Minor Lines 6/6/24: Matthew Lugo and Nick Yorke Hit the Ground Running in Worcester

Worcester Red Sox 13, Rochester Red Wings 4 (BOX)

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The WooSox received an infusion of talent from the Double-A squad this week, and they delivered on Thursday afternoon. In fact, the entire lineup delivered, with 8 of the 9 starters getting at least one hit against the Red Wings (Washington Nationals). Newcomers Matthew Lugo and Nick Yorke went a combined 5-for-9 in the 3-4 slots for Worcester. Lugo homered for the second consecutive night and now has 13 combined home runs on the minor league season, also scoring three runs.

Yorke had three hits and two runs. First baseman Nick Sogard had the best line of the bunch, with three hits, three runs, three RBI and his 8th bomb of the season.

The only starter not to tally a hit was Chase Meidroth, who still did Chase Meidroth things by getting on base three times (two walks, one HBP) and stealing his ninth bag as his OBP is now up to .439.

Zach Penrod struggled with his control on the mound, walking five batters in four innings and throwing 94 pitches, unable to qualify for the win. He allowed three runs and struck out four. The win went to Naoyuki Uwasawa, who threw three strong innings in relief.

On Friday night, Josh Winckowski (0-2, 4.61) will start against old friend Thaddeus Ward at 6:45 ET.

Akron RubberDucks 9, Portland Sea Dogs 7 (BOX)

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The Sea Dogs lost a back-and-forth affair on Thursday, 9-to-7, to the RubberDucks (Cleveland Guardians). After cruising through the first three innings, Portland starter Hunter Dobbins was ripped for four runs in the fourth inning. He settled down for two more shutout innings and struck out eight batters on the day. Portland came all the way back with two runs in the fifth inning on a Nick Decker double, and then four runs in the bottom of the eighth to take the lead, capped by a Matt Donlan go-ahead double.

Eddinson Paulino (three hits), Roman Anthony (two hits), and Kyle Teel also doubled in the game. Unfortunately, Jacob Webb couldn’t save it in the ninth, allowing six baserunners and four runs in the inning. While I don’t have any clips of that to share, here’s Slugger the Sea Dog with some truly electric breakdancing between innings.

Friday night, we’ll see CJ Liu (0-1, 4.91) take on Ryan Webb at 6:00 ET.

Hickory Crawdads 9, Greenville Drive 4 (BOX)

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Starting pitcher Connelly Early had a rough go on the mound Thursday, and the Crawdads (Texas Rangers) got out to a 6-2 lead through four innings in this one. Early did strike out nine, and four of the six runs were earned.

DH Drew Ehrhard’s home run (2) and Allan Castro’s two hit effort, including a triple, were the bright spots for the Drive offense.

Hayden Mullins (1-3, 4.01) will toe the rubber for Greenville on Friday at 7:00 ET opposing Joseph Montalvo.

Salem Red Sox 7, Down East Wood Ducks 3 (BOX)

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For Salem, Miguel Bleis returned to the lineup, having played just once in the prior week, and promptly ripped a 2-run single to give the Sox a 2-0 lead in the third inning over the Wood Ducks (TEX).

The following inning featured the biggest hit of the night, a grand slam from Stanley Tucker, the first home run of the year, for the second baseman taken in the 19th round a year ago.

Left fielder Natanael Yutin also added his 5^th home run of the season for Salem. On the flip side, 2023 third-round pick Antonio Anderson went 0-for-4, but did steal his third base of the year. The shortstop is now hitting .117 on the season with a .448 OPS.

On the hill, Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz was excellent again, throwing five shutout innings, striking out two and allowing two hits. Rodriguez-Cruz improved to 2-3, with a 3.35 ERA and has 51 strikeouts in 40 1/3 innings this season.

For Salem, Luis Cohen (2-4, 4.34) will take the mound against TBD for Down East.