There were some strong performances in the minors on this day, but we’ll get to that later. First and foremost, two key White Sox prospects were involved in a scary collision on the field…
Biloxi 4, Birmingham 3
On a pop fly to short center field, shortstop Tim Anderson and center fielder Jacob May ran into each other at nearly full speed resulting in injury to both players. Anderson was diving outbound, while May was sliding low on the way in, and it appears Anderson’s hip and side caught May square in the head and face. After the crash, May appeared to lie motionless for a period of time, before wobbling to his feet and eventually being carried off the field by manager Julio Vinas and first baseman Danny Hayes with an obvious head injury. Anderson meanwhile was also down for a few minutes, favoring his side and/or shoulder, but was able to amble off the field under his own power while wincing in pain.
You can see the video here, and the full story from Ash Marshall of MiLB here. The only official word from the White Sox, as of this writing, is that both players are being evaluated. May’s girlfriend posted on Twitter during the night that she spoke with him, and that he is “doing better”, for what that is worth.
As for the game, a pair of Barons errors and a passed ball lead to two unearned runs that made the difference. Danny Hayes continued his recent hot hitting with a 2-4 day, with no one else in the lineup collecting an extra base hit or more than one hit. Mark Blackmar had a decent start but took some tough luck: 6.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R (1 ER), 4 BB, 4 K.
Durham 2, Charlotte 1
Starter Kyle Drabeck continues to pitch well in AAA, but took the loss despite his efforts as the Knights couldn’t get much offense going. Drabek gave up the 2 runs in 6 innings on 5 hits and 2 walks, striking out 4 (and actually raising his ERA slightly to 2.36). Jarrett Casey and Junior Guerra each contributed an inning of scoreless relief.
On the hitting side, Micah Johnson had a 2-4 day and is hitting .304 since his demotion to AAA. Matt Davidson also registered a pair of hits in four at bats, one of his hits being a double, but he also struck out twice. Jason Coats went 1-3 with the lone team RBI on a base hit (along with a sac bunt), while Trayce Thompson had a double in his four trips.
Winston-Salem 3, Salem 0 [SUSPENDED, B2]
Winston-Salem dashed out to a quick 3-0 lead in the second inning, but then the rain hit, and the game has been suspended. No finish date has been announced yet. Jake Cose had cruised through 2 full frames, while a handful of hitters booked “perfect” 1-for-1 days that will likely not finish that was whenever this game is resumed.
Kannapolis 9, Greenville 4
The Intimidators were essentially gifted this one, as 8 of the 9 runs they scored went as unearned thanks to four errors from the Drive (including two by phenom Yoan Moncada, both throwing). Ryan Leonards hit a grand slam, and nearly doubled his season RBI total with five in this tilt. Outfielder Mason Robbins hit two doubles and walked in five plate appearances – the second two-double game in a row for him. Brett Austin and Nick Basto also had 2-hit days, and Austin seems to be heating back up after a cold spell at the plate. Louie Lechich pulled off the unusual 0-5 with 2 runs line in the box score.
On the pitching side, Spencer Adams continues his bounce-back. Adams went 5.2 innings of 1-run ball, walking 1 while whiffing 5. Jefferson Olacio did his best to let Greenville back into this game, coming in for the 8th and delivering this sequence: walk, wild pitch, passed ball, walk, single, double, walk, removed from game. Matt Cooper meanwhile faced three batters in the ninth and struck all of them out as he continues to excel closing out games for Kanny.
Want to know right away when we publish a new article? Type your email address in the box and click the “create subscription” button. Our list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.