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Be it majors, minors, prep or tee ball, it is almost certain that Clint Frazier never crushed a baseball as far as he did on Saturday night in Gwinnett.
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White Sox Minor League Update: May 6, 2023

A 3-1 night for the South Side system, with a whole bunch of Wild Pitch Offense

By Kristina Airdo
/ new

Box Score Link

The Knights were able to recover from their two-hit, shutout loss on Friday, beating the Gwinnett Stripers, 12-9, coming back with five runs in the ninth. Zach Remillard led off the game with a double, and Oscar Colás promptly drove him in on a line-drive single to center, giving Charlotte an early lead.

Remillard led off the third, and once again singled, his second of three hits tonight, and stole second to put himself in scoring position for Yoán Moncada to drive him in for the Knights’ second run of the game. Ideally, Moncada can slide back into the White Sox lineup with the same hot bat that he started the year off with, and after also drawing a walk in the first, it definitely seems like he still seeing the ball well.

Tonight was a struggle for Charlotte pitchers, with three out of six giving up at least two runs. Sean Burke started on the mound of the Knights, and had a solid first three innings, but Gwinnett jumped on him in the fourth for three runs, tying the game before Burke exited. His finished his 3 1⁄3 innings giving up three earned runs on four hits, and both walking and striking out three batters. Let’s bask in the glory of the first three innings instead:

Lincoln Henzman came in to relieve Burke, but had a disappointing performance. The Stripers ate him up today, scoring another four runs at his expense in the fifth, putting the Knights at a four-run deficit.

No matter how hard the bullpen tried to give it away, the offense didn’t quit at any point in the game. Edgar Navarro gave up another two runs for the Knights in the seventh, but the offense kept themselves in the game — thank you to Victor Reyes and Colás (again).

We talked about how the pitching struggled, but we should also talk about how Ben Holmes, Nicholas Padilla, and Lane Ramsey were able to combine for 3 1⁄3 innings of scoreless ball, striking our four and only giving up one hit each. Padilla would get the win for the Charlotte, after the offense would reign down in the ninth.

The Knights were down to their final three outs, still a couple of runs behind the Stripers. Evan Skoug led off the inning with a walk, and then three back-to-back hits — including a Yolbert Sánchez double, Nate Mondou double, and three-run Clint Frazier bomb — to put Charlotte up, 11-9, in the blink of an eye.

And when we say bomb, we mean a 468-foot missile into the light tower:

Poll

Who was the Knights MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 28%
    Zach Remillard: 3-for-5, 2B, SB, 4 R, BB
    (12 votes)
  • 19%
    Oscar Colás: 3-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI, K
    (8 votes)
  • 0%
    Nate Mondou: 3-for-5, 2B, 2 R, RBI, K
    (0 votes)
  • 52%
    Clint Frazier: 2-for-4, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI, BB
    (22 votes)
42 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Knights Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 11%
    Sean Burke: 3 1⁄3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
    (4 votes)
  • 79%
    Lincoln Henzman: 1 1⁄3 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, BB
    (27 votes)
  • 0%
    Edgar Navarro: IP, 2 H, 2 ER, BB, 2 K
    (0 votes)
  • 8%
    Evan Skoug: 0-for-3, R, 2 BB, 2 K, 3 LOB
    (3 votes)
34 votes total Vote Now

Box Score Link

The Birmingham Barons had a similar story to yesterday, playing a hard-fought game through the first seven, until the bullpen gave out and handed the game over to Chattanooga.

Xavier Fernández got the Barons on the board early in the first with a quick RBI single, but the Lookouts would get a couple of runs back in the second and third. These were the only two that Knights righthander Matt Thompson allowed in his 5 1⁄3 innings. He continues to build, start after start, tonight fanning eight and walking just one batter, bringing him to a 4.01 ERA on the year. Striking out the side in the first? We absolutely love to see it.

Yoelqui Céspedes picked up his teammate in the fourth, blasting a solo shot to tie the game at four. Thompson was off the hook for the loss, and it was a whole new ballgame for the Barons.

In the top of the seventh, Chris Shaw sent his own solo shot to straight center, flashing a bit of left-handed power and putting the Barons in the lead, 3-2.

The bullpen now had the power to ice this game — but this, however, is not how the game panned out.

Gil Luna Jr. took the mound in the eighth, and everything went downhill from there. After a double to lead off the inning, Luna was slinging walks for days. And not just walks, walks with wild pitches that score runs — the worst kind of walks. Now I didn’t witness this live, but I imagine the inning felt like it went on for six hours.

Let’s take a look at this fun sequence of events:

Double
Walk
Wild Pitch
Walk and Wild Pitch (run scores)
Walk
Strikeout
Back-to-back base hits to score aforementioned walks

Yikes, right?

The offense was apparently fresh out of hits after that strange inning, and the Barons ended up losing, 5-3.

