Red Sox Minor League Report: Salem’s Monster 16-Run Performance Features Louis Andujar’s First RidgeYaks Homer

[Ayden Mason]

Boston Red Sox Affiliate Recap

Triple-A Worcester Red Sox

Season Record: 40-40

Worcester came back from a two-run deficit entering the seventh inning, defeating the Syracuse Mets (New York Mets) 7-5, extending their winning streak to four games.

Worcester jumped out early in the first with a Vinny Capra RBI single. The Mets answered back in the bottom half with two solo homers, making it a 2-1 game. Solo shots from Nathan Hickey in the second and Mickey Gasper in the third gave the WooSox the lead once again, 3-2. 

With a flip of a switch, Syracuse turned it over in the bottom of the fifth with a three-run homer to make it 5-3.

The comeback happened in the late stages of the game. Gasper drew a bases-loaded two-out walk in the seventh to bring it within one, then Hickey crushed a go-ahead two-run bomb (his second homer of the game) in the eighth for a 6-5 lead. Braiden Ward tacked on an insurance run with a solo shot in the ninth.

On the mound, Worcester's bullpen was dominant in the middle innings. Tyler Uberstine was the key bridge with three shutout innings while tossing five strikeouts. Eduardo Rivera got the win with 2 ⅓ innings with four punchouts, and Wyatt Olds closed it out with a two-inning save.

Standout Performances:

• Nathan Hickey: 2-for-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB
• Braiden Ward: 2-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 R, RBI
• Mickey Gasper: 1-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB
• Tyler Uberstine: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 5 K
• Eduardo Rivera: 2 ⅓ IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 4 K

Double-A Portland Sea Dogs

Season Record: 40-37

It was a close game through five innings, but the Sea Dogs fell apart in the sixth, taking a blowout 10-3 defeat to the Curve (Pittsburgh Pirates).

Portland kept it close early. After going down 1-0 in the first, the Sea Dogs tied it 1-1 with a Johanfran Garcia RBI single.

Jack Winnay carried the Sea Dogs offense, giving his team a 2-1 lead with a solo homer in the fourth inning and tacked on a double (two of the three extra-base hits Portland tallied). 

Altoona tied it 2-2 in the top of the sixth, then came the downpour of runs: a solo homer and a bases-loaded walk put the Curve up 3-2, then suddenly, a grand slam blew it open 7-2. Brooks Brannon tried the claw back from the deficit after crushing a solo bomb (his 11th of the season), 7-3. Altoona added three more in the ninth, then threw a shutout ninth to end it 10-3.

The bullpen got hit hard, but Gage Ziehl was outstanding, tossing five innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts. 

Standout Performances:

• Gage Ziehl: 5 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
• Jack Winnay: 2-for-4, HR, 2B, R, RBI

High-A Greenville Drive

Season Record: 30-45

The Drive suffered an unfortunate walk-off defeat, 5-4, to Winston-Salem (Chicago White Sox).

Greenville fell behind early when the Dash crushed a three-run homer in the first, digging the Drive in a 3-0 hole. Greenville clawed all the way back in the second: Antonio Anderson's two-run single and Stanley Tucker's RBI single tied it 3-3. 

Winston-Salem edged ahead again on an RBI triple in the third, but Tucker came through in the clutch once more with an RBI double in the seventh, knotting it 4-4. 

It stayed tied until the bottom of the ninth, when an RBI single scored the winning run for the Dash, ending it 5-4. Greenville showed fight but came up just short.

After a solid month of June, Kyson Witherspoon gave up four runs in his first start of July. After the rough first inning, he settled in and did not let the game get out of hand. Griffin Kilander was phenomenal in his relief appearance, tossing four shutout innings with six punchouts.

Standout Performances:

• Antonio Anderson: 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI
• Stanley Tucker: 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI
• Griffin Kilander: 4 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

Low-A Salem RidgeYaks

Season Record: 30-47

It was an offensive showdown in this high-scoring affair with Salem coming out on top 16-10 against the GreenJackets (Atlanta Braves).

Salem jumped on top first 1-0 after Andrews Opata came around to score on Andruw Musett's fielder's-choice groundout. Augusta responded in the second inning with a massive six-run inning, making the game seem out of reach already 6-1.

Back-to-back homers came in the third inning for the Yaks. Adonys Guzman launched a two-run shot to center, and Louis Andujar immediately followed with a solo homer to left (his first homer for the RidgeYaks). What seemed to be in the blink of an eye, Salem tied the game up. Andujar was clutch once again, this time with a two-run single to right that brought in Opata and Guzman.

After falling behind once more 9-6, the RidgeYaks had a big sixth-inning frame. Givian Sirvania's RBI single (aided by a shortstop error) made it 9-7. Then Skylar King crushed a three-run homer to left-center, flipping the game to 10-9. Four runs gave Salem the lead for good.

The RidgeYaks had another huge inning in the eighth. Opata's single (deflected by the right fielder) scored Fernandez. Guzman added a sac fly to score Sirvania. Then Musett doubled home two more to make it 14-9.

Two more runs came in the ninth after King's RBI single scored Fernandez, and Opata's sacrifice fly brought in Sirvania. The GreenJackets pushed across a run in the bottom half but never had a chance, ending it 16-10.

Standout Performances:

• Skylar King: 3-for-5, HR, 2B, 3 R, 4 RBI, BB
• Adonys Guzman: 2-for-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB
• Andrews Opata: 2-for-4, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB, 2 SB
• Louis Andujar: 2-for-4, HR, R, 3 RBI
• Givian Sirvania: 2-for-4, 2B, 3 R, BB

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[moonslav59]

Salem has really been struggling to compete, of late. It was nice to see them break out.