When the White Sox called up Noah Schultz to Birmingham, I outlined the three ways they could negotiate his presence in the rotation, and they indeed chose Door 3. They neither forced him into the five-man rotation nor expanded it to a six-man plan to accommodate his Saturday-only schedule. Instead, they chose a polyrhythm, with Schultz throwing every seven days while the incumbent starters take the ball once every five games. Whichever starter overlaps with Schultz in a given week is to piggyback with him, with the hopes that the end product will sound like the result of skill, rather than randomness.
The pilot episode couldn't have gone any better. Schultz threw four shutout innings on just 40 pitches, after which Jairo Iriate entered and carried the game the rest of the way for a 7-1 victory over Biloxi.
Schultz opened his evening with a perfect 1-2 backdoor slider to freeze Eric Brown Jr., and that more or less set the tone for the other 11 outs to come. He gave up a one-out single on a 2-0 count in the second inning, and that was the only trouble he encountered.
Credit Biloxi broadcaster Javik Blake for sharing the Trackman data as Schultz threw. He regularly relayed pitch types and velocities, and sometimes movement and spin.
"Dots a sweeper, on the inside corner, and the count goes full," started Blake after a 3-1 breaking ball with two outs in the first. "Fifteen inches of run at 80 mph and almost 3,000 RPMs of spin."
After a first-pitch strike to Mike Boeve leading off the fourth: "First pitch is a sweeper. That pitch is ... very, very good. It is a called strike one on the inside corner. It is a disgusting pitch from Noah Schultz. Seventeen inches of movement, 3,000 RPMs of spin, and impossible to hit."
That sweeper indeed gave the Beach Chickens nee Shuckers fits. It ranged from 81 to 86, he could throw it arm-side or glove-side, and he got four strikeouts looking with it, even though all the hitters involved were right-handed.
When Biloxi hitters made contact, most of it was shanked. Jacob Gonzalez took care of a couple soft chances, Edgar Quero handled one nubber in front of the mound. And after pitching coach John Ely raved to James earlier in the day about his body control, Schultz recorded three assists, including one play to his right ...
... and one to his left:
And when Schultz left, Biloxi had to deal with Iriarte, who came into the game with a 2.89 ERA and 56 strikeouts over 43⅔ innings. He looked no worse for the wear despite the midgame start to his evening, and was rewarded with the victory for the mild inconvenience.
It might not always be so simple, but based on the reactions Schultz inspired, it's quite possible that four innings could continue being a relatively easy task, and the only question is whether the White Sox try pushing him beyond that.
Nashville 5, Charlotte 3
- Colson Montgomery went 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- Lenyn Sosa also was 1-for-5.
- Oscar Colás walked thrice during an 0-for-2 night.
- Prelander Berroa ran into issues in his second inning: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 17 of 29 pitches for strikes.
Highlights:
*I attended this game, and I'll be at Sunday's as well. Following up on our discussion about the ABS challenge system in Triple-A, here's an example of how it works in game action. Montgomery didn't agree with a 1-2 pitch that was ruled strike three, so he tapped his helmet, and that started the challenge process that he won by 0.7 inches.
(Montgomery then struck out looking on a pitch he didn't question.)
Birmingham 7, Biloxi 1
- Jacob Gonzalez went 2-for-5 with a double.
- Brooks Baldwin went 1-for-4 with an HBP.
- Edgar Quero, 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Tim Elko homered, walked and struck out thrice.
- Wilfred Veras went 3-for-5 with two doubles.
- Jacob Burke was 2-for-5 with a strikeout and a stolen base.
- Noah Schultz's Double-A debut: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K, 28 of 40 pitches for strikes.
- Jairo Iriarte: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 46 of 69 pitches for strikes.
Winston-Salem 7, Bowling Green 5
- Eddie Park went 1-for-5 with a double.
- Calvin Harris was 2-for-4 with a triple, walk and strikeout.
- Wes Kath, 0-for-2 with a walk, HBP and strikeout.
- Samuel Zavala went 1-for-3 with a double, walk and strikeout.
Kannapolis 17, Augusta 2 (Game 1, 7 innings)
- Rikuu Nishida went 2-for-4 with two walks.
- Ronny Hernandez also went 2-for-4 with two walks, striking out once.
- Ryan Burrowes was 2-for-5 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Grant Taylor: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K, 1 WP, 38 of 55 pitches for strikes.
Highlights:
*On most days, Taylor's performance would be the headliner.
Kannapolis 6, Augusta 0 (Game 2, 7 innings)
- Rikuu Nishida walked thrice and struck out once.
- Ronny Hernandez went 2-for-4.
- Ryan Burrowes, 1-for-3 with a walk, strikeout and stolen base.
- Seth Keener: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 9 K
ACL White Sox 6, ACL Cubs 2
- Luis Robert Jr. struck out all three times up.
- Adrian Gil was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and an HBP.
- Stiven Flores, 1-for-4 with a K.
- Sean Burke: 4 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 11 K
