Red Sox Minor League Report: Portland falls 15-13 in extras despite six RBIs from Brannon

Triple-A Worcester Red Sox

Series vs. Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders: 4-1

Season Record: 21-15

Worcester won 8-3 behind a well-rounded offensive effort. 

Isaac Coffey started the evening for Worcester and allowed one run on three hits across four innings. The righty struck out five while allowing four walks. Angel Bastardo had a rocky appearance as he let up two runs on five hits. He K’d three and didn’t allow a walk. Noah Song earned the win for his efforts; he put in one and ⅓ innings of no-hit pitching. Wyatt Olds followed up Song with an excellent outing of his own. He went one inning without a hit before turning the ball over to Tommy Kahnle, who was solid as he closed out the game. The veteran allowed a hit and a walk but shut down the RailRiders with two strikeouts. 

Worcester’s offense put in more than enough effort on Friday, scoring eight runs on twelve hits. Tsung-Che Cheng got the party started with a solo homer in the second, his fourth of the year. In the fourth, Matt Thaiss doubled with men at the corners. Cheng scored as Worcester took the lead. Then, Nick Sogard drove a home run to center field to drive in Jason Delay and Thaiss. One inning later, Delay drove in Nate Eaton on a single to extend the lead to three. Finally, in the sixth, Kristian Campbell continued his hot streak as he drove in Eaton and Vinny Capra with his sixth double of the year. 

Double-A Portland Sea Dogs

Series vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats: 0-4

Season Record: 13-18

Portland fell in a high-scoring extra-innings affair 15-13.

John Holobetz looked to right the ship after a disastrous outing his last time around. Unfortunately for Holobetz, Friday wasn’t his night. Over just one inning, he allowed five runs (one unearned) on five hits. Holobetz posted a 2.45 ERA through April, but has struggled heavily in May. Patrick Halligan got the ball in the second and threw three innings. He surrendered five hits and three runs, as well as one walk. Cooper Adams posted a very similar stat line across the next three innings. Akin to Holobetz and Halligan, Adams allowed five hits and a walk. New Hampshire tacked on three more runs during Adams’ outing before he turned the ball over to Reidis Sena. Sena had the most successful night against the red-hot Fisher Cats offense; he allowed just one run and two hits while punching out three. In extras and facing a depleted bullpen, Portland turned to second baseman Tyler McDonough to try to work some magic. It was a lost cause, however, as McDonough allowed a two-run homer that gave New Hampshire the lead in the tenth. 

In contrast to the poor pitching, Portland’s bats were hot on Friday. Down 7-0 in the second, Brooks Brannon belted a homer to right field to get the Sea Dogs on the board. He followed this up with a one-run single with the bases loaded in the fourth. Later in the innings, Miguel Bleis grounded into a force out, scoring Nate Baez. One inning later, Nelly Taylor pulled a solo homer to right field. This was followed up by a two-run shot by Nate Baez that scored Will Turner. Facing a 12-6 deficit in the seventh, Turner doubled, scoring Taylor. Just a few batters later, Brannon crushed his second home run of the night. This one was a three-run blast scoring Turner and Max Ferguson. In the bottom of the ninth and down three runs, Brannon stepped up to the plate again. He hit a sac fly for his sixth RBI of the night as Baez crossed the plate. Then, Marvin Alcantara played the hero. He shot a two-run homer to center field to tie the ballgame and send it to extras. Unfortunately, the Sea Dogs couldn’t come up with the win in the tenth, but it was a hotly contested effort. 

High-A Greenville Drive

Series @ Greensboro Grasshoppers: 1-3

Season Record: 14-17

The Drive struggled to accrue offense as they fell 7-1 on Friday evening. 

Friday’s contest featured just two pitching appearances for Greenville. Dylan Brown took the first four innings for the Drive. He allowed three runs on seven hits, but sat down six on strikes. It was a valiant effort from Brown in his first appearance since being called up from Low-A Salem, but he still got the loss. Devin Futrell backed Brown up with a similar line. Across another four innings, he allowed four runs on six hits and two home runs. He did punch out five, but failed to minimize the damage. 

The Drive were nearly silent from the dish, totaling a measly four hits. Their solo run came on a Mason White solo home run with two outs in the ninth. It was too little, too late as White was one of only four players to record a hit. Gerardo Rodriguez and Ronny Hernandez each doubled, and Yoeilin Cespedes singled. It was an all-around poor showing as the Drive succumbed without much protest. 

Low-A Salem RidgeYaks

Series vs Delmarva Shorebirds: 1-3

Season Record: 13-18

The RidgeYaks fell in a close game on Friday, 3-2. 

Barrett Morgan got the nod and threw three and ⅔ innings. He punched out five but allowed three runs on three hits and three walks. Dalvinson Reyes had the best performance by far for Salem on Friday. He pitched four and ⅓ innings of no-hit work, sending five batters packing by way of strikes. Adam Bates took the last inning, allowing two hits and a walk but staving off any offense from Delmarva. It was a solid day on the bump for Salem, who gave the offense plenty of opportunities to win the game. 

Despite only having two runs on the box score, it was a semi-successful night for Salem at the plate. The RidgeYaks recorded 10 hits, as Andrews Opata, Andruw Musett, and Ilan Fernandez had two hits each. Despite the copious hitting, Salem struggled heavily to drive runners in. Nine runners were left on base as the team went 2-for-8 with RISP. The only runs came on a single by Opata that scored Enddy Azocar in the third, and when D’Angelo Ortiz scored on a throwing error in the ninth. 

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