5/25 MiLB Gameday: Pawsox looking to score

[Cuzittt]

Today's Games:

IL:Pawtucket (Allen Webster) @ Syracuse (Ross Ohlendorf) [6:35pm]
EL: Portland (Brian Johnson) vs. New Hampshire (Radhames Liz) [1:35pm]
CL:Salem (Corey Littrell) vs. Potomac (Dakota Bacus) [4:05pm]
SAL: Greenville (Jamie Callahan) vs. Augusta (Chase Johnson) [4:05pm]
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:

Pawsox have lost 6 in a row. They have scored 2 runs in their past 39 innings. They have not been swept in a series this season (Today is the final game of the current series)

Seadogs have won 7 in a row and 11 of 12. The 18 runs scored yesterday was one short of a franchise record

Stephen Drew is expected to be in the Greenville lineup today.

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

 

[Mugsy's Jock]

Sean Coyle has 8 hits in his last 4 games headed into today. 7-0 in SB, .343 BA, .948 OPS for the year.

Edit: and two more hits today. Kid's burning up

 

[ScubaSteveAvery]

Another good outing from Brian Johnson today:  7IP, 4 hits, 1 ER, 1SO, and 1BB.  Since the call up he's been a better pitcher, although the strikeouts are down a tad.  Still, nice to see him excelling in an age appropriate league. 

 

[Cuzittt]

Portland loses 1-0.

Boxscore

Brian Johnson went 7 innings, allowing a run on 4 hits and a walk; striking out 2. Jose Valdez went an inning, giving up a hit and striking out one.

Peter Hissey went 2/3 with a double. Sean Coyle went 2/4. Mookie Betts went 1/3 with a walk and a SB. Heiker Meneses went 1/4. Stefan Welch went 0/3 with a walk. Deven Marrero, Travis Shaw, Michael Brenly and Derrik Gibson each went 0/4.

 

[Cuzittt]

Salem loses 10-6.

Boxscore

Cody Kukuk went 4 2/3 innings, allowing 7 runs (6 earned) on 9 hits (1 HR), a WP and 2 walks; striking out 6. Kyle Martin went 2 innings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and 2 HBPs; striking out 2. Dayan Diaz went 2 1/3 innings, walking 2 and striking out one.

Mario Martinez went 3/5 with a double. Jonathan Roof and Reed Gragnani each went 2/4 with a walk; Roof with a SB. Matty Johnson went 1/3 with a walk. Bo Greenwell went 1/4 with a double and a walk. Kevin Mager went 1/4. Kevin Heller went 1/5. Tim Roberson went 0/3 with a walk. Aneury Tavarez went 0/4.

 

[Cuzittt]

Drive lose 7-5.

Boxscore

Jamie Callahan went 5 innings, allowing 6 runs (3 earned) on 8 hits (1 HR), a walk and a WP; striking out 5. Taylor Grover went 4 innings, allowing a run on 5 hits and a HBP; striking out 3.

Zach Kapstein went 2/4. Jake Romanski went 1/3 with a SF. Manuel Margot went 1/3 with a walk and a SB. Carlos Asuaje went 1/3 with a triple and a walk. Stephen Drew went 1/3 with a double before being replaced by Jimmy Rider who went 0/2. Jantzen Witte went 0/3 with 2 walks. Wendell Rijo went 0/3 with a walk and a SB. Forrestt Allday went 0/4 with a walk. Aneudis Peralta went 0/4.

Drew committed a fielding error in the 4th which would have been the 2nd out of the inning. It led to 3 additional runs scoring.

 

[Cuzittt]

Pawsox lose 7th consecutive 10-9.

Boxscore

Allen Webster went 5 innings, allowing 6 runs (5 earned) on 8 hits (1 HR) and 2 walks; striking out 4. Drake Britton went 1 2/3 innings, allowing a run on 2 hits and 2 walks. Dalier Hinojosa went 1 1/3 innings, allowing 3 runs on 2 walks, a WP and a HR.

