Minor Lines 7/18/23: Sea Dogs Walk It Off, Anthony Keeps Rolling

Scranton Wilkes/Barre RailRiders 5, Worcester Red Sox 3

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Worcester got behind early in this one, 4-0, with the RailRiders scoring a single run in each of the first four innings off of starter Brian Van Belle, who went five innings total allowing eight hits. A Wilyer Abreu fifth-inning solo home run was really the only offensive action for most of the night, as the squad was shut down by Jhony Brito who has made 11 starts with the Yankees this season. However, in the ninth inning, Ceddanne Rafaela hit an absolute blast bringing home two runs, bringing us to the final score at 5-3 as Worcester drops to 49-41.

Niko Kavadas did have two singles and is 3-for-10 with three walks since being promoted to Triple-A, but not much else to note in this one as the Woo Sox struck out 14 times in total. On Wednesday at 6:30, Worcester will send Kyle Barraclough (4-0, 2.88) to the mound.

Portland Sea Dogs 9, New Hampshire Fisher Cats 8

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The game of the night was the all-New England battle in Portland. The Sea Dogs went up 5-1 by the third inning, thanks to RBI hits from Marcelo Mayer and Chase Meidroth, and a solo shot from Phillip Sikes. The score stayed there until all hell broke loose in the top of the sixth when the Fisher Cats grabbed five runs. CJ Liu (5-6, 4.25) had been dealing but a two-run homer ended his night, after striking out 11 batters in 5 1/3 innings. Dylan Spacke allowed three quick runs without an out, as the Fisher Cats went ahead 6-5 before Ryan Zeferjahn calmed things down with 2 1/3 excellent innings. Tyler McDonough tied the game in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI single.

In the ninth, a two-run error by Meidroth gave New Hampshire an 8-6 lead. In the bottom of the ninth, a lengthy rally featured a Meidroth triple, a Nathan Hickey RBI single, a Sikes HBP, a McDonough RBI double, a walk to Pablo Reyes, and the immortal walk-off walk from Nick Yorke to win the game. When it comes to exciting moments in baseball, I rank them: 1) Perfect Game 2) Inside-the-park-home-run 3) Walk-off walk.

Portland (52-33) has yet to name a starter for the 6:00 ET game on Wednesday.

Asheville Tourists 6, Greenville Drive 4

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Another back-and-forth game in Greenville last night, but the Drive came out on the losing end. The Drive put together a 12-hit effort but the timely hitting was lacking, leaving runners on base all night long. Greenville did get multi-hit efforts from Roman Anthony, Allan Castro, and Bryan Gonzalez (three hits).

Anthony’s performance in his 20 games in Greenville continues to be otherworldly for a 19-year-old. Despite his eye at the plate being too advanced for Low-A, he’s improved on that walk rate, which is 20% at High-A. His .347/.478/792 slash line is good for a 228 wRC+, which is best in all of High-A (min: 90 PAs).

Dalton Rogers pitched well, striking out 10 over 4 2/3 innings, allowing five baserunners and two earned runs before Casey Cobb had a rough go of it in relief.

Greenville (45-40) has not yet named a starter and plays at 7:05 ET on Wednesday.

Down East Wood Ducks 4, Salem Red Sox 2

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Salem got a solid starting pitching performance from Gabriel Jackson on Tuesday in his first start of the season, allowing just one unearned run over four innings, bringing his ERA down to 2.77. Lyonell James tied the game, 1-1, in the fifth on an RBI groundout. After falling behind 2-1, Jhostynxon Garcia tied the game at 2 with his first home run of the season in the top of the 7^th. Down East went ahead for good on an Andres Mesa home run in the bottom of the inning. The lone multi-hit performance for Salem went to Alexis Hernandez.

Salem (38-43) play at Noon ET on Wednesday, sending Jose Ramirez to the hill (1-5, 3.07).