Red Sox Minor League Report: Marvin Alcantara's Multi-Hit Game Led to Portland Victory at Home

Boston Red Sox Affiliate Recap (June 18)

Triple-A Worcester Red Sox

Season Record: 35-33

The Worcester Red Sox out-hit the Lehigh Valley IronPigs 13 to 11 and clawed all the way back from an early three-run hole, but they failed to capitalize with the bases loaded in the ninth and dropped a 5-4 decision on the road.

Worcester fell behind quickly. The IronPigs scratched across a run in each of the first three innings against the Sox starter Raymond Burgos, a sacrifice fly in the first, an RBI single in the second, and another RBI single in the third built a 3-0 lead.

The WooSox bats woke up, and they did it with power. In the top of the fourth, Max Ferguson and Tyler McDonough went back-to-back, each launching solo bombs to cut the deficit to 3-2. An inning later in the fifth, shortstop Tsung-Che Cheng led off and connected on his seventh homer of the year, evening up the game, 3-3.

Burgos settled in to finish his five-inning, three-run outing with four strikeouts, but the bullpen couldn't hold the tie game. Lehigh Valley pushed across two runs in the bottom of the sixth off WooSox reliever Devin Sweet, on an RBI single and a sacrifice fly, retaking the lead 5-3.

Worcester kept battling. In the ninth, Anthony Seigler came around to score on an Allan Castro single to make it 5-4. Nathan Hickey came up and walked, loading the bases for Kristian Campbell, but the rally died there. Campbell fought hard in his at-bat, forcing eight pitches to be thrown, but he ultimately struck out to end the game.

Cheng led the offense with a three-hit night with a home run and an RBI. Mikey Romero added two hits and a walk, while Castro also collected two hits and an RBI. Despite stacking up 13 hits as a team, the WooSox repeatedly came up empty with runners on, leaving the door open for Lehigh Valley to escape with the win.

The Worcester bullpen did its part down the stretch: Zack Kelly tossed a scoreless seventh, and Wyatt Olds struck out two in a perfect eighth, but the early deficit and the rough sixth inning proved to be the difference.

Standout Performances: 

• Tsung-Che Cheng: 3-for-5, HR, R, RBI
• Max Ferguson: 1-for-4, HR, R, RBI
• Tyler McDonough: 1-for-3, HR, R, RBI, BB

Double-A Portland Sea Dogs

Season Record: 33-32

The Portland Sea Dogs erupted with a big inning and survived a three-run Somerset ninth to hang on for a 7-6 victory over the Patriots.

Somerset struck first, scoring two in the top of the first on a sacrifice fly and an RBI single off Portland’s starter Hayden Mullins. But Portland answered emphatically in the bottom of the second. Raudelis Martinez cleared the bases with a two-run ground-rule double to right, Marvin Alcantara tied it with a sacrifice fly, then Will Turner gave the Sea Dogs the lead for good with a solo homer (his ninth of the season), capping a four-run frame to make it 4-2.

From there, Portland kept adding on. Somerset made it a one-run game with a sacrifice fly in the fourth, but the lead for the Sea Dogs grew to 5-3 in the fourth on a stolen base from Alcantara, and with some help from the Patriots catcher’s bat throw, he ran home to score. Nate Baez and Ahbram Liendo drove in runs in the sixth and seventh due to more bad defense from Somerset, pushing the lead to 7-3.

Michael Sansone earned the win, his first of the year, working 5 ⅔ innings of three-run ball with five strikeouts and no walks. Sansone was outstanding up until the ninth inning when he ran into trouble. Somerset launched a three-run homer to pull them within one run, 7-6. Cade Feeney came in from the bullpen to slam the door, recording the final out for his second save of the season.

The Sea Dogs pounded 13 hits, getting multi-hit games from four batters: Turner, Stanley Tucker, Alcantara, and Brooks Brannon.

Standout Performances: 

• Will Turner: 2-for-4, HR, R, RBI
• Marvin Alcantara: 2-for-4, 2B, R, RBI, BB
• Raudelis Martinez: 1-for-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI

High-A Greenville Drive

Season Record: 26-37

A catastrophic inning led to an 8-5 Greenville defeat to the BlueClaws.

The Drive jumped in front in the top of the first when Yophery Rodriguez led off with his 11th home run of the season, a shot to right field for a quick 1-0 lead. Starter Jojo Ingrassia kept the BlueClaws mostly in check across his outing, but Jersey Shore tied it 1-1 in the second on an RBI triple.

The game turned in the bottom of the fifth. The BlueClaws batted around the lineup and scored an astonishing seven runs, forcing reliever Tyler Davis to exit the game. An RBI double, a two-run homer, and a run-scoring double led to his departure. Matt McShane came in the game and struck out the first batter he faced for the second out of the inning, giving his team a chance to stop the bleeding. Unfortunately, McShane gave up a three-run blast right after, blowing the game open, 8-1. 

To their credit, the Drive didn't fold. The bullpen steadied, and Luke Heyman launched a two-run homer in the eighth. Ronny Hernandez and Justin Gonzales added an RBI as well. Greenville pushed four runs across to climb within 8-5. The rally stalled there, and the BlueClaws closed it out.

Heyman led the Drive with a 2-for-4 night, a home run, and two RBIs. Greenville drew six walks and seven hits, but going 1-for-11 with RISP as a team does not win ballgames.

Low-A Salem RidgeYaks

Season Record: 25-40

The RidgeYaks shook off a mid-game deficit and took over, taking a 10-5 win against the Nationals.

Salem struck early in the top of the second. Ilan Fernandez’s bases-loaded walk and an Avinson Pinto two-run single staked the RidgeYaks to a 3-0 lead. Fredericksburg chipped away with a run in the second, then turned the game in the bottom of the fifth, scoring three runs with the help of a sacrifice fly and a two-run single to surge ahead 4-3.

The Nationals' lead didn't last. Salem answered in the top of the seventh: Andruw Musett delivered a clutch two-run single to take the lead, then Adonys Guzman followed with an RBI single to flip the score to 6-4. The RidgeYaks tacked on an unearned run in the eighth, then blew it open in the ninth. Andrews Opata launched a solo homer (his fourth of the year), Musett scored on a wild pitch, and Givian Sirvania brought in Guzman with a sacrifice fly. Salem pushed across three in the frame to make it 10-4 before Fredericksburg managed a consolation run in the home half of the inning.

Cole Tolbert started on the mound and was excellent, tossing three no-hit innings with an unearned run and two strikeouts. Salem’s bullpen locked it down after a shaky middle. Harry Blum earned the win, improving to 2-2 on the year with 2 ⅔ innings of one-run ball and four strikeouts.

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