Carlos Rivero, Shannon Wilkerson and Dan Butler each went 2/4; Butler with 2 doubles, Wilkerson with a double. Brandon Snyder went 2/5. Ryan Roberts went 1/4 with a walk. Alex Hassan went 1/4 with a HBP. Garin and Corey Brown each went 1/5; Brown with a HR. Justin Henry went 0/4.

 

[Quintanariffic]

Pawsox lose 7th comsecutive 10-9.Boxscore

Looks like the Red Sox Way is really being implemented throughout the system.

 

[Cuzittt]

STORIES

PAWSOX

Game Story

Syracuse first-baseman Brock Peterson drilled a two-out, go-ahead three-run home run in the eighth inning to cap a run of eight unanswered runs that gave the Chiefs a come-from-behind 10-9 victory over the Pawtucket Red Sox Sunday night at NBT Bank Stadium to complete a sweep in the four-game series.

Pawtucket (25-26) held an 8-2 lead after 5 ½ innings, but Syracuse (27-22) scored four runs in the sixth, one in the seventh and three more in the eighth against Dalier Hinojosa (0-3) to earn a sixth-consecutive win. The PawSox lost their seventh game in a row and tenth in their last 12 games played.

Pawtucket plated a run in the ninth inning and had runners on first and second with only one out, but veteran closer Mike Gonzalez entered and struck out Corey Brown. Gonzalez then induced a ground out from Alex Hassan to end the game, with Chiefs shortstop Manny Burris making a terrific play from deep in the hole to get the final out at first.

Hinojosa walked two batters in the eighth, Jose Lozada to lead off the inning and then Steven Souza two outs later to put two runners on base. Peterson then clobbered a 3-1 pitch well over the fence in left for his fifth long ball of the season to give the Chiefs their first lead of the night at 10-8.

After being held to only two runs in the first 30 innings of the series by Syracuse pitching, Pawtucket erupted for eight runs against Chiefs reliever Josh Roenicke in the fourth (two runs), fifth (two runs) and sixth (four runs) innings. Corey Brown's two-run blast to right field (7) opened the scoring.

Newcomer Shannon Wilkerson's two-out, two-run single that chased Roenicke highlighted the four-run rally in the sixth. But PawSox starter Allen Webster permitted the first five batters he faced to reach in the bottom of the inning, with four of them eventually scoring to cut the Chiefs' deficit to 8-6.

SEADOGS

Game Story

Johnson (3-1) pitched a four-hitter over seven innings. He allowed the only run in the sixth on a double and Kenny Wilson’s RBI single. Johnson showed his usual control (90 pitches/64 strikes), walking one.

“Got his fastball for strike one,” Sea Dogs catcher Michael Brenly said. “He was forcing them to put the ball in play and our defense was great behind him.”

The Sea Dogs outhit New Hampshire 6-5 but left eight runners on base, including five in scoring position.

Sean Coyle and Peter Hissey each had two hits for Portland. Mookie Betts went 1 for 3 with a walk.

This was Johnson’s fifth start since being called up from Class A Salem. He has a 1.84 ERA. His control remains his strength, even against better hitters.

“Veteran guys have more of an approach (in Double-A) and they don’t chase,” Johnson said. “It’s still the game of baseball. I try not to overthink it and pitch to the game plan.”

The game plan is simple: throw strikes inside and outside with his fastball.

“That’s been the key thing for me,” he said, “and mix in some off-speed.”

Former major leaguer Radhames Liz, 30, started for New Hampshire and went three innings. Richard Bleier (3-4) relieved for five scoreless frames and Randy Boone earned the save.

Sean Coyle

He’s not tall, but he’s quite a hitter, batting well over .300. He used to play second base but has moved around.

And his name is not Mookie.

Sean Coyle, 22, may be a forgotten player on this potent Portland Sea Dogs team, but only because he has been on the disabled list with a strained hamstring and bruised index finger.

He is healthy now, and making it known he’s back.

Coyle went 2 for 4 Sunday, making him 7 for 14 since being activated Friday. In his 21 games this season, Coyle is batting .352 with three home runs.

