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White Sox Minor League Update: June 8

A stunning comeback by the Knights highlights a 3-1 day on the farm

By Joe Resis
/ new
Surprise Saguaros v Glendale Desert Dogs
In the clutch: Yolbert Sánchez had a pair of hits and RBIs during the Knights’ thrilling victory.
Chris Bernacchi/Diamond Images via Getty Images

Lance Lynn did not have it tonight, so the Knights fell behind after an enormous fourth inning by the Redbirds. Against all odds, however, Charlotte completed a comeback for the memories.

Mark Payton and Adam Haseley opened up the game with back-to-back doubles to give the Knights an early lead. Later in the inning, Yermín Mercedes drove in Haseley with a sacrifice fly. The 2-0 lead did not last long, however, as Lynn ran into trouble in the bottom of the first. The Bats used four singles and a sacrifice fly to tie the game, 2-2.

In the top of the third, Payton hit his second double of the day to drive in a run. That gave the Knights another lead that turned out to be short-lived. Charlotte entered the bottom of the fourth with a 3-2 lead, but that half-inning was a disaster for both Lynn and reliever Lincoln Henzman. Although the Knights did not give up any home runs that inning, they allowed 10 (!) runs.

Suddenly, Charlotte trailed by a score of 12-3, and even though only four innings had passed, the game appeared to be over. However, the Knights never surrendered, and they put two on the board in the fifth and one on the board in the eighth. Entering the ninth, the game was still 12-6.

Then, absolute chaos ensued.

The Knights filled the bases with one out to start the top of the ninth, after a single by Micker Adolfo and walks to Payton and Haseley. Carlos Pérez drove in a pair with a single to trim the deficit to four. Mercedes followed with a fly out for out No. 2. So, how did the Knights rally from down four with one out remaining? A wild pitch, a single by Yolbert Sánchez, a walk to Romy González, a single by Seby Zavala, and another wild pitch. Boom. 12-12. Let’s head to extras.

Haseley drove in the go-ahead run with a single in the top of the 10th. Pérez and Sánchez went on to pad the lead with singles of their own. The bottom half was eventful, but the Knights ultimately held on after a strikeout by Hunter Schryver sealed the deal.

Poll

Who was the Knights MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 10%
    Mark Payton: 3-for-4, 2 2B, 2 BB, RBI
    (7 votes)
  • 64%
    Adam Haseley: 3-for-4, 3B, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB
    (41 votes)
  • 4%
    Romy González: 2-for-4, HR, 2 BB
    (3 votes)
  • 17%
    Carlos Pérez: 2-for-5, 4 RBI
    (11 votes)
  • 1%
    Brandon Finnegan: 1 1⁄3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K
    (1 vote)
  • 1%
    Andrew Pérez: 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K
    (1 vote)
64 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Knights Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 77%
    Lance Lynn: 3 IP, 7 ER, 9 H, 1 BB, 3 K
    (52 votes)
  • 19%
    Lincoln Henzman: 2⁄3 IP, 5 R (4 ER), 5 H, 1 BB, 0 K
    (13 votes)
  • 2%
    Yermín Mercedes: 0-for-4, BB, RBI
    (2 votes)
67 votes total Vote Now

The matchup between the Birmingham Barons and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos was scoreless in the bottom of the third when the weather interfered. The game was unable to be completed tonight, but it is scheduled to be made up on Thursday, June 9.

The Dash fell behind due to a poor seventh inning, but they rallied for a thrilling victory over Greensboro.

Starting pitcher Matthew Thompson was fantastic in this game. The former second round pick struck out eight in six brilliant, scoreless innings. The Grasshoppers only got two hits against him, and both of them were singles.

Unfortunately, it took a long time for Winston-Salem’s offense to wake up, and Thompson had to settle for a no-decision. With the game still scoreless in the top of the seventh, the Grasshoppers finally got on the board. Isaiah Carranza entered the game in relief of Thompson, and his appearance did not go as planned. Carranza allowed a double and two home runs, and those extra-base hits gave the Grasshoppers a 3-0 lead.

Despite the long odds, however, the Dash did not go away. In the bottom of the eighth, Moises Castillo and Oscar Colás led off with back-to-back singles. After a wild pitch, Castillo and Colás advanced 90 feet, and suddenly, both of them were in scoring position with no outs. Bryan Ramos continued the rally with a single to drive in both base runners.

