White Sox Minor League Update: June 13, 2024

All full-season affiliates suffer losses in a tough day on the farm

Durham Bulls 4, Charlotte Knights 3 (10 innings) (Gameday box) (Statcast box)
Charlotte went down in extras in this relative pitchers’ duel that saw each starter throw at least five frames with fewer than three runs allowed. Charlotte’s starter, Touki Toussaint, was particularly sharp. The veteran righthander tossed five innings of shutout ball with a couple of strikeouts to his credit.

The bullpen, with the exception of reliever Joe Barlow, was equally as sharp. Deivi García had a much-needed bounce-back with a scoreless inning in which he struck out three, and personal favorite Adisyn Coffey also threw a scoreless frame with a strikeout of his own.

Offensively, a trio of solo blasts accounted for all of Charlotte’s scoring in this one.

All in all, it was a hard-fought loss with some respectable individual showings for the Knights in this one. It’s up to you, the reader, to reward a player with silver lining honors.

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Pensacola Blue Wahoos 7, Birmingham Barons 1 (Gameday box)
Ouch. A dynamite showing from Pensacola’s pitching staff limited the Barons to just a single run on three hits in tonight’s contest, keeping Birmingham’s magic number to clinch a first-half title at three. Despite the lack of hits, Barons batters managed to work six walks, but failed to make those free bases count in this one.

Despite the score potentially suggesting otherwise, we were treated to yet another ace-level performance from this stacked Barons rotation. Lefty Jake Eder, a product of the opposing farm system, punched 10 tickets en route to six full innings of one-run ball.

The bullpen, however, did not enjoy similar success. The trio of Tristan Stivors, Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa, and Juan Then gave up the remaining six Blue Wahoo runs across the last three innings of play.

All in all, there wasn’t much to write home about despite the fact I am literally at home writing about this game at 11:00 p.m. Still, Birmingham is an impressive team with some equally impressive prospects on the roster. Let’s reward one with silver lining honors, shall we?

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Greensboro Grasshoppers 6, Winston-Salem Dash 1 (Gameday box)
Winston-Salem has been outscored 13-2 the past couple of days against this stacked Greensboro Grasshoppers team competing for a division championship. Like Birmingham, Winston-Salem managed to work an excess of walks despite their relatively low run production. Dash batters would account for six hits and seven free passes with just one run to show for their efforts.

Starter Shane Murphy scattered six hits across six innings of four-run ball. He fanned six Grasshoppers and walked just one. His ERA sits at a sterling 2.30 on the year.

Reliever Max Roberts, who pitched the last two frames, surrendered two runs on three hits while walking one. All told, it was an ineffective effort from this young Winston-Salem pitching staff.

Offensively, catcher Colby Smelley accounted for half of Winston-Salem’s hits in this one, with a trio of knocks and one strikeout. Unfortunately, Dash batters failed to record a single extra-base hit in tonight’s loss.

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Delmarva Shorebirds 6, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 0 (Gameday box)
Four straight losses begin our Minor League Update, with the latest coming at the hands of the Delmarva Shorebirds. Starter Aldrin Batista, who has been money to start the season, continued his regression with a less-than-stellar performance in which he struggled to find the zone with regularity. He went four innings with three runs allowed, walking four and fanning four. While it was by no means a disastrous performance, a lack of run support ensured he’d be saddled with the loss.

Third baseman Arxy Hernández, batting cleanup in this contest, stayed hot with two singles out of the 4-hole. Outside of his contribution, the offense was rather scarce, without a single member of the starting nine recording an extra base hit.

To be honest, this update is depressing. I need you to dig deep, reader, and help us award some hardware.

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ACL White Sox 6, ACL Guardians 2 (Gameday box)
Finally! A crumb of positive news! In nine full, the ACL Sox swatted 11 hits, walked five times and pummeled the ACL Guardians by a triple-score. I know, I know, 6-2 isn’t actually THAT convincing of a win, but with how this update’s been, I’ll take all the positivity I can get.

Eloy Jiménez, beginning his rehab from the White Sox, launched his first home run of the year for the ACL Sox — surely a milestone he won’t soon forget. A trio of triples and a duo of doubles rounded out the offensive fireworks for this solid, young Sox team.

Reliever Emerson Talavera nabbed the win with four innings of shutout ball in relief, recording four K’s while walking just one.

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