White Sox Minor Keys: July 25, 2025

More than two years after the White Sox selected him in the 12th round, Mathias LaCombe finally pitched in a game that could be watched on MiLB.tv, as he appeared in extended relief for the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers to handle the fourth through sixth innings against the Carolina Mudcats Friday night.

LaCombe threw three scoreless, hitless innings for the Ballers, working around two walks with four strikeouts. He primarily attacked with a running two-seamer that got plenty of swings and misses -- six in fact -- at the top of the zone, which you can see here:

The fastball accounted for at least 26 of his 42 pitches, as the Carolina webcast didn't cut to the center field camera in time to see two of them. The stream also didn't display velocity, but Mudcats broadcaster Greg Edwards occasionally reported radar gun readings on his fastball a half-dozen times, with four of them at 96, and two of them at 97, even into his third inning.

The slider was less consistent, both in terms of location and sharpness. A few of them backed up, and a few of them were well wide, but he started finding the ears on it in his third inning, getting a couple of swinging strikes. There was also a third pitch with downward tilt -- at first I thought it was a little curveball, but it could be a split-change -- but he only threw it a few times to little effect.

Throw in his first 12 games with the ACL White Sox this season, and LaCombe has a 2.33 ERA over 38⅔ innings, allowing just 23 hits and 13 walks (and nine hit batters) while striking out 54. If you're wondering why we're tracking a 23-year-old who just started in A-ball, James' story from last season will get you up to speed.

Charlotte 3, Nashville 0

• Dru Baker was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
• Blake Sabol was 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
• Kyle Tyler got bumped up to Triple-A: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 23 of 36 pitches for strikes.

Notes:

*Justin Anderson was released to make room for Tyler.

Montgomery 6, Birmingham 3

• Rikuu Nishida went 2-for-4 with a walk.
• William Bergolla, 1-for-5.
• Ryan Galanie was 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
• Jacob Gonzalez was 1-for-4 with a double and a strikeout.
• Sam Antonacci, 0-for-2 with two walks.
• Wilfred Veras was 1-for-4.
• Hagen Smith: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 1 HBP, 43 of 73 pitches for strikes.

Notes:

*Birmingham's winning streak ends at 12 games.

Aberdeen 15, Winston-Salem 12

• Samuel Zavala went 2-for-4 with a walk and a sac fly.
• Jeral Perez was 1-for-6.
• Braden Montgomery, 2-for-5 with a walk and a strikeout.
• T.J. McCants was 2-for-5 with a double and a strikeout.
• Lyle Miller-Green, 1-for-4 with an HBP and a strikeout.
• Ryan Burrowes went 2-for-4 with two doubles.
• Christian Oppor didn't have it: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 1 K, 18 of 39 pitches for strikes, and he balked.
• Seth Keener: 1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 10 of 22 pitches for strikes.

Kannapolis 8, Carolina 7 (10 innings)

• George Wolkow went 3-for-5 with his 10th homer and fifth double.
• Caleb Bonemer went 2-for-4 with a double, walk and strikeout. He was also caught stealing.
• Ronny Hernandez was 1-for-4 with a walk.
• Abraham Nuñez went 2-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
• Luis Reyes: 3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 26 of 36 pitches for strikes.
• Mathias LaCombe's Kannapolis debut: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K, 23 of 42 pitches for strikes.

Notes:

*The transactions page shows that Adrian Gíl was promoted to Kannapolis now that the Arizona Complex League season has concluded.

DSL Giants Orange 5, DSL White Sox 1 (7 innings)

• Alejandro Cruz was 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
• Frank Mieses had half the team's hits by going 1-for-2 with a walk.
• Eduardo Herrera was 0-for-2 with an HBP and a strikeout.
• Yordani Soto was 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout.