Ayden Mason

Boston Red Sox Affiliate Recap (May 21) Triple-A Worcester Red Sox Season Record: 23-23 The WooSox fell 9-4 to the Red Wings (Washington Nationals) after a hot start. Worcester came out swinging in the bottom of the first, taking advantage of Rochester's wild starting pitcher. Braiden Ward led the inning off with a hit-by-pitch, then stole his 23rd base of the year. Nate Eaton walked, then Kristian Campbell drew a walk as well to load the bases. Anthony Seigler made the Red Wings pay with a bases-clearing double to right field, and Allan Castro followed with an RBI single to push the lead to 4-0. Jacob Webb kept it clean through two innings on the mound, but the third inning unraveled quickly. Rochester strung together a double, a single, and a walk to load the bases with no outs. Two sacrifice flies and an RBI single to cut it to 4-3. In the fourth, Rochester had taken the lead 5-4 on a pair of singles. It continued to be a frustrating fourth inning as Worcester loaded the bases with two outs and did not capitalize, scoring no runs. Alec Gamboa was a bright spot out of the bullpen. He was the only WooSox bullpen pitcher to throw at least one scoreless frame, spinning two scoreless, hitless innings in the fifth and sixth to keep it within reach. But the offense stayed cold, and Angel Bastardo's control issues let Rochester push the lead to 7-4 in the seventh. Kyle Keller gave up a two-run double in the ninth to make it 9-4, and Worcester went three up and three down to end it. Double-A Portland Sea Dogs Season Record: 20-21 The Sea Dogs' pitching staff steamrolled the Fightin Phils (Philadelphia Phillies), shutting them out 1-0 and combining for an outrageous 20 strikeouts. After battling through a hamstring injury early in the year, Blake Wehunt had his best start of the year for Portland, setting the tone with a dominant five-inning shutout start, four hits allowed, and eleven strikeouts. He was virtually unhittable, punching out batters at a relentless clip. Patrick Halligan picked up right where Wehunt left off, striking out six in two innings of one-hit relief, including fanning the side in the seventh. Cooper Adams then slammed the door with a perfect eighth and ninth while striking out three batters to earn the save. Marvin Alcantara was the offensive standout for the Sea Dogs, having himself a 3-for-4 day at the plate, his sixth multi-hit game of the year. Alcantara had three of Portland's four hits in this contest. The lone run came in the bottom of the third inning; Will Turner was hit by a pitch, Alcantara laced a single to right field to put runners on the corners, and Nate Baez drove Turner home on a fielder's choice. Although they went 0-for-7 with RISP and had just four hits as a team, that one run was all Portland needed. Key Performances: Blake Wehunt: 5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 11 K Patrick Halligan: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K Cooper Adams: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3 K Marvin Alcantara: 3-for-4 High-A Greenville Drive Game postponed: Rain, makeup on May 22 Single-A Salem RidgeYaks Game postponed: Rain, makeup on May 22 View full article

Boston Red Sox Affiliate Recap (May 20) Triple-A Worcester Red Sox Season Record: 23-22 Great pitching performances went to waste as Worcester gave up five runs in the 11th inning to lose 7-2 to the Rochester Red Wings (Washington Nationals). Jake Bennett was dominant, striking out 11 batters, tying the WooSox franchise record for the most strikeouts in a game. Bennett tossed five innings of one-run ball, generated 15 whiffs, and a 49% chase rate. The curveball was filthy, creating 10 whiffs, and the velocity on all his pitches was up by +2 mph. 35-year-old Tayron Guerrero lit up the radar gun in his two shutout innings, his fastball maxed out at 102.6 mph while having a 63% whiff rate on the heater, generating five whiffs on eight swings. The bullpen held it down after Bennett for the rest of the game, up until the 11th inning came along. In the meantime, Guerrero, Eduardo Rivera, and Tommy Kahnle combined for four scoreless innings after Bennett. Kyle Keller allowed a run from a sacrifice fly in the sixth to give Rochester a 2-1 lead, but Worcester clawed back afterwards. Wyatt Olds came in for the 11th, and the floodgates opened. The Red Wings had themselves a five-run inning to blow the game open, giving Worcester no chance to come back with the way their bats had looked prior. Offensively, Worcester couldn't get much going, managing seven hits and just two runs across 11 innings. Matt Lloyd's solo homer in the fifth tied it at 1-1, and Nate Eaton drove in Tsung-Che Cheng with a clutch groundout in the bottom of the 9th to force extras at 2-2. Beyond that, the lineup was quiet, no extra-base hits besides Lloyd's blast as the lineup altogether went 0-for-8 with RISP. Key Performances: Jake Bennett: 5 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 11 K Tayron Guerrero: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K Double-A Portland Sea Dogs Season Record: 19-21 On Roman Anthony’s bobble head day, the Sea Dogs jumped on the Fightin Phils (Philadelphia Phillies) early and never looked back, defeating them 9-4. Johanfran “The Username” Garcia was the star on offense for Portland. The catcher collected two hits with a walk, scored three runs, and had two RBIs, including a solo homer in the fifth to push the lead to 8-2. Hayden Mullins was impressive in his outing. The 26-year-old lefty only let up one hit while allowing two runs, striking out seven in his five innings of work. Mullins now holds a 3.58 ERA as opponents are batting just .140 off him. Portland got off to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning. Will Turner walked, and Nate Baez hit a double to left field to put two runners on. Garcia followed up with an RBI single to bring in Turner. Marvin Alcantara came up to the plate and brought in Baez with a sacrifice