clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

White Sox Minor League Update: August 31, 2022

A runaway victory by the Dash highlighted a 2-2 day for the affiliates

By Joe Resis
/ new
MLB: Chicago White Sox at Los Angeles Angels
Power surge: Micker Adolfo launched a solo blast to give the Knights an early lead.
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Knights fell behind early on, and could never quite catch back up to the Bulls.

Micker Adolfo got the party started for Charlotte in the bottom of the second. Adolfo’s 12th home run gave the Knights a 1-0 lead, but the Knights did not remain ahead for long.

Knights starter Jason Bilous got through two scoreless innings, but he could not avoid the long ball in the third. Jim Haley led off the inning with a solo homer to tie it, and control eluded Bilous after that. After a walk, a single, and another walk, the bases were loaded. Then, with one out, Rene Pinto blew the game open with a grand slam that made the score 5-1. Bilous retired one more batter, but did not make it out of the third inning.

In the fifth, Tristan Gray took Lincoln Henzman deep to center, and that blast made the score 7-1. With that blast, Gray boosted his impressive home run total to 29.

The Knights cut into their six-run deficit in the sixth, when Mark Payton set the table with a walk, and Lenyn Sosa launched a two-run homer. Unfortunately, it was not enough. Reliever J.B. Olson gave back those two runs in the seventh (though one was unearned), and the deficit was too much to overcome.

In garbage time, Xavier Fernández drove in a run with an RBI single, and Blake Rutherford and Tyler Neslony added a solo home run apiece.

Poll

Who was the Knights MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 88%
    Lenyn Sosa: 3-for-5, HR, 2 RBI
    (44 votes)
  • 2%
    Micker Adolfo: 2-for-4, HR
    (1 vote)
  • 10%
    Tyler Neslony: 2-for-4, HR, 2B
    (5 votes)
50 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Knights Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 91%
    Jason Bilous: 2 2⁄3 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 3 K
    (34 votes)
  • 0%
    J.B. Olson: 1 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 2 H, 1 BB, 0 K
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    Lincoln Henzman: 2 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K
    (0 votes)
  • 8%
    Yolbert Sánchez: 0-for-4, K
    (3 votes)
  • 0%
    Craig Dedelow: 0-for-4
    (0 votes)
37 votes total Vote Now

The Barons offense had a rough night, so despite a strong pitching performance, Birmingham fell short.

Barons starter Sean Burke cruised through his first three innings, but he made a pair of mistakes in the fourth. Those mistakes ultimately decided this low-scoring game. With one out in the fourth, Kameron Misner doubled, and Ronny Simon launched a home run to give Montgomery a 2-0 lead.

Tyler Osik promptly cut the deficit in half in the fifth, when he hit his first home run with Birmingham and his 11th homer of the season.

The relievers kept the good times rolling, allowing zero runs on only one hit in 4 1⁄3 innings. Unfortunately, the offense got quiet, and scoring opportunities were hard to come by. The Barons finished 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and were kept off the scoreboard for the rest of the game.

Poll

Who was the Barons MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 79%
    Tyler Osik: 1-for-3, HR
    (19 votes)
  • 20%
    Félix Paulino: 1 1⁄3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K
    (5 votes)
24 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Barons Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 51%
    Oscar Colás: 0-for-4, 2 K
    (17 votes)
  • 42%
    Yoelqui Céspedes: 0-for-4, 2 K
    (14 votes)
  • 6%
    Sean Burke: 3 2⁄3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 7 K
    (2 votes)
33 votes total Vote Now

The Dash offense exploded in the latter portion of this game, and as a result, Winston-Salem won decisively.

Starting pitcher and Indiana Hoosier Tommy Sommer only allowed one hit through three innings, but he ran into trouble in the fourth. After a leadoff double and a walk, the Grasshoppers executed a double-steal to put two in scoring position. After two productive outs, it was a 2-0 ballgame. Given the way the Dash had been hitting up until that point, it seemed that Sommer would get charged with a hard-luck loss.

As it turned out, though, Sommer made it through six innings without allowing any additional runs, and the Dash came to life in the seventh. With one out, Jason Matthews started the rally by drawing a four-pitch walk. Taishi Nakawake continued to set the table with a single, to bring the potential go-ahead run to the plate. Caberea Weaver was the batter representing that potential go-ahead run, and he delivered a three-run blast to turn the game around.

In the eighth, the Dash put the game out of reach. The top of the eighth went like this: Andy Atwood singled, Ben Norman struck out, James Beard walked, Matthews singled, Nakawake hit into a sacrifice fly (that made the score 4-2), Weaver tripled (6-2), Alsander Womack doubled (7-2), Colby Smelley walked, Riley Jepson walked, and Atwood doubled (9-2).

In the ninth, which was garbage time, Beard added a solo home run to get the Dash into double digits.

Poll

Who was the Dash MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 61%
    Caberea Weaver: 2-for-4, 3B, HR, 5 RBI, BB
    (24 votes)
  • 2%
    Andy Atwood: 3-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI
    (1 vote)
  • 2%
    James Beard: 1-for-3, HR, 2 BB
    (1 vote)
  • 33%
    Tommy Sommer: 6 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 6 K
    (13 votes)
39 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Dash Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 96%
    Ben Norman: 0-for-5, 3 K
    (27 votes)
  • 3%
    Karan Patel: 1 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K
    (1 vote)
28 votes total Vote Now

Kannapolis was kept off the scoreboard in eight out of nine innings, but they made one big inning count during this victory.

In the third, with the game still scoreless, Wilber Sánchez led off with a single. After another single by Jordan Sprinkle, the Cannon Ballers had runners on the corners with no outs. The big inning hit a speed bump when Brooks Baldwin struck out, but Troy Claunch drove in the first run of the game with a single. The next three Cannon Ballers got hits, too. Benyamin Bailey and Jacob Burke hit back-to-back doubles, and Victor Torres added a single. By the end of the hit parade, Kannapolis had a 5-0 lead.

Meanwhile, starter Jonah Scolaro was on top of his game. In six innings of work, Scolaro allowed two hits, zero walks, struck out eight. Most importantly, he kept Lynchburg off of the board. As a result, he helped put Kannapolis in an excellent position to win this game.

The game was drama-free until the bottom of the ninth, when Lynchburg threatened to make an enormous comeback against reliever Adisyn Coffey. Coffey allowed three runs on three hits, and the potential tying run stepped up to the plate with two outs. However, Coffey got a clutch strikeout to wrap it up.

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 27%
    Benyamin Bailey: 4-for-5, 2B, RBI
    (9 votes)
  • 3%
    Jacob Burke: 3-for-4, 2 2B, RBI
    (1 vote)
  • 69%
    Jonah Scolaro: 6 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 8 K
    (23 votes)
33 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 11%
    Adisyn Coffey: 1 IP, 3 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K
    (3 votes)
  • 7%
    Brooks Baldwin: 0-for-5, 2 K
    (2 votes)
  • 81%
    Jayson González: 0-for-5, 5 K
    (22 votes)
27 votes total Vote Now

More From South Side Sox

Loading comments...