Lambert lights-out in Barons' one-hitter
A shaky first inning wasn't too much for Jimmy Lambert to overcome on Saturday night.The 28th-ranked White Sox prospect worked past a pair of walks in the opening frame and carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning as Double-A Birmingham blanked Tennessee, 3-0, at Smokies Stadium. He retired 17 consecutive
A shaky first inning wasn't too much for Jimmy Lambert to overcome on Saturday night.
The 28th-ranked White Sox prospect worked past a pair of walks in the opening frame and carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning as Double-A Birmingham blanked Tennessee, 3-0, at Smokies Stadium. He retired 17 consecutive batters before Zack Short led off the seveventh with a single.
"It's definitely a lot of fun when you can get rolling like that," Lambert said. "I kind of looked around in the sixth inning and said, 'Man, I haven't pitched out of the stretch in a while.'"
Lambert (3-1) recorded 10 punchouts -- his highest total in four Southern League appearances -- over seven scoreless innings and lowered his ERA to 3.13. The 23-year-old opened the season with Class A Advanced Winston-Salem and went 5-7 with a 3.95 ERA in 13 starts before earning a promotion on June 27.
With the exception of one difficult outing on July 4 against Chattanooga, Lambert has handled this next level well. Saturday night's effort was the third in which he's allowed one run or fewer while finishing at least six innings.
"There's a reason why everyone gets promoted here and you just have to come here and just keep doing what you're doing," Lambert said. "You can't make drastic changes. ... Once you handle the nerves and realize that you're just as good as any of these other guys out here, it's just baseball."
The 10 strikeouts eclipsed the Double-A best he set in his previous start against Mississippi, a game in which he allowed one run on seven hits over seven innings. The right-hander recorded a career-high 11 punchouts in his final Carolina League outing on June 23 against Down East.
Gameday box score
Staked to a 1-0 lead in the first inning Saturday, Lambert walked leadoff man Charcer Burks on four pitches before getting Vimael Machin to line to center for the first out. Burks stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch during Lambert's seven-pitch walk to Short, putting runners at the corners with one out. The Fresno State product got Yasiel Balaguert and Ian Rice to go down swinging to quell the threat.
"The more you get into the game, you start to feel your pitches better," Lamert said. "I kind of was able to lock it in."
The Arcadia, California, native punched out six more and was perfect over the next five innings, setting the side down on strikes in the sixth.
"Once I was able to settle down, we got ahead of guys and got consistent strikeouts," Lambert said. "Obviously, just like any game, you want to pound the fastball and get ahead with the fastball. And then we were able to go to some sliders and some changeups when we needed the outs."
After Short's spoiler to start the seventh, the 6-foot-2, 170-pounder went back to the strikeout, again fanning Balaguert and Rice before Eddy Martinez bounced into an inning-ending forceout.
Lambert said he was cognizant of the potential milestone -- and that he had a hard time believing that pitchers who are rolling toward a no-hitter do so with blissful ignorance -- but he admitted that the consecutive outs streak did caught him a bit off-guard.
The 2016 fifth-round pick exited after throwing 58 of 95 pitches for strikes. Brian Clark and 29th-ranked José Ruiz each fanned one in a perfect frame to complete the club's first one-hitter since Scott Snodgress and J.R. Ballinger stymied Chattanooga on July 22, 2013.
Birmingham shortstop Danny Mendick went 3-for-3 with a pair of walks, an RBI and a run scored. Trey Michalczewski also collected three singles and scored a run.
Gerard Gilberto is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow and interact with him on Twitter, @GerardGilberto4.
