White Sox Minor Keys: May 25, 2023

The Birmingham Barons got blown out on Thursday, which doesn’t qualify as news in and of itself. They dropped to 14-28 after their 12-1 loss to the Tennessee Smokies, and now they’re 5-16 in the month of May.

But they’re tied with Oakland A-ball affiliate Stockton for the worst record in affiliated baseball at 14-28, and they own Minor League Baseball’s worst run differential by a significant margin.

1. Birmingham (AA): -97
2. Stocktown (A): -88
3. Hillsboro (A+): -74

What’s funny is that Stockton lost to Fresno 10-2, which would ordinarily be difficult to top in a day’s work, but the poor ol’ Ports basically lost their hand while standing at 20. This lends a new meaning to “Project Birmingham,” in that the White Sox’s Double-A affiliate seems like an experiment in terror.

Shoutout to the Charlotte Knights, by the way. They pulled up to .500 with a 5-4 victory over Jacksonville despite a run differential on the season of -59.

Charlotte 5, Jacksonville 4

• Lenyn Sosa went 1-for-5.
• Oscar Colás, 1-for-4 with a double and a strikeout.
• Carlos Pérez was 2-for-4 with a strikeout.

Tennessee 12, Birmingham 1

• José Rodríguez went 1-for-4 with a K.
• Eloy Jiménez was 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
• Alsander Womack, 0-for-4 with a K.
• Yoelqui Céspedes went 1-for-2 with a walk, but was caught stealing.
• Matthew Thompson: 4.1 IP, 8 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 3 HR, 1 WP

Winston-Salem 6, Brooklyn 1

• Terrell Tatum tripled, doubled, walked twice, struck out once and stole a base.
• Loidel Chapelli was 1-for-4 with a walk.
• DJ Gladney, 2-for-5.
• Same for Wilfred Veras, who struck out and stole a base.
• Wes Kath went 3-for-4 with a double and a walk.
• Kohl Simas: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

Augusta 4, Kannapolis 3

• Jordan Sprinkle went 0-for-4 with a walk, strikeout and stolen base.
• Brooks Baldwin was 0-for-5 with a K.
• Jacob Burke, 2-for-4 with a stolen base.

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