White Sox Minor League Update: April 27, 2025

The Knights pull through chaos in extras to cap off a 3-1 day in the South Side organization

Charlotte Knights 13, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders 12 (12 innings) (Statcast Box)
Both offenses popped off for 11 hits apiece in Sunday’s extra-inning thriller, though the Knights (12-15) outlasted the RailRiders to take five of six in the series. Not even lasting a full inning in his start (2/3 IP), Nick Nastrini had a hard time finding the strike zone. He walked five batters and gave up four runs on one hit — the one hit being a two-run home run.

Nastrini’s meltdown forced a bullpen game on the Knights, who used nine pitchers total to cover 12 innings. Things calmed down after the starter was pulled, including Garrett Schoenle pitching a solid fifth. But the southpaw got into hot water in the bottom of the sixth, loading the bases and hitting a batter to bring in the first of his four runs given up — and three more were charged to him after departing the game. Charlotte was down 8-3 heading into the seventh, but strung together homers from Dominic Fletcher, Tristan Gray, and Corey Julks in the final three innings to take a one-run lead. Adisyn Coffey came in for the save in the bottom of ninth, but three walks and a single allowed the tying run to score, forcing extras and giving S/WB another chance.

The Knights finally pulled ahead in the top of the 12th as Andre Lipcius, Gray, and Fletcher rallied to score three runs to put Charlotte up, 13-10. The bullpen really did have a rough day — somehow racking up two blown saves, a save, and a win all in the last four innings. James Karinchak was the lucky player who earned the win, but also blew a save in the process.

Even weirder, Fletcher played right field the entire game, and pitched the final inning in his best attempt at a Shohei Ohtani impression after going 2-for-6 with three RBIs. Fletcher gave up two runs, but the Knights still managed to win the game.

Pure chaos, but a win is a win!

Baseball Savant

Tim Elko continued to make a case to be called up to the White Sox after blasting his eighth AND ninth home runs of the year — one to score two in the top of the first, and another solo shot in the top of the sixth. Elko scored three times, drove in four, walked once, and struck out once. Elko’s nine homers and 1.164 OPS rank first in the Triple-A International League, and easily blows the entire White Sox lineup out of the water. Mind you, the guy that is starting at first base on the South Side every game has a .477 OPS. What more does Chris Getz need to see at this point?

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Birmingham Barons 3, Rocket City Trash Pandas 2
The Barons (10-9) scored all three of their runs early in the game, providing necessary run support for the Birmingham pitching staff. Wilfred Veras mashed a solo shot in the second, and Mario Camilletti drove in the other two runs on an RBI single in the third. The team put up nine hits, but left six runners on base — thankfully they were able to maintain the lead and win the series against the Trash Pandas.

Righthander Grant Taylor, opened up the game with three scoreless innings with just one hit given up, two walks, and one strikeout. Taylor has been efficient in every start so far in 2025, and has only given up one earned run — sitting with a shiny 0.79 ERA.

Shane Murphy came in to relieve for the next 3 2⁄3 innings, and a rocky sixth inning allowed Rocket City to pull within one. Andrew Dalquist and Zach Franklin closed out the game with three strikeouts, one walk, and just one hit given up between the two of them. Things got dicey for a second in the bottom of the ninth after a wild pitch from Franklin put the tying run in scoring position, but he was able to force a fly out to end the game.

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Winston-Salem Dash 4, Rome Emperors 1
Although they lost the series, the Dash (7-14) pulled out a win Sunday against the Emperors at the hands of a solid start from Tanner McDougal. The righty gave up one run (zero earned) on three walks and six strikeouts, and kept the Dash in the game while the bats were still waking up.

The offense mustered six hits, but went 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position — just enough for Winston-Salem to hold a lead behind their pitchers. A Cole McConnell RBI single and Samuel Zavala two-run homer in the seventh inning were the difference-makers in this game.

The bullpen was great behind McDougal and gave up just two hits and a walk while striking out five — and righthander Luke Bell earned the win.

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Myrtle Beach Pelicans 8, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 6
The one and only loss for the White Sox farm on Sunday came from Kannapolis (11-10), but they were still able to take the series against the Pelicans. The Ballers were playing for the comeback for the whole game after a tough eight-hit, seven-run (six earned) outing from Nick Pinto, but fell short.

Four Kannapolis batters had two-hit days, but the team left 11 on base, folding on many chances to convert on scoring opportunities. The Cannon Ballers even loaded the bases in the top of the ninth, but stranded all four with a strikeout to end the game.