Minor Lines 8/3/23: Bombs Away in Worcester; Kyle Teel and Nazzan Zanetello debut

Worcester Red Sox 17, Syracuse Mets 9

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The ball was flying out of the ballpark in Syracuse on Thursday evening, with the two teams combining for 26 runs, 31 hits, and 12 home runs. The Mets scored more runs last night than their Major League squad did in an entire three-game series sweep against the Royals, and they still lost by eight. Where do we start with this?

Before we get to the standout performance from Stephen Scott, the third inning carried the majority of the action. David Hamilton (12) and Ceddanne Rafaela (9) went back-to-back early in the inning. That’s three nights in a row for Rafaela.

Hamilton added two stolen bases, which gives him 40 on the year at Triple-A. Rafaela has a .325 average now in 28 games to go with those nine bombs. Ronaldo Hernandez (13) and Ryan Fitzgerald (11) went back-to-back later in the third, with Fitzgerald adding two doubles later in the game. Bradley Zimmer (4) homered in the fourth before Scott took over. His three-run homer to right field in the 5^th extended Worcester’s lead to 12-4, and then another in the ninth capped the scoring on the day.

As mentioned in the clip, Scott has five three-run homers in the past month. His OPS is now up to 1.052 with eight home runs in 29 games since his promotion to Triple-A, entering yesterday with a 14.4 BB% and just a 12.5 K%. It’s time to take the 26-year-old’s bat seriously.

Shane Drohan got the win but wasn’t particularly sharp. He allowed 11 baserunners, three bombs, and four runs, over five innings, improving to 3-4 with a 5.91 ERA at Worcester. The Woo Sox improved to 56-48 and play at 6:35 Friday again in Syracuse, with Brandon Walter (1-5, 6.03) taking the hill.

Bowie Bay Sox 13, Portland Sea Dogs 7

Another slugfest in this one, as the Orioles double-A affiliate Bowie Bay Sox went to town in the first five innings. Hunter Dobbins got the start and gave up ten baserunners and seven earned runs in 4 2/3 innings. Dylan Spacke came in to try to clean things up in the fifth but gave up five more runs, putting the Sea Dogs in a 12-3 hole that they couldn’t come back from.

Portland did get multi-hit games from Corey Rosier, Blaze Jordan, and Tyler Dearden. Jordan (3) and Dearden (4) popped home runs late in the game to make the score respectable.

The Sea Dogs now stand at 57-42 on the season and will play at Bowie Friday night at 7:05, with the starter TBD.

Rainouts:

High-A Greenville was postponed at home against Rome on Thursday night. They will begin a doubleheader at 5:00 on Friday.

Low-A Salem was also postponed Thursday, on the road at Fredericksburg. They will also start a doubleheader at 5:05 on Friday, with Yordanny Monegro (3-1, 2.38) likely to start game one.

Complex League:

With rainouts in Greenville and Salem, why not check in on the Complex League where Kyle Teel and Nazzan Zanetello made their Red Sox minor league debuts on Thursday. Teel, the fourteenth overall pick out of Virginia, started at catcher and hit third in the lineup for the FCL Red Sox. He went 0-for-2. Zanetello, the fiftieth pick from Christian Brothers High School, started at shortstop and hit second. He also went 0-for-2, with one strikeout.