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White Sox Minor League Update: April 13, 2022

A huge first inning by Birmingham highlights a 1-3 day on the farm.

By Joe Resis
/ new
Starting off strong: Craig Dedelow’s early two-run homer gave the Barons a lead that they kept the rest of the way.
Tiffany Wintz/South Side Sox

In a chaotic, high-scoring game, the Knights fell short despite a pair of enormous innings.

Righthander Emilio Vargas started on the mound for the Knights, and the Redbirds scored the first run of the game against him in the first. With two outs, Memphis second baseman Nolan Gorman hit a solo home run, as the Redbirds took an early lead. However, one run was nowhere close to enough to win this game.

The bottom of the second was the first of two terrific innings for the Knights. Ryder Jones led off that inning with his second homer of the young season, and Carlos Pérez followed with his third.

Just like that, the Knights had a 2-1 lead, and they were not close to finished.

Dwight Smith Jr. and Jameson Fisher drew back-to-back walks to set the Knights up for further damage, and Laz Rivera took advantage of an RBI opportunity. Rivera’s single to right was enough to score Smith. Also, a fielding error in right field resulted in Rivera and Fisher being able to advance to second and third, respectively. Then, with one out, a two-run single by Mark Payton gave the Knights a comfortable, 5-1 cushion.

The Redbirds did not go down easily, as they put up a crooked number of their own in the top of the fourth. Still trailing by a score of 5-1, Alec Burleson launched a three-run homer to trim the Knights’ lead to one. Then, in the fifth, Gorman delivered another important hit, as his RBI single tied the game up at five.

Though the Redbirds had come back from a four-run deficit, the Knights had another gigantic inning in front of them, and this one was even bigger than the first one. Adam Haseley drew a leadoff walk, and Romy González launched a two-run homer to put the Knights back in front. Then, Pérez and Smith hit back-to-back singles, and with two outs, Rivera came through with a three-run dinger to make it 10-5.

For good measure, Nick Ciuffo added a solo homer to tack on one more. After five innings, thanks to a five-run second inning and a six-run fifth inning, the Knights had an 11-5 lead.

After a scoreless sixth inning on the mound, reliever Brandon Finnegan looked to continue the momentum with another strong inning in the seventh. It got off to a good start, with Finnegan retiring the first two hitters of the inning. But, after a single, a walk, and another RBI single by Gorman, the Redbirds were threatening to have another big frame, and Juan Yepez launched a three-run homer to make it 11-9.

With one out in the bottom of the eighth, the Knights picked an insurance run back up, when Pérez delivered another RBI, as he drove in Haseley with a single. It appeared the Knights were on their way to a victory, but again, the Redbirds were not done.

With one out and nobody on, reliever Yacksel Ríos issued back-to-back walks, and with two outs, Yepez delivered another crucial, three-run homer. Just like that, it was a 12-12 ballgame. After a scoreless bottom of the ninth, this wild game headed into extra innings.

Ivan Herrera drove in the free runner on second base with a one-out single in the top of the 10th. Fortunately, Jhan Mariñez managed to keep the game within striking distance by limiting the damage to only that run. The Knights got that run back on an RBI single by González in the bottom half, but they could not build on that, so the game headed to the 11th.

The Redbirds picked up a run in the top of the 11th after a fly out that advanced the ghost runner to third and a wild pitch. Unlike the 10th, though, the Redbirds tacked on a few insurance runs this time around. For the second time of the game, Burleson launched a three-run dinger. Burleson’s first homer of the day brought the Redbirds within one run, while this one gave them a commanding, 17-13 lead. That deficit proved to be too much to overcome for the Knights, and the Redbirds won a crazy game by a score of 18-14.

Poll

Who was the Knights MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 64%
    Carlos Pérez: 3-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, BB
    (31 votes)
  • 27%
    Laz Rivera: 2-for-5, HR, 4 RBI, BB, SB
    (13 votes)
  • 4%
    Hunter Schryver: 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K
    (2 votes)
  • 4%
    Romy González: 2-for-6, HR, 3 RBI
    (2 votes)
48 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Knights Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 9%
    Emilio Vargas: 5 IP, 5 R (4 ER), 9 H, 0 BB, 4 K
    (4 votes)
  • 14%
    Brandon Finnegan: 2 IP, 4 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 1 K
    (6 votes)
  • 65%
    Jhan Mariñez: 1 1⁄3 IP, 6 R (4 ER), 4 H, 2 BB 0 K
    (27 votes)
  • 9%
    Jameson Fisher: 0-for-5, BB, 3 K
    (4 votes)
41 votes total Vote Now

The Barons jumped out to a sizable lead in the first inning, and did not look back Wednesday evening.

