Minor Lines 6/20/24: Chase Meidroth is an On-Base Machine

Columbus Clippers 7, Worcester Red Sox 6 (BOX)

milb.com

A run of the mill 3-2 ballgame through eight got wild in Worcester on Thursday. To that point, we had seen five solid innings from Jason Alexander (3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K) and a two-run sixth from the Woo Sox which included an RBI single from Nathan Hickey.

In the top of the ninth, the Columbus Clippers (CLE) torched Ryan Zeferjahn for four runs, including an RBI double from the recently demoted Kyle Manzardo, seemingly breaking the game open at 7 to 2. In the bottom of the inning, RBI hits from Niko Kavadas, Nick Sogard, and Nick Yorke cut the lead to 7-6. With two outs, the Clippers finally made a pitching change and brought in Mason Hickman to get Hickey to ground out with a man on, ending the game.

Wilyer Abreu’s rehab continued, going 1-for-3 as the designated hitter with a run scored. He is 3-for-12 with two home runs in Worcester thus far. Third baseman Chase Meidroth put on another on-base clinic, with two hits and two walks in five plate appearances, scoring two runs. Meidroth now has an otherworldly BB/K ratio of 20.5/10.6%. Since May 19^th, Meidroth has a .337/.504/.477/.981 slash line with a 168 wRC+. Overall, his OBP is .452 on the season.

Tonight at 6:45, Cooper Criswell (0-1, 0.87) will take the mound against Connor Gillispie.

Richmond at Portland, PPD

The Richmond Flying Squirrels and Portland Sea Dogs were rained out on Thursday night, and will play a doubleheader on Friday, beginning at 4:00. The Sea Dogs have not named a starter for either game, Richmond will throw John Michael Bertrand in one of the games.

Greenville Drive 10, Rome Emperors 3 (BOX)

milb.com

The Drive provided a strong showing from start to finish on Thursday, taking the lead right away on with a two-run home run from Cutter Coffey (12), and then adding an inside-the-park home run in the third from Allan Castro (3). The camera work, announcer call, and effort from the center fielder all left something to be desired but a great head-first dive into home from Castro made up for much of that.

The Drive broke the game open with five runs in the sixth, and went on to a 10-3 win over the Emperors (ATL). Yordanny Monegro threw four excellent innings, and deserved the win but archaic scoring rules still require the starters to go five innings. He threw 61 pitches (37 for strikes) and struck out four, allowing only an unearned run.

Jhostynxon Garcia had two RBI singles and Gabriel Jackson got the win in relief throwing four solid innings, to go to 5-1 on the season out of the ‘pen.

David Sandlin (0-2, 5.71) will be on the bump Friday opposing Jhancarlos Lara for Rome at 7:00.

Salem Red Sox 7, Augusta GreenJackets 1 (BOX)

milb.com

Hello, friends. A tradition unlike any other occurred against Augusta (ATL) on Thursday as the GreenJackets were the recipients of a two-hit shutout from Salem pitching. Jojo Ingrassia, Conor Steinbaugh, and CJ Weins combined for a two-hit shutout in a 7-1 win. Ingrassia struck out six and allowed only one hit in four innings. A 1-1 game after six, Salem made the turn to Amen Corner and got a two-run home run from first baseman Albert Feliz (6) to cap a three-run seventh. Freili Encarnacion caused havoc in another three-run eighth, singling in a run and stealing a base that led to an error and another run.

Noah Dean (0-2, 3.99) will be on the tee against Adam Maier at 7:05 on Friday. What a moment.