Poll

Who was the Barons MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 91%
    Matt Thompson: 5 1⁄3 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, BB, 8 K
    (31 votes)
  • 5%
    Andrew Pérez: 1 2⁄3 IP: H, 3 K
    (2 votes)
  • 2%
    Xavier Fernández: 2-for-4, RBI
    (1 vote)
  • 0%
    Yoelqui Céspedes: 1-for-4, HR, R RBI, 2 K
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    Chris Shaw: 1-for-4, HR, R, RBI, 2 K
    (0 votes)
34 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Barons Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 84%
    Gil Luna Jr.: 1⁄3 IP, H, 3 ER, 4 BB, K
    (22 votes)
  • 3%
    Andy Atwood: 0-for-4, 2 K
    (1 vote)
  • 7%
    José Rodríguez: 0-for-3, BB, 2 LOB
    (2 votes)
  • 3%
    Luis Mieses: 0-for-3, BB, K, 1 LOB
    (1 vote)
26 votes total Vote Now

Box Score Link

The Winston-Salem Dash added another to the win column Saturday, and they played soundly on both sides of the ball, with the help of some sloppy defense from the Greensboro Grasshoppers.

Righthander Jonathan Cannon was the star of the show for the Dash, throwing seven scoreless innings and only giving up three hits while striking out six and walking one. It’s truly best-case scenario when the offense explodes while the pitching is on point at the same time — can someone bring this energy up to the big leagues, please?

The Dash bats were slow to heat up, but once they did, they couldn’t stop, putting up 12 hits as a team in their 8-0 shutout win. Keegan Fish drove in the first run of the game, and a subsequent wild pitch allowed for Shawn Goosenberg to score and put the Dash up, 2-0. Wild pitch offense!!! Another throwing error from Greensboro would allow the third Winston-Salem run to score after Terrell Tatum stole third base.

The bats didn’t truly unleash until the seventh, after a walk and a string of hits, capped by a three-run double to bring the Dash up, 6-0. And just to rub it in, there were another two RBI singles from Wilfred Veras and Goosenberg to finish off the five-run rally.

Righthanders Everhett Hazelwood and Tristan Stivors both held their own out of the arm barn, throwing two scoreless combined to seal the W for the Dash (or the Hyphens, today!).

Poll

Who was the Dash MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 97%
    Jonathan Cannon: 7 IP, 3 H, BB, 6 K
    (37 votes)
  • 0%
    Bullpen: 2 IP, H, 3 K, 0 BB
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    Taishi Nakawake: 1-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI, R, BB, K
    (0 votes)
  • 2%
    Terrell Tatum: 3-for-5, 2 R, 2B, 2 SB, K
    (1 vote)
  • 0%
    Wilfred Veras: 2-for-4, RBI, R, 2 K
    (0 votes)
38 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Cold Cats for the Dash?

This poll is closed

  • 82%
    DJ Gladney: 0-for-4, 2 K, 3 LOB
    (19 votes)
  • 4%
    Wes Kath: 1-for-4, 3 K
    (1 vote)
  • 13%
    Jason Matthews: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K, 1 LOB
    (3 votes)
23 votes total Vote Now

Box Score Link

The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers capped the White Sox minor league day with a W, making the teams 3-1 across all levels — not a bad day! There seemed to be a theme today overall: Wild. Pitch. Offense. In pretty much every game you’ll find wild pitch madness, and this game doesn’t disappoint, either.

The pitching was less than spectacular from both teams, but the Cannon Ballers were able to make it work tonight, even if some of their pitchers weren’t completely “on.” Drew McDaniel went for four innings, giving up two runs on six hits, walking one and striking out two — a quality start, limiting the damage throughout his outing.

Bryce Willits had a phenomenal game at the plate tonight for the Cannon Ballers, going 3-for-4, including a solo blast in in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at two.

Johnny Ray came in to relieve, and followed in McDaniel’s footsteps, which was no help to Kannapolis after they had just managed to tie the game. The GreenJackets took the lead in the fifth on a two-run single, but they went and gave it with back-to-back WILD PITCHES, BABY! Just like that, the game was tied once again, 4-4. Kannapolis was able to break it open in the eighth, taking the lead on a Troy Claunch sac fly, and adding two more insurance runs thanks to RBIs from Johnabiell Laureano and Caberea Weaver.

Frander Veras and Billy Siedl came out of the bullpen and each went for two scoreless, finishing the job for the last four innings, and only giving up one hit between the two of them. Siedl was handed the win today, concluding a three-win day for the White Sox farm.

Poll

Who was the MVP for the Cannon Ballers?

This poll is closed

  • 4%
    Drew McDaniel: 4 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, BB, 2 K
    (1 vote)
  • 90%
    Bryce Willits: 3-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 R
    (19 votes)
  • 4%
    Johnabiell Laureano: 2-for-3, RBI, 2 R, BB, K
    (1 vote)
  • 0%
    Caberea Weaver: 2-for-4, RBI, R, 2 K
    (0 votes)
21 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Cold Cat for the Cannon Ballers?

This poll is closed

  • 10%
    Johnny Ray: IP, 2 H, 2 ER, BB, 3 K
    (2 votes)
  • 73%
    Brooks Baldwin: 0-for-4, 2 K, 3 LOB
    (14 votes)
  • 0%
    Jordan Sprinkle: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K
    (0 votes)
  • 15%
    Layant Tapia: 0-for-4, 2 K, LOB
    (3 votes)
19 votes total Vote Now
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