Yes indeed, as I predicted (games weren’t all final yet) in the recap, the White Sox organization took an 0-fer tonight, losing all five games, from Low-A to “MLB.” At least each game on the farm was closer than the giveaway in K.C. Still, there were some standouts among the affiliates, so let’s get right to them.

Memphis Redbirds 9, Charlotte Knights 6 (Statcast box)
The Knights (55-63) are, as you couldn’t have been faulted for anticipating, falling apart. It seems that yes, a .500 season from the team on the cusp of the majors is too much to ask. (Then again, who on this Charlotte team is on the cusp of the majors, truly … the injured Noah Schultz?

The sad thing with this loss was that the Knights battled back to tie the game at two different junctures before an atrocious ninth turned the game a blowout. Perhaps appropriately, Charlotte took a potential big inning in the bottom of the eighth, down 5-4, and rendered it ineffectual, with just a GIDP run scored to even the score. In the ninth, Cam Booser gift-wrapped it for Memphis, opening the inning HBP-homer-single-homer-walk before even recording an out. Tim Elko hit a round-tripper in the bottom of the ninth (his second of the game), but that was all Charlotte could muster.

Knights MVP
Dru Baker (RF): 4-for-4, R, 3 RBI, HR, 2B, 36.6% WPA
Other Notables
Tim Elko (1B): 3-for-5, 2 R, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 21.7% WPA
Jairo Iriarte (RHRP): 2 IP, 2 H, K
Bryan Ramos (3B): 2-for-4, R, 2B
Jacob Gonzalez (SS): 1-for-3, R, BB, K, GIDP
Zach Franklin (RHRP): IP, 2 K

Knights Cold Cat
Cam Booser (LHRP): IP, 4 H, 4 ER, BB, K, 2 HR, HB, WP, LOSS (1-1)
Others Chilled
Corey Julks (LF): 0-for-4, BB, K
Dominic Fletcher (CF): 0-for-5, K
Will Robertson (DH): 0-for-5, 3 K, GIDP
Duncan Davitt (RHSP): 5 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 5 BB, K, HR, HB

Pensacola Blue Wahoos 5, Birmingham Barons 4
While we don’t want to see them losing, ever, the Barons (68-45) recent cool-off should not hinder their status as the only White Sox affiliate who will reach the postseason in 2025 — at seven games up in the Southern League North, that’s realistically a near-clinch.

Like Charlotte, Birmingham battled back twice to tie in this game, before succumbing to a walk-off. Also as in the Knights loss, an affiliate hitter had two solo homers, in this case Wilfred Veras. On the pitching side, Shane Murphy was decent, just not his usual magisterial self. The loss came down to a dreaded leadoff walk, sacrificed to second and singled in to hang an 0-7 record on Barons reliever Tyler Davis.

Barons MVP
Sam Antonacci (2B): 1-for-3, , RBI, 2B, BB, CS, 39.4% WPA
Other Notables
Wilfred Veras (DH): 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 HR, K
Jason Matthews (SS): 1-for-3, R, BB, K, 2B, SB

Barons Cold Cat
Tyler Davis (RHRP): 1 1/3 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 2 K, WP, LOSS (0-7)
Others Chilled
Braden Montgomery (CF): 1-for-5, 2B, 3 K
Mario Camilletti (2B): 0-for-4, 2 K, E
Caden Connor (1B): 1-for-4, 2 K, SB
Jacob Burke (CF): 0-for-3, BB, 2 K

Asheville Tourists 4, Winston-Salem Dash 1
The Dash (44-67) are bad, but put it in this perspective: They’ve won the exact same number of games as the parent White Sox, with 11 fewer losses! That said, Winston-Salem scored just once, in the bottom of the ninth, 26 outs into the game, and had no extra-base hits. Drake Logan had a two-hit game and drove in the only Dash run, while Frankeli Arias had a sweet start and could see his ERA end up back shy of 4.00 if he can finish the season strong.

Dash MVP
Frankeli Arias (RHSP): 4 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 4 K, LOSS (2-6), 10.9% WPA
Other Notables
Drake Logan (RF): 2-for-3, RBI, BB, K, SB
Ryan Burrowes (2B): 1-for-2, BB, CS
Jonathan Clark (RHRP): IP, K, 9-of-13 strikes

Dash Cold Cat
Jake Bockenstedt (RHRP): 2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 K
Others Chilled
Samuel Zavala (CF): 0-for-3, BB, 2 K
Jeral Perez (DH): 1-for-4, GIDP
Alec Mackarewicz (3B): 0-for-4, R, K
Kyle Lodise (SS): 0-for-4, K
Wes Kath (1B): 0-for-3

Augusta GreenJackets 3, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 2
Yes, the Cannon Ballers (52-61) are slipping farther and farther from .500. The four full-season affiliates, held close to the surface by Birmingham, are collectively 219-236 and I know wins “don’t matter” in the minors. But if they “don’t matter” maybe we can win more than we lose one year? This is my seventh year covering this system and that hasn’t happened yet. Guess it’s all those matriculations to the majors.

In Kannapolis, Grant Umberger pitched a GEM … so, naturally, the pen let in a three-spot in the top of the seventh to snatch his win away.

But before it got ugly, it stayed sweet, as the undrafted free agent set Kanny’s all-time single-season K mark in the

All Carlton Perkins had to do was get a single out, inheriting a one-run lead with runners on the corners, but instead he walked the bases full, walked in a run, then after a mound visit wild-pitched the eventual winning run home. Uh, congratulations, Grant?

Ballers MVP
Grant Umberger (LHSP): 5 1/3 IP, 7 H, BB, 8 K, 25.9% WPA
Other Notables
Ely Brown (CF): 2-for-4, CF assist at 3B
Jordan Sprinkle (2B): 2-for-3, SAC, SB
Anthony DiPino (1B): 1-for-3, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K

Ballers Cold Cat
Carlton Perkins (RHRP) 1 1/3 IP, ER, 3 BB, K, BLOWN SAVE (5), LOSS (4-3), 17-of-34 strikes
Others Chilled
Arxy Hernandez (3B): 0-for-4, 4 K
Ronny Hernandez (C): 0-for-4, K, 1-for-3 CS
Grant McGill (DH): 0-for-3, 2 K
George Wolkow (PH): 0-for-1, K
Colby Shelton (SS): 0-for-4
Kevin Davis (RHRP): 1 1/3 IP, H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, HOLD (2)