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High-powered offense: Erik González went deep for the Knights, who scored 11 during their victory over Durham.
Laura Wolff/Charlotte Knights

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White Sox Minor League Update: June 14, 2023

The affiliates had a great day as a whole, winning four of five, largely led by strong batting

By Joe Resis
/ new

The Knights raced out of the gate with a seven-run first inning, and they held on in this high-scoring game against the Bulls.

The first seven Knights reached base safely, which says just about all you need to know about the top of the first. Yolbert Sánchez and Adam Haseley singled, and Víctor Reyes drove in the first run of the game with a double. Oscar Colás reached on an error that drove in a run, Carlos Pérez hit an RBI single, Nate Mondou reached on an error, too. Stephen Piscotty drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 4-0, and the Knights were not done. Although Erik González struck out, Zach Remillard doubled to make it 6-0, and Sánchez hit a sacrifice fly for the seventh run. What an inning.

After a scoreless first, Knights starter Nate Fisher had some trouble in the second inning. Fisher gave up a pair of home runs in the second, although both of them were solo shots. The Knights still had a comfortable, 7-2 lead despite those home runs.

In the third, the Knights got those two runs back, and one more. González launched a two-run homer to get the lead back up to seven.

After singles by Remillard and Haseley, Reyes hit a sacrifice fly to make it 10-2.

Fisher surrendered his third solo home run of the game in the bottom of the third. Despite those homers, though, Fisher made it through six innings, only allowing those three tallies. Laz Rivera singled to score a run in the sixth to make it 11-3, which remained the score until after Fisher left the game.

Although the relievers did not have a good game, they had a large margin for error. Sammy Peralta and Luke Farrell combined to allow four runs (all earned) in three innings, but the Knights still won by four runs.

Poll

Who was the Knights MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 29%
    Erik González: 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI
    (10 votes)
  • 8%
    Adam Haseley: 3-for-6, 2B
    (3 votes)
  • 11%
    Víctor Reyes: 2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI
    (4 votes)
  • 20%
    Zach Remillard: 2-for-2, 2B, 2 RBI
    (7 votes)
  • 29%
    Nate Fisher: 6 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 7 K
    (10 votes)
34 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Knights Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 4%
    Sammy Peralta: 1 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K
    (1 vote)
  • 83%
    Luke Farrell: 2 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 2 K
    (20 votes)
  • 12%
    Nate Mondou: 0-for-3, 2 BB, K
    (3 votes)
24 votes total Vote Now

The Barons let this one slip away in the ninth inning, as they lost a tight one at home against the Smokies.

Barons starter Cristian Mena allowed a solo home run to Nelson Maldonado in the top of the second for the first run of the game. Then, in the third, with two outs and nobody on, Mena allowed a single, a walk, and another single that made it 2-0. Despite that, however, Mena had a great performance, only allowing those two runs in six innings. Mena allowed three measly hits, and he struck out seven.

It might be a long shot, but given the timing of his start and the [redacted] injury in Los Angeles, Mena is an option to take at least an emergency start in the White Sox rotation.

In the fourth, Tyler Neslony walked before stealing his 12th base of the season. After a wild pitch, Neslony found himself on third base, and Alsander Womack drove him in with an RBI single.

The Barons offense was also lively in the fifth inning. With two outs and nobody on base, Chris Shaw kept the inning alive with a walk. Moisés Castillo proceeded to turn the game around with a go-ahead two-run homer to make it 3-2. The Barons were not done with the long ball, as Neslony launched a solo homer in the eighth to double to lead and make it 4-2.

Barons reliever Andrew Pérez entered the game to begin the eighth inning, and he pitched a shutout inning despite an error by Castillo. Pérez remained on the mound in the ninth, but that inning did not go as planned. With one out, Pérez issued a walk, allowed a single, and issued another walk to load the bases. Pérez struck out Scott McKeon to pause Tennessee’s rally, but Pete Crow-Armstrong came through with a bases-clearing double. Just like that, the Smokies had a 5-4 lead, and they held on.

Poll

Who was the Barons MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 84%
    Cristian Mena: 6 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 7 K
    (22 votes)
  • 15%
    Moisés Castillo: 1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, BB
    (4 votes)
  • 0%
    Tyler Neslony: 1-for-4, HR, BB
    (0 votes)
26 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Barons Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 90%
    Andrew Pérez: 1 2⁄3 IP, 3 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 1 K
    (20 votes)
  • 4%
    Luis Mieses: 0-for-4, 2 K
    (1 vote)
  • 4%
    José Rodríguez: 0-for-4, K, BB
    (1 vote)
22 votes total Vote Now

The Dash fell behind early on, but thanks to some clutch hitting and a great day from the bullpen, they came out on top.

Dash starter Jonathan Cannon did not allow any huge innings, but he did allow four runs (all earned) in 4 2⁄3 innings. The first two runs he allowed were solo home runs by Collin Price and Rolando Espinosa. In the fourth, Price doubled and scored on a single by Freudis Nova. The last run by Asheville was in the fifth, when Cannon allowed a triple and an RBI double to make it 4-0.

