White Sox Minor League Update: Chase Meidroth goes deep in first loss of season

The Knights fell by a score of 3-1 and are no longer undefeated

Norfolk Tides 3, Charlotte Knights 1 (Gameday Box) (Statcast Box)

The undefeated season had to end at some point. After winning their first four games of the season, the Knights (4-1) dropped a low-scoring game to the Tides (2-3).

With two outs and nobody on base in the bottom of the first, Chase Meidroth stepped up to the plate and opened the scoring.

That blast traveled 386 feet, and it is Meidroth’s second homer of the young season. Meidroth’s OPS sits at 1.125, and with that swing, he gave the Knights an early 1-0 lead.

Right-handed pitcher Owen White, 25, started on the mound for Charlotte, and he did a lot of things right during his 4 ²⁄₃ innings. The only hiccup occurred in the third, when White allowed a leadoff triple to Maverick Handley and a sacrifice fly to Jordyn Adams. That triple was one of only two hits allowed by White, with the other being a harmless single with two outs and nobody on in the fourth. White finished with four strikeouts and three walks. His pitch count efficiency was decent, as he averaged only 15.6 pitches per inning.

Unfortunately, after Meidroth’s home run, the Knights only collected two more hits. Center fielder Greg Jones singled in the sixth, and Meidroth added a single in the seventh. However, neither of them came around to score.

As for the bullpen, Trey McGough retired all four batters he faced, including All-Star and Rookie of the Year Gunnar Henderson, who finished 0-for-3. James Karinchak took over in the seventh, and he could not preserve the tie. After a one-out double by Daz Cameron and a single by Luis Vázquez, the Tides led, 2-1, and they led the rest of the way. Karinchak pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning, but it was not enough. In the ninth, the Tides added an insurance run against Justin Anderson. After two singles, Norfolk had runners on first and second with one out, and a throwing error on a pickoff attempt resulted in a run.

With two outs and nobody on in the bottom of the ninth, Edgar Quero drew his third walk of the evening. That extended the game and brought the potential tying run to the plate. Kyle Teel stepped up to the plate and got ahead in the count, 2-1. The 2-1 pitch was initially called a ball, but the Tides successfully challenged a brilliant sinker that barely caught the low-inside corner. Instead of having a lucky break to bring the count to 3-1, the count was 2-2, and Teel chased a low slider to end the game.

---