Red Sox Daily Minor League Report: Luke Heyman Has Spectacular High-A Debut

Boston Red Sox Affiliate Recap (May 26)

Triple-A Worcester Red Sox

Season Record: 24-25

Worcester hopped on the road and defeated the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders (New York Yankees) 6-3.

Worcester came out on top first and never trailed in this matchup. They jumped on the Railriders starter early, scoring two runs in the top of the first. Nate Eaton drew a leadoff walk, then Anthony Seigler brought him in after he ripped a line drive single, then Mikey Romero drove in Kristian Campbell with a productive groundout. The RailRiders answered back immediately in the bottom half with a two-run homer to tie it, but that was the last time they would be a threat.

Vinny Capra put Worcester back in front in the third with an RBI single, scoring Campbell, who continued to be a pest on the basepaths all night, scoring his second run. From there, the WooSox pitching staff locked things down. Starter Raymond Burgos gave up those two early runs but was pulled after two innings, and Alec Gamboa was phenomenal in long relief, pitching four scoreless innings and giving up just two hits while striking out four. He earned the win, moving to 2-2. Worcester tacked on some insurance runs with Eaton's sacrifice fly in the sixth and then blew it open in the eighth. Eaton crushed a solo homer, his fifth of the year, then Seigler followed later with a sharp RBI double to make it 6-2. Seigler was arguably the best bat in the lineup, going 2-for-3 with two walks and two RBIs. 

Zack Kelly earned the hold, pitching the seventh and eighth, allowing just one run, then Tommy Kahnle slammed the door in the ninth for his third save.

Key Performance:

• Anthony Seigler: 2-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB
• Nate Eaton: 1-for-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB
• Kristian Campbell: 1-for-3, 2 R, BB
• Alec Gamboa: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

Double-A Portland Sea Dogs

Season Record: 23-22

The Sea Dogs won it on the road in a tight, low-scoring game but broke open with a four-run inning to end it 7-3 against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (New York Mets).

Portland got off to an early start in the first inning. Marvin Alcantara, who is currently riding a five-game hitting streak and batting .421 in that span, hit an infield single and stole a base, then Brooks Brannon hit a single to bring him in. But the lead didn't last too long; Binghamton tied it in the third on a solo homer, then took the lead with an RBI double. The Sea Dogs were staring at a 2-1 deficit through four innings. 

However, they clawed back in the fifth, Tyler McDonough roped a single and scored on a Caden Rose line drive single, knotting it at 2-2. The Rumble Ponies retook the lead after hitting a sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the inning. 

Portland's bats went quiet again up until the eighth, when Nate Baez lifted a sac fly to right to score Alcantara and tie it at 3-3. Caleb Bolden had an outstanding relief appearance, throwing three shutout innings, including the ninth to force extras.

The tenth inning is where the Sea Dogs' bats woke back up. With Miguel Bleis as the ghost runner at second base, McDonough ripped an RBI triple to break the tie. Franklin Arias followed with an RBI double to earn his 30th RBI of the year, then Alcantara collected his second hit of the game with a single to left and advanced to third base due to a throwing error from the pitcher, making it a 6-3 game. Brannon capped the rally with another RBI double. Four runs on four hits put the game out of reach, 7-3.

Anthony Eyanson was tagged a little bit, giving up three runs, but he still looked terrific. Eyanson struck out eight batters in four innings while also generating 14 whiffs. The bullpen combination of Cade Feeney and Bolden shut Binghamton down over the next five frames. Reidis Sena pitched great as well, tossing a scoreless tenth inning while working around two base runners with no outs. 

Key Performances:

• Anthony Eyanson: 4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 K
• Caleb Bolden: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 3 K
• Marvin Alcantara: 2-for-4, 3 R, BB, 2 SB
• Tyler McDonough: 2-for-4, 3B 2 R, RBI
• Brooks Brannon: 2-for-5, 2 RBI

High-A Greenville Drive

Season Record: 17-27

With some new additions to the team, the Greenville Drive crushed the Asheville Tourists (Houston Astros) 10-2.

Greenville scored two runs in the first inning to start the slugfest. Enddy Azocar drew a walk in his first High-A at bat, then Yoeilin Cespedes hit his 10th homer of the year with a two-run shot, giving the Drive an early 2-0 lead.

Asheville cut the deficit with a solo home run in the top of the second, afterwards in the bottom half, for Luke Heyman’s first Greenville at bat since his promotion, he smacked a solo homer to make it a 3-1 game.

The Drive got some comfort room in the third inning, scoring three runs. It all started when Cespedes hit a single and advanced to second on a passed ball, then advanced to third due to a disengagement violation. Gerardo Rodriguez brought him in with an RBI single to left. In the next at-bat, Heyman put on a good impression for the new squad, hitting a two-run blast, his second home run of the game, giving Greenville a 6-1 lead.

The Tourists made it a 6-2 game in the fourth, but the Drive did not flinch. Henry Godbout belted a solo homer to lead off the fifth inning. Rodriguez roped a double to left field and advanced to third on a pitch, then Heyman hit him in to earn his fourth RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly. Turning the lineup over, Godbout came back up and hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Rodriguez once again. Azocar got his first High-A hit to lead off the eighth, hammering a ball past a diving center fielder and legging out a triple, his fourth of the year. Cespedes brought him in with a single to put the game way out of reach, 10-2.

Other than the homer he gave up, Tyler Uberstine pitched well in his first rehab start and his first outing since April 14, tossing 1 ⅓ one-hit innings and striking out four batters. Danny Kirwin had a scoreless appearance to finish off the second inning for Uberstine. Dylan Brown was outstanding in relief, giving up four hits, one unearned run, and striking out nine batters in 4 ⅓ innings. Steven Brooks finished the last 2 ⅔ innings and had a scoreless appearance as well, while striking out three. 

Key Performances: 

• Luke Heyman: 3-for-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI
• Yoeilin Cespedes: 3-for-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI
• Henry Godbout: HR, 2 RBI
• Gerardo Rodriguez: 2-for-5, 2B, 2 R, RBI
• Dylan Brown: 4 ⅓ IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 9 K

Single-A Salem RidgeYaks

Season Record: 21-25

Salem took the victory in a game that ended in the middle of the sixth inning due to rain, 3-1, against the Hickory Crawdads (Texas Rangers). 

The RidgeYaks got started early in the first inning when Andrews Opata hit a single and was a pest on the bases, stealing second and third base, his 22nd and 23rd of the year, the third most in the Carolina League. A perfectly timed error by the Crawdads' first baseman gave Salem a free run, putting them on top 1-0. 

Hickory answered back quickly, hitting an RBI single to tie it up 1-1. It was uneventful up until the fifth inning when Frederik Jimenez worked a lead-off walk, then Stanley Tucker crushed a two-run homer, giving Salem a 3-1 lead just in time for the umpire crew to call the game in the sixth.

Barrett Morgan has continued to look incredible this season, earning his third win of the year, throwing four strikeouts in five innings of work while giving up just one run, lowering his ERA to 1.98 and WHIP to 0.95.

Wuilliams Rodriguez gave up a lead-off single, forced a groundout, and recorded a strikeout, then was one out away from a scoreless inning until the game was called; however, he earned his first save of the season.

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