Worcester: L, 4-11 (BOX SCORE)

A few articles ago, I called 32-year-old Matt Darmody the Nick Pivetta of Worcester, stating that he is reliably healthy, but that in terms of his performance, he either scorelessly (I guess that’s not a word.... oh well) strikes out 8 batters or gives up 8 runs. Sunday’s start would prove to be more the latter, as he gave up five runs in two innings. The RailRiders (Yankees AAA,) who had Josh Donaldson (who hit a home run in the 8th) starting on a rehab appearance, just looked sharper from the get-go. Only Ryan Sherriff and Taylor Broadway, who Chad Tracy used as middle relievers tonight, appeared from this unscathed; the WooSox suffered eleven runs on eleven hits, eight of which came in the first three innings, and never recovered. At the plate, the team had a good third inning, but that was almost it. Christian Arroyo, also on a rehab assignment, got two hits and scored. It’s relieving to know that more reliable help is on the way to Boston in the middle infield, but don’t rejoice so fast: Arroyo had a fielding error in this one.

Portland: L, 8-10 (BOX SCORE)

Of note: this was Ceddanne Rafaela’s day off. Even without one of their better hitters, not to mention speediest, the bats were pretty hot for the SeaDogs, who had seven players record a hit. This included Niko Kavadas, who’s a power hitter and probably a guy who will get a call to Worcester before the end of the year, with his eighth. Shortshop Christian Koss also had two hits, a home run and 3 RBIs, as he probably hears Marcelo Mayer footsteps behind him. I should also mention Steven Scott, a catcher who suffers from a deep roster, hit his third home run of the week in this one. Still, those bats were not hot enough, because on the mound, some days you have it, and some you do not, and although Chih-Jung Liu is pretty heralded as a name to watch in this Sea Dogs rotation, today he did not have it. The Fisher Cats (Blue Jays AA) got to Liu early, and Liu gave up six runs on nine hits in just 2 2/3, and saw his day end early by giving up his second home run of his short outing. His relief didn’t do much better, and so, by giving up sixteen hits to New Hampshire, the Sea Dogs fell by two runs.

Greenville: L, 3-5 (BOX SCORE)

Marcelo Mayer’s final appearance in High-A ball featured the shortstop recording an RBI hit and a stolen base, and his replacement Brainer Bonaci (also a guy with a hot bat) scoring a run on a triple, but it was not enough for the Drive, as the Braves (Braves High-A, duh) staved Greenville off on some late insurance runs. On the mound, Angel Bastardo looked fine, giving up three runs in five innings.... not a line I particularly have a complaint with, but the bullpen giving up those runs late hurt Greenville. Greenville’s been pretty hot lately, climbing from 5 games below .500 to 24-21, so I’ll end this recap on a positive note: Blaze Jordan had two hits.

Salem: RAINED OUT

Salem must have known losing was in the air today, as a Virginia rainstorm made it possible for me to end this recap a game short and for the Salem-Sox to make their trip to Myrtle Beach a day early.

Happy Monday to all, it’s weird posting this from a hotel room instead of from work on a Monday. Good to spend a long weekend in Atlantic City watching blink-182 and deleting Liquid Deaths from existence. Of course, thank you to all who served and made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.