Norge Vera finally made his stateside debut, giving White Sox fans and prospect evaluators a chance to see him in person.
Vera might not have been as explosive as the Dominican Summer League reports indicated when he was 21 and overmatching hitters years younger. He sat 94-96 and hit 98, as opposed to the occasional triple-digit burst we heard about last season, but Vera, who turned 22 on June 1, overmatched Low-A hitters just the same.
Vera threw 2⅔ scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out three. The two hits were weak singles the opposite way, and none of the Down East Wood Ducks could pull him, even on the ground.
Vera eased into his start, throwing all fastballs in a 13-pitch first before mixing in some sliders during an eight-pitch second. He finally faced a threat in the third with a leadoff single and a walk, but he appeared to be on the verge of an escape when he hit his pitch limit at 42. He ended his night with a strikeout and a flyout, after which Christian Edwards stranded both runners to preserve a 0.00 ERA.
As long as he's able to ramp up without issue, he probably won't spend all that much time in Kannapolis. Baseball Prospectus' Ben Spanier liked what he saw.
Charlotte 4, Louisville 2
- Adam Haseley went 0-for-3 with a walk, two strikeouts and a stolen base.
- Romy González was 1-for-4.
Birmingham 5, Pensacola 1 (completion of Wednesday's game)
- José Rodríguez went 0-for-3 with two walks and a strikeout.
- Lenyn Sosa homered, singled twice and struck out.
- Yoelqui Céspedes wore the golden sombrero.
Pensacola 8, Birmingham 5 (Game 2, 7 innings)
- José Rodríguez went 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Lenyn Sosa was 0-for-2 with a sac fly. He was also picked off.
- Yoelqui Céspedes walked, struck out and was plunked.
Greensboro 5, Winston-Salem 4
- Oscar Colás went 2-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Bryan Ramos, 1-for-3 with two walks and a strikeout.
- Luis Mieses was 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- Harvin Mendoza, 1-for-5 with a K.
- Andrew Dalquist: 3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP, 32 of 64 pitches for strikes.
Down East 1, Kannapolis 0
- Colson Montgomery doubled, singled twice and struck out once.
- DJ Gladney was 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Wilfred Veras, 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Norge Vera's stateside debut: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 27 of 42 pitches for strikes.
- Brooks Gosswein: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
ACL White Sox 9, ACL Padres 5 (7 innings)
- Cam Butler went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Victor Quezada was 1-for-3 with a double, walk and strikeout.
- Alvaro Aguero went 0-for-2 with an HBP, and stole two bases.
- Jose Jimenez: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
- Emerson Talavera: 1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 2 HR
- Yohemy Nolasco: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
DSL White Sox 10, DSL HOU Blue 9
- Ryan Burrowes went 1-for-3 with a sac fly and an HBP.
- Erick Hernandez, 1-for-5 with a strikeout.
- Ronny Hernandez entered midgame and went 0-for-1 with a walk.
