Red Sox Minor League Report: Starlyn Nunez Breaks Hitless Skid, Launching A Grand Slam for Salem

Boston Red Sox Affiliate Recap (June 4)

Triple-A Worcester Red Sox

Season Record: 29-28

After getting blown out, Worcester bounced back in a perfect way, defeating the Bisons 5-1.

Worcester jumped on Buffalo early in the second. Allan Castro doubled then advanced to third due to a fielding error, the first of his three hits on the night, then Matt Lloyd drove him in with an RBI single to right to make it 1–0. Tsung-Che Cheng was the next batter coming up to the plate. He proceeded to crush a two-run homer to center to blow it open at 3–0. 

The third inning added two more, giving the WooSox more breathing room. Braiden Ward led off with a 384 FT solo shot to right, his second of the year, pushing the lead to 4–0. Vinny Capra singled behind him, then stole a base to put him in scoring position. Then Castro came through again with an RBI single, making it 5–0. Worcester was swinging with confidence early in the game, and Buffalo’s starter was getting tagged.

From there, the pitching staff took over. Worcester used three relievers to blank Buffalo through the first six innings. They broke up the shutout bid with a solo homer in the seventh to make it a 5-1 game, but that was the only damage allowed.

The bullpen was outstanding across the board. Devin Sweet started the game with two clean shutout innings. Osvaldo Berrios earned his first win of the season with three scoreless innings while only allowing one hit and striking out two batters. Seth Martinez gave up the only run but was solid nonetheless, tossing two innings with one hit allowed and two strikeouts as well. Wyatt Olds threw the last two innings of the game with two hits allowed and two strikeouts. 

Castro was easily the best bat in Worcester’s lineup, getting on base three times with a 3-for-4 day at the plate while registering an RBI.

Standout Performances: 

• Allan Castro: 3-for-4, 2B, R, RBI
• Braiden Ward: 2-for-4, HR, R, RBI
• Tsung-Che Cheng: 1-for-3, HR, R, 2 RBI

Double-A Portland Sea Dogs

Season Record: 28-25

The Sea Dogs could not string together enough hits, especially when it mattered with runners in scoring position, losing 4-1 to the Yard Goats.

Portland was held scoreless through the first five innings. The Sea Dogs could not do anything against Hartford’s starter, although they drew three walks against him; Portland could never string anything together. Marvin Alcantara went 0-for-4, and Ahbram Liendo, who was outstanding with three hits in the previous game, went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.

Hartford broke through in the fourth, singling and crushing a two-run shot to give the Yard Goats a 2–0 lead. 

Nate Baez provided the only spark, leading off the bottom of the sixth with a solo homer to left, his sixth of the year, pulling Portland within one run, 2–1. It felt like a potential turning point with the middle of the lineup coming up, but that dream of coming back did not happen.

But the seventh inning extinguished that hope for good. Two Hartford batters were aboard with no outs, then a ground ball was hit up the middle, deflecting off shortstop Franklin Arias and rolling into shallow center field, two runs scored to make it 4–1. 

The Sea Dogs had a chance to push runs across the plate in a big moment. Nelly Taylor singled, then stole his 16th base of the season. Caden Rose and Liendo worked back-to-back walks to load the bases for Talk Sox #1 prospect Franklin Arias. Unfortunately, he proceeded to ground into a double play, completely shutting down the rally. 

Even though he took the loss and gave up two runs, Blake Wehunt was excellent; he just did not have enough run support. Wehunt struck out six batters in his six innings of work while filling up the zone, throwing 70% of his pitches for strikes.

Nelly Taylor was the only Portland hitter to record a multi-hit game, recording two of the team's five hits. Taylor went 2-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base.

Standout Performances:

• Blake Wehunt: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 6 K
• Nelly Taylor: 2-for-3, BB, SB
• Nate Baez: 1-for-4, HR, R, RBI

High-A Greenville Drive

Season Record: 21-31

The Drive took a gut-wrenching loss in extras, getting walked off on by the Emperors 5-4.

