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White Sox Minor League Update: August 23, 2023

Thrilling victories by Charlotte and Birmingham allowed the farm system to go 2-2

By Joe Resis
/ new
Finishing in style: Adam Hackenberg hit a walk-off single for the Knights.
Laura Wolff/Charlotte Knights

The Knights pulled through in the 10th inning for a walk-off victory in dramatic fashion.

In the bottom of the second, Nate Mondou opened the scoring by launching a solo home run to give the Knights a 1-0 lead. In the fourth, Mondou went back to business by hitting an RBI single with two outs to double Charlotte’s lead. Meanwhile, starter José Ureña’s day got off to a great beginning, as he was throwing a shutout through five innings. Unfortunately, the Redbirds scored a pair against him in the sixth to tie the game.

The score remained tied at two until the eighth, when Memphis pulled ahead for the first time in the game. Moisés Gómez hit a solo homer against reliever Jordan Leasure to make the score 3-2, but the Knights were not finished. Tyler Neslony led off the bottom of the eighth with a solo homer of his own, and because of that, the game went into extras after a scoreless ninth. After a sacrifice bunt by Yolbert Sánchez and an intentional walk to Dalton Roach, Adam Hackenberg drove in the game-winning run with a single to left.

Poll

Who was the Knights MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 26%
    Nate Mondou: 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI
    (11 votes)
  • 14%
    Adam Hackenberg: 1-for-2, RBI
    (6 votes)
  • 46%
    José Ureña: 5 2⁄3 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 6 K
    (19 votes)
  • 12%
    Declan Cronin: 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K
    (5 votes)
  • 0%
    Xavier Fernández: 1-for-2, 2B, 2 BB
    (0 votes)
41 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Knights Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 68%
    Clint Frazier: 0-for-4, K
    (24 votes)
  • 0%
    Erik González: 0-for-4
    (0 votes)
  • 31%
    Jordan Leasure: 1 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 K
    (11 votes)
35 votes total Vote Now

After an incredibly tight matchup against the Trash Pandas, the Barons came out on top in northern Alabama.

Nick Nastrini was terrific, only allowing one run in five innings. Nastrini’s only run allowed came in his final inning of work, and he recorded more whiffs (18) than any pitcher in Double-A today. The game was a scoreless tie through four innings, but Colson Montgomery put the Barons on the board with an RBI single in the top of the fifth. Mariano Ricciardi hit an RBI double in the bottom half for Rocket City’s only run against Nastrini.

The Barons retook the lead in the top of the sixth when Edgar Quero crushed a two-run homer to make the score 3-1. In addition to that homer, Quero drew two walks to build on his strong season.

The Trash Pandas got one of those runs back in the bottom of the sixth against reliever Jared Kelley and the teams traded runs in the eighth. Moisés Castillo hit an RBI single for the Barons, and Rocket City scored on a productive ground out against Nick Gallagher.

The Barons remained ahead by a score of 4-3, entering the bottom of the ninth. Then, control eluded Gil Luna, who struggled to find the strike zone after retiring the first two batters of the bottom of the ninth. Luna issued three consecutive walks to load the bases, and the pressure was officially on. However, after working the count full, Luna struck out Tucker Flint to preserve the lead and pick up the save.

Poll

Who was the Barons MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 61%
    Nick Nastrini: 5 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 7 K
    (33 votes)
  • 7%
    Colson Montgomery: 3-for-5, RBI
    (4 votes)
  • 20%
    Edgar Quero: 1-for-2, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB
    (11 votes)
  • 11%
    Tim Elko: 3-for-4
    (6 votes)
  • 0%
    Fraser Ellard: 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 0 K
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    Gil Luna: 1 1⁄3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 3 BB, 1 K
    (0 votes)
54 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Barons Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 70%
    Bryan Ramos: 0-for-5, 3 K
    (28 votes)
  • 5%
    Jared Kelley: 1 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K
    (2 votes)
  • 2%
    Nick Gallagher: 2⁄3 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K
    (1 vote)
  • 22%
    Yoelqui Céspedes: 0-for-4, 3 K
    (9 votes)
40 votes total Vote Now

In the only disappointing pitching performance of the day, the Dash lost handily to the Hot Rods in Bowling Green.

