Red Sox Minor League Report: Justin Gonzales, Johanfran Garcia Power Portland to Blowout Win

Let’s take a look at how the Red Sox farm fared on Saturday evening. 

Triple-A Worcester Red Sox

Series vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (New York Yankees): 2-3
Season Record: 65-60

The WooSox couldn’t muster much offense for the second night in a row, losing 9-1. 

Michael Sansone was back in Worcester on Saturday night following a month-long stint with Portland. The lefty turned in five frames of shoddy work, allowing the RailRiders to take a commanding lead. He let up six runs (one unearned) on six hits and issued one walk. He struck out five before Patrick Halligan took over in the sixth inning. Halligan was slightly better, allowing two runs on five hits across three innings. He punched out four and walked one. First baseman Nathan Hickey took the final inning of the blowout loss, letting up one run on three hits and issuing a walk. He notched one strikeout against former Yankees top prospect Jasson Dominguez. 

After a disappointing showing on Friday, the WooSox bats weren’t much better on Saturday. Tallying seven baserunners, Worcester was able to score just one run as offensive struggles plagued nearly the entire lineup. Isaiah Kiner-Falefa, who has struggled through his rehab stint thus far, led the way with two hits while Mikey Romero knocked in Worcester’s only run. The run came in the first inning, when Romero recorded an RBI knock, driving Kiner-Falefa home and grabbing an early lead. It was the only lead the WooSox would hold, however, falling in blowout fashion.

Double-A Portland Sea Dogs

Series @ Richmond Flying Squirrels (San Francisco Giants): 4-1
Season Record: 64-60

Contrary to Worcester’s struggles, Portland’s offensive triumphs kept piling up on Saturday as it won its fourth straight 14-3. 

Morgan McSweeney turned in his longest, and most successful, start of the season on Saturday. Across five innings, McSweeney let up one run on three hits and issued one walk. He struck out eight, his most this season before Tyler Davis took over. Davis turned in a so-so performance, but held the Flying Squirrels at bay. Davis gave up two runs on four hits across three frames of work. He issued one walk and struck out a pair before Jeremy Wu-Yelland took the ninth inning in perfect fashion, capping off a dominant win. 

All but one of Portland’s starting nine crossed home on Saturday night as the Sea Dogs racked up 14 runs on 14 hits. Johanfran Garcia notched two homers in the action. Justin Gonzales made it clear that he’s more than ready for the spotlight with a four-hit, two-RBI performance that included an incredible outfield assist in the first inning. The top prospect is batting .441 in Double-A. 

Surprisingly, the Sea Dogs didn’t put a run on the board until a seven-run outpouring in the sixth inning. Ronald Rosario got the inning started with a two-RBI double to center field, scoring Gonzales. Garcia crossed home shortly after, scoring on Henry Godbout’s first Double-A double. Rosario came all the way home on a wild pitch before Godbout scored on a bases-loaded walk from Caden Rose. A Tyler McDonough walk drove Max Ferguson home before Gonzales knocked in two more on a line-drive single with the bases loaded. Portland pulled ahead in a hurry, and never looked back. In the eighth Garcia would hit the first of two homers, taking his 15th homer of the season way deep to left field. The blast came off the bat at 106 mph and scored McDonough and Gonzales. In the ninth, Nelly Taylor added one more with a solo shot before Garcia went yard again, scoring Rose and Gonzales as the Sea Dogs cruised to a fourth-straight win. 

High-A Greenville Drive

Series vs. Rome Emperors (Atlanta Braves): 3-2
Season Record: 55-67

After two easy wins, the Greenville offense fell flat as it lost 12-2 on Saturday night. 

Barrett Morgan turned in a great start, chucking 3⅓ innings of hitless ball as he built back from a month-long IL stint. He walked one and struck out four before disaster struck during Adam Bates’ outing. Bates allowed six runs on four hits in just an inning of work, walking a pair and striking out two more. The bullpen struggled to recover after Bates’ appearance as Rome ran away with the win. Luis Cohen entered after Bates and let up three runs on three hits, issuing one walk and striking out another. Matt McShane took the final two innings of Saturday's game and struggled as well. He let up three runs on four hits, issuing one walk and striking out two more. 

Nazzan Zanetello was responsible for two of Greenville’s six hits while Isiahah Jackson and Givian Sirviania each recorded an RBI in Saturday’s loss. Both runs came in the fifth inning following Rome’s six-run explosion in the top of the inning. With the pressure on, Sirvania scored Zanetello on a groundout before Jackson scored Skylar King on a groundball single to right field.

Low-A Salem RidgeYaks

Series @ Fayetteville Woodpeckers (Houston Astros): 0-6
Season Record: 52-71

Salem’s offense went quiet in the late stages of Saturday's game, falling 5-4 in a close contest. 

Sadbiel Delzine turned in another solid start across three innings on Saturday night. The young star let up two runs on three hits, and recorded seven strikeouts across 13 batters faced. Alex Kranzler followed Delzine with an excellent appearance of his own. Kranzler let up one hit and walked one amid two frames of shutout work. He struck out a pair before Cade Vire took over. Vire struggled, allowing three runs (one unearned) across 1⅓ innings as Fayetteville claimed a slim lead. Vire walked two and recorded a pair of strikeouts before Cam Padgett took over. Padgett shut down the Woodpeckers in an attempt to give the Yaks’ offense a chance to come back. Across 1⅔ innings Padgett let up one hit and struck out another, lowering his ERA to 4.22 in the loss. 

Andruw Musett was responsible for all three of Salem’s RBIs, tallying three hits during Saturday’s game. The Yaks struggled with runners on, going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Colton Coates got the Yaks on the board first, reaching on a throwing error as Wills Maginnis scored. In the fourth, Musett gave Salem a wide lead with a three-run blast, scoring Louis Andujar and Starlyn Nunez. It was all the Yaks could muster, however, letting up four unanswered runs as they fell by one.

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