Red Sox Minor League Report: Greenville’s Monstrous Offensive Display Piloted By Enddy Azocar’s Four-Hit Day

[Ayden Mason]

Boston Red Sox Affiliate Recap

Triple-A Worcester Red Sox

Season Record: 52-47

Worcester’s offense bounced back with an 11-hit showing, defeating the Norfolk Tides (Baltimore Orioles) 6-2.

The WooSox got aggressive right out the gate; Braiden Ward reached first base on a bunt, then stole his 44th bag of the season as Franklin Arias struck out. Mikey Romero was the next man up, singling to center, then Jason Delay followed up with a walk to load the bases. Allan Castro delivered a two-run single to center field, giving the Sox a 2-0 lead.

Norfolk gave Worcester a scare in the fourth inning, scoring two runs to tie it 2-2, but Brett Harris and Vinny Capra broke the game open with a pair of two-run homers in the sixth, giving their team a breathable 6-2 lead.

The Sox’s bullpen was lights out the rest of the way; Tyler Samaniego, Angel Bastardo, and Wyatt Olds combined for 3 ⅔ shutout one-hit innings and five strikeouts. Blake Wehunt made his second start for Triple-A Worcester as he continues to get comfortable, tossing five innings with one earned run (one unearned) and four strikeouts.

Standout Performances:

• Vinny Capra: 2-for-4, HR, 2B, R, 2 RBI
• Brett Harris: 1-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI

Double-A Portland Sea Dogs

Season Record: 51-46

After taking a lead with a big sixth inning, Portland’s bullpen blew the game in the ninth inning, losing 9-6 against the Harrisburg Senators (Washington Nationals).

Catcher Nate Baez had himself a multi-hit day at the plate, including an RBI single in the second inning that gave the Sea Dogs an early 1-0 lead. The Senators tied it up in the fourth with a line drive RBI single and gave themselves a lead with a sacrifice fly. Their bats stayed hot in the fifth, blasting a two-run shot to extend their lead to 4-1. 

Portland had a big sixth inning while taking advantage of a pitcher struggling to find the strike zone. The inning started with a leadoff Baez single and a Will Turner walk; afterward, Miguel Bleis and Matt Frazier delivered a pair of RBI singles to put his squad within one run. 

With runners on the corners, the Sea Dogs were patient at the plate, and it all worked out. It started with an Ahbram Liendo four-pitch walk to juice the bases, then Mason White and Ronald Rosario both drew bases-loaded walks, giving Portland a 5-4 lead. In the seventh, Liendo gave his team some insurance with an RBI single to bring in Bleis, making it a 6-4 game. 

Erik Rivera came into the ninth with a two-run cushion and struggled mightily, giving up five runs on three hits and a walk as he took the blown save and loss in this contest. Patrick Halligan was the bright spot for Portland’s pitching staff, tossing three shutout one-hit innings with three strikeouts. 

High-A Greenville Drive

Season Record: 40-54

Greenville’s bats erupted for an astonishing 13 runs while giving up just one run against the Asheville Tourists (Houston Astros).

In this blowout defeat, the Drive collected 15 hits, four of them coming from Enddy Azocar, who contributed with an RBI single, a two-run single, and a solo blast in the ninth inning, his 10th homer in High-A.

Justin Gonzales continued to hit the cover off the baseball, hammering a solo shot in the first, making it three straight games with a homer. Ronny Hernandez had himself a solid 2-for-3 day with an RBI walk and single while getting on base four times. After struggling since coming off the IL, Maximus Martin finally had the breakout game he had been looking for, a multi-hit day with a home run and three RBIs. Antonio Anderson stayed extremely hot; a 2-for-4 day with two doubles moved his batting average in July up to .348 with a 1.018 OPS. 

The Drive rolled out a two-man pitching staff, and they were nails. It all started with Kyson Witherspoon’s start, mowing down the Tourists through 5 ⅓ innings of one-run ball with five strikeouts to earn the win. Alex Bouchard was solid, finishing off the last 3 ⅓ innings, giving up just two hits, three walks, and striking out three to earn the first save of his minor league career.

Standout Performances:

• Enddy Azocar: 4-for-5, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI
• Ronny Hernandez: 2-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB
• Maximus Martin: 2-for-4, HR, R, 3 RBI
• Justin Gonzales: 1-for-4, HR, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB, SB
• Kyson Witherspoon: 5 ⅓ IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
• Alex Bouchard: 3 ⅔ IP,  2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K

Low-A Salem RidgeYaks

Season Record: 42-55

Game 1 of Doubleheader

For the first game of a seven-inning doubleheader, the RidgeYaks strung together a couple big innings as they cruised to an easy 7-2 victory over the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (Chicago White Sox).

Salem wasted no time, coming out hot with a three-run inning in the top of the first. Starly Nunez led the game off with a double (his first of two hits), then Kleyver Salazar brought him in with a double of his own. After struggling mightily towards the end of May and all throughout June, Louis Andujar has been scorching hot in July; he continued his hot stretch by blasting a two-run homer to give the RidgeYaks a 3-0 lead. 

After Franklin Primera was plunked by a pitch and advanced to second base on a Salazar walk, Skylar King extended Salem’s lead to 4-1 with an RBI double in the third inning. Then came another three-run inning in the fourth, highlighted by a Nunez two-run blast and a Givian Sirvania RBI groundout, giving the Yaks a commanding 7-1 lead.

Christian Fouch looked nice in his four-inning start, giving up an unearned run on two hits and three walks with five strikeouts. Cole Tolbert finished off the rest with three innings, two hits, and one run allowed while also earning the win.

Standout Performances:

• Starlyn Nunez: 2-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI
• Louis Andujar: 1-for-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB

Game 2 of Doubleheader

The second game of the doubleheader was a snoozer, with the RidgeYaks taking a 1-0 defeat to the Cannon Ballers.

Salem’s offense was dominated by the Kannapolis pitching staff. The Yaks tallied a whopping two hits and one walk, with the hits coming from Franklin Primera (single) and Anderson Fermin (single), and the walk was drawn by Justin Barry. 

Despite Jason Gilman taking the loss, the southpaw was outstanding through all six innings for Salem, giving up just one run on three hits, two walks, and punching out four batters.

Standout Performance;

• Jason Gilman: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

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