Red Sox Minor League Report: All Four Sox Affiliates Suffered Defeats, While Patrick Sandoval Made Rehab Start

Boston Red Sox Affiliate Recap (June 11)

Triple-A Worcester Red Sox

Season Record: 33-30

Worcester had a doubleheader against the Rochester Red Wings that included a makeup game from May 24, but it ended up getting canceled. After jumping on top early, they lost the lead and never came back in the 6-4 seven-inning defeat.

Worcester got out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning while facing former Red Sox top prospect Luis Perales. Braiden Ward singled to start the game and later advanced to second base on a poorly thrown pickoff attempt from Rochester's pitcher. Ward showed how much of a threat he can be on the base paths. A failed bunt attempt popped up in the shallow part of the infield in foul territory, forcing the third baseman to go catch it, and no one was covering third base, so Ward tagged up from second and slid head-first safely. That aggression cost him, unfortunately, the next at-bat. Mikey Romero hit a soft ground ball to the shortstop, and Ward was thrown out at home, leaving Romero on first base. After Anthony Seigler drew a walk to put two runners on with two outs, Matt Thaiss did not want to leave the inning empty-handed, launching a three-run homer to right-center off of Perales, the big blow of the game for Worcester.

The lead didn't last, Rochester answered with a solo shot in the bottom of the first (3-1), and the Red Wings scored two more runs to tie it 3-3 in the third inning on an RBI single and a run-scoring groundout.

Worcester retook the lead briefly in the fourth. Allan Castro hit a jamshot single, then stole his 12th base of the year to put him on second with no outs. Nathan Hickey brought him in after he ripped an RBI double (4-3), but Rochester tied it again 4-4 with a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth.

The game got away from Worcester in the fifth, reliever Devin Sweet gave up back-to-back singles then allowed a sacrifice fly and an RBI double, giving Rochester a 6-4 lead they wouldn't relinquish. Sweet took the loss and was charged with a blown save.

In his second rehab start since April, Patrick Sandoval went just 1 ⅔ innings (3 K’s) with his only hit given up being a hanging slider down the middle of the plate that was taken deep. Zack Kelly gave up two runs in 1 ⅓ innings. Sweet was roughed up for three runs over two innings. Joe La Sorsa was the only WooSox pitcher with a clean inning, tossing a perfect ninth inning with one punchout.

Double-A Portland Sea Dogs

Season Record: 29-30

Portland dropped its third straight game to the Fightin Phils after losing 5-3.

Dalton Rogers started on the mound for the Sea Dogs, giving up four runs in three innings, putting Portland in a hole early. Reading's damage came in the second inning: a solo homer, an RBI double, and an RBI single made it 3-0.

The Sea Dogs clawed back with two runs in the third on a Brooks Brannon RBI double, and a Johanfran Garcia groundout made it a one-run game, 3-2. The Fightin Phils extended their lead once again with another solo homer, 4-2. 

Both teams were scoreless from there up until the seventh when Will Turner went deep, launching his seventh homer of the season to make it 4-3. But Reading answered again with a solo homer off Reidis Sena in the eighth, giving them some breathing room.

Portland out-hit Reading 9-10, but their downfall was not being able to convert with runners in scoring position (1-for-13 RISP). Turner, Garcia, and Brannon all registered multi-hit games, putting the offense on their backs. Max Carlson and Erik Rivera were solid in relief, tossing four shutout innings combined, but the early deficit proved too much.

Standout Performances:

• Will Turner: 2-for-5, HR, 2 R, RBI
• Brooks Brannon: 2-for-5, 2B, RBI
• Johanfran Garcia: 2-for-5, RBI
• Max Carlson: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 K

High-A Greenville Drive

Season Record: 24-33

A rough all-around night for Greenville led to a 9-1 defeat to the Dash at home.

Greenville managed just four hits, two from Yophery Rodriguez (2-for-4), one from Yoeilin Cespedes (1-for-5), and one from Antonio Anderson (1-for-3, BB). The lineup drew six walks and had plenty of chances to bring in runs with runners aboard, but couldn't string anything together (1-for-12 RISP). Their lone run came in the eighth when Freili Encarnacion walked, advanced to third on a Rodriguez single, and scored on a Ronny Hernandez double play. 

On the mound, starter Jojo Ingrassia was the bright spot with three scoreless innings and four strikeouts. Joe Vogatsky (2 ⅓ IP, 2 ER) allowed a solo shot in the sixth. P.J. Labriola got bombarded, giving up six runs on six hits in 2 ⅓ innings. Matt McShane pitched the final 1 ⅓ innings, giving up a solo homer in the ninth.

The Dash smacked four home runs total and drew nine walks as a team, too many baserunners to survive.

Low-A Salem RidgeYaks

Season Record: 24-36

Salem’s losing streak extends to six games, getting blown out 12-5 by the Woodpeckers.

A rough night at Carilion Clinic Field, Salem never had a lead, falling behind early and watching it unravel in the middle innings. Fayetteville blew it open with a four-run sixth inning, going up 8-1, then added back-to-back homers in the ninth, making it an official blowout, 12-5.

The RidgeYaks showed life in the bottom of the sixth, scoring four runs on RBI knocks from Avinson Pinto, D'Angelo Ortiz (2 RBI), and an Ilan Fernandez double to cut it to 8-5, but they were shut down the rest of the way.

As a team, Salem’s offense only had four hits, 13 strikeouts; they went 2-for-9 with RISP and still scored five runs. Starter Leighton Finley took the loss, throwing 4 ⅓ innings with six strikeouts, but gave up four runs. Reliever Nicolas De La Cruz had a rough outing, not being able to get an out in the sixth inning, and getting tagged for four runs in ⅔ of an inning.

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