Coyle, 5-foot-7, 175 pounds, is an inch or two shorter than teammate Mookie Betts. And while Betts is on a tear, Coyle is also looking just fine.

“He’s developing his swing,” Sea Dogs hitting coach Rich Gedman said. “For a guy who is not tall or big, he’s really a strong guy.”

Coyle is also one of several infield prospects for the Red Sox. Drafted as a shortstop, he moved to second base as a pro and has played mostly third with the Sea Dogs.

That logjam in the infield has the Red Sox trying Betts in center field. Coyle would be open to the same thing.

“I would like to play every position,” Coyle said, “second, third, short, even the outfield. Anything that gives me a chance to break into the big leagues somewhere and make an impact.

“If it makes me more versatile as a player, it makes me more valuable as a player.”

SALEM

Game Story

OUTSLUGGED: A strength for the better part of two weeks, Salem’s pitching had a rare hiccup on Sunday.

Potomac banged out 16 hits against two Sox hurlers, and the Nationals coasted to a 10-6 victory in front of 2,553 at Salem Memorial Ballpark.

MEDIC! The Sox have been hampered by injuries lately. Four Salem infielders are on the disabled list, prompting some makeshift defensive lineups from skipper Carlos Febles. Jonathan Roof made a rare start at shortstop Sunday, while Kevin Mager staffed third and Mario Martinez — a natural third baseman — played another game at first base.

“I think we’re a few days away from having a couple guys back,” Febles said. “There’s no timetable yet, but [first baseman Matt] Gedman’s getting close to playing. [Shortstop Jose] Vinicio is about to start playing in Florida…[First baseman David] Chester’s heading down to Florida to start playing in the next couple days, so that’s a good sign. How long it’s going to take to have them back, I don’t know. But there’s a good possibility that they’ll be here soon.”

STEPPING UP: Overall, Febles has been pleased with the way his Sox (26-23) have adapted to the injury challenges. One standout has been Martinez, who made a potential game-saving pick at first base in Saturday’s victory and had a similar snag in Sunday’s game.

“The thing is just putting in practice every day and see what I’ve got, and try to do the best I can,” said Martinez, who’s played five times as many pro games at the hot corner as he has at first.

DRIVE

Game Story

The 6,411 fans at Sunday's series finale between the Greenville Drive (24-23) and the Augusta GreenJackets (24-25) saw a big inning for each team and an hour-long rain delay. The GreenJackets had the lead before the delay and held on after it for a 7-5 win. The teams split the four-game series at Fluor Field.

A five-run fourth inning was the big blow for Augusta, as it gave them a 6-4 lead. Tyler Horan doubled to right to begin the frame against Jamie Callahan (2-4), and Brandon Bednar followed with an RBI single. Rafael Rodriguez hit an RBI single of his own three batters later, and after a sacrifice fly by Chris Lofton, Ryder Jones smacked a two-run triple to right field to untie the game.

Carlos Alvarado (2-1), benefitted from the big inning and picked up the win after firing four and two-third hitless innings in relief of Augusta starter Chase Johnson.

The Drive put up a four-spot in the bottom of the first and knocked Johnson out of the game after only retiring one hitter. Stephen Drew, making his second appearance with the Drive this weekend, smacked a one-out double to the left field corner. After a walk to Jantzen Witte, Carlos Asuaje drove a two-run triple to center field, his league-leading seventh triple of the season. Asuaje came in to score on a wild pitch, and Jake Romanski's sacrifice fly against Alvarado scored Wendell Rijo, who drew a walk.

Horan continued his hot hitting for the GreenJackets in the series in the second inning, as he drove a Callahan offering high off the center field wall and came all the way around for an inside the park home run when the ball caromed far away from Manuel Margot.

Zach Kapstein delivered an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth to cut Augusta's lead to 6-5, but the GreenJackets answered back in the seventh thanks to Eric Sim's RBI single.

Taylor Grover had a terrific relief outing for the Drive, hurling the final four innings and giving up just one run while striking out three.