The Dash still trailed by a score of 3-2 entering the bottom of the ninth. As it turned out, they barely needed to swing the bat to pull through with a comeback. Shawn Goosenberg led off with a four-pitch walk, which was a sign of things to come. The next batter, Duke Ellis, drew a walk, and so did Castillo. Just like that, the bases were loaded with no outs. That brought up Colás, who delivered his second key single in as many innings. This single won the game, as Goosenberg and Ellis came around to score.

Interestingly, Terrell Tatum had four plate appearance but zero at-bats. Yep, he walked all four times he stepped up to the plate — and gunned down a runner at home from right field.

Poll

Who was the Dash MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 81%
    Matthew Thompson: 6 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 8 K
    (53 votes)
  • 18%
    Oscar Colás: 3-for-5, 2 RBI, walk-off single
    (12 votes)
65 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Dash Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 11%
    Alsander Womack: 0-for-4, K
    (5 votes)
  • 88%
    Isaiah Carranza: 1 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 K
    (38 votes)
43 votes total Vote Now

The Cannon Ballers took too long to score in this one, so they dropped a tight game in extra innings.

Starter Cristian Mena could not have done much more than he did in this game. The righthander pitched six shutout innings, and he struck out eight without issuing a walk. Mena only needed 79 pitches to get through those six innings, which is a quite efficient 13.2 pitches per frame.

On the other side, the Cannon Ballers offense had an off night, so Mena got a no-decision despite his terrific performance. Relievers Haylen Green, who pitched two scoreless innings, and Zach Cable, who pitched a scoreless ninth, also got no-decisions. During the first nine innings, Cannon Ballers pitching combined for zero runs, zero walks, four hits, and 13 strikeouts, but it was somehow not enough.

After nine scoreless innings, the 10th inning provided some drama, and ultimately, the final result. Reliever Ángel Acevedo entered the game for Kannapolis to begin the 10th, and the first batter he faced, Maximo Acosta, drove in the free base runner with a single. After a double by Efrenyer Narvaez and an infield single by Yenci Peña, the score was 2-0.

The Cannon Ballers scored a run in the bottom of the 10th by using #WildPitchOffense. Logan Glass started the inning on second base, he advanced to third on a passed ball, and he scored on a wild pitch. However, the Cannon Ballers could not score the tying run, so they lost this low-scoring battle.

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 94%
    Cristian Mena: 6 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 0 BB, 8 K
    (49 votes)
  • 5%
    Colson Montgomery: 1-for-3, BB
    (3 votes)
52 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 11%
    Ángel Acevedo: 1 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 3 H, 0 BB, 3 K
    (5 votes)
  • 81%
    Wes Kath: 0-for-5, 3 K
    (36 votes)
  • 6%
    Wilber Sánchez: 0-for-5, 2 K
    (3 votes)
44 votes total Vote Now

The DSL White Sox had another strong performance en route to a victory. As a result, they remained undefeated through three games.

Randel Mondesi opened the scoring in the top of the second with his first home run of the young DSL season. Later in the inning, Carlos Jiménez drew a walk, and he came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Roberth Gutierrez.

The DSL White Sox padded their lead in the fourth, when Guillermo Rodriguez hit an RBI single. In the fifth, they tacked on a pair, when Jiménez drove in a run with a ground out, and a passed ball allowed Ronny Hernández to score.

Jeremy González was the starter for the DSL White Sox, and he had an excellent game. González pitched four shutout innings to put his team in a great position to bring home the win. Jorge Ferrer delivered three shutout innings in relief to close the door. The DSL Orioles Black only managed four hits, and they finished 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position.

Poll

Who was the DSL White Sox MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 27%
    Jeremy González: 4 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K
    (10 votes)
  • 16%
    Jorge Ferrer: 3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 3 K
    (6 votes)
  • 27%
    Randel Mondesi: 2-for-4, HR
    (10 votes)
  • 27%
    Erick Hernández: 2-for-3, 3B, HBP
    (10 votes)
36 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the DSL White Sox Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 96%
    Arxy Hernández: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K
    (26 votes)
  • 3%
    Ronny Hernández: 0-for-3, BB, K
    (1 vote)
27 votes total Vote Now

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