The White Sox system had a little bit of everything over July 6-7, from rehab work in Charlotte to a wild back-and-forth finish in the ACL.
Charlotte’s 8-2 win over Nashville was powered by Munetaka Murakami’s return and a big night from Ryan Galanie. Murakami opened his Charlotte rehab with a single in his first trip, and that helped set up an early run after a Ryan Galanie fly out and a Caden Connor sac fly.
Murakami stayed in the game for five innings at first and finished 1-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts. Galanie then broke things open in the second with a grand slam, pushing the Knights ahead 5-1.
Nolan Jones added a two-run double in the sixth, Andy Weber chipped in an RBI knock in the seventh, and Tanner McDougal, back from the IL, threw one inning with a walk and two strikeouts.
Birmingham had its own late drama, but it ended badly. The Barons fell 4-3 to Columbus after Alec Briley’s first-inning solo homer gave them the lead.
Lucas Gordon gave it right back, allowing a game-tying homer on his fourth pitch and another solo shot in the fifth that put Columbus in front. Dylan Campbell answered with a solo blast in the sixth to tie it again, and Birmingham seemed poised to steal it when Samuel Zavala walked to start the ninth and scored on T.J.
McCants’ RBI double. But Jonathan Clark couldn’t finish the job, and Columbus tied it before walking it off with a single in the bottom of the inning.
Winston-Salem also had a rough bullpen night in an 11-3 loss to Asheville. George Wolkow got the Dash on the board first with a two-out RBI double in the first, scoring Ryan Burrowes after his single.
Shane Smith, on rehab, then gave up three runs in the second. His final line: 2 2/3 innings, three runs, three hits, two walks, and six strikeouts.
Burrowes later added a solo homer in the fifth, and Wolkow went deep again in the eighth, but the bullpen was hit for seven earned runs over 5 1/3 innings.
Kannapolis handled Delmarva 6-2 behind an early burst and a steady finish. Jurdrick Profar and Efren Teran delivered RBI singles in a three-run second inning, and after the Shorebirds trimmed the margin to 3-2, Stiven Flores drove in Nick McLain in the fifth. The Ballers added two more in the eighth on a wild pitch and McLain’s sac fly, then the bullpen held Delmarva scoreless the rest of the way.
In the ACL, the White Sox pulled off a wild 9-8 win over the Mariners in seven innings. Osniel Castillo’s two-run homer in the third got them rolling, and Jose Mendoza and Landon Hodge followed with back-to-back doubles in the fourth for another run.
Then the game flipped in the fifth, when Sox pitching gave up five runs and handed Seattle a 5-3 lead. Yordani Soto answered with a solo homer in the bottom half, but the Mariners came right back with three more in the sixth.
Chicago’s ACL club still had one more surge left, putting up five runs in its half of the sixth behind doubles from D’Angelo Tejada and Hodge, plus RBI hits from Alejandro Cruz and Soto. Felix Doroteo then worked through a single and a walk in the seventh to close it out.
The DSL White Sox split their July 6-7 games. They beat the Twins 7-3 by doing most of their damage early, scoring in the first on a leadoff single, stolen base, wild pitch, and dropped third strike.
Two walks and a pair of singles helped them add two more in the second, and after Minnesota scored two unearned runs in the third, the Sox answered with three in the bottom half. Ronald Cordoza delivered a two-run triple, Orlando Patiño added a sac fly, and Hector Hernandez capped the scoring with a solo homer in the fourth.
Yordany Marte started and went three innings, allowing the two unearned runs with one walk and three strikeouts.
They also lost 5-3 to the Blue Jays in seven innings after leaving too many chances on the table. The DSL White Sox stranded plenty of traffic and went just 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Felix Lebron drove in both of their earned runs with an RBI double in the second and an RBI single in the fourth after Orlando Patiño’s one-out triple. The Blue Jays built a 5-2 lead before the Sox pushed across an unearned run in the seventh, but the comeback stopped there.
The ACL White Sox had a much quieter day in a 4-1 loss to the Dodgers on July 6. They managed only two singles and five baserunners all game, and even though Los Angeles committed three errors, the Sox couldn’t cash in.
Dodgers pitchers retired the first 13 hitters before D’Angelo Tejada reached on a throwing error in the fifth. Marcelo Ácala and Jefrank Silva had the only hits.
On the mound, Fidel Montero turned in five shutout innings, giving up five hits and a walk while striking out three.
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