fly, then Nelly Taylor roped an RBI double to give the Sea Dogs the early lead. After Reading made it a one-run game in the second, the Sea Dogs exploded with a four-run inning in the bottom half. Raudelis Martinez smacked a lead-off single, and Ahbram Liendo reached base on a throwing error by the pitcher, advancing both runners an extra 90 feet. That set up Franklin Arias to bring in Martinez with a sacrifice fly, making it 4-2. Turner made a productive groundout count to push the lead 5-2. With two outs, Baez hit an infield single, and Garcia worked a walk, then Alcantara capped off the four-run inning with a base-clearing RBI double, giving the Sea Dogs a big 7-2 lead entering the third. Johanfran Garcia launched a solo bomb in the fifth, giving them an 8-2 lead. The Fightin Phils tried to claw back by scoring two runs in the sixth, but it was not enough. Liendo made it a 9-4 game in the eighth with a sacrifice fly, giving Portland a comfortable lead to finish the last inning. Cade Feeney pitched well in the last two innings, tossing two shutout innings, giving up one hit and no runs while striking out three. Key Performances: Hayden Mullins: 5 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K Johanfran Garcia: 2-for-3, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB Nelly Taylor: 2-for-4, 2 2B, RBI, SB Nate Baez: 2-for-5, 2B, 2 R High-A Greenville Drive Season Record: 16-25 The Greenville Drive’s bats were not quite on point, despite a late comeback attempt in the ninth, losing 6-4 to the Frederick Keys (Baltimore Orioles). Justin Gonzales kept his hitting streak alive, now reaching eight games. The 19-year-old phenom still awaits his promotion to Portland, slashing .315/.420/.534 for Greenville this season. The Drive offense was largely silenced through the first six innings by Frederick’s starter. Greenville managed baserunners in the second inning, a hit-by-pitch, a single, and a walk loaded the bases; unfortunately, they could not push anything across the plate. Adonys Guzman broke the shutout in the seventh with a solo homer to right field, his third home run of the year, cutting it 2-1. But the Keys answered emphatically in the bottom half of the seventh, reliever Osvaldo Berrios and Joey Gartrell got roughed up as Frederick scored three runs on an RBI single and a two-run single to blow it open 5-1. Down 5-1, the Drive showed some fight in the eighth, drawing three straight walks to load the bases with no outs, but the Keys got two outs very quickly with no damage, a run was forced in when Yophery Rodriguez walked with the bases loaded to make it 5-2, but Greenville left the bases juiced when a strikeout ended the threat. In the ninth, Yoeilin Cespedes crushed a two-run homer, his eighth of the year, scoring Henry Godbout to pull the game closer 6-4. Sadly, a lineout with a runner on ended the game. Single-A Salem RidgeYaks Season Record: 18-23 Other than a couple of errors, Salem took control of both sides of the ball in the 8-3 victory over the Hill City Howlers (Cleveland Guardians). Enddy Azocar tallied a double, his 15th of the year, to extend his hitting streak to six games, while D’Angelo Ortiz and Luke Heyman each had themselves a multi-hit game. The Howlers scored early in the first inning with a sacrifice fly, but Salem tied it up 1-1 in the second inning when Anderson Fermin roped a one-out triple, then Stanley Tucker put the ball in play and caused an error, scoring Fermin to tie it. A bad-timed error in the bottom half from the RidgeYaks gave up a run, losing the lead 2-1. Salem exploded in the fourth inning, scoring four runs on five extra-base hits. Andrews Opata kicked things off by launching a solo homer to center, his third of the year, to tie it 2-2. From there, the RidgeYaks just kept hammering doubles: Ilan Fernandez lined one to center to score Ortiz, Azocar doubled to right to bring in Fernandez, and Starlyn Nunez roped an RBI double to left field to make it 5-2. In the fifth, Opata reached on a fielder's choice, then stole his 20th base of the season. Fermin drew a walk, and Tucker delivered the knockout blow with a two-run single to right. Ortiz followed with a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 8-2. The Howlers managed one more unearned run in the bottom half, but the game was effectively over with how efficient Salem’s pitching staff had looked. Barrett Morgan started on the mound and went 4 ⅓ innings, allowing one earned run, on one hit with one strikeout and three walks. Wuilliams Rodriguez and Harry Blum combined to shut the door over the final innings, keeping the Howlers to just three hits total on the night. Key Performances: D’Angelo Ortiz: 2-for-3, 2 2B, R, RBI Andrews Opata: HR, 2 R, RBI, SB Stanley Tucker: 1-for-4, R, 3 RBI, SB View full article

Boston Red Sox Affiliate Recap Triple-A Worcester Red Sox Season Record: 23-21 A back-and-forth game turned into a comeback that came up just short for Worcester in their 7-6 loss to the Rochester Red Wings (Washington Nationals). The WooSox grabbed an early lead in the first inning when Nate Eaton ripped a leadoff double and came around to score on an Anthony Seigler single. Rochester tied it up 1-1 at the top of the third with a solo homer; afterwards, Worcester added another in the bottom half. Tsung-Che Cheng doubled, and Mikey Romero drove him in with a double of his own to make it 2-1. The fourth inning unraveled for starter Raymond Burgos. Rochester strung together three singles and a bases-loaded walk to score three runs and take a 3-2 lead. However, the WooSox answered right back in the bottom half, back-to-back walks to Allan Castro and Matt Lloyd got things started, then a fielder's choice loaded the bases, and Cheng hit an RBI groundout that brought Castro home to tie it at 3-3. The fifth inning gave Burgos a rough time again, giving up a lead-off walk and back-to-back hits to give up a run as he got pulled from the game right after in a 4-3 game. Noah Song came into