5/14 MiLB Gameday: Pawsox in the afternoon/Drive play 1 1/2

[Cuzittt]

Today's Games:

IL:Pawtucket (Allen Webster) @ Indianapolis (Casey Sadler) [1:35pm]
EL: Portland (Henry Owens) @ New Britain (Tyler Duffy) [6:35pm]
CL:Salem (TBD) @ Wilmington (Christian Binford) [6:35pm]
SAL: Greenville (SUSP/TBD) @ Savannah (SUSP/Dario Alvarez) [6:05pm]
NYPL: Lowell - Opening Day - June 13th vs. Vermont
GCL: GCL Sox - Opening Day - June 20th vs GCL Twins
DSL: DSL Sox - Opening Day - May 31st

Notes:

Mookie Betts has reached safely in 63 consecutive regular season games. He has reached safely in 68 consecutive games (including playoffs).

Drive suspended game is from April 19th. Game is tied at 3, starting the bottom of the 6th.

Scoreboard:

Boston Red Sox Minor League Scores

Media:

MiLB TV
MiLB Radio

Local Media:

Pawsox:

Providence Journal
Pawtucket Times

Seadogs: Portland Press Herald

Salem: Roanoke Times

Greenville: Greenville Online

Lowell: Lowell Sun

 

[HillysLastWalk]

Henry Owens, Blake Swihart, Mookie Betts ... in a stadium I drive by on the way home.  Hrmmmmmmm ......
 
What is that 3 of their top 5 prospects at this point?

 

[Cesar Crespo]

Possibly the top 3, and get to see Ramos, Shaw and a few other prospects too.

Edit: Not to mention Marrero, who, if he keeps it up, will be in the top 5 too.

 

[Cesar Crespo]

And what is SUSP?

 

[mjohnson406]

And what is SUSP?

 

Drive suspended game is from April 19th. Game is tied at 3, starting the bottom of the 6th.

 

No pitcher has been announced for the resumed game

 

[HillysLastWalk]

Mookie wastes no time. Crushes a double off the left field wall on a two strike count.. He crushed it. He just scored on a WP

He took a first pitch strike, fouled off two, took 2 for balls. when he swung and connected it was glooooorious!

 

[HillysLastWalk]

After a walk to mookie, marrero absolutely smashed one. it was LOUD. to deep center tho and they caught it while slamming against the wall. Mookie just has absolute control of the zone.

 

[HillysLastWalk]

Owens change up really moves, as evidenced by 5 walks.

 

[djhb20]

Owens is my favorite prospect ever - at least for checking minor league box scores. You just never know what to expect, but it's almost never a boring line.

4 IP, 5 BB, 8 K so far.

Edit: and that's the night. If my math is right, that's 17 batters and 4 fair balls. (If there was a DP, it'd be 16 and 3.)

Another "no-hitter" for Owens.

 

[soxhop411]

Tim Britton ‏@TimBritton  now
Owens is done after four hitless innings. Struck out eight but walked five, pushing him to 87 pitches.

 

[LondonSox]

I'm actually increasingly down on Owens as a prospect the more and more scouting I read suggests that he's a mid rotation upside to me.
I hope we can use him in a trade this year, because I am increasingly unconvinced he can be a great starter, good sure. But Given the depth in the system I'd want to be moving several goods for the right piece. There are more kids than there is room, this is going to be a big set of decisions for management. Who to keep and who to move and for whom will probably help decide the next 5 years.

 

[Cuzittt]

Drive lose the suspended game, 5-4.

Boxscore

Back in April, Mario Alcantara went 3 innings, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and 5 walks; striking out 3. Myles Smith followed with 2+ innings of work, allowing a run on 2 hits; striking out one. Jacob Dahlstrand went the final 3 innings (last night), allowing a run on 4 hits and a walk; striking out 2.

