Worcester walks it off thanks to some heroics from the young prospects.
The farm all won on Tuesday, mostly comfortably, and even in a one-run game. What does winning in that manner feel like? Let me know when you find out. In the mean time, let’s get into it!
Worcester: W, 6-5 (F/10) (BOX SCORE)
In this extra innings contest, Blaze Jordan made his impact felt right away, capturing his first hit in Triple-A, and later, scoring in the tenth inning (via the Manfred rule, but still) on a Ryan Noda home run. Seby Zavala then bunted for a walkoff against the Red Wings (Nationals AAA), his second walkoff in about a week.
The game was kept close by a strong six innings by Robert Stock, who only looked weak when he was taken yard by Brady House, a Washington prospect who’s “kicking down the door” in his own way. Speaking of kicking down the door… if you’re asking how the score got tied after Worcester hadn’t scored since the third, look no further than that man Roman Anthony, who hit a solo shot in the bottom of the ninth on a full count. The longball had a WPA of .469 and should draw the ire of any Red Sox fan who have been watching the team lose by one seemingly every night for two weeks now. Worcester is now one game over .500 and starts in just a few minutes, at 11:05 AM.
Portland: W, 6-3 (BOX SCORE)
Three hitless innings of relief by Gabe Jackson, who’s been spotty this season following a quick promotion to Worcester? Check. Two extra base hits by Allan Castro, including a go-ahead home run in the fifth? Check. Four stolen bases? Check. Limiting strike outs to just five on the night? Check. This series opener against regional rivals Hartford (Rockies AA) was a clean baseball game save for defensive error by Abhram Liendo, but even Liendo put a run on the board when he scored on that Castro homer.
Greenville: W, 7-3 (BOX SCORE)
Were we just talking about leadoff guys who can hit? After finishing May with a .404 batting average across Salem and Greenville, Franklin Arias captured another two hits and has failed to reach base just once since being promoted. But the real focus of the game was Nazzan Zanetello’s two home runs in his first two plate appearances. Zanetello’s been sat down on strikes a lot this season, but he got the better of Rome (Braves High-A) pitching Tuesday. So, too, did Antonio Anderson, who opened up the scoring with a home run of his own. Thanks to a strong four-run inning in the first, Greenville was able to cruise behind a confident Adam Smith start: he may not have gotten any strikeouts and found the strike zone on just 35 of his 60 pitches, but he induced 10 grounders in his 15 outs.
Salem: W, 8-3 (BOX SCORE)
Salem was the third of three teams to hold their opposition to three runs: that they did this while giving up seven walks is even more impressive, but it can be attributed to Lynchburg (Guardians A) going 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position. This amount of opportunities is thanks to the Hillcats treating Andruw Mussett’s dish like a track meet, running on him five times. But, one can never complain when eight of Salem’s nine batters had a knock and four managed multiple hits.
Have a happy Wednesday!