the game, inheriting a runner on second and third base. Both runners scored due to an RBI groundout and a single to give the Red Wings a comfortable 6-3 lead. Rochester belted another solo shot at the top of the seventh to make it 7-3, but the bottom half is where the WooSox started a rally. Cheng worked a seven-pitch walk, Eaton singled, Romero advanced the runners with a groundout then Kristian Campbell got hit by a pitch to load the bases. Seigler delivered the big blow with his second hit of the game, a two-run single to cut it to 7-5. Vinny Capra followed up with a sacrifice fly to make it 7-6. Castro singled to keep the pressure on, but Lloyd flew out to end the threat one run short. Worcester had a couple more chances to at least tie the game in the eighth and ninth, having two runners on base with one out in each inning, but they could not capitalize. Although they came up short in the end, there were some standout performances for the WooSox. Eaton, Seigler, Castro, and Cheng all got on base three times and delivered some big hits. Key Performances: Anthony Seigler: 2-for-4, 3 RBI, BB Nate Eaton: 3-for-5, 2B, 2 R, Tsung-Che Cheng: 1-for-2, 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB Allan Castro: 2-for-4, R, SB Double-A Portland Sea Dogs Season Record: 18-21 The Sea Dogs' pitching staff dominates at home against the Reading Fightin Phils (Philadelphia Phillies) with a shutout 2-0 victory. Starting on the mound, Southern California native Anthony Eyanson made his second Double-A start and was brilliant once again over five innings, lowering his Double-A ERA to 1.00 and his season ERA to 0.61. Although his stuff was not as great as his past starts, throwing three walks and his fastball velocity was more down than usual, averaging 92-94 mph, he still didn't allow a single hit in five shutout frames and struck out four while generating eight whiffs. Eyanson also mixed in a new cutter, which averaged around 90-91 mph. Joe Vogatsky came out of the bullpen to pitch the sixth, throwing two scoreless innings and surrendering Reading's only two hits while striking out four. Reidis Sena slammed the door in the final two innings, striking out five batters without allowing a baserunner to earn the save. Portland's offense was not particularly on point in this matchup but the two runs was all they needed. With two outs in the second inning, Nelly Taylor reached base on an infield single, then stole a base in the next at-bat. Ahbram Liendo put the Sea Dogs on the board first with an RBI single, bringing in Taylor to make it a 1-0 lead. With the game still at 1-0 in the seventh, Liendo reached base once again with a walk, then immediately stole his seventh bag of the season while advancing to third base on a throwing error from the catcher. Franklin Arias followed up with his second knock of the game, an RBI single to bring in Liendo, making it a 2-0 game. Key Performances: Anthony Eyanson: 5 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K Joe Vogatsky: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 K Reidis Sena: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 5 K Franklin Arias: 2-for-4, RBI Ahbram Liendo: 1-for-2, R, RBI, BB, SB High-A Greenville Drive Season Record: 16-24 Greenville fell down early, but their eight-run eighth inning prevailed past the Frederick Keys (Baltimore Orioles) with a 9-4 victory. The Keys jumped on Greenville in the first inning with a sacrifice fly and an RBI single, making it 2-0 before the Drive even got going. Jack Winnay crushes his third homer in three games with a solo bomb in the fourth, to cut it 2-1. That was the only run the Drive scored for a long time, while Frederick scored another run with a homer of their own in the sixth, making it 3-1. Down 3-1 in the eighth, Greenville put together a monster inning. With one out, Justin Gonzales’ single set the table, Henry Godbout drew a walk to put two runners aboard, Yoeilin Cespedes followed and lined an RBI single to make it 3-2. Gerardo Rodriguez ripped a single as well to tie it. Winnay smoked a two-run single, earning his second hit of the game, putting Greenville ahead 5-3. Isaiah Jackson crushed a two-run homer to blow it open at 7-3. That was where the Keys changed pitchers and got and immediately got their second out of the inning. Greenville was not done, however. Ronny Hernandez doubled another run in, as the lineup flipped over, Gonzales capped it off with one more RBI single, making it a very comfortable 9-3 lead for the Drive. Frederick scored one more run in the bottom half of the eighth to shorten the deficit, but it was not enough to make it a 9-4 final. Ben Hansen was excellent in his 4 ⅓ innings of relief, striking out nine batters while only giving up three hits and one earned run. Key Performances: Ben Hansen: 4 ⅓, 3 H, 1 ER, 9 K Justin Gonzales: 2-for-4, R, RBI, BB Jack Winnay: 2-for-4, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB Isaiah Jackson: 2-for-5, HR, R, 2 RBI Single-A Salem RidgeYaks Season Record: 17-23 The Salem RidgeYaks suffered an embarrassing 16-2 blowout defeat to the Hill City Howlers (Cleveland Guardians). On the bright side of the tough defeat, 19-year-old Enddy Azocar has been on an insane tear while waiting on the promotion to Greenville, getting four hits in this matchup. During Azocar’s five game hitting streak, he has collected back-to-back four hit games and four multi-hit games. In 22 at-bats in that stretch, Azocar has an outstanding .591 batting average, hitting one home run, five RBIs, two walks, and five strikeouts. The RidgeYaks combined for six hits, four coming from Azocar and two from Starlyn Nunez. The only runs Salem scored came in the ninth inning when Ilan Fernandez grounded into a double play with the bases loaded to bring in a run, and Azocar knocked his fourth hit of the game with an RBI double to make it a 16-2 game. View full article

