Red Sox Minor League Report: Portland's Five-Run Comeback Powered by Franklin Arias' 17th Home Run

Boston Red Sox Affiliate Recap

Triple-A Worcester Red Sox

Season Record: 39-40

Worcester started the new month strong with a 6-5 victory over Syracuse (New York Mets).

The Mets outhit the Sox 12 to 6, but the WooSox pitching staff handled business with runners aboard in the back-and-forth contest.

Allan Castro stayed extremely hot with a 2-for-5 day; a go-ahead RBI single in the third inning made it a 3-2 game, and another clutch RBI single in the ninth gave Worcester the final run they needed to take the 6-5 victory. Tyler McDonough went 1-for-2 with a walk, including a solo homer that got the party started for the WooSox in the second, giving his team an early 1-0 lead.

Brayan Bello had a decent outing in his fourth start for Worcester, going five innings with three earned runs and six strikeouts. On the plus side, Bello was finding the strike zone well, tossing 50 of his 81 pitches for strikes. Noah Song registered a blown save in the seventh after giving up the tying run on an RBI single. Other than that, the bullpen was nails; Tyler Samaniego, Angel Bastardo, and Seth Martinez combined for 2 ⅔ shutout innings with six strikeouts. 

Standout Performances:

• Allan Castro: 2-for-5, 2 RBI
• Tyler McDonough: 1-for-2, HR, R, RBI, BB

Double-A Portland Sea Dogs

Season Record: 40-36

After being dug into a 5-0 hole in the first inning, the Sea Dogs worked a comeback, defeating the Curve (Pittsburgh Pirates) 7-6.

Hayden Mullins struggled badly in his outing, only lasting the first inning after giving up five runs, including a three-run homer and a two-run single. Max Carlson came in and saved the day, throwing four shutout innings that gave Portland the best chance to come back. Cooper Adams held his own too in his relief appearance, tossing a shutout in the sixth and seventh innings.

Portland clawed back instantly in the bottom half of the first after Franklin Arias drew a leadoff walk and came around to score on a wild pitch, 5-1.

Then came the big inning. With one out in the second, Abraham Liendo and Arias drew walks, then Nate Baez was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs. Brooks Brannon had ice in his veins, clearing the bases with a line drive double, making it a one-run 5-4 game.

The third inning changed the game fast. Marvin Alcantara led the inning off with a double, then stole third base (his 15th stolen base of the season). Liendo came up and delivered a huge game-tying RBI single, 5-5. Liendo stole his 15th bag of the year right away to put himself in scoring position. Like he has been all year, Arias came through in the clutch, blasting a two-run homer, putting the Sea Dogs ahead 7-5.

The game went scoreless through the next four innings until Altoona scratched across a run with a sacrifice fly, making it a one-run game. 

In the top of the ninth with one out and a runner in scoring position, Patrick Halligan shut the door, putting away the next two batters to end the game 7-6. 

Standout Performances:

• Franklin Arias: 1-for-2, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB
• Brooks Brannon: 1-for-3, 2B, 3 RBI, BB
• Marvin Alcantara: 2-for-2, R, 2 BB, SB
• Ahbram Liendo: 1-for-3, 2 R, RBI, BB, SB
• Max Carlson: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 K
• Cooper Adams: 2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

High-A Greenville Drive

Season Record: 30-44

After securing a 4-2 lead entering the seventh, Greenville's pitching staff fell apart, giving up an astonishing eight-run eighth inning to fall 12-4 to the Dash (Chicago White Sox).

Jojo Ingrassia was solid in his 4 ⅓ inning start, giving up two runs on two hits with six strikeouts. P.J. Labriola had an outing he would like to forget, allowing seven runs without recording a single out. Labriola had a tough time throwing strikes (pitches-strikes: 32-12), giving up five walks and two hits. 

The Drive’s offense was subpar, collecting eight hits, including a homer in the third from Ronny Hernandez and a bomb from Luke Heyman in the sixth. Enddy Azocar brought in the other two runs with a double play that scored Stanley Tucker and a go-ahead RBI single in the fifth.

Tucker did damage on the basepaths with three stolen bases, including a 2-for-4 day at the plate. Gerardo Rodriguez was the only other Greenville batter with multiple hits, going 2-for-4 as well.

Low-A Salem RidgeYaks

Season Record: 29-47

A low-scoring, poor showing from both teams' offenses led to a RidgeYaks 1-0 shutout loss to the GreenJackets (Atlanta Braves).

In the entire game, only six combined hits came from both squads, four from Salem. Avinson Pinto collected a multi-hit day, going 2-for-3. 

The story of the game was pitching; Salem only gave up two hits, which was too much. Although he took the loss, Cole Tolbert pitched well, throwing three strikeouts and allowing the only run and two hits through three innings. Luis Cohen was outstanding in relief, tossing four perfect innings with four strikeouts, while Harry Blum followed with a scoreless eighth.

Standout Performances:

• Luis Cohen: 4 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 4 K
• Avinson Pinto: 2-for-3

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