Carlos Asuaje went 2/3 with a walk. Jake Romanski went 2/4 with a SB. Wendell Rijo went 2/4. Jantzen Witte went 2/5. Kevin Mager went 1/2 with a double and a walk before being replaced by Forrestt Allday who went 0/2. Tim Roberson went 1/3 before being replaced by Jimmy Rider who went 0/1. Zach Kapstein went 1/3 with a HBP. Tzu-Wei Lin went 0/4 with a walk. Bo Greenwell went 0/5.

 

[Cuzittt]

Pawsox lose 3-1.

Boxscore

Allen Webster went 5 2/3 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks; striking out 9. Dalier Hinojosa went 1 1/3 innings, allowing a run on 2 hits and a HBP; stiking out 2. Drake Britton went an inning; walking one.

Garin Cecchini went 1/3 with a walk and a SB. Daniel Nava went 1/4. Alex Hassan went 0/2 with 2 walks. Dan Butler went 0/2 with a walk. Brandon Snyder went 0/3 with a walk. Brock Holt, Ryan Roberts, Ryan Lavarnway and Corey Brown each went 0/4.

 

[Cuzittt]

Seadogs bullpen blows up in the 9th, lose 4-3.

Boxscore

Henry Owens went 4 innings, walking 5 and striking out 8. Noe Ramirez went 2 innings, giving up a hit and 2 walks; striking out one. Aaron Kurcz went an inning, allowing an unearned run on a hit and a walk. Michael Olmsted went 1+ innings, allowing 2 runs on 2 hits and a walk. Jose Valdez went 1/3rd of an inning, allowing a run on 3 hits and a walk.

Henry Ramos went 1/2 with 2 walks. Blake Swihart went 1/3 with a walk. Shannon Wilkerson went 1/3. Mookie Betts went 1/4 with a double and a walk. Travis Shaw and Stefan Welch each went 1/4. Deven Marrero went 1/5. Peter Hissey went 0/3 with a walk. Carlos Rivero went 0/4.

 

[Cuzittt]

Salem wins 3-2.

Boxscore

Luis Diaz went 7 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits; striking out 6. Austin Maddox went 2 innings, giving up a hit and striking out 3.

Reed Gragnani and Mario Martinez each went 2/4. Matty Johnson and Jonathan Roof each went 1/4; Johnson with a SB. Kevin Mager went 1/3. Aneury Tavarez and Jayson Hernandez each went 0/3. Tim Roberson and Carson Blair each went 0/4.

 

[Cuzittt]

Drive lose regularly scheduled game, 6-1.

Boxscore

Daniel McGrath went 2 innings, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 4 hits, 3 walks and a WP; striking out 2. Sergio Gomez went 5 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks; striking out 2. Mike Adams went an inning, striking out one.

Forrestt Allday went 2/4 with a HBP and a SB. Carlos Asuaje went 2/4. Jantzen Witte went 1/2 with a double and 2 walks. Kendrick Perkins and Jimmy Rider each went 1/4; Rider with a triple. Wendell Rijo, Manuel Margot, and Jordan Weems each went 0/4. Tzu-Wei Lin went 0/5.

 

[Cuzittt]

STORIES

PAWSOX

Game Story

Indianapolis hurlers Casey Sadler and Jake Brigham combined on a two-hitter as the Indians defeated the Pawtucket Red Sox, 3-1, Wednesday at Victory Field.

Sadler (4-1) allowed only an infield single to Garin Cecchini and three walks in six dominating innings. Brigham, making his first relief appearance of the season, tossed the final three innings and allowed one hit and a pair of walks to record his first save.

After a 37-minute rain delay to start the game, Indianapolis struck for a pair of runs in the first against PawSox starter Allen Webster (2-2). Webster then settled down and retired 14 consecutive batters. The right-hander struck out nine in 52/3 innings pitched, the most for any Pawtucket hurler in an outing this season, yet still earned a hard-luck loss.