Boston Red Sox Affiliate Recap (May 14) Triple-A Worcester Red Sox The WooSox offense could not get anything going and somehow came up just short, losing 4-3 to the Buffalo Bisons. Nick Sogard, who’s slashing .310/.404/.548 so far in May, launched a lead-off home run in the first inning, putting Portland on top 1-0. That early lead didn't last as Jake Bennett ran into trouble in the bottom of the second. Buffalo strung together a single, a double, and a pair of RBI singles to score three runs. A fourth run scored on a fielding error by right fielder Allan Castro. Worcester was staring at a 4–1 deficit entering the third inning. The ninth inning brought a late spark for the WooSox, with two outs and nobody on, Seigler ripped a single to center. Mikey Romero followed up and crushed a two-run homer to right, cutting the deficit to 4–3, bringing the tying run to the plate. Unfortunately, Castro grounded out to end the game. Other than the rough start from Bennett, Worcester’s bullpen was outstanding the rest of the way. Seth Martinez tossed 1 ⅔ scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Noah Song had two scoreless frames of his own, and Tayron Guerrero worked a clean inning with two strikeouts. Over 4 ⅔ combined relief innings, they allowed zero runs, but the offense couldn't capitalize. Double-A Portland Sea Dogs The Portland Sea Dogs jumped on the Hartford Yard Goats early and never trailed in the game, taking a 5-3 victory. The Sea Dogs put up a three-spot in the second inning, Marvin Alcantara launched a solo homer to left-center, then Nelly Taylor and Max Ferguson worked a walk, Taylor stole a base, then Ahbram Liendo ripped a two-run double to the left field gap, scoring Taylor and Ferguson. They tacked on another run in the third when Ronald Rosario singled home Will Turner, making it 4-0 entering the fourth. Hartford got one back in the fourth with a solo shot, but Liendo answered back in the seventh with a solo homer of his own to push it to 5-1, giving Portland a comfortable lead. The Yard Goats chipped away with a run in the bottom half of the seventh and another run in the eighth, making it a 5-3 game. Blake Wehunt was the starter for Portland and dominated through 3 ⅓ innings, striking out seven while allowing just three hits and no runs. The bullpen held it together from there; each pitcher coming out of the bullpen gave up one run, but did not let anything crazy happen. Max Carlson earned the win working 1 ⅔ innings, Reidis Sena gave up a run over two innings, and Cooper Adams locked it down with a four-strikeout save over the final two innings. Key Performances: Ahbram Liendo: 3-for-4, R, 2B, 3 RBI Marvin Alcantara: HR, R, RBI Blake Wehunt: 3 ⅓ IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 7 K High-A Greenville Drive The Greenville Drive had a tough night, going scoreless up until the ninth inning in a 5-1 loss to the Bowling Green Hot Rods. Bowling Green did its damage in small doses: one run each coming in the third, fourth, and sixth off Greenville's pitching, then tacked on two more in the eighth to put it out of reach at 5-0. Despite collecting eight hits and drawing five walks on the night, the Drive never managed to string hits together in big moments, going 1-for-8 with RISP. Although he suffered a loss, Dylan Brown is still adjusting to Greenville since his promotion, but pitched well, striking out seven batters and giving up two runs in his five innings of work. Steven Brooks pitched two perfect innings and struck out three. At the plate, Henry Godbout led the way, going 3-for-5 with a double, and Antonio Anderson went 2-for-4 with a double as well, including the only RBI in the ninth inning that scored Yophery Rodriguez to break up the shutout. Key Performances: Henry Godbout: 3-for-5, 2B Antonio Anderson: 2-for-4, RBI Single-A Salem RidgeYaks It was down to the wire, but Salem had a two-run ninth inning and came away with the 6-3 win over the Nationals. Enddy Azocar was the catalyst for the RidgeYaks, earning his third multi-hit game in four games, including a solo homer in the third inning to break Salem off with a 1-0 lead. Azocar was not done, however, in the sixth, after Starlyn Nunez legged out a two-out triple to center, Azocar ripped a double to bring in Nunez and push it to 4-0. He finished 2-for-4 with a homer, a double, two RBIs, and a walk. Barrett Morgan was dominant on the mound, spinning five shutout innings on just 62 pitches while giving up three hits with three strikeouts. He earned the win and kept the Nationals in check. Fredericksburg worked a comeback in the eighth, making it a one-run 4-3 game by hitting two RBI singles and an RBI triple. Salem's lineup responded exactly when they needed to. In the top of the ninth, Skylar King and Ty Hodge got on base (King went 2-for-4 with a stolen base; Hodge was 2-for-3 with two walks and a double). Avinson Pinto singled in King to make it 5-3, and D'Angelo Ortiz followed with another RBI single to push it to 6-3 to seal it for Salem. Key Performances: Enddy Azocar: 2-for-4, HR, 2B, R, 2 RBI, BB Ty Hodge: 2-for-3, 2B, R, 2 BB Barrett Morgan: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 K View full article

