Red Sox Minor League Report: Newly Acquired Brett Harris Crushes First Sox Homer in Worcester's Doubleheader

Boston Red Sox Affiliate Recap

Triple-A Worcester Red Sox

Season Record: 43-42

Game 1 of Doubleheader 

The WooSox faced off against the Rochester Red Wings (Washington Nationals) in a doubleheader. In the first seven-inning game, Worcester pulled off a late comeback with one swing in their 5-4 victory. 

After the Sox gave up two runs heading into the bottom of the fifth, Braiden Ward made it 2-1 with a sacrifice fly. Now trailing 4-1 in the bottom of the sixth, a pair of walks from Jason Delay and Kristian Campbell, and a single from Allan Castro loaded the bases with two outs. Tyler McDonough came up to the plate and crushed a grand slam to right-center, completely flipping the game, 5-4. That was his only hit of the day, but he made this one count.

On the mound, it was a decent effort across seven innings. Hayden Mullins started the game and struggled to find the strike zone, throwing more balls than strikes. He still only gave up one run and struck out three batters. Noah Song came in after Mullins and threw two innings with one earned run. Devin Sweet earned the win with his 1 ⅔ inning appearance, giving up two runs (one unearned due to an error); Wyatt Olds recorded the final out for his third save.

Standout Performances: 

• Tyler McDonough: 1-for-3, HR, R, 4 RBI
• Braiden Ward: 2-for-4, RBI, 2 SB
• Allan Castro: 2-for-3, R, SB

Game 2 of Doubleheader

In the second seven-inning contest, Worcester jumped on top early and cruised to a 10-2 victory.

The offense stayed hot, piling on 10 runs on 10 hits and five walks. Max Ferguson was the standout, going 2-for-3 with a homer and two RBIs. Vinny Capra added two hits, including a two-run double; Mickey Gasper (solo homer), Kristian Campbell (2-for-3), and Tyler McDonough (double, walk) all reached multiple times. The big blow came in the third, when Worcester scored five runs. 

Newly acquired third baseman Brett Harris, brought in from the Athletics, hit his first homer as a member of the Red Sox organization. He hit a grand slam with a 101.4 exit velocity in the first inning, giving Worcester an early 4-0 lead.

It was a clean bullpen game through seven innings. Seth Martinez was the WooSox's opener, tossing two innings with one unearned run and four strikeouts. Angel Bastardo earned the win with his two-inning outing while giving up a homer in the fourth, followed by Eduardo Rivera with two perfect, three-strikeout frames, then Sam McWilliams pitched the last inning, throwing a perfect frame with two strikeouts.

Standout Performances:

• Max Ferguson: 2-for-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB
• Brett Harris: 1-for-4, HR, R, 4 RBI
• Kristian Campbell: 2-for-3, 2 R, BB, SB
• Vinny Capra: 2-for-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI

Double-A Portland Sea Dogs

Season Record: 44-38

Game 1 of Doubleheader

Although a low-scoring game, it was home run city in the first seven-inning game of the doubleheader as the Sea Dogs defeated the Fisher Cats (Toronto Blue Jays) 3-2.

All three Sea Dogs runs came on solo home runs. Johanfran Garcia, Miguel Bleis, and Ronald Rosario each went deep, driving in the club's only runs. Garcia tied the game 1-1 in the second, Bleis’ homer gave the Sea Dogs a 2-1 lead in the third, and Rosario took back the lead 3-2 in the fourth. 

Portland tallied just four hits, but they made them count, drawing five walks to keep the pressure on.

Starter Dalton Rogers grinded through five innings for his first win of the season, allowing both of New Hampshire’s runs on two homers and striking out five, though he issued five walks. Patrick Halligan slammed the door with a dominant two-inning save: one hit, no walks, and five strikeouts to close it out.

Standout Performances: 

• Patrick Halligan: 2 IP, 1 H, 5 K
• Miguel Bleis: 1-for-3, HR, R, RBI, BB, SB
• Johanfran Garcia: 1-for-3, HR, R, RBI
• Ronald Rosario: 1-for-3, HR, R, RBI

Game 2 of Doubleheader

Portland's juice ran out in the second game of the doubleheader, taking a 6-2 defeat to the Fisher Cats.

The Sea Dogs matched New Hampshire’s hit total with eight hits, but could not string them together for runs, stranding six runners in scoring position. 

Jack Winnay was one of the offensive bright spots, going 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI, while Johanfran Garcia stayed hot with a 2-for-3 day. Nate Baez chipped in a double (Portland’s only extra-base hit) and an RBI, while Miguel Bleis, Ahbram Liendo, and Marvin Alcantara each added a hit. The bats went quiet outside the fifth inning. 

Max Carlson took the loss after New Hampshire tagged him for four earned runs on five hits over three innings; the Fisher Cats broke it open with a three-run second and kept adding on. Cooper Adams gave up two more runs over his two innings of relief; Jeremy Wu-Yelland threw a clean inning with two strikeouts. Portland's arms issued just one walk all game; the damage came on hard contact rather than free passes.

High-A Greenville Drive

Season Record: 32-48

A tough loss for the Greenville Drive, who got blown out 16-3 to the Grasshoppers (Pittsburgh Pirates).

It was an all-around rough day for Greenville. The offense had three runs on only four hits and one walk, while the pitching and defense were poor; two costly errors led to five unearned runs. As a group, they went 1-for-7 with RISP, but it did not seem to matter if they brought in those runs. 

Enddy Azocar started the game out with a bang, smashing a leadoff homer (10th of the season) off highly touted prospect Seth Hernandez, putting the Drive on top early, 1-0.

The one-run lead lasted until the fourth inning, when Kyson Witherspoon gave up a two-run home run. The Grasshoppers kept extending their lead sporadically throughout the game, pushing it to a ridiculous 16-1 lead entering the ninth. The Drive chipped away at the deficit in the ninth inning after Isaiah Jackson crushed a two-run homer (13th of the season), then a groundout ended the game 16-3.

Witherspoon was cruising through the first three innings, but Greensboro got to him in the fourth and fifth. His final line: 4 ⅔ IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K.

Low-A Salem RidgeYaks

Season Record: 34-48

A big first inning paved the way for a 5-2 RidgeYaks victory over the Fireflies (Kansas City Royals).

Salem got hot immediately with a four-run first inning, and that was all they needed, piling up 11 hits on the day. Anderson Fermin led the way with a 3-for-4, two-RBI night out of the seven-hole, with the middle of the order doing most of the damage: Kleyver Salazar chipped in a 2-for-3 day with a walk and an RBI single. Starlyn Nunez went 2-for-4 with an RBI single as well (all RBI singles came in the first inning). Justin Barry added a run-scoring knock in the fourth, extending Salem’s lead to 5-0.

The pitching staff was the backbone. Cole Tolbert was amazing in his three no-hit innings, striking out six and walking two. After Luis Cohen was tagged for both of Columbia's runs over 2 ⅔ innings, Harry Blum came in and earned the win with 2 ⅓ scoreless, one-hit frames, then Joey Gartrell closed it out for his second save of the season: a clean inning with two strikeouts. 

Salem's arms combined to hold the Fireflies to six hits and two runs while racking up 12 strikeouts.

Standout Performances:

• Cole Tolbert: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
• Anderson Fermin: 3-for-4, 2 RBI
• Kleyver Salazar: 2-for-3, R, RBI, BB
• Starlyn Nunez: 2-for-4, R, RBI

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