White Sox Minor League Update (April 9): Knights 3, Clippers 1

A masterful performance from the pitching staff brings Charlotte back to better than .500. The newbie, Ricardo Sánchez, started the game, with Tanner Banks piggybacking to combine for a five-inning start. Sánchez had the better performance between the two, as Banks allowed a solo homer, but the pair set the tone for a strikeout-heavy day. They struck out nine batters over those five innings. Four of the six outs Banks induced came via strikeout. He is certainly inspiring confidence, should the Sox need to bring up a lefty at some point.

Obviously, the rest of the bullpen was really good, but a couple things to note. Lane Ramsey got another late-inning appearance; he is not on the 40-man roster, but is getting looks at closer as if he is. Garrett Davila made his Triple-A debut today, too, coming in for Banks. Old and now new friend, Alex Colomé, appeared in his first game for Charlotte as well. Both had scoreless innings.

The offense did not need to do much to get the win, and they really tried to not score too often to keep the game interesting. The Knights were 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position, so they had ample opportunities to break the game wide open — they just didn’t. Victor Reyes had the big hit of the day with a homer, and the Knights only had three extra-base hits total. Reyes’ clout was a solo shot in the second, for his second long ball of the season.

He and the other two extra-base mates had two hits each on the day. Carlos Pérez (double) and Erik González (triple) completed the trifecta. If you are wondering, yes, Lenyn Sosa did keep his hit streak alive, he is nine-for-nine in games played and hitting safely to start his season, after a single today.