Welcome back to baseball, White Sox fans! After an All-Star break that saw White Sox selection Garrett Crochet pitch a characteristically dominant inning, we are officially poised for baseball up and down the farm system on this Friday edition of Minor League Update.

Or, actually …

Triple-A: Gwinnett Stripers v. Charlotte Knights (Rescheduled to July 20th, weather)
Double-A: Chattanooga Lookouts v. Birmingham Barons (Rescheduled to July 20th, weather)
We will go one day longer without baseball at the two highest levels of the minor league ladder, it turns out.

On to High-A, where a full game of baseball was ACTUALLY played to completion.

Winston-Salem Dash 1, Asheville Tourists 0 (Gameday Box)
This young Winston-Salem pitching staff was in fine form in a shutout return to baseball after the All-Star break. Lefty Shane Murphy pitched six dominant innings of one-hit ball, exiting with a no-decision before turning the ball over to embattled former starter Peyton Pallette. Pallette threw two hitless, scoreless innings with four strikeouts en route to his second win of the 2024 season. Zach Franklin closed the ballgame out with an inning of one-hit ball that would culminate in his fourth save at the High-A level.

Of the eight hits Winston-Salem managed to produce, half of them went for extra bases and were off the bats of DJ Gladney (2-for-4, HR) and Bryce Willits (2-for-4, 2 2B). Gladney has enjoyed a bit of a resurgence as of late, carrying his hot-hitting ways going into the All-Star break into his first game back in a big way.

GAME MVP
Shane Murphy (LHSP) 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

RUNNERS-UP
DJ Gladney (RF) 2-for-4, HR, R, RBI, 2 K
Peyton Pallette (RHRP) 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, W
Bryce Willits (LF) 2-for-4, 2 2B

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 13, Augusta GreenJackets 3 (Gameday Box)
Fireworks flew in Kannapolis as the Ballers bombarded the GreenJackets, tallying 13 runs on nine hits. Masterful pitching backed up a dominant offensive assault that would propel the hometown team to victory. Fan favorite outfielder George Wolkow was responsible for driving in four of the 13 runs, with a 2-for-4 effort that included a double.

George Wolkow double that felt like a home run. very loud #WhiteSox pic.twitter.com/Sm3uW4JpXI

— Ben Spanier (@b_span2) July 19, 2024

DH Albertson Asigen and 3B Arxy Hernández would each go on to record multi-hit efforts of their own, with Hernández adding two doubles and an additional two runs batted in to his line. Impressively, despite the gaudy offensive tally put up by Kannapolis, the only ball to leave the yard was recorded by the GreenJackets.

On the mound, starter Aldrin Batista made it through six strong innings with a remarkably low pitch count of 65. He was in the zone all night, scattering four hits and two runs across his six-inning effort, walking just one and punching out *checks notes* nobody. He would earn the win and improve to 8-4 with a 3.57 ERA.

A small note to consider is the return of first baseman Jhoneiker Betancourt, who enjoyed a strong season with the Cannon Ballers last year but opted for free agency following the conclusion of the 2023 season. After a tuneup in the ACL and a one-game audition in Birmingham, Betancourt made his return to Kannapolis and went 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored out of the cleanup spot.

GAME MVP
George Wolkow (RF) 2-for-4, 2 R, 2B, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K

RUNNERS-UP
Aldrin Batista (RHSP) 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, W
Arxy Hernández (3B) 2-for-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 1 K
Albertson Asigen (DH) 2-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB

ACL Reds 9, ACL White Sox 7 (Gameday Box)
Fans who braved the 110° first pitch temps at 6 p.m. got a full nine innings of play and 16 runs scored, as well as a tale of two games. The Cincy ACLers took 5-0 and 9-1 leads early, but the Complex Sox punched right back with a five-spot in the top of the fifth to reintroduce intrigue back to the proceedings. Ultimately the Sox bats ran out of gas, but those who sweated through their clothes under the Friday Night Lights got almost fourth hours of clammy calamity.

All nine runs were added to the tab of Travis Lakins Sr. (2/3 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, BB, 2 WP, E, loss to drop to 1-1) and Carlos Hinestroza (2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, K, HR, WP, HB). Burying the lede, Jimmy Lambert (IP, H, 2 K, BALK) got the start while beginning his rehab assignment from Charlotte and shined in his first action in more than 10 months. Among several bats who thumped the Complex Sox back into the game, Edrick Felix stood out, with a triple and homer.

GAME MVP
Edrick Felix (3B) 2-for-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 3B, HR, 2 K

RUNNERS-UP
Abraham Núñez (LF) 2-for-3, R, RBI, BB, K, CS
Javier Mogollón (2B) 0-for-1, R, 3 BB, K
Daniel González (LHRP) 2 IP, BB, 2 K

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DJ Gladney photo by S.R. Silver/Sox Populi