Dash im-prom-tu promo and Mets' Suero joins the podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Minor League Baseball partners with Circle K
Minor League Baseball announced a new national partnership with Circle K, which will see the convenience store giant become the “Official Convenience Store of Minor League Baseball.” During the 2025 season, the Circle K brand will be integrated into the MiLB in-stadium experience through in-game video board assets at most
These 15 moments led to season No. 15 of Minor League road trips
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast crew makes Opening Day predictions
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Everything you need to know for Triple-A Opening Day
First, there was big league Opening Day. Now it's Triple-A's turn to take the spotlight. The Minor League season opens Friday when the Triple-A International League and Pacific Coast League seasons get underway for the first of MiLB’s two Opening Days. And right out of the gates, several of baseball's
Top prospects to watch at Triple-A -- one for each organization
It’s Triple-A’s turn up to bat on Friday. The regular season begins for the Minor Leagues’ highest level one day after the action starts on the Major League side. Fun fact: it’ll be the earliest start to a Minor League season since 1951 (March 27). Double-A, High-A and Single-A will
Here's where every Top 100 prospect is expected to start the season
The 2025 Opening Day prospect roster announcements began last week when the Cubs informed Matt Shaw (MLB No. 19) he was making the trip overseas to compete in the Tokyo Series. Roki Sasaki (No. 1) also received the good news, but his assignment was much less of a surprise. Now
Nationals prospect King joins MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition:
Southpaw Spring Breakout: White Sox future on display with Schultz, Smith
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If all goes as planned for the White Sox, left-handers Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz won’t spend much time following each other to the mound in a single game. Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline, and Smith, who is
In first pro game, Rainer offers pop, promise to Tigers fans
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Rainer’s pro career consisted of workouts and batting practice until Sunday.
'Me and Brady on the dirt again': House, King reunite at Spring Breakout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The 2025 Spring Breakout was a flashback for Brady House and Seaver King. Over 10 years ago, the infielders were travel ball teammates in Georgia who shared the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. Now, they are top prospects in the same organization,
Lambert -- 'an adrenaline guy' -- hoping to be next Mets bullpen gem
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Lambert loves throwing hard. He relishes the idea of getting to two strikes and blowing hitters away. “Get me in a game,” Lambert said, “cool things will happen.”
Stewart embraces Spring Breakout: 'What's not to love?'
PHOENIX -- Sal Stewart was one fired-up Reds prospect. On Sunday in the first inning during the organization's 9-7 Spring Breakout win over Brewers prospects, Stewart lifted a 2-2 pitch that sailed over the center fielder's head to the wall. Already not known as a speedster, he stumbled running between
Prospect Peña quietly drawing raves in Brewers' farm system
PHOENIX – Jesús Made was at the top of the Brewers’ lineup for Sunday’s 9-7 loss to the Reds in the finale of MLB’s four-day Spring Breakout, a fitting perch when you consider that the 17-year-old infielder is under a bright spotlight as MLB Pipeline’s No. 55 prospect. Made could
Brecht -- in 1st outing since '24 Draft -- wows at Spring Breakout
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Sunday's Spring Breakout showcase was the perfect unveiling for Rockies No. 5 prospect Brody Brecht. A right-handed pitcher from the University of Iowa whom the Rockies selected 38th overall last summer, Brecht had a nice collegiate resume, an interesting backstory as a former wide receiver for the
Braves prospects show promise in Spring Breakout
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- As Terry Pendleton prepared to serve as the manager of the Braves prospect team that played the Tigers prospect team in a Spring Breakout game on Sunday afternoon, he said fans should be patient with John Gil and Luis Guanipa, a pair of teenagers who have
Yanks' Lagrange flashes triple-digit heat in Spring Breakout
SARASOTA, Fla. -- There was an audible “Ooh” from the crowd at Ed Smith Stadium, and Carlos Lagrange quickly glanced beyond the right-field wall, checking the velocity of the pitch he’d just thrown in Saturday’s 5-4 Spring Breakout loss to the Orioles. It had registered in the triple digits, and
Bradfield dedicates Spring Breakout performance to late friend
SARASOTA, Fla. -- It was about more than playing in the national spotlight. More than the dinner bet placed with an old college teammate earlier in the month. More than a game. As Enrique Bradfield Jr. slid home to score a run during the first inning of Saturday night’s Spring