Greenville was shut down early, and Rome's starting pitcher was dominant, going 5 ⅓ innings and allowing just 1 hit. He walked four, giving the Drive a chance with runners aboard, but they couldn't capitalize, while Rome built a 3–0 lead on a two-run homer in the fourth and a sacrifice fly in the fifth.

The sixth inning made the game interesting. Yoeilin Cespedes drew a lead-off walk, then Gerardo Rodriguez launched a two-run homer that instantly cut it to 3–2. After Luke Heyman popped out, Isaiah Jackson stepped up to the plate to show off his power as well, crushing a solo shot to right, his eighth of the year, tying the game 3–3. That's as electric as it gets from a lineup that had been dormant all night.

The game settled in the next two innings with a tense pitchers' duel. Danny Kirwin was outstanding in relief, bringing the game to extras for Greenville. He threw three innings, one hit, one run, and four strikeouts. 

The Drive had some luck on their side in the ninth when Jack Winnay singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch, then moved to third on a fly out. He proceeded to score after a ground ball that turned into a throwing error from the Emperor's third baseman, which would have been the third out to end the inning. Greenville had the lead 4-3 now. Kirwin sadly ran into a very unlucky situation in the ninth, striking out the leadoff batter on a dropped third strike that put him on first base with no outs. Two straight grounders in the infield advanced the runner to third with two outs, one out away from ending the game. Rome’s potential last batter wasted no time, smacking the first pitch he saw, hitting an RBI double to right field to tie it 4-4. The game headed to extra innings.

The tenth inning ended it, with the ghost runner at second, Hartford advanced the runner to third with a single, then lifted a sac fly to center that easily scored the winning run. Greenville's Calvin Bickerstaff took the loss, recording two outs in the tenth before the walk-off. The Drive was so close to pulling off a win with a weak offensive performance.

Low-A Salem RidgeYaks

Season Record: 24-30

Salem snapped their small two-game losing skid with a monster game from the offense, defeating the Warbirds 12-6 on the road.

Salem fell behind early after the Warbirds crushed a two-run homer in the bottom of the first, putting them up 2–0. The RidgeYaks scratched across a run in the second, Stanley Tucker and Ilan Fernandez put together back-to-back singles, setting up Starlyn Nunez with a productive RBI ground, 2-1. Wilson added a two-run single in the second to extend their lead to 4–1. 

The third inning absolutely blew the game open for Salem. It all started when Adonys Guzman doubled (his first of three hits on the night) and scored on a D'Angelo Ortiz force-out, 2–4. With two outs, Frederik Jimenez got plunked by a pitch, then Tucker drew a walk to load the bases for Fernandez. He then followed in his teammates' footsteps and drew a walk as well, bringing in a run to make it 3–4. That brought up Starlyn Nunez to hit with the bases still jammed, he then crushed a grand slam to right, his 8th homer, to blow the game wide open at 7–4. After going on a brief 0-for-10 slump, Nunez answered with the biggest swing of the week.

Salem kept the pressure on, Guzman doubled again in the fourth, and Andruw Musett drove him in with an RBI single to center, 8–4. In the sixth, Musett and Jimenez both reached base, then Tucker ripped a two-run triple to left to make it 10–4. Fernandez added a sacrifice fly to push it to 11–4. Salem was relentless.

Wilson scratched two runs back in the seventh, but it did not matter. Guzman added one more run after hitting his third double of the game in the ninth to cap the scoring at 12–6.

Standout Performances: 

• Starlyn Nunez: 2-for-5, HR, 2B, R, 5 RBI, BB
• Adonys Guzman: 3-for-5, 3 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB
• Stanley Tucker: 2-for-4, 3B, 3 R, RBI, BB

Interested in learning more about the Boston Red Sox's top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!