Let’s lead off with some potentially exciting news, and news that could possibly eliminate the pesky bullpen games that have been plaguing the White Sox all season (including in Sunday’s loss at the Twins): Drew Thorpe was scratched from his Sunday start for Charlotte.
Now, for a pitcher coming back from two years off and recovering from TJS and an emergency appendectomy, a scratch could spell trouble. And without word from the White Sox, it’s hard to know for certain that injury is not involved,
there is a far more plausible explanation: He is coming back to the White Sox when rosters expand to 28 players on September 1, and starting in Houston as soon as Tuesday night.
Thorpe has thrown scant innings in his comeback this season, totaling just 26 ⅔ across the ACL, Winston-Salem, Birmingham and Charlotte this season. While there is some sentiment out there saying with so little work this year, there’s no way the White Sox throw Thorpe into the mix this year. But Chicago is not in position to be choosy; the safer move for all involved is probably David Sandlin, who’s been nails in Triple-A and so-so in his MLB time in 2026. But Thorpe has been on a roll with a 3.07 ERA and 1.159 WHIP in his work this season. The expanded rosters would allow for piggyback starts where Thorpe could be expected to throw as few as three innings in working back, with José Urquidy or Tyler Schweitzer working middle relief and bridging to the high-leverage bullpen arms.
Anyway, the White Sox are not standing pat as they head toward the stretch run, and upping their starter quality (Davis Martin is due to be activated for the Houston series) could spell doom for wishy-washy Cleveland, with a superior rotation but not much else.
On to today’s games!
Charlotte Knights 5, Memphis Redbirds 2
Perhaps we should have seen the Drew Thorpe move coming, as replacement starter Shane Murphy was called up on August 28 after just four starts back down in Birmingham. But those starts were solid (2.25 ERA), so maybe Murphy’s third or fourth shot at Triple-A will be the charm.
It certainly was charming today, as Murphy took the ball for seven innings and leaked just four hits and an unearned run in the process of getting the Knights (71-61) even with Memphis in the International League. Charlotte, at just 29-28 in the second half and 3 ½ games out of postseason qualification at this point, might be a long shot for October play. But the season has been a success, no matter how it finishes.
Memphis ticked its first run in the top of the second, and Charlotte punched back with three in the bottom half, which would turn out to be enough alone to earn the W. Kyle Teel had a monster game at bat, with three hits including a triple, but in an extension of even his strong 2025 much less his hobbled 2026, was terrible defensively (error, 0-for-3 CS).
That third run of the second inning turned out to be the game-winner, so congrats on this RBI single, Ryan Galanie:
MVP
Shane Murphy (LHSP): 7 IP, 4 H, R, BB, 5 K, WP, HB, WIN (5-3), 31.6% WPA
Runners-Up
Kyle Teel (C): 3-for-4, 2 RBI, 2B, 2 hard hits, K, E, 0-for-3 CS, 10.0% WPA
Riley Unroe (2B): 1-for-2, R, RBI, BB, K, 10.1% WPA
Caden Connor (LF): 1-for-3, R, SB, K
Rikuu Nishida (RF): 0-for-4, R, SB, RBI, K, RF assist at 3B
Cold Cat
Jaden Woods (LHRP): 1 ⅓ IP, H, ER, 2 BB, K, SAVE (4)
Runners-Up
Peyton Pallette (RHRP): ⅔ IP, 3 BB, K
Tim Elko (PH-DH): 0-for-1, K
Junior Perez (CF): 0-for-3, R, BB, K
Andy Weber (SS): 1-for-4, R, GIDP, K
Birmingham Barons 8, Rocket City Trash Pandas 3
With this win, the Barons (29-28 in the second half) not only swept the Trash out of Birmingham, they pulled back to within a game of postseason qualification, improbable as it may be. Despite the blowout score, this wasn’t even as close a game as the final appears, as Birmingham hit hard with four in the second inning and running the lead to 8-0 before tossing the Pandas a stick of bamboo in the form of three runs in the ninth.
