It was an exciting Tuesday for the White Sox affiliates; the teams went 5-2, Birmingham split a double header and in Arizona the system unveiled it’s shiny new top prospect, Carlos Rodon.
Charlotte 9, Indianapolis 3
The new Charlotte stadium seems to emulate its parent club’s stadium in that it is very kind to hitters, especially home run hitters. Andy Wilkins had a 2-5 day with both hits leaving the ball park and five RBIs – Wilkins has a ridiculous 7 home runs in his last 6 games. Micah Johnson and Carlos Sanchez each went 3-5 with an RBI, though Johnson had a home run of his own in there. Meanwhile Marcus Semien went 0-4, but with a sac fly and Matt Davidson continued his journey north of the Mendoza line by going 1-3. Erik Johnson, the enigma of the Sox organization this year, went six innings while allowing five hits and two earned runs. He struck out four and walked two batters en route to a rare victory, and his second fairly solid start in a row.
Jacksonville 2, Birmingham 1
Birmingham had eight hits on the night while Jacksonville only had three and an error, but the Barons couldn’t convert hits into runs.. Jared Mitchell continued his AA resurrection by going 1-4. Trayce Thompson drove in the lone run, also going 1-4. Rangel Ravelo had a rare hitless night by going 0-4 with two strikeouts. Mike Recchia got the no decision after striking out eight batters and allowing just 2 hits and a walk in seven innings.
Birmingham 3, Jacksonville 2
The Barons flipped the bad luck from game one and ended up scoring three runs on four hits compared to the Suns’ two runs on nine hits, albeit two of the Barons’ runs were unearned. Ravelo went 1-3 while Jeremy Farrell went 1-2 with a double to drive in the lone earned run.
Winston-Salem 6, Potomac 5
Everyone in the Dash lineup got a hit tonight, with eleven hits total. Three of those belonged to third baseman Nick Basto, who also had an RBI. Jacob May had two RBIs from his triple as well as a walk. Keon Barnum drove in a run. Cleuluis Rondon continues to surprise as he is hitting for higher average and OPS while striking out at a lesser rate since being promoted from Kannapolis.
Great Falls 6, Idaho Falls 3
The Voyagers defeated the Chukars behind some impressive performances with Mason Robbins going 2-3 and Patrick Palmeiro going 2-4 with 2 RBIs. Jake Peter saw his average fall below .400 after he went 0-5, though he still had an RBI. Zach Fish meanwhile went 1-2 with two walks.
DSL Twins 3, DSL White Sox 2
The DSL White Sox fell to the DSL Twins behind five errors from their defense and a lack of hitting. Jose Reyes went 2-3 with a double while Carlos Mejia went 1-3 with an RBI. Nelson Acosta went 5.2 innings, striking out three and walking three. Luis Arteaga was the tough luck loser after pitching 3 innings in relief with no earned runs and four strikeouts.
AZL White Sox 7, AZL D-backs 5
Big time prospect Micker Adolfo went 1-5 with an RBI double while Michael Danner went 2-5 with 2 RBIs and a triple. Michael Suiter went 4-5 with an RBI. Chris Bassitt went 3.2 innings on his way back from injury, giving up 4 earned runs on 7 hits but striking out 6.
But most importantly, Carlos Rodon made his highly anticipated debut by pitching one inning of relief, giving up two hits, an earned run, and striking out one batter while reportedly touching 96 MPH with his fastball. While it was a less than perfect start, it’s key that Rodon was hitting 96 after he sat in the low 90s for parts of the collegiate season. It was also noted by an amateur scout at the game that the hits he gave up were not exactly bullets.