Boston Red Sox Affiliate Recap (May 13) Triple-A Worcester Red Sox The WooSox jumped on top early and never let the lead go, defeating the Buffalo Bisons (Toronto Blue Jays) 6-2. In the first inning, Nick Sogard led the game off with a single and came around to score on a Nate Eaton sacrifice fly, giving the WooSox a 1–0 lead. The third inning blew the game open for Worcester. Braiden Ward worked a walk, then immediately stole his 20th bag of the season and scored on a Vinny Capra line-drive single to left. Eaton ripped a ground ball to Buffalo’s shortstop, drawing a fielding error that let Capra score. Jason Delay capped the rally with an RBI single to center, hitting in Mikey Romero and making it 4–0. Worcester tacked on two insurance runs in the eighth on a passed ball by the Bisons catcher to make it 5-2, then a Ward sacrifice fly made it 6–2 and put the game well out of reach. Worcester's pitching staff was dominant. Six pitchers combined to hold Buffalo to just two runs while racking up 12 strikeouts. Devin Sweet started on the mound and threw two perfect innings. Eduardo Rivera picked up the win, tossing two scoreless innings with three strikeouts. The middle relief was outstanding as well. Tommy Kahnle, Wyatt Olds, and Angel Bastardo combined for four innings of shutout ball, surrendering just one hit total. Bastardo was particularly sharp with three strikeouts and no hits allowed in two spotless innings. The standout hitters for the WooSox were Sogard and Delay, who each racked up two-hit games, while Capra, Romero, and Eaton all reached base multiple times as well. Double-A Portland Sea Dogs Finding themselves down three runs in the seventh, the Sea Dogs rallied and came back to win it 9-6 against the Hartford Yard Goats (Colorado Rockies). Portland came out aggressively in the first inning, Franklin Arias and Nate Baez both drew walks, and Marvin Alcantara singled to load the bases. Miguel Bleis poked a grounder into left to score Arias, but Baez was gunned down at home. It still gave the Sea Dogs an early 1-0 lead. In the second, Tyler McDonough roped a leadoff double, and Max Ferguson laid down a bunt single; the Hartford pitchers' throw went wide, allowing McDonough to race home and put Portland back on top 2-1. The Yard Goats crushed a two-run homer in the bottom half, flipping the lead to 3-2 Hartford. Baez led off with a double in the third, Bleis followed up and continued his hot hitting streak with a line-drive single to center, driving in Baez to knot the score at 3-3. The fifth inning got out of hand for Gage Ziehl, who got roughed up in his five innings of work. Ziehl gave up two singles right away and gave up another single with one out; this time, it scored a run. With two outs, two runners on, and hopes of getting out of the inning with a one-run deficit, the Yard Goats cleared the bases with a two-run triple that gave them a comfortable 6-3 lead over Portland. Brooks Brannon, who is coming off the Eastern League Player of the Week, continues to hammer the ball, launching a solo homer to left-center in the seventh inning, his sixth of the season and fourth in his last four games. It cut the deficit to 6-4 and shifted the energy. The eighth inning is where the Portland bats exploded. Bleis drew a lead-off walk, and McDonough instantly crushed a two-run homer to left-center, tying it 6-6. Nelly Taylor kept the line moving with a double, Ferguson came up to the plate and belted a two-run homer, the second two-run homer in the inning, without recording an out as Portland leads 8-6. Arias walks, and Hartford changes pitchers. Arias stole second base right away and reached third due to a throwing error. Baez blooped a double to shallow right, scoring Arias. That would be the end of Portland's five-run eighth inning, making the score 9-6 and putting the game out of reach for the Yard Goats. Cade Feeney, who entered in the eighth and retired the side in order, came back out and did it again in the ninth: Six up and six down across two innings, earning his first save of the season. Although Ziehl had a rough outing, the bullpen behind him stepped up and kept Portland in the game until the end. Patrick Halligan was first out of the bullpen, throwing two hitless innings in the sixth and seventh. Feeney came in for the last two innings and shut the door. Key Performances: Tyler McDonough: 2-for-5, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI Miguel Bleis: 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, BB Brooks Brannon: HR, R, RBI Nate Baez: 2-for-4, 2 2B, R, RBI, BB High-A Greenville Drive It was a rough night for Greenville, finding trouble hitting in runs with runners on base in their 10-4 loss to the Bowling Green Hot Rods (Tampa Bay Rays). Bowling Green scratched across a run in the second with an RBI single, then launched a solo homer in the third to make it 2-0. The Drive went quietly through the first three innings. The Drive’s bullpen struggled all game, especially in the fourth inning. The Hot Rods roped an RBI single then blasted a three-run homer, putting Greenville in a hole 6-0. Greenville showed signs of life. Freili Encarnacion drove in the first run with an RBI double in the fourth. In the 6th, Jack Winnay blasted a solo homer to left-center. A few batters later, Natanael Yuten brought in another run with an RBI single to pull it to 7-3. There were some bright spots for Greenville. Justin Gonzales, Henry Godbout, and Mason White all had multi-hit games. Key Performances: Justin Gonzales: 2-for-5 Henry Godbout: 2-for-5, SB Mason White: 2-for-4, 3B, R Jack Winnay: HR, 2 R, RBI, BB Single-A Salem RidgeYaks The RidgeYaks defeat the Fredericksburg Nationals (Washington Nationals) 3-1 in a very uneventful game for Salem up until the eighth inning. 19-year-old Red Sox top prospect Enddy Azocar could be seeing a promotion to Double-A soon, collecting another multi-hit game while slashing .273/.322/.485 with five homers in the season. Salem trailed 1-0 for most of the game, but the eighth inning changed everything. Andruw Musett got hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and suddenly the floodgates opened. Starlyn Nunez singled, Azocar ripped an RBI single to tie it at 1-1, he ended up getting picked off, but Andrews Opata drew a walk then got to second base on a wild pitch to put runners on second and third. Luke Heyman followed and delivered the dagger, a two-run double to center that scored Nunez and Opata, putting Salem up 3-1. Nicolas De La Cruz shut it down, striking out four over 2 ⅔ innings of relief, closing it out in the ninth to earn the win. The RidgeYaks’ pitching staff was outstanding. Christian Foutch gutted through a tough 2 ⅔ inning start; he walked five batters and gave up the lone run in the third, but he limited the damage and kept it at 1-0. Ethan Walker came in after and delivered 1 ⅔ scoreless innings to stabilize the game. Harry Blum was dominant with four strikeouts over two clean innings. Key Performances: Enddy Azocar: 2-for-4, RBI Luke Heyman: 2B, 2 RBI View full article

