six hits. Ian Dawkins had half of those six hits, with two singles and a double. Meanwhile, Xávier Fernández had the biggest hit of the game. He hit a solo homer in the second inning, his eighth of the season. Other than that, the offense was pretty cold Yolbert Sánchez did collect a hit, enough to keep his average at .400 in Double-A.

Poll

Who was the Barons MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 16%
    Ian Dawkins: 3-for-4, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K
    (8 votes)
  • 8%
    Xavier Antonio Fernández: 1-for-2, 1 HR, 2 BB, 0 K
    (4 votes)
  • 75%
    Blake Battenfield: 5 IP, 0 ER (1 R), 3 H, 0 BB, 4 K
    (36 votes)
48 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Barons Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 51%
    Joel Booker: 0-for-4, 0 BB, 4 K
    (23 votes)
  • 48%
    Davis Martin: 2 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 0 K
    (22 votes)
45 votes total Vote Now

A big win for the Dash here in the opener, as they got out to a 6-1 lead early and held until the end of the game. With nine runs scored, obviously the offense was pretty good. It was either a homer or a single, and Jagger Rusconi had the big one, a grand slam in the second inning. But Lenyn Sosa and Luis Mieses homered in this game as well. Mieses has continued to show his time in Kannapolis was actually all about improvement, as his good hitting is still here after getting re-promoted to the Dash. Sosa has also just been a good hitter overall, but his 10th homer of the season is a bit of a surprise. He already had a career high in homers this season, but 10 with a good amount of games left is a display of power that was not on the radar.

After starter Kaleb Roper, was pulled after four innings where he allowed two runs, the bullpen took over and got the job done. McKinley Moore was promoted earlier this week, and he had a perfect seventh inning to finish the game and get the 9-3 win.

Poll

Who was the Dash MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 31%
    Jagger Rusconi, 1-for-3, 1 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K
    (17 votes)
  • 59%
    Luis Mieses: 2-for-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K
    (32 votes)
  • 9%
    Lenyn Sosa: 1-for-3, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K
    (5 votes)
54 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Dash Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 80%
    Luis Curbelo: 0-for-4, 0 BB, 3 K
    (34 votes)
  • 19%
    Kaleb Roper: 4 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 5 BB, 6 K
    (8 votes)
  • 0%
    Vince Arobio: 1 IP, 1 ER, 0 H, 2 BB, 1 K
    (0 votes)
42 votes total Vote Now

Another nightcap letdown in North Carolina, as the Dash lost this one by a very similar score to their opener win. The big reason they lost? The pitching, so let us start with them. The nightcap was a bullpen day, and it did actually start well. Kevin Folman got the start and went two shutout innings, but things devolved after that. Wilber Perez, Trey Jeans, and Cooper Bradford each allowed two runs during their stints on the mound, and the Dash offense could not keep up with that.

Gunnar Troutwine did hit a homer to get the Dash back into the lead in the fourth, but the bullpen troubles ruined that quickly. Other than Troutwine, Sosa had another good game, with a couple of singles. He and Troutwine were the only hitters for Winston-Salem to reach base twice. Of note, Luis Curbelo doubled in the second game, his 19th of the year.

Poll

Who was the Dash MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 35%
    Lenyn Sosa: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K
    (16 votes)
  • 55%
    Gunnar Troutwine: 2-for-3, 1 HR, 0 BB, 1 K
    (25 votes)
  • 8%
    Kevin Folman: 2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K
    (4 votes)
45 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Dash Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 10%
    Luis Mieses: 0-for-4, 0 BB, 1 K
    (4 votes)
  • 53%
    Wilber Perez: 1⁄3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 0 K
    (21 votes)
  • 33%
    Trey Jeans: 1 1⁄3 IP, 2 ER (4 R), 3 H, 0 BB, 1 K
    (13 votes)
  • 2%
    Cooper Bradford: 1 1⁄3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K
    (1 vote)
39 votes total Vote Now

Oof, what a terrible game! Kannapolis pitching allowed 13 runs on 20 hits, and they only struck out four batters. Four batters, not in an inning, but for the entire game.In 2021. How is that possible? I guess anything is possible for this Kannapolis team. On the good side, if there even really is one in a game like this, was Bryan Ramos. Ramos had two hits on the day, including his 18th double. Caberea Weaver added a double, too, but of the known prospects who did well, that was it. DJ Gladney was able to reach base once, but it was with a walk, and with a .214 batting average, it would be nice to see him get going with hits. This was not the game to do that, though.

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 100%
    Bryan Ramos: 2-for-3, 0 BB, 0 K
    (39 votes)
39 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 100%
    Pitchers: 8 IP, 13 ER, 20 H, 4 BB, 4 K
    (39 votes)
39 votes total Vote Now

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