Red Sox Minor League Report: Antonio Anderson’s Hot Month Continues as Greenville Slips Away With Win

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Triple-A Worcester Red Sox

Season Record: 61-50

Worcester’s pitching staff scuffled over the last two games, but they locked in for their 2-1 victory over the Buffalo Bisons (Toronto Blue Jays).

The Sox were outhit in this matchup, collecting four hits to Buffalo’s eight, but they still came away with a win. The Bisons jumped on top early in the first inning with an RBI double that made it 1-0. 

Kristian Campbell continues to crush baseballs as of late. The former top prospect took an inside fastball for a ride, hammering it on a line at 107 MPH off the left field wall for a double.

Franklin Arias went hitless but was still productive, reaching base twice with two walks and tying the game up 1-1 in the third with an RBI groundout. Not much happened for Worcester until the seventh came; Vinny Capra and Tsung-Che Cheng drew back-to-back walks, setting up Jason Delay to bring in a run with an RBI double, putting the Sox ahead 2-1. 

Wyatt Olds and Angel Bastardo threw shutout innings in the eighth and ninth to win it for Worcester. Journeyman pitcher John Brebbia started on the mound and held his own, not letting the game get out of hand where it easily could have in the first inning. Hobie Harris was dominant out of the bullpen, setting the tone for the rest of his teammates with three shutout one-hit innings with four strikeouts. Tyler Samaniego was awesome as well, despite him giving up three hits; every out he recorded ended with a strikeout in 1 ⅓ innings.

Standout Performances:

• Jason Delay: 1-for-2, 2B, R, RBI, BB
• Hobie Harris: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 4 K

Double-A Portland Sea Dogs

Season Record: 57-52

This time using a bullpen game, Portland’s pitching staff scuffled once again, getting blown out 13-5 by the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (New York Mets).

Out of the Sea Dogs' nine hits as a team, Ronald Rosario, Yoeilin Cespedes, Nate Baez, and Max Ferguson combined for eight of them, all recording two-hit games. Cespedes, who has been struggling through his first seven games of Double-A while also entering the game with an 0-for-20 slump, finally broke out with a multi-hit day and a solo homer in the fifth.

Nelly Taylor made the game a little interesting in the fifth inning, crushing a three-run bomb to cut the deficit to 8-4, but the Rumble Ponies exploded with a massive five-run inning in the sixth to put the game away.

Portland sent out five pitchers on the mound, with two of them having shutout appearances. Steven Brooks threw two shutout innings out of the bullpen, followed by Erik Rivera striking out three batters in his shutout ninth inning.

High-A Greenville Drive

Season Record: 48-59

Greenville completed two games on Wednesday, finishing off a suspended game due to lightning, then playing another contest right after against the Hub City Spartanburgers (Texas Rangers).

Game 1 (suspended on August 11, finished on August 12)

Greenville’s bats started off hot and held on just enough with a 7-6 victory against the Spartanburgers.

The Drive’s runs came fast in the first inning; Luke Heyman’s single brought in two runs, and Isaiah Jackson’s three-run blast put Greenville on top 5-0. Now, the runs carried over to the following day. Justin Gonzales lined an RBI single to left field in the fourth while Antonio Anderson stayed extremely hot, roping an RBI double to left field as well, making it a 7-0 game.

Hub City responded in the best way possible in the sixth, stringing together a six-run inning to put them within striking distance, 7-6. Luckily, Greenville’s bullpen locked it down the rest of the way to end it.

Alex Bouchard was solid through two shutout innings with two strikeouts. Matt McShane was the lifesaver out of the bullpen for the Drive, putting the game away with two shutout innings of his own with one strikeout. 

Standout Performances: 

• Antonio Anderson: 2-for-4, 2 2B, R, RBI, BB, SB
• Isaiah Jackson: 1-for-4, HR, R, 3 RBI

Game 2

After combining for 13 hits, Greenville cooled down heavily, tallying just two hits in a 3-2 seven-inning loss to Hub City. 

The Spartanburgers jumped on top early in the first inning with a 1-0 lead, then Greenville responded with an Isaiah Jackson solo shot in the second, followed by Yophery Rodriguez’s RBI groundout that brought in Maximus Martin, 2-1. Things looked bright for the Drive, but that was not the case, unfortunately. A single by Gerardo Rodriguez in the third was the last hit Greenville recorded, as Hub City walked it off in the end to take a  3-2 victory.

Marcus Phillips had one of his best starts of the season. Although he gave up three walks, the former Tennessee Volunteer pounded the strike zone, throwing 45 of his 63 pitches for strikes through four innings with six strikeouts and just one run allowed. Brandon Neely gave up one run in his two innings of work. Aaron Nixon was one strike away from bringing the game to extra innings, but an infield single sealed the game for Hub City.

Low-A Salem RidgeYaks

Season Record: 48-60

Salem bounced back from a loss and earned themselves a 10-3 victory after a late surge against the Delmarva Shorebirds (Baltimore Orioles).

After Adonys Guzman scored on a wild pitch in the third, Delmarva responded with a three-run fourth inning to make it a 3-1 game. Then came Salem’s huge inning. Colton Coates led the sixth off with a walk, then Franklin Primera continued to stay on fire, roping an RBI hit down the left field line that should have been a double, but a throw to home plate forced Primera to go to third, which went down as a triple. A fielder's choice from Starlyn Nunez brought in Primera, and a pair of RBI knocks from Skylar King and Guzman put Salem on top 6-3. 

The RidgeYaks followed up with a four-run seventh inning to put the game out of reach. Another Coates walk and a Primera hit put two runners aboard, then Kleyver Salazar brought in a run with an RBI single. With two runners on base, Andrews Opata blasted a three-run shot to give Salem a massive 10-3 lead. The game was smooth sailing for them with the RidgeYaks taking home a victory.

Christian Fouch made the start for Salem and struggled to find the strike zone, but he still made it work, giving up just one run on four walks and one hit with five strikeouts through four innings. Nicholas Justice made his season debut, allowing two runs in 1 ⅔ innings but also earning the win. Ethan Walker was dominant in his 3 ⅓ appearance out of the bullpen, punching out four batters with just one hit and one walk allowed.

Standout Performances:

• Franklin Primera: 4-for-5, 3B, 2 R, RBI
• Andrews Opata: 2-for-4, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI

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