The Birmingham Barons needed to win two games on Sunday in order to advance to the Double-A South's postseason.
Alas, they didn't even get a chance to play one. The bid for a doubleheader in Montgomery died after two innings, with the Biscuits finally calling it a night after several hours of holding out hope due to unplayable conditions. That means the doubleheader sweep the Barons suffered to put them a half-game behind Montgomery for the second spot holds up as the season-ending margin.
It's a tough way to go out, but the canceled 2020 season and rocky start to 2021 serve as reminders that everybody's experienced worse.
So Birmingham joined Asheville and Kannapolis in playing their final games of the season on Sunday. The Arizona Complex League wrapped up play on Saturday, so I'll be posting affiliate reviews throughout the week. The Minor Keys will continue for a couple more weeks thanks to Charlotte's "Final Stretch" series against Norfolk and Memphis, and the Dominican Summer League Schedule running through Oct. 2.
As for the final standings:
Birmingham: Finished in first place atop the Double-A South's North Division at 62-56, but with the league's third-best record.
Winston-Salem: Brought up the rear of the High-A East at 43-76.
Kannapolis: Needed a furious finish to get to 40-79, but they steered clear of the worst record in Minor League Baseball thanks to their respectable September.
ACL White Sox: Finished 25-34, good for 13th out of 18 teams.
Durham 9, Charlotte 4
- Adam Engel went 1-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts.
- Jake Burger, 1-for-4.
- Blake Rutherford was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
Asheville 4, Winston-Salem 3
- Luis Mieses went 2-for-3 with a walk.
- Harvin Mendoza wore the collar.
- Terrell Tatum went 0-for-1 with two walks and two stolen bases.
- Yoelvin Silven: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 HR
Kannapolis 2, Columbia 0
- Caberea Weaver wore the collar and silver sombrero.
- Bryan Ramos also went 0-for-4.
- Chase Krogman was 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- DJ Gladney went 1-for-4 with a double and a strikeout.
- Misael Gonzalez doubled and struck out twice.
- Wilver Sanchez was 0-for-1 with a walk and a sac fly.
- Sean Burke: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HBP
Notes:
*James Fegan wrote a worthwhile piece about Burke's junior season with Maryland, and how the White Sox ended up drafting him in the third round.
