5/23 MiLB Gameday: A Drew Debut?

[Cuzittt]

Today's Games:

IL:Pawtucket (Brandon Workman) @ Syracuse (Aaron Laffey) [7:05pm]
EL: Portland (Michael Augliera) vs. New Hampshire (Casey Lawrence) [7:05pm]
CL:Salem (Simon Mercedes) vs. Potomac (TBD) [7:05pm]
SAL: Greenville (Joe Gunkel) vs. Augusta (Matthew Lujan) [7:05pm]
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:

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

 

[absintheofmalaise]

According to Rob Bradford, Drew is playing in Greenville tonight.

 

[Byrdbrain]

Workman scratched, I think we know who is pitching Sunday.

 

[mabrowndog]

According to Rob Bradford, Drew is playing in Greenville tonight.

 
I love that the 2nd order of baseball business after signing his $10 million contract will be treating an entire low-A ball club to some high-end catered cuisine.

 

[mabrowndog]

Workman scratched, I think we know who is pitching Sunday.

 
Chris Hernandez on the hill in his place tonight.

 

[mabrowndog]

Drew got busy early. First batter of the game popped out to him. Next ball in play was an inning-ending 6-3 groundout. He's since converted another 6-3 grounder, caught a line-out, and flipped to 2nd for a force-out.
 
In the bottom of the 1st, he singled off Augusta lefty Matt Lujan, who coming into tonight had held LHH to a .179 BAA w. 5 BB & 22 K in 61 PA.
 
And more true to both Drew's and Lujan's forms, he struck out looking in the 3rd.

 

[mabrowndog]

Nice outing by Joe Gunkel for the Drive. 4 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 6 K, 34 of 45 pitches for strikes.
 
Jake Dahlstrand came on for the 5th.

 

[mabrowndog]

Mookie's 3-game on-base streak is in jeopardy. He's 0-for-3 through 5 offensive innings.

 

[mabrowndog]

Tzu-Wei Lin replaces Drew at SS for the top of the 6th. Just 2 AB tonight. He was due to lead off the next inning.

 

[mabrowndog]

Lavarnway doubled to lead off the 5th, breaking up Aaron Laffey's no-hitter. Into the T-6th now, PawSox still down 4-0. Their only other hit belongs to Dan Butler.

 

[Cuzittt]

Drive win 2-0.

Boxscore

Joe Gunkel went 4 innings, walking one and striking out 6. Jacob Dahlstrand went 3 innings, giving up 2 hits and a walk; striking out one. Mike Adams went 2 innings, walking one and striking out 3.

Stephen Drew went 1/2 before being replaced by Tzu-Wei Lin who went 0/1 with a walk. Kendrick Perkins went 1/2 with a double and a sacrifice. Jimmy Rider went 1/3 with a walk. Jake Romanski went 1/3. Jantzen Witte went 1/4 with a double. Manuel Margot went 0/2 with 2 walks. Jordan Weems went 0/3. Carlos Asuaje and Wendell Rijo each went 0/4.

 

[Cuzittt]

Salem wins 8-2.

Boxscore

Simon Mercedes went 6 innings, allowing a run on 5 hits and 2 walks; striking out 4. Madison Younginer went 2 innings, giving up 2 hits and a walk; striking out 3. Kyle Stroup pitched an inning, allowing a run on 2 hits, a walk and a WP.

Mario Martinez went 3/4 with a double. Bo Greenwell went 2/4 with a double, HBP and CS. Aneury Tavarez went 2/4 with a double. Jonathan Roof went 2/5 with a double. Reed Gragnani went 1/3 with a walk. Jayson Hernandez went 1/3 with a HR and a SF. Keven Heller went 1/4. Kevin Mager and Dreily Guerrero each went 0/4.

 

[Cuzittt]

Pawsox lose 4-0.

Boxscore

Chris Hernandez went 2 2/3 innings, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits, a WP and 3 walks; striking out one. John Ely went 2 innings, allowing a run on 2 hits and 2 walks. Rich Hill went 2 1/3 innings, giving up a hit and a WP and striking out 5. Drake Britton went an inning, giving up a hit.

