Red Sox Minor Lines: Ceddanne Rafaela SZN

Worcester W 13-1

Ryan Fitzgerald, LF: 2-5, 1 3B, 1 R, 1 K

Jeter Downs, SS: 0-4, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 CS

Triston Casas, 1B: 3-4, 1 BB, 3 R, 1 RBI

Rob Refnsyder, CF: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 BB, 3 R, 2 RBI, 1 K

Franchy Cordero, RF: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 K

Connor Wong, C: 1-4, 2 R, 2 K

Roberto Ramos, DH: 2-2, 1 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI

Deivy Grullón, PH/DH: 2-3, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 K

Yolmer Sánchez, 2B: 1-3, 2 BB, 2 RBI

Darwinzon Hernandez (SP): 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K (37 pitches)

Kyle Hart (W): 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K (65 pitches)

Silvino Bracho: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (18 pitches)

Geoff Hartlieb: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (15 pitches)

This was quite the day for Worcester, who jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first and never looked back. The offense was the big story here with a team effort, combining for a whopping 15 hits, three of which were from Refsnyder. The outfielder didn’t make the Opening Day roster likely in large part due to a lack of available 40-man spots, but he’s making a push to be on someone’s active roster in the near future, whether it be with Boston or on another team after exercising an opt-out. He’s up to a 1.170 OPS. We should also shout out Hernandez, who does seem to taking well to this temporary starting role in Worcester. He even struck out the side one inning on eight pitches thanks to a couple of pitch clock violations on the other side. Over 8 ²⁄₃ innings with Worcester he has 14 strikeouts and four walks, though he’s also hit three batters.

Portland L 0-1

David Hamilton, SS: 0-4, 1 K, 1 CS

Kole Cottam, C: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 K

Brandon Walter (SP): 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K (76 pitches)

Joan Martinez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (11 pitches)

The story of Portland this season has been clear, and we’ve hit on it basically every day in this feature throughout the early portion of the schedule. They can pitch like there’s no tomorrow, but the offense is rough. We saw both sides here, with the offense contributing just three hits, two singles and a double. That said, Walter has been incredible two starts into his season. There were some fair questions around the validity of his performance last season given his age relative to the competition he was facing, but he’s answered those questions two starts into 2022. He now has pitched 11 scoreless innings, giving up just four hits without a walk while striking out 12.

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Greenville W 9-6

Tyler McDonough, LF: 1-6, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Ceddanne Rafaela, CF: 3-5, 2 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, 1 K, 1 SB

Nick Yorke, 2B: 0-4, 1 BB, 2 K

Matthew Lugo, SS: 4-5, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 R, 1 RBI

Joe Davis, DH: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 K

Nick Decker, RF: 1-2, 3 BB, 2 R, 1 K

Wyatt Olds (SP): 3.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K (82 pitches)

Michael Gettys: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K (19 pitches)

We are officially in the month of Ceddanne Rafaela, which we hope turns into his year. He’s always been a guy who has hit the ball hard, but power hasn’t really been a big part of his game since he’s more of a line drive, gap-to-gap kind of hitter. It seems like he’s getting some more launch on the ball this year, though, as he’s already up to a whopping five homers while also playing impressive defense in the outfield. He had another outfield assist in this game giving him three on the season to go with a 1.371 OPS. That last mark isn’t even the best on the team, though, with Lugo also off to a hot start with a .515 batting average (!) and a 1.422 OPS. Lugo had a tough 2021, but he’s looking like he made some key adjustments over the winter in preparation for this season.

Salem W 5-3

Eddinson Paulino, 2B: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, 3 K

Miguel Ugueto, LF: 3-5, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K

Marcelo Mayer, SS: 0-5, 1 K

Blaze Jordan, 3B: 0-4, 1 K

Nathan Hickey, C: 0-3, 1 BB, 2 K

Niko Kavadas, 1B: 1-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 K

Tyler Miller, DH: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 K

Gabriel Jackson (SP): 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K (44 pitches)

Miguel Suero (W): 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K (36 pitches)

This was a nice all-around win, though there’s not a ton to talk about. Ugueto had another big day as he continues to hit at every level despite the scouting reports never quite matching the production. It’s nice to see Paulino make some things happen, too. He was a sleeper coming into the year, and while he’s only got a .192 average early in this season he’s hitting for some power — he’s got a .231 Isolated Power this season despite this homer being his first of the year — while also drawing a few walks. On the mound, Jackson came into this season with control issues to work through, and he’s off to a nice start having not allowed a run over seven innings and only walking one batter.

Player of the Day: Ceddanne Rafaela

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