Three-plus months after his collision with Sam Antonacci, William Bergolla Jr. returned to action in the form of a rehab game with the ACL White Sox Wednesday night. Bergolla played three innings at shortstop in his first game back, flying out in foul territory his first plate appearance, then getting plunked in the other one.
Bergolla had last been seen leaving Truist Field on a cart after his shin hit Sam Antonacci's knee after he flagged down a pop-up in shallow left field on April 9. The injury interrupted an incredible start to Bergolla's season, as took advantage of the longer Cactus League season by hitting .314/.351/.371 over 11 games, then opened more eyes with a blazing start to his season at Charlotte. At the time of his injury, he was hitting .457/.525/.571, even if it was merely over his first 43 plate appearances there.
It's among the stranger injury situations I can recall, in terms of the words not matching the visual. The ends of the story align, as you might expect Bergolla to miss half a season after being carted off the field. It's a little weirder when it was only called a bruised shin, and the White Sox hesitated putting him on the IL for the first week. Hopefully he'll continue appearing in games and working his way all the way back to Charlotte, and avoid relapsing into an Alexander Albertus-like mystery status.
Charlotte 8, Norfolk 4
- Rikuu Nishida was 0-for-2 with three walks, a strikeout and a stolen base.
- Everson Pereira struck out thrice during an 0-for-5 night.
- Austin Hays went 2-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Mason Adams: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K, 45 of 70 pitches for strikes.
- Tanner McDougal, first time on back-to-back days: 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 11 of 20 pitches for strikes.
Birmingham 8, Montgomery 6
- Boston Smith went 1-for-3 with his first double, two walks and a strikeout.
- Caleb Bonemer was 2-for-5 with his 24th homer of the season, a double and a strikeout.
- Anthony DePino, 1-for-4 with a K.
- Colby Shelton went 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.
- Samuel Zavala entered as a defensive replacement and went 0-for-2 with a strikeout.
Columbia 4, Kannapolis 0
- Jaden Fauske singled twice, walked, struck out and was picked off/caught stealing.
- Nick McLain had the other Kanny hit, finishing 1-for-3.
- Matthew Boughton, 0-for-4.
- Billy Carlson, 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Alexander Albertus, 0-for-3 with a K.
- Christian Gonzalez walked once and struck out twice.
- Truman Pauley: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 WP, 40 of 59 pitches for strikes.
ACL Brewers 10, ACL White Sox 7 (8 innings)
- William Bergolla Jr. played short, going 0-for-1 with an HBP.
- Landon Hodge entered midgame and popped out in his only plate appearance.
- Jose Mendoza went 0-for-5, striking out thrice.
- Yordani Soto was 0-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base.
- Alejandro Cruz walked twice and struck out twice.
Notes:
*The ACL White Sox scored seven runs on just four hits, thanks to nine walks, five HBPs and two Brewers errors. Jackson Appel made his first rehab appearance and got plunked thrice.
