White Sox Minor League Update: April 22, 2025

Bonus baseball bonanza for Knights and Cannon Ballers, and the Barons’ bats erupt and arms shine, as three of four affiliates claim victories

Charlotte Knights 5, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders 4 (11 innings) (Gameday box) (Statcast box)
Nick Nastrini delivered a stellar performance for the Knights (8-14), pitching six scoreless innings and allowing only two hits with six strikeouts. The righthander earned a quality start in his best outing of the season by far.

Charlotte jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third inning after Corey Julks and Travis Jankowski smacked back-to-back singles. After a Greg Jones strikeout and a wild pitch, Brandon Drury worked a walk to pack the sacks. Ole Miss legend Tim Elko drove in Julks with a sacrifice fly, and backstop Kyle Teel plated Jankowski with a single up the middle.

Julks extended the Knights’ lead to 3-0 with a solo jack in the seventh. However, the RailRiders chipped away with two runs in the bottom of the seventh against Garrett Schoenle. With Charlotte clinging to a slim 3-2 lead in the ninth, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s Grant Richardson hit a two-out homer off Dan Altavilla to tie the game and send it to extra innings.

Capitalizing on a wild pitch and passed ball, the Knights scored in the top of the 10th to take a 4-3 lead, only to see the RailRiders answer with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning. In the top of the 11th, Dominic Fletcher singled home the ghost runner, Kyle Teel, putting Charlotte ahead 5-4. The RailRiders were unable to respond in their half, securing a hard-earned 5-4 victory for the Knights.

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Birmingham Barons 7, Rocket City Trash Pandas 1 (Gameday box)
It felt like a classic pitchers’ duel for the first six innings as the Barons (8-7) and the Rocket City Trash Pandas battled it out in a scoreless affair. Birmingham righty Grant Taylor, making his third appearance of the season, was absolutely dealing. The 22-year-old sailed through three hitless innings, striking out five. Despite issuing a few walks, he kept the Trash Pandas off the board and lowered his already impressive ERA to 1.08. Seeing him rounding into form after several injury-hampered years is encouraging.

Then, in the top of the seventh, the bats came alive for the Barons as they sent a flurry of hits – six in total – around the yard. They weren’t just hitting either; they were aggressive on the basepaths, swiping three bags and drawing a walk. Five runs crossed the plate, and the Barons batted through the order, wrapping the frame up with a commanding lead.

The Barons’ bullpen then took a page from Taylor and continued with dominant pitching. Dalton Roach followed with two more hitless innings, keeping the Trash Pandas’ offense utterly stifled. Reliever Andrew Dalquist surrendered the first two hits of the night but managed to prevent the Trash Pandas from scoring. Veteran Keone Kela then shut things down in the eighth.

Wilfred Veras padded the lead in the top of the ninth by launching a towering two-run home run. That shot extended the Barons’ lead to a comfortable 7-0. Peyton Pallette came in for the ninth, and while he gave up a couple of hits, a walk, and ultimately a run, the Barons’ cushy lead was more than enough to secure the 7-1 win.

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Rome Emperors 8, Winston-Salem Dash 2 (Gameday box)
Rome jumped on Dash starter Tanner McDougal early. McDougal wrestled with his command right out of the gate, allowing two runs (one unearned) with two outs in the top of the first. After a walk and a stolen base by Titus Dumirtu, Will Verdung drew first blood with an RBI single. McDougal then plunked Justin Janas, and Ambioris Tavarez followed with a single, allowing Verdung to score on a throwing miscue.

The second frame brought no respite for McDougal as the free passes continued to haunt him. He issued walks to the first two batters, and although he induced a double play, he then walked another hitter, who eventually scored on a soft ground ball single, giving Rome a 3-0 advantage. McDougal’s outing ended in the top of the fourth after he committed an error on a missed catch with a runner on and two outs. Control has been McDougal’s nemesis in three of his four appearances, as he’s now accumulated 13 walks over 17 1⁄3 frames.

Reliever Phil Fox entered the fray only to immediately allow a single, extending Rome’s lead to 4-1. The Emperors padded their lead with four more runs later in the game, as Fox and Connery Peters each surrendered a two-run home run.

Offensively, the Dash found themselves largely silenced by Rome starter JR Ritchie, who was impressive for 6 2⁄3 innings. Winston-Salem’s first run came in the bottom of the second when Jeral Perez laced a double after Jackson Appel was hit by a pitch, and Arxy Hernández drove Appel home with a ground out. Their second run materialized in the bottom of the seventh when Alec Makerewicz doubled to left, scoring Appel, who had singled earlier in the inning. The Dash’s season record drops to 5-11 with the loss.

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Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 8, Myrtle Beach Pelicans 6 (12 innings) (Gameday box)
The Cannon Ballers (8-8) weathered a wild one tonight as they, too, won in extras. Kannapolis struck first in the top of the second on a Javier Mogollón oppo taco to left, securing an early 1-0 edge. But the real fireworks ignited in the top of the fourth when the Ballers sent their lineup to the plate and then some. Javier Mogollón got the rally started with a hit and then made the last out. They strung together seven singles to score six runs with a dash of help from a wild pitch and a throwing error.

Ricardo Brizuela was terrific on the bump for the Ballers. The hurler cruised through four scoreless innings, allowing a mere three hits. The bullpen duo of Grant Umberger and Jack Young picked right up where Brizuela left off, taking on another four pristine innings. It looked like the Ballers were in control heading into the ninth with a comfortable 6-0 lead, but unfortunately, the contest unraveled.

Hale Sims entered to close things out and couldn’t finish the job. The 25-year-old struggled, surrendering five runs in just a third of an inning. Skipper Chad Pinder called on Aric McAtee to try and extinguish the fire, but he couldn’t prevent the Pelicans from tying the game and sent us into more bonus baseball!

The 10th and 11th innings passed without either team crossing the plate, but Kanny scored two in the 12th. Mogollón came through clutch with a double, and Calvin Harris followed that up with a booming triple. That proved to be the difference-maker, as Morris Austin entered in the bottom of the frame and slammed the door shut on the Pelicans.