The White Sox affiliates were swept yesterday, losing all four of their contests. But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t some excitement – two games were extra inning affairs, including the longest game (by time) ever played by the Birmingham Barons (5:25). Let’s dive in…
Buffalo 1, Charlotte 0 (F/11)
Phipps 3-3, 2 2B
Sanchez 1-4, K
Davidson 0-4, 2 K
E. Johnson 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K
Francisco 2 IP, 1 H, 4 K
Veal 1.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Erik Johnson looked very good in his return to AAA, throwing 66 of his 97 pitches for strikes and getting 7 ground-outs (vs 4 fly-outs). Davidson continues to struggle, and there isn’t much else to report from the Knights offense aside from Denis Phipps’ solid game. Frank Francisco is looking solid so far in AAA and could be the next relief arm to Chicago if one is needed.
Mobile 5, Birmingham 3 (F/17)
Micah Johnson 3-8, 2 K
Curley 3-6, K
Richmond 3-7, 2 K
Thompson 0-6. 2 BB, 3 K
Ravelo 1-5, BB, K
**Jeff Keppinger (rehab) 2-4
Jaye 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
Crawford 1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER
Frazier, Winiarski, Kussmaul, Molina combined for 8 scoreless IP
Birmingham’s game went so long they were still playing after the full slate of PCL games had finished on the west coast. The 17 innings wasn’t the most in the teams’s long history (18 is that record), but the elapsed time of 5:25 was a new record. They used 7 pitchers, most of whom were very effective, including a much-needed solid performance from Myles Jaye who had been struggling to open the season. Kevin Vance gave up 2 runs in the top fo the 14th, but the Barons matched that in the bottom half of the frame. Evan Crawford ended up taking the loss giving up 2 runs in the 17th. Johnson, Curley and Richmond each had three hits, and all of the Barons’ 13 hits were singles.
Potomac 4, Winston-Salem 3
Basto 3-4
Barnum 1-3, HR, BB, K
DeMichele 2-4, 2B, BB
May 1-5, 3B
Jirschele 2-4
Ortiz 4.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 4 K
The Dash held a 3-2 lead late but gave up runs in the 7th and 8th to lose by a run. Possibly the biggest story of the night is who did NOT play – Courtney Hawkins missed his 2nd straight game, without any official word as to why. It may be related to his ejection from the game Tuesday, but that is only speculation. Offensively, DeMichele and Basto had solid games, and Barnum hit a big home run. DeMichele has looked much better at the plate recently, putting up a .390/.583/.974 line in his last 10 contests. Braulio Ortiz continues to struggle with his control and now has 16 walks in 21.2 innings.
Hickory 7, Kannapolis 2
Engel 1-3, 2B, BB, K, SB(14)
Rondon 1-4
Hayes 1-4, 3B
Voight 1-3, 2B, BB, 2 K
Mitchell 2.1 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 5 BB, 4 K
Bautista 2 IP, 1 BB, 4 K
Kannapolis got walloped. Andrew Mitchell, like Ortiz, continues to struggle with his control, issuing 20 walks in 20 innings (but also striking out 24). Guerrero also got hit around, but he struck out 5 and walked none in 2.2 IP. Jose Bautista, son of the minor league pitching coach in the organization by the same name, has been very solid: 16.1 IP, 11 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 23 K. Offensively, Engel continues to improve and stole his league-leading 14th bag. Hayes has been hitting well of late too.