Red Sox Minor League Report: David Ortiz's Son D'Angelo Crushes His First Professional Home Run

[Ayden Mason]

Boston Red Sox Affiliate Recap (June 10)

Triple-A Worcester Red Sox

Season Record: 33-29

Hardly any traffic on the base paths and a terrible first inning led to a loss for Worcester 5-2 against the Red Wings on the road.

After serving most of his time in the bullpen, Eduardo Rivera made his second consecutive start for the WooSox and had a rough outing, not even finishing the first inning. Rivera had no location of the strike zone, throwing 17 of his 38 pitches for strikes while walking four batters. With one out, Rivera gave up a solo shot, then proceeded to walk two straight batters. He recorded a strikeout to make it two outs, giving Worcester hope of getting out of the mess. The bases were jammed after another walk was allowed; a couple of very costly errors from Tsung-Che Cheng and Kristian Campbell put a combined four runs on the board for Rochester, giving them a 5-0 lead to end the first inning.

Although the starting pitching was not great, the bullpen was the bright spot. Seth Martinez (2 ⅓ IP 2 K), Osvaldo Berrios (3 IP, 4 K), and Angel Bastardo (2 IP, 4 K) combined for ten strikeouts and one walk in 7 ⅓ scoreless innings, keeping Rochester off the board. 

Offensively, Mikey Romero carried the lineup, going 2-for-4 with a solo homer in the fourth and an RBI single in the ninth, both of Worcester's only runs. Vinny Capra added a triple in the ninth to set up that final run. Braiden Ward doubled in the third. Beyond that, the bats were quiet: the 4-5-6-7-8 hitters (Campbell, Matt Thaiss, Allan Castro, Matt Lloyd, and Nathan Hickey) went a combined 0-for-16 with seven strikeouts. 

The bottom line: a disastrous first inning and a couple of bad throwing errors were way too much to overcome, despite some outstanding pitching from the bullpen. 

 Standout Performances:

• Seth Martinez: 2 ⅓ IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 K
• Osvaldo Berrios: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 4 K
• Angel Bastardo: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
• Mikey Romero: 2-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI

Double-A Portland Sea Dogs

Season Record: 29-29

The Sea Dogs struggled with men aboard in their 6-4 defeat to the Fightin Phils.

Portland's offense was quiet for most of the night, managing just six hits and striking out 11 times, but Johanfran Garcia was the bright spot, going 3-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs. His double in the third inning scored Marvin Alcantara to cut the early deficit to 3–1, and another double in the eighth brought in Arias to make the game 5-2.

The Sea Dogs trailed 3–0 early in the first inning when Reading launched a three-run homer. Starter Blake Wehunt gave up five earned runs over 4 ⅔ innings on seven hits, taking the loss. Wehunt settled in after the three-run blow in the first but got stuck in the fifth, giving up a pair of RBI singles that ultimately took him out of the game. Caleb Bolden was solid in relief (3 ⅓ IP, 1 ER, 3 K), keeping Portland within reach and not forcing the game to get out of hand.

Portland entered the ninth with a 6-2 deficit and made their best attempt to make a push, scoring once on a Fightin Phils fielding error and a Brooks Brannon RBI groundout to pull within 6–4, but the Sea Dogs unfortunately could not complete the comeback. Franklin Arias and Garcia carried the lineup, combining for five of the team's six hits while the six different Portland batters went hitless. The seven walks drawn kept some rallies alive, but too many strikeouts and the unwillingness to cash in runners in scoring position (1-for-11 with RISP) kept them out of reach.

Standout Performances:

• Johanfran Garcia: 3-for-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI
• Franklin Arias: 2-for-4, R, BB

High-A Greenville Drive

Season Record: 24-32

Three long balls for the Greenville Drive were just enough to take down the Dash 7-4.

It was a great day at the plate for Greenville, scoring in the first after Yoeilin Cespedes got caught stealing while Justin Gonzales took advantage of that play, taking off for home plate in the process. The big blow came in the second inning when Jack Winnay launched a three-run homer (his 11th) to left-center, turning a 1-0 lead into a 4-1 cushion. 

Luke Heyman extended Greenville’s lead 5-1 with an RBI single, but got thrown out at second while attempting to snag an extra base. Isaiah Jackson added a solo shot in the sixth to make it a 6-3 game, reaching double-digit homers on the season with his 10th while reaching base three times. Enddy Azocar had the best night at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a solo homer in the seventh (his 2nd High-A homer), 7-3.

In the eighth inning, Danny Kirwin got into trouble as he was unable to find the zone. With one out, he gave up a double, then the runner moved to third base on a wild pitch. He proceeded to walk two straight batters to load the bases, putting his team in a major hole. Kirwin walked the next batter once again, bringing in a run, which was the end of his night. Steven Brooks came into the game and saved Greenville, striking out the next two batters to get out of the jam with no further damage, 7-4.

Dylan Brown started and was solid, tossing four innings, allowing two runs on five hits with an impressive six strikeouts. Brooks locked it down at the end of the game, finishing with 1 ⅔ scoreless innings and three K's, earning his second save of the season.

Standout Performances:

• Enddy Azocar: 3-for-4, HR, 2 R, RBI
• Isaiah Jackson: 1-for-2, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB, HBP
• Jack Winnay: 1-for-4, HR, R, 3 RBI
• Dylan Brown: 4 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
• Steven Brooks: 1 ⅔ IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 K

Low-A Salem RidgeYaks

Season Record: 24-35

The RidgeYaks dropped their fifth straight game in a close 6-5 defeat against the Woodpeckers.

D'Angelo Ortiz got Salem on the board first with his first professional home run, a solo blast to left in the third inning, giving the Yaks a 1-0 lead. Fayetteville answered with a pair of RBI singles and an RBI groundout in the top of the fourth, taking a 3-1 lead.

Salem clawed back to tie it in the sixth inning. Anderson Fermin and Givian Sirvania got on base; afterward, Skylar King drove in Fermin with a single, and Kleyver Salazar brought home Sirvania on a sacrifice fly, tying it 3-3. With Louis Andujar at the plate with two outs and runners on the corners, Andrews Opata stole his 29th base of the season, causing the catcher's throw to trickle in the outfield, bringing in Skylar King, giving Salem the lead once again, 4-3.

The lead didn't last long. Fayetteville broke through, scoring three runs in the seventh against Jay Allmer, highlighted by a two-run double to make it 6-4. Allmer ended up taking the loss.

Salem made it interesting in the ninth, facing a 6-4 deficit. Salazar led the game off with a single, then Adonys Guzman followed with a double, putting runners on second and third with no outs to give the RidgeYaks a good spot to walk it off. Andujar came up to the plate and hit into a devastating double-play: a line-drive comebacker to the pitcher caught the runner on second, slipping, and was thrown out to complete the double-play. Avinson Pinto laced an RBI double to cut it to 6-5, but that is where it ended. What makes the loss more heartbreaking is knowing the Pinto double would have at least tied the game.

Joey Gartrell was sharp in his relief appearance, throwing 2 ⅓ innings, giving Salem the best possible chance to make a comeback.

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