Dan Butler and Corey Brown each went 1/3. Daniel Nava and Ryan Lavarnway each went 1/4 with a double. Ryan Roberts went 0/3 with a walk and a CS. Brandon Snyder, Garin Cecchini and Carlos Rivero each went 0/3. Mike McCoy went 0/4.

 

[Cuzittt]

Portland gets a run in the top of the 10th, win 4-3.

Boxscore

Mike Augliera went 7 innings, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits (1 HR), a walk and a HBP; striking out 3. Noe Ramirez went 3 innings, walking one and striking out one.

Blake Swihart went 3/5. Peter Hissey went 2/4 with a triple. Henry Ramos and Sean Coyle each went 2/5; Coyle with a double. Travis Shaw went 1/2 with 3 walks. Shannon Wilkerson went 1/3 with a sacrifice and a SB. Mookie Betts, Deven Marrero and Derrik Gibson each went 0/5.

 

[Cuzittt]

STORIES

PAWSOX

Game Story

Syracuse starter Aaron Laffey tossed a complete-game four-hit shutout as the Chiefs shut out the Pawtucket Red Sox, 4-0, Friday night at NBT Bank Stadium to hand the PawSox their fifth consecutive loss.

Pawtucket (25-24) has been held to just one run in its last 30 innings at-bat dating back to Monday night's contest against Scranton (spanning four games). Laffey (5-2) allowed four hits and one walk while striking out nine. He threw 108 pitches and pitched around a leadoff double in the fifth and seventh innings.

Syracuse (25-22), which won its fourth straight, plated all four of its runs in the first four innings, three of which came against spot-starter Chris Hernandez (1-5). After scoring a run on a Ryan Roberts throwing error in the first, the Chiefs rallied for a pair with two outs in the third when five straight batters reached base.

After Brock Peterson's two-out walk began the rally, he moved up to second on a wild pitch during Jhonatan Solano's ten-pitch at-bat. That battle ended with Solano collecting an RBI single to right scoring Peterson. Three batters later reliever John Ely walked Brandon Laird with the bases loaded to make the score 3-0.

Ely allowed a run in the fourth on Steven Souza Jr.'s RBI single past a drawn-in infield. Three Pawtucket relievers (Ely, Rich Hill and Drake Britton) combined to allow only one run and four hits over the final 5.1 innings.

SEADOGS

Game Story

Sean Coyle, out for most of the last month with a hamstring injury, made a successful return to the Portland Sea Dogs lineup on Friday night at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium.

Coyle ripped a Randy Boone pitch into the left-field corner for a two-out, run-scoring double in the top of the 10th inning to lift the Sea Dogs to a 4-3 win over the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

Coyle, an infielder and the designated hitter on Friday night, knocked in Travis Shaw. Shaw singled to lead off the inning, went to second on a fielder’s choice and third on a wild pitch.

“It’s awesome to be back playing,” Coyle said. “I was just looking for something that kind of caught the middle of the plate, something I could put in play hard. I put a good swing on the ball.”

Coyle also had the first Portland hit and scored the team’s first run in the second inning.

“He did a lot of work when he was hurt, tracking pitches, batting practice and stuff so it wasn’t that much of a stretch for him to jump right back in there,” said Portland Manager Billy McMillon.

Coyle’s hit made a winner of relief pitcher Noe Ramirez.

Ramirez did not allow a hit in his three innings after taking over for starter Mike Augliera. He struck out one and walked one.

SALEM

Game Story

The Salem Red Sox achieved their highest offensive output in two weeks in a 8-2 win over the Potomac Nationals at LewisGale Field Friday night. The Red Sox had averaged only 2.3 runs per game in their last 11, but that all changed Friday with a three run second, a run in the fourth, two in fifth and two in the seventh.



Simon Mercedes picked up the win in his best start of the season, going six innings, allowing a lone run and five hits. He walked only two and struck four. Madison Younginer was good for the Sox in relief, surrendering just two hit in two innings. Ronald Pena was dealt the loss for the Nationals. Pena allowed six runs and eight hits in five innings.



The Sox offense started taking flight in the second inning. Mario Martinez and Kevin Heller each singled to center to start the frame. Martinez came around after two productive groundouts, Heller on a wild pitch. Then Jayson Hernandez hit his first home run of the season to make it 3-0.



In the fourth, Anuery Tavarez scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 4-1.