Boston Red Sox Affiliate Recap (May 12) Triple-A Worcester Red Sox The WooSox traveled to Buffalo to play the Bisons, taking a 7-2 defeat in the first game of the series as the bats were quiet. After Worcester went hitless in the first inning, the Bisons took advantage early in the bottom half of the first, racking up two hits and an RBI groundout to put them up 1-0. A badly timed error by the Sox cost them in the second inning as two runs would score from a bad throw to push Buffalo ahead 3-0. The WooSox showed life in the 3rd, Jason Delay drew a walk, Braiden Ward laced a double to keep it going, and Nick Sogard drove in Delay on a sacrifice fly to cut it to 3–1. But with runners on the corners and two outs, Nate Eaton grounded out to end the threat. Worcester manufactured a brief two-out rally in the fifth. Matt Lloyd walked to lead off the inning, after a couple of force outs and another Sogard walk, Vinny Capra ripped a single to right to bring in Ward, trimming it to 3–2. Unfortunately, Eaton left runners stranded on the corners with two outs once again. The game seemed to slip away for Worcester in the sixth after the bullpen immediately gave up a two-run homer to Buffalo, making it a 5-2 game. The WooSox bats were extremely cold the last three innings, only tallying one hit as the Bisons scored two more runs to make it a 7-2 final score. Double-A Portland Sea Dogs The Portland Sea Dogs suffered a defeat they would like to forget, having the lead for the first seven innings and blowing it in the eighth and getting walked off on in the ninth by the Hartford Yard Goats 7-6. The Sea Dogs' offense exploded in the 1st inning. Franklin Arias led off the inning with a single, then stole a base, Brooks Brannon walked, Johanfran Garcia followed and blasted a three-run homer to right-center to make it 3–0. Marvin Alcantara kept it going with a homer of his own, a solo shot to right field, and just like that, it was 4–0 Portland. The Yard Goats scraped a run across in the second inning on a strange play, with two outs, a runner who was caught stealing, and allowed another runner to score from third base. In the third, Hartford strung together three singles to cut it to 4–2. In the next at-bat, a wild pitch allowed another runner to score, making it a one-run game, 4-3. The Sea Dogs got some breathing room in the fifth inning after Will Turner smacked a solo homer, pushing their lead to 5-3, but the Yard Goats made it a one-run game once again after hitting an RBI single. In the seventh, Ahbram Liendo tripled and scored on an Arias groundout, extending the lead 6–4. Portland's bullpen had trouble finding the zone and lost the lead in the eighth inning. A wild pitch gave the Yard Goats a free run and a walk with the bases loaded, tying it up 6-6 entering the ninth, giving Hartford a chance to walk it off. In the ninth, the Sea Dogs drew a couple of walks, putting runners on first and second with two outs, but both runners ended up being stranded as a groundout ended their chance to get the lead back. That gave the Yard Goats a perfect chance to end it; they would then hammer a walk-off home run, putting an end to a 7-6 game in which Portland had the lead for seven straight innings. Hayden Mullins started on the mound for Portland and pitched well by limiting the damage, throwing five innings, allowing three earned runs, and striking out eight batters. Key Performances: Marvin Alcantara: 2-for-4: HR, 2B, R, RBI Franklin Arias: 2-for-5, R, RBI, SB Will Turner: HR, R, RBI, BB Johanfran Garcia: HR, R, 3 RBI Miguel Bleis: 3-for-4, SB Hayden Mullins: 5 IP, 3 ER, 8 K High-A Greenville Drive It was a rough night for the Greenville Drive in their 5-1 loss. Their bats were stifled all game by a dominant Bowling Green pitching staff. Top prospect Kyson Witherspoon continues to struggle this season, unable to find a good rhythm and find the strike zone. He gave up six hits, four runs, three walks, and only one strikeout in his 4 ⅔ innings of work. Greenville’s bats only recorded six hits, but they had plenty of chances to score, but could not capitalize, going 1-for-7 with RISP. Most of the top batters were shut down; the player who had two of the six hits was Jack Winnay The only score for the Drive came in the bottom of the fifth when Justin Gonzales was hit by a pitch, and Yoeilin Cespedes lined an RBI single to center to make it 4–1, but Isaiah Jackson grounded out to end the inning. Ben Hansen pitched well in his relief outing, throwing 3 ⅓ innings, giving up two hits, one earned run, and striking out five. Single-A Salem RidgeYaks It was a miserable night for the RidgeYaks; they were completely dominated by four Fredericksburg Nationals pitchers who combined for a nine-inning shutout 4-0, allowing just three hits and zero walks while striking out 12. Skylar King was the only bright spot on offense for the RidgeYaks; he tallied two of the three hits the team had the entire game. Starlyn Nunez had the only other hit. Salem’s bats were non-existent, getting no-hit through the first four innings. Finally, they recorded their first hit in the fifth when King hit a two-out single, but the RidgeYaks would not make anything out of it. The RidgeYaks' pitching staff was not necessarily bad, but the offense did not do them any justice. Madison Frias started on the mound, in 5 ⅓ innings of work, and he gave up only two hits, three earned runs, and struck out four. The bullpen started out with Adam Bates, who finished the sixth inning for Frias and came back out in the seventh and took care of business by throwing a hitless frame. Williams Rodriguez was the last pitcher in the game for Salem. In the bottom of the eighth, he walked a batter, and he ended up scoring on a throwing error, giving Rodriguez an unearned run at the end of his outing. View full article

