An otherwise successful week for the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers ended on a down note. They were denied a six-game sweep of Augusta with a 5-1 loss to the GreenJackets on Sunday, but they also lost starter Nick Pinto, who departed the game in the first inning clutching his left elbow.
Pinto, the White Sox's 19th-round pick in last year's draft out of UC Irvine, was making his sixth professional appearance on Sunday when he threw a first-pitch breaking ball to Nick Montgomery with two outs in the inning, then immediately signaled to the dugout before catcher Jorge Corona could return the throw. After about 40 seconds around the mound, some of which he spent doubled over in pain, he headed to the dugout with a trainer escort.
The White Sox farm system has seen its share of elbow problems this year, but none so immediately apparent as this one. In an era when Tommy John surgeries are treated as a rite of passage. it's a reminder that pitching puts the "occupation" in "occupational hazard."
Norfolk 9, Charlotte 3
- Tim Elko went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Bryan Ramos was 0-for-4 with a K and a stolen base.
- Kyle Teel went 1-for-3.
Birmingham 4, Pensacola 3
- Rikuu Nishida went 1-for-3 with a walk.
- William Bergolla was 1-for-4.
- DJ Gladney was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Jacob Gonzalez, 1-for-3 with his first homer and a walk.
- Hagen Smith: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 1 HBP, 44 of 82 pitches for strikes.
Greensboro 9, Winston-Salem 8 (Game 1, 7 innings)
- Sam Antonacci went 2-for-4 with a walk.
- Jeral Perez, 3-for-5 with a homer.
- Jackson Appel, 0-for-4 with a K.
- Samuel Zavala came a triple shy of the cycle during a 3-for-4 game.
- Tanner McDougal: 2 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 33 of 53 pitches for strikes.
Highlights:
*Perez's big day:
Greensboro 3, Winston-Salem 1 (Game 2, 7 innings)
- Sam Antonacci went 1-for-3 with a homer.
- Jeral Perez was 0-for-3.
- So was Braden Montgomery, who struck out once.
- Lucas Gordon went the distance in defeat: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 2 HR, 54 of 85 pitches for strikes.
Augusta 5, Kannapolis 1
- Caleb Bonemer was 1-for-4.
- Abraham Nuñez, 0-for-4.
- Javier Mogollón doubled, singled twice, struck out and stole a base.
- Lyle Miller-Green was 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- George Wolkow went 2-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Ryan Burrowes, 0-for-4.