In the fifth, the drama came on a bunt. With Bo Greenwell on second, Jonathan Roof was called out on a bunt back to the mound. After an argument from Carlos Febles and discussion between the umpires, the call was reversed and Roof was deemed safe. Nationals manager Tripp Keister was ejected arguing the call. But that was just the start of the fireworks in the inning. The Sox would get two more runs, first on a Martinez single and then on a ground ball by Heller on a force attempt at second. That made it 6-1 Sox.



The Sox got their final two runs in the seventh when Tavarez singled home Reed Gragnani and Martinez.

Bo Greenwell

WELCOME HOME: Bo Greenwell has played at Salem Memorial Ballpark so often he ought to have his own reserved seat. But it wasn’t until recently that he got to do something he’s always wanted to do: compete from the Red Sox dugout.

Greenwell, a five-year veteran of the Carolina League, notched his first two hits for Salem as the Sox broke out of their recent offensive doldrums to post an 8-2 victory over Potomac on Friday night.

ALWAYS MOTIVATED: The son of former Boston Red Sox outfielder Mike Greenwell, Bo played in this park as an Indians farmhand in each of the past four seasons.

“Honestly, I always used that as a little bit of fire,” he said of visiting the Roanoke Valley. “It was the organization that my dad played for, so obviously I wanted to do my best when I played against them. I always took that attitude. It’s a long season, and any time you can find something that can make you play that much harder or focus that much more, you use it. That’s basically what I did. I’m ecstatic to be here right now.”

He got here by signing as a free agent in March, a few months after the Indians released him. Greenwell played at Low-A Greenville and Double-A Portland before joining Salem on Wednesday.

“I had some nibbles at first, but nothing I was looking for,” Greenwell said of the free agency process. “When the Red Sox came up, honestly, it was going to happen. The same jersey my dad put on — you’ve got to do it. I’ve been doing this a while, and just to be able to put on that uniform and be in the same family my dad was back in the day, it’s awesome.”

Tim Roberson

Tim Roberson doesn’t catch much any more. But the former backstop knows a great arm when he sees one.

As a freshman at Florida Gulf Coast University, Roberson roomed with a young hurler by the name of Chris Sale.

“When I saw him my freshman year, you could tell he had a chance,” Roberson said. “A 6-6 lefty, lanky, 89 to 92 mph, hadn’t grown into his body yet — you knew he had a chance. And as the years progressed and he got older, he just got better and better. What he did his junior year was special.”

What Sale did was go 11-0 with a 2.07 ERA over 17 games, prompting the Chicago White Sox to select him 13th overall in the 2010 draft.

“He was special,” Roberson said. “Just filthy stuff. In college, it was like men amongst boys. It was a pleasure. It was fun catching him. I still talk to him every now and then when I’m back in Fort Myers, because that’s where he lives.”

Sale came off the disabled list Thursday night to fire six shutout innings against the Yankees, striking out 10. Roberson, who has converted to the infield as a pro, retains a strong connection with his former battery mate.

“Stay in contact, play a little golf every now and then,” Roberson said. “We’re not as close as we were in college, but he’s doing his thing and I respect that. I love watching him on TV.”

DRIVE

Game Story

It was a good night for Drive baseball fans Friday at Fluor Field. They got to see both a major league player and a sparkling pitching performance – all before the usual fireworks show.

Three Greenville pitchers combined on a two-hit shutout as the Drive beat Augusta 2-0 for its third straight win.

The major leaguer was shortstop Stephen Drew, who just signed a one-year deal Wednesday to return to Boston. The Red Sox assigned the 31-year-old to Greenville to get some at bats and playing time before rejoining the Red Sox.

"It's just good to get back, to get back in the swing of things," Drew said. "The game comes back quick in your mind. It's just more or less getting back on your feet. Playing in game mode, that's the difference."

Last year, he played 124 games for the World Series champs. He batted .253, hit 13 homers, and drove in 67 RBI.

Drew played five innings in the first game of his assignment with Greenville. In two trips to the plate, he singled and struck out.

He recorded two putouts and three assists in the field.

Drew is expected to start in Sunday's 4:05 p.m. home game and again in a road game Monday in Charleston.

Regarding Fluor Field, Drew said, "This is a really nice place they've got. A really nice setup. This field can compete with the big league field, so it's a pretty special place."