By the time the top of the first inning came to a close, the Barons had a six-run lead. How did they get there? Well, Yolbert Sánchez led off the game and was hit by a pitch, and that set up Indiana Hoosier Craig Dedelow for an opportunity to provide an early spark, which he did. The two-run shot by Dedelow gave Birmingham an early 2-0 lead, and the inning was far from over. José Rodríguez singled, Yoelqui Céspedes walked, and Lenyn Sosa drove in a run with a single. Then, with two outs, Luis Curbelo blew the game wide open with a three-run homer to make it 6-0.

In the top of the third, the Barons added one more insurance run, when Jagger Rusconi drove in Lenyn Sosa with a two-out single. The score was 7-0, and that proved to be enough for the Barons in this one.

Barons starter Davis Martin had a strong outing, only allowing one run in five innings, and he struck out five while issuing zero walks. The Lookouts struggled to make sharp contact against him, as the only extra-base hit against him was a solo homer by Matt McLain.

It was not a day to remember for reliever Caleb Freeman, who allowed a grand slam to Indiana Hoosier Matt Lloyd in the seventh to allow the Lookouts to have a glimmer of hope. Luckily, though, Freeman and the bullpen had plenty of room for error, and the Barons held on for a 9-6 victory.

Poll

Who was the Barons MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 69%
    Davis Martin: 5 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 5 K
    (32 votes)
  • 21%
    Craig Dedelow: 2-for-5, HR, 2 RBI, BB
    (10 votes)
  • 0%
    Xavier Fernández: 2-for-4, 2B, BB
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    Luis Curbelo: 1-for-5, HR, 3 RBI
    (0 votes)
  • 8%
    Yolbert Sánchez: 1-for-3, 2 BB, HBP
    (4 votes)
46 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Barons Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 77%
    Caleb Freeman: 2⁄3 IP, 4 ER, 1 H, 3 BB, 0 K
    (31 votes)
  • 22%
    Yoelqui Céspedes: 0-for-4, BB, 3 K
    (9 votes)
40 votes total Vote Now

It was not a night to remember for the Dash, as nearly everything came up in favor of the Grasshoppers after a Dash run in the first inning.

The Dash jumped out to an early lead, when Bryan Ramos drew a one-out walk to start a rally in the first. After a ground out that advanced Ramos to second, Tyler Osik reached on an error that allowed Ramos to score the first run of the game.

Dash starter Karan Patel was brilliant through four innings, as he retired 11 of the first 12 he faced. The only Grasshopper to reach base safely against him in the first four innings was Sammy Siani, who drew a walk. However, the wheels fell off for Patel in the fifth.

Siani drove in the first run for the Grasshoppers with a one-out single. Jack Herman followed with an RBI single of his own, and Maikol Escotto blew the game open with a two-run double to make it 4-1. By the end of the inning, the Grasshoppers had a 6-1 lead, and all of those runs were on Patel’s tab.

The Dash picked up a few runs in the latter portion of the game, but it was far too little, far too late, as the Grasshoppers cruised to a one-sided victory.

Poll

Who was the Dash MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 34%
    Shawn Goosenberg: 2-for-4
    (12 votes)
  • 28%
    Luis Mieses: 1-for-3, RBI, 2 BB
    (10 votes)
  • 37%
    Bryan Ramos: 1-for-3, RBI, BB, HBP
    (13 votes)
35 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Dash Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 70%
    Karan Patel: 4 2⁄3 IP, 6 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 7 K
    (21 votes)
  • 23%
    Isaiah Carranza: 2⁄3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 0 K
    (7 votes)
  • 6%
    Tyler Osik: 0-for-4, BB, 2 K
    (2 votes)
  • 0%
    Harvin Mendoza: 0-for-4, RBI, K
    (0 votes)
30 votes total Vote Now

The Cannon Ballers failed to get anything going on offense, so they dropped a low-scoring game to the Wood Ducks for Kannapolis’ first loss of the season.

Kannapolis starter Cristian Mena had a fairly strong start, but the first inning was rough, as the Wood Ducks came out ready to swing. With two on and two outs, Tucker Mitchell came through with a timely single that scored a pair. Though it was still very early in the game, the two-run deficit turned out to be insurmountable.

Getting runners in scoring position was a struggle for the Cannon Ballers, and even when they had opportunities, they could not get clutch hits. Kannapolis finished 0-for-5 on the night with runners in scoring position, and ultimately got shut out. Perhaps, the Cannon Ballers were due for a game like this, as they entered tonight’s game with a 4-0 record.

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 53%
    James Beard: 1-for-3, BB, SB
    (16 votes)
  • 3%
    Colby Smelley: 1-for-4, 2B
    (1 vote)
  • 43%
    Adisyn Coffey: 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K
    (13 votes)
30 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 64%
    Wilber Sánchez: 0-for-4, K
    (16 votes)
  • 36%
    Wilfred Veras: 0-for-4, K
    (9 votes)
25 votes total Vote Now

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