Juan Carela’s ride back from TJS in 2026 may have been bumpy, but he stood tall today an effectively wild, scoreless, five-inning start. And really, the entire staff stood tall before Tommy Vail played Santa Claus with his three-run gift to end it.
The big-big bats of Caleb Bonemer and Alec Briley both homered, again, although Bonemer one-upped by chipping in a double as well. But as thunderous as those blows were, it was Jordan Sprinkle’s two-run triple in the fourth that kicked sand on the Pandas:
MVP
Juan Carela (RHSP): 5 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 3 K, WIN (2-2), 20.6% WPA
Runners-Up
Jordan Sprinkle (2B): 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, 3B, 2 K, SB, 13.4% WPA
Samuel Zavala (CF): 1-for-3, R, BB, 2B, 2 K, 6.8% WPA
Caden Connor (3B): 2-for-4, R, RBI, BB, 2B, HR, K, E
Alec Briley (1B): 2-for-4, R, HR, 2 RBI, SF
Jacob Burke (LF): 2-for-4
Pierce George (RHRP): 2 IP, 2 H, BB, K
Cold Cat
Tommy Vail (LHRP): IP, 3 H, 3 ER, BB, K
Runners-Up
Mathias LaCombe (RHRP): IP, HB, BB, K, 12-of-25 strikes
Anthony DePino (DH): 1-for-5, 2B, 3 K
Bowling Green Hot Rods 5, Winston-Salem Dash 4
The Dash (69-56) could have laid down after the juggernaut Hot Rods slapped five runs on them in the top of the first, but to their credit there was some fight in North Carolina today. In fact, the Dash struck a little terror in BG’s hearts by rallying for a run in the ninth and placing the tying run on second with one out and at third with two down before succumbing with a Kyle Lodise pop out.
The good news in the loss, however, is that with time running short on the season the Dash are solidly in second place (OK, by 1 ½ games) behind the Hot Rods. Because Bowling Green is a murder machine, second place gets Winston-Salem into the postseason. There’s a magic number for a Sox club in the SALLY!
MVP
Ely Brown (CF): 2-for-4, 3B, RBI, BB, 14.1% WPA
Runners-Up
Jake Curtis (RHRP): 2 IP, H, 2 K
Carlton Perkins (RHRP): IP, 2 K, 7-of-11 strikes
Derek Cerda (LF): 1-for-3, 2B, HBP, R
Nick McLain (RF): 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, HR, K
Cold Cat
Drew McDaniel (RHSP): 4 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, WP, LOSS (2-8)
Runners-Up
Wes Kath (1B): 0-for-2, BB, 2 K
James Taussig (DH): 0-for-4, 2 K
Javier Mogollón (2B): 1-for-5, RBI, K
Kyle Lodise (SS): 0-for-5, 2 K
Jackson Appel (C): 0-for-4, 2 K
Hill City Howlers 8, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 1
It was a howlingly bad series finale for the CBs (66-60), who kept things close until a six-run sixth crushed the season ERA of Andrew Berg, if not team spirits. Alexander Martinez dropped to 1-7 with a somewhat hard-luck loss, the Kanny bats should’ve penned their righty a note of apology on the bus ride home; the club mustered just four hits, which even along with four walks could not come close to offsetting nine Ks and utter incompetence (0-for-5) with RISP.
MVP
Braden Holcomb (DH): 1-for-3, HR, R, RBI, BB, 2 K, 13.0% WPA
Runners-Up
Efren Teran (3B): 1-for-3
Jake Berkland (2B): 1-for-2, BB, 2B, K, CS
Luis Fonseca (LHRP) 1 2/3 IP, BB, pickoff at 1B, 8-of-16 strikes
Cold Cat
Andrew Berg (RHRP): 1 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 2 WP, K, HR
Runners-Up
Alexander Albertus (1B): 0-for-3, K
Clay Burdette (RF): 0-for-3, 2 K, GIDP
Matthew Boughton (SS): 0-for-4, K, 2 E
Alexander Martinez (RHSP): 3 ⅓ IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 BALKS, LOSS (1-7)
