Davis Martin was supposed to start for the Charlotte Knights over the past two days before the White Sox promoted him to Chicago, but Johan Dominguez was able to step up in his place and deliver five strong innings in Charlotte's 8-1 victory over Nashville.
He also brought some order to a rotation that had lost its way in the Music City. Ky Bush opened the series with five strong innings in Charlotte's victory on Tuesday, but the next three pitchers combined to throw nine innings, and if you can imagine them combining into one pitcher, the result would be a complete game of cruelty, whether for the pitcher or the people who had to watch.
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | Pit/Str |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sean Burke | 0.2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 37/14 |
| Nick Nastrini | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 85/52 |
| Jake Eder | 3.1 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 89/44 |
| Total | 9 | 9 | 13 | 12 | 16 | 8 | 211/110 |
I talked to Knights pitching coach R.C. Lichtenstein before Saturday's game for a quick assessment of each pitcher:
Regarding Burke: Lichtenstein attributed the first-inning failure on Wednesday to a two-week layoff that involved a stay to the Development List around the All-Star break. The shift to the new DL was a "paper move," but he couldn't find his release point regardless.
"The bottom line is that this was the first time he had pitched out of that fifth or sixth day (routine), " he said. "Just a little erratic, nothing that worries me. We got right back to work in the bullpen today, and he's fine. Stuff is really, really good, "
Regarding Nastrini: If you've watched Nastrini pitch for the White Sox this year, you've seen this outing: innings where things look pretty straightforward, and innings where the count is never in his favor.
"He's flashing really good stuff and pitchability," Lichtenstein said. "It's just a matter of, when things get chaotic, when he gets behind in counts, get back into counts and stay simple. He's showing progress. It's just coming slowly.
"Each game, he's showing me things that have me realizing, 'I know why he's a big leaguer.' The ability to be a big leaguer and stay there consistently is about putting it together, and when you need it in key moments with guys on base, you have to be able to execute and finish off innings, finish off at-bats. That's what we're working on here."
Regarding Eder: It's been a rocky start to Eder's Triple-A career, but while Eder ended up throwing fewer than half of his pitches for strikes, Lichtenstein didn't see a general lack of control as much as he saw only half of an arsenal.
"For me, it wasn't even a matter of losing the zone, he just didn't have his changeup and his curveball at his disposal," he said. "He's throwing all fastball-cutter, and with that in mind, guys just started fighting it because it was all hard.
"There were a couple walks that were quick, but a lot of them were lengthy at-bats where they just fought 'em off, and because he was only making them honor the fastball and the cutter."
As I mentioned in Saturday morning's Minor Keys, Eder's Statcast data can't be taken at face value because some changeups are called fastballs and some sliders are called curves, but it still checks out. Of the 17 pitches that were identified as changeups or curves, he only got two swings and one called strike
Charlotte 8, Nashville 1
- Lenyn Sosa went 2-for-5 with a walk anda s trikeout.
- Oscar Colás was 2-for-6 with a K, and was caught stealing.
- Bryan Ramos, 2-for-5 with a strikeout and a stolen base.
- Edgar Quero, 3-for-4 with a double and a walk.
- Colson Montgomery was the only hitless Knight: 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Zach DeLoach, 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.
Birmingham 3, Tennessee 0
- Terrell Tatum went 1-for-4 with a strikeout, and was caught stealing.
- Jacob Gonzalez and Wilfred Veras both were 0-for-4, and Veras was also cut down on the basepaths.
- Tim Elko, 0-for-2 with two walks and a strikeout.
- Noah Schultz: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K, 2 HBP, 37 of 62 pitches for strikes.
Bowling Green 4, Winston-Salem 3 (Game 1, 9 innings)
- Loidel Chapelli and Calvin Harris both were 1-for-4.
- Eddie Park, 2-for-4.
- DJ Gladney went 1-for-4 with his 10th homer.
- Ryan Galanie went 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Caden Connor, 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Samuel Zavala was 0-for-3.
- Juan Carela: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, 2 HBP, 49 of 71 pitches for strikes.
Bowling Green 5, Winston-Salem 1 (Game 2, 7 innings)
- Loidel Chapelli went 1-for-3 with a strikeout and two stolen bases.
- Eddie Park was 1-for-3 with a K.
- DJ Gladney went 0-for-2 with a walk, strikeout and stolen base.
- Ryan Galanie went 0-for-2 with an HBP.
- Caden Connor was 2-for-3 with a double.
- Wes Kath, 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
Charleston 8, Kannapolis 7 (Game 1, 7 innings)
- Rikuu Nishida hit his first professional homer in his 500th plate appearance, finishing 1-for-4.
- Ronny Hernandez and George Wolkow both were 1-for-3 with a walk.
- Ryan Burrowes went 1-for-4.
- Aldrin Batista: 4 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 47 of 77 pitches for strikes.
Highlights:
*If you've been dying to see what a Nishida homer looks like, here you go:
Kannapolis 3, Charleston 1 (Game 2, 7 innings)
- Rikuu Nishida went 1-for-3 with a triple, walk and strikeout, although he was caught on the back end of a double steal attempt of home.
- George Wolkow walked once and struck out twice.
- Ryan Burowes went 1-for-3 with a K.
- Jake Peppers: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 45 of 68 pitches for strikes.
Notes:
*Nishida also had a pair of outfield assists, so he had an action-packed evening.
DSL White Sox 6, DSL Padres Brown 2 (7 innings)
- Christian Gonzalez went 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Jurdrick Profar was 0-for-4.
- Eduardo Herrera singled twice, walked and struck out.
- Jehancarlos Mendez singled, walked twice and struck out.
- Orlando Suarez: 3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
