And Noah Dean strikes out nine for Greenville.
Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs 3, Worcester Red Sox 1 (F/7) BOX
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The Woo Sox had the misfortune of drawing the Andrew Painter straw as the Phillies’ top prospect’s rehab moved up to Triple-A on Thursday night. Painter struck out five over three shutout innings, allowing one hit. For Worcester, Cooper Criswell got the ball and fell one out shy of a complete game in the rain-shortened contest. He struck out seven in 5 2⁄3 innings, allowing three runs, before Zack Kelly retired the final batter.
Outside of a solo home run from Nate Eaton (4) in the fourth inning, there was little to speak of with the bats as Marcelo Mayer had the only other hit, as well as a walk. Roman Anthony walked twice, improving his OBP to .420 on the season. The game was called with Worcester batting, and one out in the top of the seventh inning, dropping the Woo Sox to 18-17 on the season.
Brian Van Belle (0-1, 3.00) will take the hill on Friday at 7:05 ET for Worcester.
Chesapeake Baysox 9, Portland Sea Dogs 4 (F/10) BOX
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The Sea Dogs battled back in the ninth inning but fell short in extra innings in this back-and-forth affair in Portland on Thursday night. Blake Wehunt drew the start and was wild, walking five batters, but allowed just two runs in four innings. Trailing 2-1 in the fifth, Portland SS Max Ferguson swatted a two-run homer (1) to go ahead 3-2. After falling behind 4-3 in the ninth inning, third baseman Mikey Romero tied the game with an RBI double to send it to extras. Romero, as well as Blaze Jordan, each had two hits on the day.
Relievers Alex Hoppe and Gabriel Jackson got hit around a bit in the extra frame, which gave Chesapeake (BAL) the 9-4 win.
Tyler Uberstine (0-1, 3.75) gets the nod on Friday at 6:00 ET.
Rome Emperors 7, Greenville Drive 2 (BOX)
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The Drive went ahead early in this one, leading Rome (ATL) 2-0 on a pair of sacrifice flies. Unfortunately, the bats went cold after the second inning, with Greenville managing just four hits. Two of those came from standout shortstop Franklin Arias, batting .342 on the season.
Starting pitcher Noah Dean was fantastic, striking out nine in 4 2⁄3 innings and allowing two hits. He handed the ball to Darvin Garcia, who allowed three runs to score in the fifth on wild pitches and a balk. Garcia allowed three more runs in the seventh, which opened the floodgates in the 7-2 loss.
Greenville plays at 7:00 ET on Friday and has not yet announced a starter.
Salem Red Sox 11, Fayetteville Woodpeckers 9 (F/10) BOX
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Finally, a win! And a wild one, at that. Third baseman Freili Encarnacion was the standout in this one, hitting his sixth home run in the first inning and adding an RBI double in extra innings to cap a 3-for-4 day with three runs and three RBI. Catcher Kleyver Salazar also had a huge day, going 2-for-5 and knocking in five runs, including a three-run home run that put Salem ahead 9-8 at the time. Starlyn Nunez added his third home run on a two-hit day.
Each of the seven pitchers who appeared in the game, between Salem and Fayetteville (HOU), allowed at least two runs. Salem starter Ben Hansen gave up four runs in 3 1⁄3 innings. When all was said and done, Salem scored six runs in the 9th and 10th innings to pull out the 11-9 victory.
Austin Ehrlicher (1-2, 7.56) will get the ball at 7:05 ET on Friday.