Worcester: W, 13-5 (BOX SCORE)

The WooSox won big, but that does not matter. They could have won by twenty-eight runs. They lost before they even stepped on field by giving Matt Dermody a start last night. The longer he stays in this organization, the more Chaim Bloom’s leadership and morality is called into question, and rightfully so.... not to say it wasn’t already, by the way, but this is a whole new level of flagrant disregard of how to configure a roster Bloom is showing. You can’t blame Chad Tracy, either; it is a measured directive from the front office. The minor league teams do what the organization’s front office want... so now we must ask why, with several other options on Worcester’s roster, especially following his less-than-stellar performance last week, that Matt Dermody is the guy to keep on the roster.

But, a baseball game was played last night, so, on that subject, Dermody, who allowed three runs in five innings, was likely saved by the explosive bats. And, as you can tell by looking at the score, they sure were explosive. The defensive play of the infield of the Major League roster has been called into question. Well, I’ve got some news: the only error of the night was committed by an infielder, but it was a player who was just called up from Portland, Christian Koss, so in other words, a guy highly unlikely to see any time in Boston this season. As for the guys who have been in Worcester all season, they lit up the plate; Bobby Dalbec had four hits including two home runs, Ryan Fitzgerald had two home runs, Ronaldo Hernandez (who has been raking lately!) had five RBI’s and a home run of his own, and Narcisso Crook (I know, he’s an outfielder, but...) has continued to swing a hot bat. Oh, and back to the infield... David Hamilton, who I’ve been touting all season for his speed and improving bat, had two hits and showed patience at the plate, a virtue the Boston squad could use right now, walking twice. The WooSox had fifteen hits on the night, and although the Tides (Orioles AAA) got to the pitching staff for 11 runs, and Chris Murphy got hit around a tad too, the bats were that good that they never had to worry in this one, and Kaleb Ort didn’t implode, and is probably our Quad-A (not good enough for Majors, incredible in AAA) pitcher of the year. Too bad about that choice of a starting pitcher, though....

Portland: POSTPONED DUE TO RAIN

The SeaDogs will play two today against the RumblePonies (Mets AA) in Binghamton. Portland has gone 4-0 against Binghamton this season, and won 9-1 Monday night, with Niko Kavadas and Ceddanne Rafaela doing what they do best: hitting home runs, and stealing bases, respectfully. I feel good about the talent on that team up in Maine, and you should, too.

Greenville: W, 5-2 (BOX SCORE)

Hats off to Dalton Rogers, who threw six innings of no-hit ball against the Grasshoppers (Pirates High-A) before being pulled. That no-hit bid would be broken up in the seventh against the bullpen, but Rogers struck out a remarkable 11 Greensboro batters in those six innings and walked just one. The 22-year old lefty was just called up from Salem on May 24, and boasts a 1.09 WHIP in High-A. Speaking of guys that just got called up, 19-year-old Roman Anthony hit a lead-off home run in the first inning of this one. The Drive are 33-26. It’s great to feel good about the young guys in this organization!

Salem, Game 1: W, 7-1 (BOX SCORE)

Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz continued his extremely impressive performance in game 1 of a double-header, pitching 5 of the game’s 7 innings, striking out 5 and walking 2 while only giving up the one run. In fact, he Shorebirds (Orioles A) as a whole only managed three hits in this one. Meanwhile, while this team doesn’t particularly hit for power, Lyonell James enjoyed 3 RBI’s on two doubles last night. This isn’t the first time I’ve highlighted the 20-year-old utility infielder; keep your eyes on him!

Salem, Game 2: L, 1-3 (BOX SCORE)

Game two in Delmarva saw a little less Salem luck. 12 of Salem’s 21 outs were via strikeout, and while Luis De La Rosa was not amazing on the mound, he only gave up the three runs, it was just Portland’s turn to not capitalize, as they went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position, and left 9 total men on. On the bright side, Claudio Simon had his first multi-hit game in Salem. Not a game to remember, but hey, technically, you can mark this down as a loss for April 30, when the game was originally supposed to be played!!!* Right!?

*You cannot actually mark this down as a loss for April 30

Florida Complex League: NO GAME (Team is 5-3)

The FCL team plays today against Pittsburgh’s team. The team leads the FCL in OPS, is second in RBI’s (48) but the pitching is suffering some of the highest WHIP and ERA. This is, by the way, with Yordanny Monegro allowing just 4 runners on base with his 10 innings of work so far this season. Seems like when the bats are hot, the pitching sucks, and vice versa.... sound familiar? Hmm...

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Have a great Thursday, everyone!