One pitcher with success in Kannapolis made his Winston-Salem debut on Wednesday, and another one showed he may not be far behind.
Connor McCullough, who twirled a seven-inning no-hitter for the Cannon Ballers a couple of starts ago, found the sledding much tougher in the South Atlantic League. After posting a 2.17 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP in Kannapolis, he gave up four runs on five hits and three walks over four innings, including a couple of homers. At least he has a chance of learning something from this.
Shane Murphy could be following suit in short order. The White Sox's 14th-round pick in the 2023 draft pitched five innings of one-run ball against Fayetteville, yielding just two hits with zero walks while striking out six. He came away with the no-decision, but lowered his ERA to 1.89, and allowed just 19 baserunners against 24 strikeouts over 23 innings in May.
Baseball Prospectus' Ben Spanier offered a quick impression of Murphy from his start.
Nashville 4, Charlotte 0
- Elvis Andrus DH'd and went 1-for-3 with a strikeout and a stolen base.
- Oscar Colás struck out in a pinch-hitting appearance.
- Lenyn Sosa was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Carlos Pérez, 1-for-4.
Mississippi 13, Birmingham 2
- Alsander Womack went 0-for-5 with a strikeout.
- Bryan Ramos singled thrice and walked once.
- Yoelqui Céspedes went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Luis Mieses, 0-for-3 with a K and an HBP.
- Adam Hackenberg was 2-for-2 with a walk.
- Matthew Thompson is going the wrong way: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, 2 HR, 3 WP, 53 of 92 pitches for strikes.
Greensboro 6, Winston-Salem 1
- Terrell Tatum went 2-for-5 with a double and a strikeout. He was also picked off/caught stealing.
- Loidel Chapelli was 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base.
- DJ Gladney, 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Wilfred Veras, 0-for-4 with one strikeouts.
- Connor McCullough's High-A debut: 4 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 2 HR
Fayetteville 2, Kannapolis 1
- Jordan Sprinkle went 1-for-4 with a K.
- Brooks Baldwin, 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Shane Murphy: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 1 HR