Just one affiliate grabbed a win on Tuesday, but there were four All Star appearances and a few highlights here and there.
Charlotte 3, Gwinnett 0
Anthony Ranaudo doesn’t seem to be feeling any ill effects from his demotion back to Charlotte, as he breezed through the G-Braves lineup. Logging seven innings of shutout ball with six strikeouts and no walks, he’s making a case for another call-up to the Sox if the opportunity arises. Chris Beck and Brad Goldberg, also candidates to see Chicago later this year, each added a scoreless inning as well.
Offensively, Jerry Sands led the way with a 3-hit day including a solo blast. Kevan Smith and Jake Peter both had 2-for-4 days as well, with the latter including a double.
Terance Marin will start for the Knights on Wednesday.
Tennessee 9, Birmingham 1
Coming into the season, many thought the Barons would be the strongest overall team in the organization, but this loss now puts them 20 games under .500 on the season. Spencer Adams, whose promotion to AA was a bit of a surprise, struggled through 3 innings allowing 5 runs. There’s no doubting Adams is a key prospect in the system, but he’s now the youngest pitcher in AA and he’s likely to struggle in the short run. Brandon Brennan, Andre Wheeler and Matt Cooper each also allowed runs out of the bullpen.
On offense, leadoff man Eddy Alvarez certainly did his job, registering a hit and three walks in four trips to the plate. Joey DeMichele went 2-for-3 with a double.
Tyler Barnette will get the nod on Wednesday for the Barons.
Carolina 5, Winston-Salem 1
Where the Barons were expected to be a contender, the Dash came into the season looking pretty thin but have actually played better in the 2nd half. Not on this night though, as the offense couldn’t gain enough traction (going 1-for-11 with RISP will do that). Mason Robbins had a double and a walk, and Toby Thomas hit a pair of singles. Zack Collins, in his 2nd game since returning from the concussion DL, was the unlucky recipient of the golden sombrero (4 strikeouts) as he shakes off some rust.
Zachary Thompson has had ups and downs since being promoted to High-A, and this start was somewhere in the middle: five innings, three runs on six hits and two walks, striking out three.
Tanner Banks will go for the Dash in their next tilt (day ball!).
Charleston 5, Kannapolis 1
The Intimidators’ offense also scored just one run, which seemed to be a theme in the system on Tuesday. They had five hits, all singles. Tyler Sullivan did reach base twice on walks, and stole his 22nd base. Seby Zavala went 1-3 with a walk and his first stolen bag of the season.
On the pitching side, Luis Martinez allowed three runs in 5.2 innings, walking and striking out 4. Ben Wright finished the game with a pair of scoreless frames and four strikeouts. The Sox’ 16th round pick this year, Wright has had a strong open to his pro career: 1.93 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, just 3 walks and 21 K’s in 23.1 innings so far.
Jimmy Lambert is the listed starter for Kanny on Wednesday.
NWL All Stars 11, PIO All Stars 5
The Voyagers had four representatives in the Northwest vs Pioneer Leagues All Star Game. Brady Conlan had a double in his two at bats, and Aaron Schnurbusch went 0-for-3 with a walk. Right-hander Aron McRee got hit around in his inning of work, allowing three runs. Jake Elliott threw a scoreless frame with a hit and a strikeout.
Great Falls is off Wednesday, before returning to action Thursday.
AZL Royals 3, AZL White Sox 2
The AZL Sox squad is much younger than last year’s league champions – there’s plenty of legitimate talent but most of it is made up of teenagers. So it’s not a surprise that this team is a little under .500 thus far. In this contest, Edinxon Arias‘ five scoreless innings led the pitching performances. Three bullpen pitchers allowed three runs in the other four innings, but only one of those three runs was earned.
Joel Booker had a big game, with three base hits and three stolen bases. So far in the AZL in his pro debut, Booker has been getting on base (.387 OBP), stealing bags at a prolific and highly efficient pace and rate (26 steals in 27 attempts), and already has five assists playing exclusively in center field. Amado Nunez had a pair of hits, but also a matching pair of errors.
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.