Okay, so he didn’t get the triple… but putting a three-run performance in those terms is fun, isn’t it?
Worcester, Game 1: L, 3-5 (BOX SCORE)
The WooSox kicked off their series against the Mud Hens (Tigers Triple-A) at 11:00 AM. By noon, Chase Meidroth had gotten on base twice. Worcester’s closest thing to the kid from the Goonies besides. — well, you know what abominable statue — ended up getting a third hit later in the game. Sadly, it was Richard Fitts’ poor early going that solidified game one of the double header, and by the end of four innings, Fitts’ WooSox found themselves in a 5-3 hole, salvaged only by Meidroth scoring on respective doubles by Nathan Hickey and Nick Sogard (seriously, call him up!) That 5-3 score is how it stayed.
Worcester, Game 2: L, 2-3 (BOX SCORE)
If I had told you the WooSox had used just one pitcher, you’d ask how much they won by. Grant Gambrell did alright, but did not secure his first win of the season despite the six-inning complete game. The WooSox couldn’t manage to capitalize off of eight walks, adding to just six total bases, and left nine on base. Sogard got a multi-hit game in this one, and don’t look now, but since last week his OPS has gone up 72 points. Nathan Hickey is also getting on base remarkably. It’s a shame that the team couldn’t capitalize more off of a decent game by Gambrell.
Portland: W, 7-4 (BOX SCORE)
The Sea Dogs traded four-run innings with the Yard Goats (Rockies AA) but it looked better from there. The bullpen pulled it together after their starter imploding in the third inning and, from there, kept things scoreless for the final 6 1/3. Among the scoring in that third frame was Nick Yorke, who played out of his mind with two hits and three RBI’s.
But what’s better than two hits? Three hits and finishing shy of the cycle, which is what Marcelo Mayer achieved. (Each batter also reached on a walk.) Mayer is now hitting significantly over .300, leading many to think that there may be room for him in Worcester. I don’t want to jump the gun yet, since he’s still just 21 and has had less than a season facing pitching at this level, but it’s certainly becoming more likely that we may see him in Polar Park by mid-summer, where we can evaluate him against guys who have pitched at a Major League level. Not that I’m counting the days until the summer, or anything…
Greenville: W, 6-5 (BOX SCORE)
The Drive were almost backed into a corner. The Greensboro Grasshoppers (Pirates High-A) led 5-2 going into the bottom of the ninth inning. From there, the Drive had the drive (ba dum tiss) to score four runs to come back and walk it off via an Allan Castro two-run double. It was the end of a six-batter run where everyone advanced a runner. I can say this because the attendance was more than most A’s games I’ve seen (sorry to that team for catching a stray): it must have been madness in Greenville.
Salem: L, 2-4 (BOX SCORE)
First off: big props to Matt Duffy for a solid enough game. And honestly, to the bats, you tried. It’s not every day you have to surmount a relief appearance of 4 1⁄3 innings. But the Mudcats (Brewers A) were lucky enough to have Yujanyer Hernandez close this one out, and Salem were unlucky enough to have to face him. The team simply didn’t have as many runners advance past first as they could have. Striking out 12 times isn’t ideal, too, but, overall, they’ve been showing some gumption (is that still an acceptable word?) against a team with just 3 losses on the year so far.
Happy Fri-uh, I mean Thursday!