Plus, Portland and Greenville play double-headers.
Strikeouts became Boston’s kryptonite in a game that presented the Red Sox with an opportunity for a sweep. That may have been the theme throughout Wednesday night on the farm, as the affiliates took away some wins but overall performed ho-hum, even in two double-headers. Let’s get into it!
Worcester: L, 4-7 (F/10) (BOX SCORE)
Password had his second two-hit game in as many days out in Durham (Rays AAA), and this one also included an extra-base hit. Trayce Thompson homered to put this game in Worcester’s favor, 4-3, but Luis Guerrero blew his second save in about ten days and allowed a game-tying home run in the ninth. Wyatt Olds then melted down in the tenth, a bullpen day mistake from which Worcester was not able to recover.
Portland, Game 1: L, 1-5 (BOX SCORE)
Good news: The Sea Dogs struck out just twice in this abbreviated contest. Bad news: they also had just three base runners. They scored the first run of the game when Blaze Jordan homered in the second, but the Phils had a dynamic sixth, and that’s all it took. Game time in this quick seven-inning game one: one hour, forty-six minutes.
Portland, Game 2: L, 1-3 (BOX SCORE)
Five hits is better than three, sure, but when the only RBI of the game comes from the only extra base hit, you’re probably not going to come out on the winning side of any game. Having the Ehrhard brothers Zach and Drew going 1-2 in the lineup is a nice touch, but when they’re starting their Double-A campaigns each batting below .200, some lineup tinkering is needed, though this was just an effort to give Blaze Jordan (who DH’d in the early game) and Mikey Romero a half-night off.
Greenville, Game 1: W, 5-2 (BOX SCORE)
Just a short gripe: Nazzan Zanetello again struck out four times, and it’s time someone steps in and really reconstructs that swing with him, as the former second round draft pick’s strikeout rate is now nearing 50 percent. Franklin Arias plated two in the second with a line drive to right and Nelly Taylor drove himself in with his third home run of the season, and that was enough to put Greenville over Bowling Green (Rays High-A) in game one of a late double-header. Special recognition, by the way, to Eduardo Rivera, who went one out shy of a decision win but struck out nine and allowed just one run (via an error, so it was unearned) and had a no-hitter going through his 4 2⁄3 innings.
Greenville, Game 2: L, 1-3 (BOX SCORE)
In a game two that did not finish until almost midnight, the Drive were shut out until the seventh – and final – inning, when Miguel Bleis scored on a Justin Reimer sacrifice fly following his lead-off single. Franklin Arias, by the way, had 50% of the team’s four hits in game two.
Salem: L, 4-14 (BOX SCORE)
Following a first inning where the Sox allowed eight runs to the Shorebirds (Orioles A), this one was never in any doubt, especially when the team had just eight baserunners all night, matching the output in just one inning Delmarva had. Not counting that Ben Hansen off night, the pitching was actually pretty decent, striking out ten and allowing six hits. But you can’t exclude things in baseball, as Salem drops their eighth out of the last ten games.
Have a happy Thursday! Bob’s got you tomorrow, see you Saturday.