As it seems we do every couple of weeks, here’s a rundown of affiliate standings, before we dive into Friday’s games.
- Triple-A Charlotte has won 12 of 16, now placing them second in the International League North, five games back of Rochester. While a first-half title is a long shot, the Knights are now looking like a first-division team able to make some noise in the second half.
- Double-A Birmingham will have to push all of its resources into second-half play, as they now sit 26-41 and buried in last place in the Southern League North and 5 1/2 games worse than the seventh-best club in the eight-team SL.
- At 38-29, High-A Winston-Salem has the best record in the system but the misfortune of being in a Sally South topped by a juggernaut, the 47-18 Bowling Green Hot Rods. The good news, however, is if that the Hot Rods stay hot and win the second half, the Dash staying close would get them cracking into the playoffs with a second half, second-place finish.
- Low-A Kannapolis is 33-34, still just in fifth place in a tough Carolina League South. But they can take some solace in not being in the basement — where the Cannon Ballers started the year.
- The ACL White Sox have been a disaster from the jump, now sitting at 11-24 and ahead of only the Dodgers in the 15-team ACL.
- Things are early in the DSL, but at 5-9 the White Sox sit in a tie for fifth in the seven-team DSL Southwest.
Charlotte Knights 10, Buffalo Bisons 5
Old friends highlighted the Knights’ victory over the Bisons. Kyle Teel played like a man on a mission to reclaim his spot on the White Sox roster, going 5-for-6 with three runs and two RBIs. MLB’s Scott Merkin reported that Teel is apparently much closer to the majors than we think, playing all nine innings both Friday and Saturday before a re-evaluation for his immediate future. It sounds as if he could be back in Chicago in time for the Cleveland series next week.
Rikku Nishida is also eager to reunite with the parent club after his short and not-so-sweet taste in the big leagues. The multi-position thread had a strong performance, too, driving in two runs and scoring two of his own off just two hits. Backing Charlotte on the mound was Jonathan Cannon, who managed to show glimpses of his old self. His eight-hit, three-run start isn’t Cy Young-worthy, but it got the job done. Classic Cannon. And finally, towards the end of the night, Peyton Pallette reminded everyone why he should’ve been protected from the Rule 5 draft, twirling two shutout innings and striking out a pair to keep the Knights comfortably ahead of the Bisons.
While Ben Peoples didn’t exhibit perfection, his closing inning allowed Charlotte to come away with a healthy win.
Pensacola Blue Wahoos 9, Birmingham Barons 2
Pensacola blew the Barons out of the water largely due to Birmingham’s inability to hit or throw. Bham tallied 10 strikeouts and just six hits through the night. They waited till the eighth to load the bases and allow Anthony DePino to hit into a fielder’s choice that notched their first run of the night. Colby Shelton continued being a standout for the Barons by posting his fifth jack, in the ninth, to keep the Barons from being completely decimated:
Aside from the final two innings, however, the crew failed to get on base and convert their baserunners into scorers.
On the pitching front, things were quite ugly. Connor McCullough’s formidable 3.99 ERA took a hit after giving up four runs off six hits in five. The bullpen didn’t play hero in this one, either: Jarold Rosado and Mark McLaughlin combined for eight hits and five runs in the sixth through eighth, handing Pensacola a cushy lead. At this point, it may be time to start sending arms down to High-A.
Greensboro Grasshoppers 7, Winston-Salem Dash 3
The Dash suffered from a case of nonexistent bats. Max Banks encountered his second welcome-to-Winston-Salem outing, giving up five runs and a home run in four frames. The adjustment from Low-A to High-A has proven bumpy for the rookie.
Banks’ position player counterparts didn’t offer much help, either. Kyle Lodise slammed a leadoff homer in the first, but everyone else’s bats failed to get the memo and stayed stagnant through the seventh. Perhaps pinch-hitting for Lodise in the fifth, before he got a third at-bat as the only hitter with a run thus far, was a poor decision. Boston Smith, everyone’s favorite catcher in the Sox organization, launched his 11th home run of the year, in the eighth, to try and get some momentum going after Greensboro had made it a 7-1 game. But by then, there was no turning things around for a crew that was 1-for-9 in scoring position and left nine on base.
Fayetteville Woodpeckers 10, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 8
There’s no nice way to spin this: Kanny’s late collapse was a demoralizing way for the Low-A affiliate to fall back below .500 after fighting so hard to revive its season. The ferocious top of the lineup (Jaden Fauske, Matthew Boughton, Derek Cerda) each had a multi-hit game and were responsible for six of Kannapolis’ eight hits. A three-run first and two-run fifth were supported by Truman Pauley holding the Woodpeckers to two runs through the fifth. Kanny was also a base-running machine, stealing four free bases to keep the runs coming.
But the game suddenly got out of hand in the seventh. Ryan Schiefer started the seventh with the CBs up, 8-3, but allowed the first three Woodpeckers to reach base. He only managed to get one out before departing, closing the lead to three. Marco Barrios fared similarly. He gave up a two-run bomb before the seventh and a leadoff homer in the eighth before he was kindly shown the door. Landen Payne continued the misery, blowing the game in the eighth by handing Fayetteville another home run in what turned out to be one of the worst meltdowns by Kanny this year.
ACL White Sox 9, ACL Dodgers 8 (7 innings)
The battle for Worst in the ACL turned out to be a whiplash of a game. The Complex Sox put up two runs in the first with much help from a fielding error and Jose Mendoza’s hit-by-pitch, and then a four-spot in the second thanks to Landon Hodge’s grand slam. Confidence didn’t remain high for long, though. The ACL Dodgers located their pride struck back in the third with a run and in the fourth with their own four-run tear. Kendry Garcia and Cesar Nunez shared the blame for the Sox’s blown lead, resetting the game at 6-5, Sox. Fortunately, the Good Guys got their mojo back before it was too late. Marcelo Acala, who finished with three walks, three stolen bases and three runs, led the sixth-inning charge to pad the lead just enough to fend the Dodgers off.
DSL Giants Orange 9, DSL White Sox 2 (7 innings)
Another game, another loss for the DSL White Sox, as they fell to 5-9 with a 9-2 loss to one of their many nemeses, the DSL Giants Orange. Somehow the Sox could not manage to have a bases-l0aded walk to right fielder Orlando Patino hold up, as the game was off the rails at 6-1 by the end of the second inning. It was four walks and four hits over seven innings for the White Sox, and in the DSL that sort of production rarely holds up. Patino had half of the team’s walks, while Diego Natera (pinch-hitting when the game was out of reach) came off of the bench for half of his club’s hits (one a triple, the other a single-stolen base). Very young righty Franchel Crisostomo got the start but only saw two outs: One in the first inning in the process of giving up three earned before getting yanked, the other in the second when he came back out and had the same results. Crisostomo holds an 18.75 ERA over three starts in the young season. Reliever Alexander De Los Santos helped hold S.F. short of 10 runs with a brilliant three innings, giving up one (unearned) run on two hits.