Minor Lines 6/8/23: Nick Yorke’s Big Day

Worcester Red Sox 5, Rochester Red Wings 4

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milb.com

The Worcester Red Sox put together a nice three-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning last night for a comeback 5-4 win over the Rochester Red Wings. Trailing 4-2, Niko Goodrum delivered a two-run single to tie it, followed by Triple-A superstar Bobby Dalbec’s RBI single to take the lead. Dalbec now possesses a 1.046 OPS over his multiple stints in the minors this season, while also delivering his eighth steal! Dalbec’s sprint speed always graded out in the top 25% while in the MLB and it’s great to see it on display (in Worcester). Bradley Zimmer had three hits, a home run, and a steal out of the nine-hole, and Nick Sogard had two hits in the leadoff spot.

Rio Gomez got the start but ran into trouble in the fourth, allowing two of the three runs that scored in the inning. Brendan Nail also allowed two runs and got the win over 3 2/3 innings, allowing five baserunners and striking out six. AJ Politi’s clean ninth (4^th save) shut things down after a shutout inning from Ryan Sherriff. Sherriff’s demotion after Saturday’s doubleheader seemed incredibly shortsighted and avoidable. On Saturday at Fenway, he came in with runners on to get a huge out in the fifth inning of both games of the doubleheader before being demoted. Since then, we’ve seen Kaleb Ort, Chris Murphy, John Rocker Matt Dermody, and Joe Jacques as the 40-man is crunching harder than ever. Sherriff’s ERA at Worcester is 2.66 over 20 1/3 innings this year and 2.70 in Boston over 6 2/3 innings. He deserved better after his effort last week. The win brought Worcester to 28-32.

Portland Sea Dogs 13, Akron RubberDucks 7

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The Sea Dogs hosted the RubberDucks for an 11:00 am first pitch on Thursday and fortunately, the bats were awake by then for both teams. Akron shot out to a 7-1 lead early as poor pitching and defense was on display. Wyatt Olds didn’t perform any better with an opener in front of him, allowing five runs (four earned) and walking four over 2 2/3 innings. He did strike out six but now carries a 9.25 ERA in 24 1/3 innings and has walked 37 (!) and has 10 (!!) hit batsmen. Ceddanne Rafaela started at shortstop and made two throwing errors, which gives him eight errors on the season. Give him the call, he would fit right in at Fenway.

Things got a lot better from there, as the Sea Dogs put up a 7-spot in the bottom of the fourth, capped by Nick Yorke’s three-run home run. It was his seventh of the season and part of a huge three-hit, five-RBI morning.

Niko Kavadas also knocked in three and Corey Rosier had three hits, now hitting .319. Ryan Miller picked up the win with 2 1/3 shutout innings before the electric back-end combination of Ryan Fernandez and Luis Guerrero shut things down. Fernandez has a 1.74 ERA in 20 2/3 innings and Guerrero is at 1.09 with 9 saves over 24 2/3. As @redsoxstats stated, they both need to be in Worcester ASAP. The 13-7 win improved Portland to 34-20. Here’s some Luis Guerrero filth.

Salem Red Sox 4, Columbia Fireflies 1

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Bradley Blalock, the 43^rd ranked prospect at Sox Prospects, may be sniffing his way up the list soon after his third straight excellent outing to start the season. Coming off Tommy John surgery, Blalock has an (Austin) 3:16 BB:K ratio and has allowed just two runs over 13 innings. He struck out six over five shutout innings in this one, working so efficiently with 41 strikes and 58 pitches that he was able to work long enough to get the win. Blalock left with a 1-0 lead after five, before Cutter Coffey’s single and Ahbram Liendo’s RBI groundout brought the lead to 3-0 in the sixth. Liendo stole two bases and now has 27 on the season, albeit with a .180 average. Felix Cepeda worked two shutout innings with four strikeouts for his second save, and the Salem Sox took this one 4-1. The W improves Salem’s record to 24-28.

Greenville Drive at Brooklyn Cyclones

This game was postponed on Thursday. They’ll play two on Saturday.

Rookie Leagues

FCL Red Sox 7, FCL Rays 4

DSL Red Sox Red 11, DSL “Tigers 1” 9

DSL Red Sox Blue 7, DSL “Tigers 2” 5

Notable Minor Lines:

Marvin Alcantara (FCL): 3/5, 3 RBI, 2 R, HR, SB

Elvis Soto (FCL): 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Franklin Arias (DSL Red): 4/5, 2 RBI, 1 R

Yoeilin Cespedes (DSL Blue): 2/5, 2 RBI, 1 R, HR, SB