Chris Dickerson led off the first with a double against Webster and was driven home three batters later when Brent Morel singled to right. Matt Hague followed with an RBI double to deep center that plated Morel to make it 2-0.

Sadler allowed his only run in the fourth on a two-out, bases-loaded walk to Alex Hassan. The run was set up by right fielder Gregory Polanco’s two-base fielding error, on which Polanco dropped a line drive hit by Daniel Nava. Sadler struck out seven and threw 96 pitches in his six innings of work.

SEADOGS

Game Story

Portland reliever Jose Valdez gave up two RBI singles in the bottom of the ninth inning, then walked in the winning run Wednesday night as the Sea Dogs collapsed for a 4-3 loss to the Rock Cats at New Britain Stadium.

Portland starter Henry Owens struck out eight through four shutout innings and did not surrender a hit. He did, however, walk five batters and left the game with a 2-0 lead. Owens threw 87 pitches.

Mookie Betts extended his on-base streak to 64 games by leading off the game for the Sea Dogs with his 12th double. Betts scored on a wild pitch in the first inning and Henry Ramos scored on Shannon Wilkerson’s single to right field in the second.

The Dogs increased their lead in the top of the seventh. Peter Hissey walked and advanced on a bunt by Wilkerson. Deven Marrero lined a ball into center field to score Hissey.

In the bottom of the seventh, Aaron Kurcz relieved Noe Ramirez, who had provided two scoreless innings. A.J. Peterson reached on an error to start the inning and then Kurcz walked Corey Wimberly. One out later, Nate Hansen hit a grounder into right field that scored Wimberly.

After a scoreless eight, Michael Olmsted gave up a leadoff single to Wimberly in the ninth, followed by a double from Thomas.

SALEM

Game Story

Luis Diaz picked up his second straight win by dealing seven superb innings, paving the way to a 3-2 Red Sox victory on Wednesday night in Wilmington. Diaz improved to 4-3 on the year with an 86 pitch, 61 strike performance, and Salem mustered just enough offense to sneak away with a triumph and avoid being swept in three straight at Frawley Stadium.

Diaz became the first Salem starter to complete seven innings in 2014 with his strong effort, striking out six and walking nobody. He scattered four hits and allowed two runs, shrinking his ERA to 3.57. In relief, Austin Maddox picked up his first save of the season, retiring six of the seven men he faced in two innings out of the bullpen.

Offensively, the Sox broke through in the third inning against Wilmington starter Christian Binford. Matty Johnson, Jonathan Roof, and Reed Gragnani all collected one-out singles, with Roof and Mario Martinez each registering an RBI in the two-run frame.

One inning later, an unearned run helped the Sox increase the lead to three, as Aneury Tavarez reached on a deep line drive to right field that deflected over the glove of Johermyn Chavez. Ruled an error, Tavarez ended up at third and scored on Kevin Mager's RBI single. After the fourth inning, the Sox only recorded one more hit the rest of the night, but the pitching remained stout enough to prevail.

Gragnani and Martinez each went 2-for-4 to the lead the Sox, who outhit the Rocks 7-5. Salem's power drought continued, with all seven hits going as singles. The Red Sox have collected only six extra-base hits in their last six games.

DRIVE

Game Story

The Sand Gnats (27-11) came away with a 5-4 victory over Greenville (20-17) in the completion of the game from April 19, and the shut down the Drive offense in a 6-1 win in the nightcap.

Led by a career-high 12 strikeouts in five innings from Dario Alvarez (2-1), the Sand Gnats pitching staff piled up 19 punchouts against Drive batters in the second game. Dawrin Frias collected all five of hits outs in an inning and two-thirds via strikeout, and Tyler Vanderheiden struck out a pair in two and one-third frames to collect his first save of the year.

Drive starter Daniel McGrath (0-1) was touched for four runs in the bottom of the first after allowing three hits and Drive fielders making three errors behind him.

