White Sox Minor League Update: May 5, 2024

Three losses, plus a postponement in Birmingham. Keep the change, folks. (Sorry, Dash)

Memphis Redbirds 7, Charlotte Knights 6 (10 innings) (Gameday Box) (Statcast Box)
The Knights lost a heartbreaker Sunday afternoon, blowing a two-run lead going into the ninth inning and eventually losing in extras. Chad Kuhl made his fifth start of the year, and went for a relatively strong six innings, giving up only a two-run double early in the first inning as the only damage against him.

Colson Montgomery picked Kuhl up a bit in the bottom half, blasting a leadoff moon shot to cut the lead in half. It was Montgomery’s fifth on the year.

Bats were quiet for the next few innings, until Charlotte went on a three-run rally in the bottom of the sixth, with RBIs by Zach DeLoach, Mark Payton, and Wilmer Difo to steal the lead back from Memphis, 4-2.

The Charlotte bullpen rode the struggle bus a bit, with each arm giving up at least one run in their outing — earned or not. Chase Plymell gave up an RBI double in the seventh, Justin Anderson blew the save in the ninth, with two runs scored from a fielder’s choice and wild pitch to tie the game. You hate to see that, especially after Difo drove in another “insurance” run in the eighth to give the Knights a two-run cushion heading into final outs.

Prelander Berroa came in for the 10th, giving up the Redbirds’ two final runs — first on a base hit, and then a passed ball from Adam Hackenberg.

The Knights had chances in the bottom of the 10th, and while Carlos Pérez closed the gap with a sac fly, Charlotte wasn’t able to push the final run across.

Birmingham Barons vs. Rocket City Trash Pandas — POSTPONED

Greensboro Grasshoppers 15, Winston-Salem Dash 5 (Gameday Box) (Statcast Box)
The last time I had checked the score for this game, the Dash were only down three, 8-5, but here we are writing this up and somehow the Grasshoppers added another seven runs ... mercy.

Riley Gowens didn’t have a great start today, throwing for four innings but giving up an equal amount of runs to give the Grasshoppers an early four-run advantage. He also walked three and struck out four, and now has a 4.81 ERA on the year through five starts.

The Winston-Salem offense was relatively nonexistent until the sixth inning, when Chris Lanzilli drove in two on an RBI double, followed by home runs from Colby Smelley and Loidel Chapelli to actually give the Dash the lead, 5-4!

Dear reader, the fun would end here.

Everhett Hazelwood came in to relieve Gowens, and had just as rough of a time out there. He also gave up four runs on five hits, one being a two-run bomb to give the Grasshoppers the lead back. I’m not sure why four is the magic number today, but I’m not sure I like it.

It actually only got worse after that, as poor Johnny Ray came in to pitch in the bottom of the eighth and promptly gave up seven runs, not even escaping the inning. Spoiler alert, the Dash did not score any further runs, sealing the 10-run loss.

Here’s one for the “Images that Proceed Unfortunate Events” account:

Lynchburg Hillcats 5, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 3 (Gameday Box) (Statcast Box)
Kannapolis fell to .500, now 13-13 on the year after Sunday’s loss to the Hillcats. Jake Bockenstedt had a strong outing for the first five innings, but struggled going into the sixth, giving up three runs (two earned), including a home run. And Bockenstedt didn’t make it easier for himself on defense, adding two throwing errors on pickoffs.

The Ballers outhit Lynchburg by one (8-7), and traded the lead back and forth early in the game, with Edrick Felix hitting a sac fly to tie the game at one. Kannapolis was competitive throughout the game; sure, they struggled on offense for a few innings, but their defense kept them in the game. It’s likely that Bockenstedt maybe just shouldn’t have gone out for the sixth, since that’s when the majority of his box score blemishes took place, giving up the lead for good.

Bryce Collins gave up another two runs in the bottom of the eighth, pushing the Hillcats to a 5-1 lead going into the ninth. In the last gasp Juan González doubled to ignite the Ballers offense and Wilber Sánchez launched a two-run shot, shortening the lead to two runs. The rally re-started as Eddie Park drew a walk, but Alberston Asiegen and Ryan Galanie couldn’t bring it home.