White Sox Minor League Update: June 19, 2024

A blowout victory in Charlotte highlighted a 3-2 day for the farm

Charlotte Knights 9, Gwinnett Stripers 3 (Gameday box) (Statcast box)
The Knights fired on all cylinders to beat the Stripers handily on Wednesday. This performance gave the Knights their 30th victory, improving to 30-40.

The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the third, when the Knights propelled themselves to an early lead. Zach Remillard drew a leadoff walk, and Mark Payton laid down a bunt that the Stripers misplayed. After an error, the Knights were in business, as they had runners on the corners with no outs. Michael Chavis put the Knights ahead with a sacrifice fly, and the Knights led for the rest of the game. Charlotte was not even close to done scoring, though. Colson Montgomery, Carlos Pérez, and Bryan Ramos followed with three consecutive singles, Zach DeLoach doubled, and Wilmer Difo hit into a sacrifice fly to make it 5-0.

Knights starter Sean Burke allowed his first and only run during his fourth inning of work. The righty allowed a leadoff single to Yuli Gurriel, who eventually raced home on a wild pitch. Despite that, however, it was a strong start for Burke, who only allowed one run on two hits in four innings.

The Knights offense went back to work in the bottom of the fourth, when Remillard and Payton opened the frame with back-to-back singles. That set the stage for Chavis, who drove in a run with a double. Montgomery was hit by a pitch, and after a pair of productive outs by Pérez and Difo, the score was 8-1.

The Knights remained up by seven until Payton hit an RBI single in the seventh to add yet another insurance run. The Stripers picked up two in the ninth, but that was far too little, far too late.

Birmingham Barons 4, Montgomery Biscuits 3 (Gameday box)
The Barons used a fantastic day by the bullpen to close out a tight victory over Montgomery.

Birmingham opened the scoring in the top of the second, when Tim Elko led off with a single. Two batters later, Wilfred Veras crushed a two-run homer to put the Barons on the board.

Stop me if you have heard something like this before, but Elko reached base in the fourth (this time via walk), and two batters later, Veras crushed a two-run homer. Veras now has 10 homers this season, all with the Barons. Just like that, the score was 4-0, and four runs turned out to be just enough for Birmingham to win.

Barons starter Tyler Schweitzer allowed one run in the fourth and two runs in the fifth. On the bright side, he struck out eight while only issuing one walk, and his ERA in Birmingham is just 3.00 over 12 innings.

The collective group of relievers Caleb Freeman, Tristan Stivors, Gil Luna, and Eric Adler was phenomenal. Each of those pitchers pitched a scoreless inning, and in total, they combined for eight strikeouts, only two walks, and only one hit.

Asheville Tourists 16, Winston-Salem Dash 6 (Gameday box)
It was a day to forget for the Dash pitching staff, as Winston-Salem lost easily despite scoring six.

Samuel Zavala walked to lead off the game, and Jordan Sprinkle was hit by a pitch. After a soft ground out by Bryce Willits that allowed Zavala and Sprinkle to advance 90 feet, Shawn Goosenberg drove in a pair with a single. Goosenberg advanced to second on the throw home, and Calvin Harris drove in Goosenberg with a single to make it 3-0.

The Tourists used two walks and two singles to get on the board against Dash starter Tanner McDougal in the second. McDougal limited the damage to only one run, however, and the Dash went back to work in the third. DJ Gladney drew a leadoff walk, Willits singled, and Goosenberg doubled to make it 4-1. A balk allowed Willits to score, so Winston-Salem led by four.

However, it was all Tourists from that point forward. Four pitchers appeared in this game for the Dash, and the most successful was McDougal, who allowed three earned runs in four innings.

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 5, Myrtle Beach Pelicans 0 (Game 1) (Gameday box)
The Cannon Ballers got off to a strong start in their doubleheader by shutting out the Pelicans.

Kannapolis starter Manuel Veloz was phenomenal, pitching five shutout innings, striking out nine. Strangely, Veloz allowed four hits, which was twice as many as the Cannon Ballers had all game. However, the Cannon Ballers found ways to score.

In the third, when the game was still scoreless, Juan González led off with a walk, and Drake Logan doubled him over to third. Albertson Asigen walked, Arxy Hernández reached on an error that scored a run, and Mikey Kane hit a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0. Then, in the fifth, Logan was hit by a pitch, and Wilber Sánchez launched a homer to double the lead. Finally, the Cannon Ballers added their last insurance run in the sixth, when they drew three walks and a hit by pitch.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans 7, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 0 (Game 2) (Gameday box)
The nightcap of the doubleheader did not go as well, as the Cannon Ballers were the ones who failed to score.

Jake Peppers did not have his best stuff, as he allowed four runs in two innings. Peppers needed 48 pitches to get through those two innings, as the Pelicans made him work early and often. Meanwhile, the Cannon Ballers only collected three hits, and they finished 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

Cannon Ballers reliever Frankeli Arias was one of bright spots for the Cannon Ballers, as he struck out six in his 2 1⁄3 innings of work.