Red Sox Minor Lines: Connor Seabold dominates for Worcester

Worcester L 4-7 (F/10)

Jarren Duran, LF: 0-4, 1 BB, 1 R, 2 K, 1 SB

Jeter Downs, SS: 0-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 K, 1

Triston Casas, 1B: 1-3, 1 2B, 2 BB, 1 R, 1 K

Ryan Fitzgerald, 3B: 2-4, 2 RBI, 2 K

Connor Wong, DH: 0-5, 2 K

Ronaldo Hernández, C: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K

Connor Seabold (SP): 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11 K (92 pitches)

Durbin Feltman (BS): 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 0 K (21 pitches)

Eduard Bazardo (H): 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (12 pitches)

While this game ended in a loss with a couple of poor performances out of the bullpen, Seabold was the story of the day for Worcester, and a positive one. It was a little bit surprising he wasn’t sent to Texas to get the start in the majors instead of going with a bullpen game, but he’s making a case to not get passed over the next time an open spot comes around. Seabold has had a really impressive season with a 2.45 ERA through seven starts, and he’s been missing bats lately with 22 strikeouts over 16 innings this month. That strikeout stuff is particularly important as he seemed to have lost a lot of that last year, which would dramatically lower his ceiling. It seems he’s found at least some of that pre-2021 stuff.

Portland L 6-7

David Hamilton, SS: 2-5, 1 2B, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 K, 1 SB

Nick Sogard, CF: 2-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 K

Devlin Granberg, DH: 2-5, 1 2B

Tyler Dearden, LF 1-2, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 R

Brandon Walter (SP; L): 5.2 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 7 K (88 pitches)

Frank German: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (4 pitches)

Brandon Walter has now struggled for two straight outings, which I’m not sure anyone has said about him at all over the last two years. This one was a bit better than his last time out and the strikeout to walk ratio is still strong, but the southpaw also allowed three home runs. It seems there are starting to be some adjustments made against him, and now we get to see how the breakout prospect deals with adversity. It’s not the worst thing in the world to be challenged and forced to adjust on the fly, but while we wait for the counter-adjustment it is still a bit unnerving, especially considering just how dominant he’s been. Meanwhile, Hamilton is now up to 17 strikeouts, tied for sixth in all of affiliated ball.

Greenville L 4-10

Nick Yorke, 2B: 1-5, 1 R, 1 K

Tyler McDonough, DH: 0-2, 3 BB, 2 R

Ceddanne Rafaela, SS: 3-5, 1 R, 2 RBI

Alex Binelas, 3B: 0-3, 2 BB, 3 K

Nicholas Northcut, 1B: 1-5, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 3 K, 1 CS

Gilberto Jimenez, RF: 2-4, 2 K

Brendan Cellucci (SP; L): 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 3 K (42 pitches)

Wyatt Olds: 4 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 3 K (80 pitches)

It certainly did not work out this time around, but it’s interesting to see another use of an opener on the farm, this time with Olds being pushed to a bulk role coming in for the middle of the game rather than starting. It’s been happening a bit more over the last week or two. It’s an interesting trend to monitor, especially if we start to see it pushed up the ladder. In this specific case, it makes sense as Olds has always profiled better as a two- or three-inning reliever anyway. We’ll see if these results push them away from this plan, though.

Salem L 7-8 (F/11)

Eddinson Paulino, 2B: 0-4, 2 BB, 1 R, 1 K

Brainer Bonaci, DH: 3-4, 2 BB, 2 R, 1 K

Marcelo Mayer, SS: 3-6, 3 2B, 2 RBI

Blaze Jordan, 1B: 1-6, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Eduardo Lopez, CF: 0-3, 2 BB, 2 R, 2 K

Jose Garcia, C: 2-4, 2 RBI

Wilkelman Gonzalez (SP): 6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 5 K (79 pitches)

Nate Tellier: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K (26 pitches)

This was a tough loss for Salem, who blew the save in the ninth to send it to extras, then gave up three in the bottom of the 11th after their offense put two on the board in the top half. That said, it was nice to see Mayer back in the lineup. He’s been out lately for both workload and nagging injury reasons, with this being only his second game since April 23. You wouldn’t know it by the stat line though. It’s not every day you see a three-triple game. Bonaci also continues to impress, reaching base five times in this game, while Jordan smacked his third homer of the year in the loss.

Player of the Day: Connor Seabold

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