Triple-A Worcester Red Sox Worcester gutted out a wild extra-inning win, walking it off with a two-run homer in the 12th inning, 10-8 against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders. Worcester and Scranton battled back and forth in the first couple of innings. The WooSox got on the board early when Nick Sogard singled in a run in the first inning, but the RailRiders answered back with a three-run homer in the top of the second to take a 3-1 lead. Worcester clawed right back, tying it 3-3 in the bottom of the frame on a pair of productive RBI groundouts by Tsung-Che Cheng and Matt Lloyd. After Scranton retook the lead 4-3 in the 4th, Anthony Seigler crushed a solo homer to tie it once again, and Cheng added a sacrifice fly to put Worcester up 5-4. Worcester stretched the lead to 6-4 in the 7th as Sogard scored on an error, then 7-4 in the 8th when Matt Lloyd launched a solo shot. Cade Feeney ran into trouble at the top of the 9th, surrendering an RBI triple and a two-run single that knotted the score at 7-7. Both teams went scoreless in the 10th. In the 11th, Scranton pushed across a run with a sacrifice fly to go up 8-7, but Worcester answered immediately. Kristian Campbell delivered a sacrifice fly of his own to tie it again at 8-8. In the bottom of the 12th, Allan Castro, who already singled, doubled, and stole a base on the night, jumped on a pitch and launched a two-run homer to end it, 10-8. Eduardo Rivera gave Worcester 2 ⅔ solid innings of middle relief (1 ER, 4 K), and Kyle Keller was dominant over 1.1 hitless frames with 3 strikeouts. Catcher Nathan Hickey picked up his first career win with a scoreless 12th. Key Performances: Allan Castro: 2-for-5, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB, SB Anthony Seigler: 2-for-4, 3 R, RBI, 2 BB Double-A Portland Sea Dogs Portland played two seven-inning games for their doubleheader, and it was a frustrating 4-2 loss for the Sea Dogs in the first game as their bats couldn't solve New Hampshire’s pitching staff, going 0-for-9 with RISP. Portland managed just six hits on the night, and none of them produced a run through the first six innings. Blake Wehunt gave the Sea Dogs a clean first two frames on the mound, but the third inning unraveled as the Fisher Cats smacked a two-run double to put them up 2-0. New Hampshire followed up with another RBI, this time coming from a forceout. Max Carlson came on and had an excellent four innings of relief, allowing just two hits with three strikeouts and no walks. Although he gave up an unearned run in the 5th when a Fisher Cats runner scored on an error to make it 4-0, Carlson kept the game within reach. A promising start slipped away from the Sea Dogs in the second game of the doubleheader as they lost 7-5 Portland came out swinging in the bottom of the 1st. Franklin Arias reached base with a single, and Will Turner launched a two-run homer to right field to make it 2-0. Max Ferguson added on with an RBI single to push it to 3-0. The Fisher Cats answered back immediately in the second inning, scoring off of a fielder's choice and an RBI groundout, 3-2. New Hampshire tied the game up 3-3 in the fifth with an RBI single. Both teams traded blows in the eighth and ninth to force extra innings. New Hampshire broke through in the top of the eighth on a sacrifice fly to go up 4-3, but Portland scored right back, Miguel Bleis singled in a run to knot the score 4-4. In the 9th, the Fisher Cats ripped a ground-rule double to put them up 5-4, and once again Portland responded: Tyler McDonough laid down a sacrifice bunt, and a throwing error by former Red Sox second round pick Cutter Coffey allowed Marvin Alcantara to score and tie it 5-5. The Sea Dogs unfortunately hit a dry spell in the tenth, giving up two runs and failing to score any runs with two runners on base to end it 7-5. Caleb Bolden was very sharp in the 3 ⅓ innings he pitched for Portland, giving up one run and striking out eight batters. High-A Greenville Drive The Drive's bats came alive early and never let up, defeating the Greensboro Grasshoppers on the road 6-4. Greenville made their intentions clear in the first inning, Justin Gonzales led things off with a solo homer to left-center and Henry Godbout launched one of his own to left, back-to-back long balls that made it 2-0. Yoeilin Cespedes hit a single and moved to second base on a wild pitch, which would then set up Yophery Rodriguez to single him home to push the lead to 3-0. The Grasshoppers chipped away with two runs in the second to make it 3-2. In the third, Rodriguez earned his second hit of the game as Jack Winnay followed up with an RBI single. Greensboro scored another two runs in the bottom of the third to tie it at 4-4, taking advantage of some early mistakes from starter Brandon Neely. But Neely steadied himself and worked through 3 ⅔ innings. It was not flashy, but the Drive retook the lead for good at the top of the fourth when Godbout drove in Freili Encarnacion with a groundout to make it 5-4. A passed ball in the ninth brought in a run and added a little cushion for the Drive, 6-4. Greenville’s bullpen slammed the door shut in the last four innings, Danny Kirwin threw three scoreless innings, striking out six, and Matt McShane pitched the ninth, striking out two batters to earn a save. Key Performances: Danny Kirwin: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 6 K Justin Gonzales: HR, 2B, R, RBI Henry Godbout: 2-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB Yophery Rodriguez: 2-for-4, R, RBI, BB Jack Winnay: 2-for-4, R, RBI, BB Single-A Salem RidgeYaks A walk-filled, error-plagued night doomed the RidgeYaks at home, as Salem could not capitalize on 11 walks drawn and fell to the Delmarva Shorebirds 6-2. Salem struck first, as Kleyver Salazar (who reached base in four of his five plate appearances) worked a walk in the first inning, and Skylar King singled him home to put the RidgeYaks up 1-0. Delmarva tied it up quickly in the second with an RBI double to make it 1-1. The fourth inning is where it all fell apart. The Shorebirds led off the inning with a solo homer to put Delmarva up 2-1. Two walks and a throwing error by first baseman Frederik Jimenez led to two runs scored. The Shorebirds followed up with an RBI single, and suddenly it was 5-1. Salem’s bats were still quiet for the rest of the game, other than their last run scoring from a throwing error. Griffin Kilander was solid in his relief outing, throwing two innings, one earned run, and striking out five. The frustrating part for Salem was their inability to cash in runs with runners on base. The RidgeYaks drew 11 walks with five hits and were 2-for-13 with RISP. View full article

