Caleb Bonemer is settling in fast at Double-A, and Thursday gave the White Sox another reason to keep watching. The organization’s top prospect went deep again for Birmingham, running his recent power surge to three homers in his last five games.
That wasn’t the only loud offensive showing in the system. Riley Unroe homered twice in just his second game with Charlotte, while Tim Elko returned to action for the first time this season. On the mound, the upper levels kept turning in quality starts, but only the Knights managed to turn that into a win.
At Triple-A, Charlotte rolled past Nashville 9-2 behind a barrage of first-inning damage. Unroe was part of a six-run opening frame that also included Nolan Jones’ three-run blast and Andy Weber’s two-run shot. Unroe then added his second homer in the fifth to help stretch the lead to 8-2.
The Knights got enough from their pitching staff to back it up. Jonathan Cannon worked five innings and gave up two runs, Tanner McDougal threw a perfect inning, and Duncan Davitt closed it out with three scoreless frames and five strikeouts for his first save of the year.
Jones finished 2-for-4 with a homer, three RBI and a run scored. Weber added a homer, two RBI, two walks and a steal.
Dru Baker chipped in two runs and two stolen bases, while Michael Turner went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a walk. Rikuu Nishida doubled, and Edgar Quero drew a walk.
Birmingham’s night was much tougher. Bonemer’s solo homer was the only run the Barons could muster in a 7-1 loss to Columbus. Anthony DePino added a triple, but the offense never found another gear after Bonemer put Birmingham on the board.
The loss wasted a sharp start from Connor McCullough, who struck out seven over four scoreless innings. He didn’t allow a hit and threw 42 of his 71 pitches for strikes. But the bullpen couldn’t hold it together, as Columbus scored seven times across the sixth and seventh innings.
Bonemer finished 2-for-4 with a homer, a run, an RBI and a hit-by-pitch. Grant Magill and Jorge Corona each added doubles, while Alec Briley and Jacob Burke also reached base.
Winston-Salem had its chances, too, but the Dash couldn’t protect an early lead in a 5-4 loss to Asheville. They scored in each of the first four innings, starting with George Wolkow’s RBI single in the first. Alex Ungar followed with a solo homer in the second, Bryce Eblin drove in a run in the third, and Jeral Perez added another RBI in the fourth.
Still, the 4-0 cushion disappeared. Asheville chipped away and eventually took the lead for good on a bases-loaded walk. Max Banks allowed eight hits but only two earned runs over five innings, and the Dash bullpen finished the game from there.
Ungar went 2-for-4 with a homer, a run, an RBI and two stolen bases. Perez also had two hits, and Ryan Burrowes scored twice while stealing a base. Elko’s first appearance of the season ended with an 0-for-3 line and a walk.
Kannapolis didn’t play Thursday, with its game against Delvmara postponed because of inclement weather. The Cannon Ballers will now play a doubleheader Friday.
In the ACL, the White Sox dropped a 9-1 decision to the ACL Padres, scoring their only run on a dropped third strike. Eduardo Herrera was the only player in the lineup with multiple hits. Dylan Carmouche, acquired in the Derek Hill trade, gave the club 2.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen and struck out five.
The DSL White Sox also had their game postponed, as lightning forced the contest against the DSL Cubs off the board. They’re scheduled to face the DSL Rangers on Friday and make up Thursday’s game on July 13.
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