The Drive scored their only run of the night game in the seventh when Jimmy Rider lined a two-out triple and scored on Forrestt Allday’s RBI single.

Gavin Cecchini went 2-5 with two RBI to lead Savannah, while Allday and Carlos Asuaje both had a pair of hits for Greenville.

 

[HillysLastWalk]

I'm actually increasingly down on Owens as a prospect the more and more scouting I read suggests that he's a mid rotation upside to me.
I hope we can use him in a trade this year, because I am increasingly unconvinced he can be a great starter, good sure. But Given the depth in the system I'd want to be moving several goods for the right piece. There are more kids than there is room, this is going to be a big set of decisions for management. Who to keep and who to move and for whom will probably help decide the next 5 years.

 
First, I'm no scout, nor did I pitch (when I played loooooong ago), nor played baseball since HS, nor do I coach ... so that disclaimer out of the way:
 
But the four innings Henry pitched, what you heard was mostly the sound of the ball hitting a mitt (5 walks, and 8 K's!!).  There really wasn't a lot of hard contact at all.  Fair especially. There was one deep fly to left and that was probably the hardest ball hit.  I was sitting next to this older sox fan (Suzanne) who I was chatting with the whole game (we became fast friends!), and I remember one pitch we were discussing: big right-handed batter (I forget who) - and Owens threw a change that dove in on him.  He hit it, yes.  But the movement on it, the only thing he could do with it was drive it into the ground extremely foul.  And that's what he did.  He ground it extremely foul down the third base line.
 
In contrast, the second inning, even though Portland only scored one, there was a lot of loud cracks of the bat.  In fact, it was like that a lot for Portland - the BABIP Gods were mad I guess.  Or when Ramirez came in to relieve in the 5th.  I was telling her, Marrero is supposed to be really good defensively, so maybe we will finally get to see him actually field a ball.  At this point you started to see the Rock Cats actually hit balls fair.  Anyhow, my point is, there was just a different sound when Ownes pitched - not a lot of hard contact.
 
Just learning that they lost!  We both left after the top of the 7th (Had to at least see Mookie's 4th at bat).

 

[LeftyTG]

I'm actually increasingly down on Owens as a prospect the more and more scouting I read suggests that he's a mid rotation upside to me.
I hope we can use him in a trade this year, because I am increasingly unconvinced he can be a great starter, good sure. But Given the depth in the system I'd want to be moving several goods for the right piece. There are more kids than there is room, this is going to be a big set of decisions for management. Who to keep and who to move and for whom will probably help decide the next 5 years.

This post describes my thinking exactly.  

 

[Cuzittt]

It's funny... because I am super high on Owens. He's 21 years old, in AA, with no hit stuff. Yeah, he struggles with his command. That's pretty damned normal.

 

[Cesar Crespo]

I think our pitching prospects in general are over rated but I'm high on Owens. Even if he's merely "good" that has great value. He misses bats.

 

[LondonSox]

I just really don't see the upside with one plus pitch (the change) one average to slightly better (fastball) and a maybe developing curve.
The fastball is flat when up and the command is dubious, the velocity is not enough to survive dubious command.

I just don't see it unless he can add some command or a few mph on the fastball or maybe if the curve really develops. Then fine I could be wrong.

But I see a guy surviving on one great pitch and being left handed and on deception.

Now don't get me wrong I think he's likely a solid major league pitcher. Mid rotation type, which is useful, but the organization seems to have a lot of them.

 

[Cuzittt]

I just don't see it unless he can add some command or a few mph on the fastball or maybe if the curve really develops. Then fine I could be wrong.

But I see a guy surviving on one great pitch and being left handed and on deception.

Who is 21, in AA, and shows no hit ability.

21 year olds are rarely finished products... especially tall lefties. Owens may not be able to put it all together (or improve his weaker areas)... that is the nature of prospects. But, given everything about him... I'd rather attempt to develop him than any of the other starting pitchers in Pawtucket or Portland.