White Sox Minor Keys: Aug. 25, 2021

Matthew Thompson (Sox Machine photo)

After seeing Kannapolis walk themselves off a cliff in a 13-1 loss to Lynchburg on Tuesday, I got to see just the second Cannon Ballers victory over their last 19 games. A Wilber Sanchez three-run homer gave Kannapolis all the runs they needed to beat the Hillcats, 3-2.

Offensive highlights were few and far between, as the Cannon Ballers tallied just four hits and a walk while striking out 19 times over eight innings.

The pitching improved drastically, with Matthew Thompson, the White Sox’s second-round pick of the 2019 draft, spearheading the effort.

Thompson got the game past the halfway point with a decent effort, allowing two runs on four hits and a walk over 4â…” innings, striking out four. He threw 53 of 85 pitches for strikes, and I would’ve guessed a higher percentage from watching him.

Then again, he could only throw his fastball for reliable strikes. He threw a few strong breaking balls early, but he lost the release point for the middle ground between spinning a hanger and spiking a jart. He tried a changeup here and there, but it didn’t seem to have much softness to it.

He gave up both of his runs in the third, which is when the lack of other pitches started becoming apparent. That said, one of the two runs scored on the balk. It’s unclear what triggered it; the only thing I saw was Thompson reverting to the windup with runners on second and third.

The good news is that Thompson held his velocity for the entirety of his outing. He sat 94-96, and touched 97 during the back half. It was enough to pound the bottom of the Lynchburg lineup without a literal and figurative change of pace. When the top of the order came up for a third time and leadoff man Petey Halpin tripled to the base of the center field wall, Guillermo Quiroz came out to go to the bullpen. Three relievers froze the score to get the Cannon Ballers across the finish line.

It’s a mixed report to be sure, although given that Thompson lost some steam on draft day due to inconsistent velocity, it was nice to see mid-90s showing no signs of relenting in late August.

Durham 9, Charlotte 2

  • Blake Rutherford went 0-for-4.
  • Yasmani Grandal was 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
  • Jake Burger went 1-for-4 with his 15th homer and two strikeouts.
  • Gavin Sheets wore the golden sombrero.
  • Romy Gonzalez was 0-for-3.

Montgomery 9, Birmingham 2

  • Yoelqui Céspedes went 0-for-4.
  • Yolbert Sanchez was 1-for-4.
  • Carlos Pérez, 1-for-4 with a double and a strikeout.
  • Lenyn Sosa went 1-for-3 with a double, HBP and strikeout.

Hudson Valley 4, Winston-Salem 0

  • Jose Rodriguez went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
  • Luis Mieses, 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
  • Luis Curbelo went 0-for-4 with a K.
  • Harvin Mendoza had two-thirds of the Dash’s hit with a 2-for-3 night, including a double.
  • Caberea Weaver was 0-for-3 with a K.

Kannapolis 3, Lynchburg 2

  • Shawn Goosenberg and Bryan Ramos both wore collars and silver sombreros.
  • Chase Krogman was the only Cannon Baller to avoid striking out during his 0-for-3 night.
  • Misael Gonzalez went 0-for-2 with a K and an HBP.
  • James Beard had an infield single and struck out twice.
  • Wilber Sanchez had a three-run homer and struck out twice.
  • Matthew Thompson: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 WP

Author

  • Jim Margalus

    Writing about the White Sox for a 16th season, first here, then at South Side Sox, and now here again. Let’s talk curling.

    View all posts
Take a second to support Sox Machine on Patreon
Become a patron at Patreon!
6 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
jorgefabregas

Nice photo!

GrinnellSteve

Any speculation on when Grandal will be back? My uninformed opinion is they want to see how he responds to catching 2 days in a row. If he’s OK today, he’ll be back to play the Cubs.

GrinnellSteve

And we all know the oversized influence you exert on the Sox decision-makers! Your saying it will make it happen.

soxygen

It will be really interesting to see how the OF & DH at bats are allocated after Grandal comes back. I would assume that they will give Grandal some DH days as a way to make sure that he is getting his at bats ahead of the playoffs. I imagine this also means we’ll see more of the Eloy-Robert-Vaughn outfield.