Now trailing by four, Winston-Salem’s chances looked grim, especially due to how much their hitters were struggling. However, the bats came to life in the sixth. Wes Kath led off the inning with a double, and two batters later, the current SSS Minor League Player of the Week Caberea Weaver homered to cut the deficit in half.

With the score 4-2, the Dash used a lot of small ball in the seventh to turn the game around. Wilfred Veras led off with a walk, and Michael Turner singled. With one out, Wes Kath walked to load the bases, and Taishi Nakawake singled to tie the game. Then, Weaver added another big hit with a go-ahead RBI single, and Terrell Tatum wrapped up the big inning with a sacrifice fly. Everhett Hazelwood, Jake Palisch, and Adisyn Coffey were all terrific in the bullpen.

Poll

Who was the Dash MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 86%
    Caberea Weaver: 2-for-3, HR, 3 RBI, GWRBI
    (20 votes)
  • 4%
    Taishi Nakawake: 1-for-3, 2 RBI
    (1 vote)
  • 8%
    Everhett Hazelwood: 2 1⁄3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K
    (2 votes)
23 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Dash Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 38%
    Jonathan Cannon: 4 2⁄3 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 8 K
    (8 votes)
  • 61%
    Loidel Chapelli Jr.: 0-for-4, 3 K
    (13 votes)
  • 0%
    Shawn Goosenberg: 0-for-3
    (0 votes)
21 votes total Vote Now

The Cannon Ballers rode a big fifth inning and a strong pitching performance en route to a victory over the Wood Ducks.

After a rare, subpar performance last week, Cannon Ballers starter Shane Murphy went right back to his dominant ways in this game. Murphy was terrific during his four innings of work, shutting down the Wood Ducks and striking out six. He only allowed two hits, both of which were singles. It did take a few innings for the Cannon Ballers offense to get going, so Murphy did not pick up the misleading pitcher stat (a pitcher win).

In the top of the fifth, with the game still scoreless, the Cannon Ballers went to work. Wilber Sánchez and Mario Camilletti drew back-to-back walks with one out. After Jacob Burke flew out, Tim Elko came up to bat with two on and two outs. On the first pitch Elko saw, he cranked a home run to right-center that drove in the first three runs of the game. That turned out to be enough offense for the remainder of the game.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Wood Ducks scored a pair on back-to-back homers off Horacio Andujar. Danyer Cueva and Yosy Galan were the hitters who went deep for Down East. However, the Wood Ducks failed to score after those home runs, and the Cannon Ballers added an insurance run in the ninth on a homer by Sánchez.

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 53%
    Shane Murphy: 4 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 6 K
    (14 votes)
  • 26%
    Tim Elko: 1-for-3, HR, 3 RBI
    (7 votes)
  • 19%
    Wilber Sánchez: 2-for-3, HR, BB
    (5 votes)
26 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 11%
    Horacio Andujar: 2 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K
    (2 votes)
  • 77%
    Logan Glass: 0-for-4, 3 K
    (14 votes)
  • 11%
    Mario Camilletti: 0-for-4, BB, fielding error
    (2 votes)
18 votes total Vote Now

The ACL White Sox rallied during the latter portion of this game, and they held on after a dramatic bottom of the seventh.

ACL White Sox starter Frankeli Arias pitched well, only allowing one earned run (two runs total) in five innings. His day did not start out well, as he allowed a leadoff triple to Ricardo Cabrera in the first. Cabrera later scored on a double play grounder that made it 1-0.

With two outs and nobody on, Dario Borrero and Manuel Guariman hit back-to-back doubles in the top of the second. That tied the game at one, as the ACL White Sox refused to trail for long.

The ACL Reds picked up their second run after a leadoff double and an error to retake a slim lead. However, once again, the ACL White Sox came right back after falling behind. Enoy Jiménez led off with a walk, and he proceeded to steal second (take notes, Eloy). Jiménez came around to score after singles by Ryan Burrowes and Ronny Hernández.

In the sixth, Borrero and Guariman teamed up again with back-to-back hits with two outs and nobody on (a single and a double). Guariman’s double gave the ACL White Sox a lead they did not relinquish. In the seventh, the ACL White Sox drew three walks (take notes, White Sox), and the last of those walks forced in the last run of the game.

Reliever Jesus Mendez allowed a leadoff single before retiring the next two batters he faced. However, Mendez issued back-to-back walks to load the bases. With the pressure on, Mendez struck out Malvin Valdez to end the game.

Poll

Who was the ACL White Sox MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 40%
    Frankeli Arias: 5 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K
    (6 votes)
  • 0%
    Dario Borrero: 2-for-4, 2B
    (0 votes)
  • 60%
    Manuel Guariman: 2-for-3, 2 2B, 2 RBI
    (9 votes)
15 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the ACL White Sox Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 100%
    Misael González: 0-for-4, 3 K
    (14 votes)
  • 0%
    Arxy Hernández: 0-for-3, 2 K
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    Randel Mondesi: 0-for-2, BB, 2 K, RBI
    (0 votes)
14 votes total Vote Now
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