In the top of the first, Loidel Chapelli Jr. drew a walk, and he advanced to third on a one-out single by Brooks Baldwin. However, that lead did not last through the first inning, as the Hot Rods were ready to hit. Shawn Goosenberg gave the Dash a 1-0 lead on a sacrifice fly. Bowling Green scored one in the first and two in the second against Dash starter Norge Vera, although one of those runs was unearned. Vera was removed with two outs in the second.

Reliever Brooks Gosswein had an even harder time, allowing five earned runs in 2 1⁄3 innings. Relievers Jordan Mikel and Eric Adler performed admirably in mop-up duty, but they could do nothing to bring the Dash back into the game. The Dash scored one in the fourth when Goosenberg walked, Bryce Willits singled, and Michael Turner walked to load the bases. Colby Smelley drove in a run with a productive ground out. The Dash scored once more in the ninth when Chapelli doubled and came around to score after two wild pitches.

Poll

Who was the Dash MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 7%
    Loidel Chapelli Jr: 1-for-4, 2B, BB
    (2 votes)
  • 11%
    Mario Camilletti: 1-for-3, 2 BB
    (3 votes)
  • 7%
    Shawn Goosenberg: 1-for-2, BB, RBI
    (2 votes)
  • 74%
    Jordan Mikel: 2 2⁄3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 6 K
    (20 votes)
27 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Dash Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 25%
    Caberea Weaver: 0-for-4, 4 K
    (7 votes)
  • 0%
    Taishi Nakawake: 0-for-4, 3 K
    (0 votes)
  • 21%
    Norge Vera: 1 2⁄3 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 0 K
    (6 votes)
  • 53%
    Brooks Gosswein: 2 1⁄3 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 3 K
    (15 votes)
28 votes total Vote Now

The Cannon Ballers let this one slip away, as they took a slim lead into the bottom of the ninth but could not hold it.

Rikuu Nishida and Jacob González drew back-to-back walks to open the game, and Chris Lanzilli delivered an RBI single to drive in the first run. The Pelicans answered in the bottom of the second when they drew two walks against Cannon Ballers starter Aldrin Batista. Those walks set Leonel Espinoza up for an RBI single to tie the game. Despite that rough inning, Batista finished with only one run allowed in five innings.

The score remained tied until the top of the sixth when Jordan Sprinkle launched a solo home run to put the Cannon Ballers in front. Given how well the Cannon Ballers pitching staff performed, that one-run lead appeared fairly safe. Connery Peters pitched two shutout innings in relief of Batista, and Connor Pellerin delivered a scoreless eighth. However, it was not so easy for Pellerin in the ninth when he issued a leadoff walk, which was followed by a walk-off two-run homer by Jonathon Long.

Impressively, Juan González went 2-for-3 with a walk and a double during the loss. There just was not enough offense outside of Sprinkle and González in this one.

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 0%
    Jordan Sprinkle: 1-for-4, HR
    (0 votes)
  • 10%
    Juan González: 2-for-3, 2B, BB
    (3 votes)
  • 72%
    Aldrin Batista: 5 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K
    (21 votes)
  • 13%
    Connery Peters: 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K
    (4 votes)
  • 3%
    Rikuu Nishida: 1-for-3, BB
    (1 vote)
29 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 40%
    Calvin Harris: 0-for-4, 3 K
    (10 votes)
  • 16%
    Edrick Felix: 0-for-4, 3 K
    (4 votes)
  • 44%
    Connor Pellerin: 1 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K
    (11 votes)
25 votes total Vote Now

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