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White Sox Minor League Update: August 21, 2019

Despaigne wants back on the South Side, Steele Walker keeps clubbing, and Avery Weems cruises through another Pioneer League win.

Finishing kick: Steele Walker rides again, this time into a 10-game hitting streak! (Winston-Salem Dash)

Charlotte Knights 3, Durham Bulls0

Nick Madrigal: 1-for-5, 0 BB, 0 K (.304 BA, .751 OPS)
Luis Robert: 1-for-3. 1 BB, 2 K (.310 BA, 1.029 OPS)
Seby Zavala: 2-for-4, 0 BB, 2 K (.232 BA, .811 OPS)
Danny Mendick: 1-for-4, 1 HR, 0 BB, 2 K (.281 BA, .826 OPS)
Odrisamer Despaigne: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 5 K (3.45 ERA, 1.34 WHIP) **MVP**

Well, well, well, is Odrisamer Despaigne playing his way to a September promotion? He went six shutout innings in the 3-0 win for Charlotte. Though he was not all that sharp (four walks), Despaigne only allowed singles, so he kept any damage at a minimum. The bullpen, compromised of Hunter Schryver and José Ruiz tonight, were just as good — especially Ruiz. He faced five batters and retired four of them; he walked the other. Obviously, the offense did not need to do much for the win. Danny Mendick had the big hit of the night, with a solo homer. It was one of the eight hits for the Knights, and one of the three runs. Ramon Torres was responsible for the other two.

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 7, Birmingham Barons 6 (10)

Luis González: 1-for-5, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 SB (.249 BA, .682 OPS)
Luis Basabe: 0-for-5, 0 BB, 1 K (.229 BA, .619 OPS)
Blake Rutherford: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K (.263 BA, .672 OPS)
Laz Rivera: 2-for-5, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K (.251 BA, .610 OPS) **MVP**
Blake Battenfield: 5 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (4.41 ERA, 1.38 WHIP)
Alec Hansen: 2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K (5.71 ERA, 1.99 WHIP)
Codi Heuer: 2 1/3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K (1.78 ERA, 1.11 WHIP)

A back-and-forth game found its way into extras, with the Barons falling short. Birmingham got on the board early, and with a flurry. Damek Tomscha was responsible for all three runs, a double in the first and a walk in the second. Blake Battenfield then got into some trouble of his own. He allowed four runs from innings 3-5 and was not sharp. Birmingham pitching in general was not sharp, and it could have been worse. By the time the game was tied in the ninth, the Barons had three double plays that saved a couple runs. Luis Martinez was the best of the pitchers in regulation, with two shutout innings, but Alec Hansen and Codi Heuer blew the lead. Hansen entered first, and his run allowed trimmed the Barons lead to one, and Heuer allowed a run off of his own error to tie the game in the ninth. Since extras start with a runner on second, the game-winning run was not earned, but Heuer still strand him, in a 10-inning loss.

Lynchburg Hillcats4,Winston-Salem Dash 3

Steele Walker: 2-for-5, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K (.286 BA, .810 OPS) **MVP**
Andrew Vaughn: 0-for-4, 0 BB, 1 K (.235 BA, .723 OPS)
Jorgan Cavanerio: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (3.03 ERA, 1.11 WHIP)
Jacob Lindgren: 1 1/3 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K (1.32 ERA, 1.17 WHIP)

Steele Walker pushed Winston-Salem into the lead in the fifth inning, but two late runs allowed doomed the Dash. Walker collected two hits on the day, including one big one. In the fifth inning with the Dash down by one, Walker hit his ninth home run of the season, giving W-S a 3-2 lead. Jorgan Cavanerio started the game and helped keep the Hillcats at bay long enough for the Dash to take a lead. He went five good innings and struck out six. Bennett Sousa came in for the next two, and all he did was throw two perfect innings. Lindgren did have trouble, seeing two runs cross the plate over the course of his four recorded outs. One was unearned, but it was a blown save and eventually a loss.

Kannapolis Intimidators 4, Rome Braves 2

Ian Dawkins: 1-for-5, 0 BB, 0 K (.306 BA, .775 OPS)
Lenyn Sosa: 1-for-5, 0 BB, 1 K (.238 BA, .625 OPS)
Cameron Simmons: 2-for-3, 1 HR, 1 BB, 0 K (.242 BA, .691 OPS) **MVP**
Jason Bilous: 5 1/3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K (3.54 ERA, 1.37 WHIP)

The I's had control from the beginning in their 4-2 win over the Braves. Though the hitting was not great (just eight total hits and 1-for-7 with RISP), the extra-base hits came up big. Cameron Simmons put Kannapolis on the board in the second inning. He homered to right field, his second home run since arriving in Kannapolis. Corey Zangari came up with two on in the next inning, and went the other way for a two-run double.

Meanwhile, Jason Bilous was fantastic. He went five shutout innings, cruising through with a minimal pitch count. However, the sixth inning got him: He allowed two runs and was knocked out of the box after recording only one out. His final stat line looks merely OK, but Bilous was truly great for most of the outing. The bullpen came in and sealed the win for him. Devon Perez went 2 2/3 innings and was sharp, only allowing two runners on base. Austin Conway came in the ninth and shut down the Braves for his ninth save.

Great Falls Voyagers 11, Billings Mustangs0

Caberea Weaver: 1-for-5, 3 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K (.258 BA, .699 OPS)
Harvin Mendoza: 1-for-5, 1 R, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K (.311 BA, .906 OPS)
Lency Delgado: 1-for-5, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 3 K (.274 BA, .721 OPS)
Luis Mieses: 2-for-5, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K (.259 BA, .671 OPS)
Avery Weems: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K (1.98 ERA, 1.18 WHIP) **MVP**

Aaron Boone definitely would have wanted this one to end early in the 11-0 Voyagers rout of the Mustangs. The best thing about this blowout was that of the 13 hits Great Falls had, 11 of them were singles, and every Voyagers batter had at least one. Kelvin Maldonado led the way with three hits, and one of those for extra bases. He also scored three times. The pitching did not need all the runs though, led by Avery Weems. He went five innings, and struck out nine. He has been a huge surprise from the 2019 draft class and he keeps dominating even at the advanced rookie league. Karan Patel saw action after him and threw two perfect innings. Allan Beer came in for mop-up duty in the eighth and ninth to complete the win.

DSL White Sox 3, DSL Dbacks 2

Yolbert Sánchez: 2-for-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K (.291 BA, .803 OPS) **MVP**
Elijah Tatís: 0-for-3, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K (.194 BA, .524 OPS)
Oriel Castro: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K (4.73 ERA, 1.75 WHIP)

Yolbert Sánchez had a big home run to help the DSL Sox win their 36th game of the season. The homer came in the fourth inning, to tie the game at one; it was his second homer of the year. In the very next inning, after the Sox took a one run lead off of a wild pitch, Sanchez came up to the plate again and knocked in Elijah Tatís for the 3-1 lead. While the offense began to take control of the game, Oriel Castro was great. He went five innings and though he wasn't sharp (who is in the DSL?), he got the job done. He went five innings and allowed just one run in what might be his last game of 2019. The bullpen was not perfect, but it got enough of the job done to win 3-2.