Boston Red Sox Affiliate Recap (May 6) Triple-A Worcester Red Sox Worcester fought back from a couple of deficits and forced extra innings with a dramatic ninth-inning rally, only to fall 9-7 in the tenth inning to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (New York Yankees). Nate Eaton set the tone immediately, launching a solo homer to left in the bottom of the first to put Worcester up 1-0. The WooSox pitching staff, Erik Rivera and Red Sox relief pitcher Justin Slaten, who is currently rehabbing, kept Scranton off the board through the first four frames. Nathan Hickey blew the game open in the fourth with a two-run shot to right, scoring Anthony Seigler to push the lead to 3-0. Then came the fifth inning. Jacob Webb entered in relief, and the RailRiders pounced, a double scored a run, and a three-run homer flipped the score 4-3 in one swing. Worcester answered right back in the bottom half when Mickey Gasper smacked a two-run homer to reclaim the lead at 5-4. However, Scranton tied it 5-5 in the seventh with an RBI single. Entering the ninth with the game still knotted, the RailRiders hit a two-run shot to put them up 7-5. Down to their last three outs, Worcester didn't fold. Matt Thaiss and Nathan Hickey both reached base with a pair of singles, then Braiden Ward ripped an RBI double down the right field line to make it 7-6. Nick Sogard followed with a sacrifice fly to tie it at 7-7. The WooSox bullpen could not hold on in the tenth as they gave up a two-run double to make it 9-7. The bats tried to start a rally once again in the bottom of the tenth, loading the bases with no outs, but unfortunately, they did not score any runs, which ended the game. Key Performances: Nathan Hickey: HR, 2 R, 2 RBI Mickey Gasper: HR, R, 2 RBI Double-A Portland Sea Dogs Game postponed: Inclement weather. Makeup on May 7 High-A Greenville Drive Greenville launched an absurd eight home runs, but a catastrophic seventh inning and a walk-off single in the ninth sent the Drive home with a brutal 13-12 loss to the Greensboro Grasshoppers (Pittsburgh Pirates). After falling behind 1-0 on a first-inning sacrifice fly, Greenville stormed ahead. Yophery Rodriguez homered to tie it in the second, 1-1, and a Natanael Yuten forceout made it 2-1. The Drive blew it open in the fourth, Yuten crushed a two-run homer, and Yoeilin Cespedes followed with a solo shot to left-center that gave Greenville a 5-1 lead. Antonio Anderson tacked on an RBI single in the fifth to push it to 6-1. Greensboro fought back, scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth to make the score 6-4. The Drive got some more insurance runs in the seventh, Rodriguez belted his second homer of the day, and Ronny Hernandez followed up with a solo shot as well, making it back-to-back home runs, 8-4. The bottom of the seventh was a major collapse. It started when the Drive gave up a two-run double to make it 8-6. A couple of RBI singles and a three-run bomb to right-center put Greensboro ahead 11-8. An error by Jack Winnay led to another run to score, 12-8 Grasshoppers. Greenville did not quit; Yuten hit his second homer of the game in the eighth to make it 12-9. The Drive made an incredible comeback in the ninth. Isaiah Jackson worked a walk, and Mason White ripped a two-run homer to cut it to 12-11. Hernandez followed and continued his incredible day at the plate, belting his second home run of the game with a solo blast to tie it 12-12. Sadly, the bullpen could not keep the game tied as the Grasshoppers walked it off with an RBI single to end it 13-12. Key Performances: Ronny Hernandez: 4-for-4, 2 HR, 4 R, 2 RBI, BB Natanael Yuten: 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI Yophery Rodriguez: 2 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI Mason White: 2-for-5, HR, R, 2 RBI Yoeilin Cespedes: 2-for-5, HR, R, RBI Single-A Salem RidgeYaks Salem’s slow start proved it was too much to overcome in a 6-4 defeat to the Delmarva Shorebirds (Baltimore Orioles). The RidgeYaks had a tough time delivering with RISP, going 1-for-10. Delmarva wasted no time, pushing a run across in the first on an RBI single. They added another run with a groundout in the third to make it 2-0. The fourth inning unraveled, an RBI double, an RBI single, and a throwing error from Salem let a fifth run cross the plate, 5-0. Salem finally broke through in the fifth when Ilan Fernandez reached base with a double and came around to score on a Starlyn Nunez sacrifice fly to make it 5-1. In the sixth, Luke Heyman and Skylar King walked, and Heyman eventually scored on a Kleyver Salazar ground ball single to left, cutting it to 5-2. King ended up scoring due to a couple of wild pitches, and Salazar stole home, making it a one-run game, 5-4. Delmarva added an insurance run in the eighth inning with a sacrifice fly, 6-4. The Shorebirds bullpen held off the RidgeYaks in the last two innings to end it. Madinson Frias was a bright spot for Salem, throwing five innings of relief and only giving up one run, giving the RidgeYaks a chance to come back. Key Performances: Madison Frias: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2K Luke Heyman: 2-for-3, 2B, BB Kleyver Salazar: 2-for-3, R, RBI, BB View full article