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[Cuzittt]

Today's Games:

IL: Pawtucket (Billy Buckner) vs. Buffalo (Jeurys Familia) [7:05pm]
EL: Portland (Chris Carpenter/Jeremy Kehrt) vs. New Hampshire (Deck McGuire/Matt Wright) [7:05pm]
CL: Salem (Yeiper Castillo) @ Lynchburg (Cody Martin) [7:05pm]
SAL: Greenville (Noe Ramirez) @ Augusta (Kyle Crick) [7:05pm]
NYPL: Lowell (Mike Augliera) vs. Mahoning Valley (Josh Martin) [7:05pm]
GCL GCL Sox vs GCL Orioles [12:05pm]
DSL DSL Sox @ DSL Rangers [10:30am]

Notes:

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

[SoxScout]

4 games in a row without a hit for JBJ. Brentz homered for the first time since June 25.

[Cuzittt]

GCL Sox win 4-1.

Boxscore

Sergio Gomez went 5 innings, allowing a run on 3 hits; striking out 2. Jeffrey Wendelken went 2 innings, giving up a hit and striking out 2. Ellis Jimenez went 2 innings, giving up 2 hits and a walk.

Tzu-Weil Lin and Jose Colorado each went 1/3 with a walk; Colorado with a double. Iseha Conklin went 1/3 with a HR and a HBP. Deiner Lopez went 1/3 with a double. David Sopilka and Cleuluis Rondon each went 1/4; Rondon with a double. Shaq Green-Thompson went 0/2 with 2 Ks and a walk. Nick Moore and Jake Davies each went 0/4.

[someoneanywhere]

4 games in a row without a hit for JBJ. Brentz homered for the first time since June 25.

Cut 'em. If I wanted donuts I'd follow someone on the big-league club.

[Cuzittt]

Seadogs walk-off with a 4-3 victory in 8 innings in game 1.

Boxscore

Chris Carpenter went 2 innings, allowing a run on 2 hits; striking out 3. Chris Balcom-Miller went 5 innings, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits and a walk; striking out 4. Chorye Spoone went an inning, striking out one.

Reynaldo Rodriguez went 3/4 with 2 doubles and a walk. Bryce Brentz went 2/4 with a HR. Dan Butler went 1/2 with a HR and a HBP. Derrik Gibson went 1/3 with a SB. Marquez Smith went 1/4 with a double. Peter Hissey walked and stole a base as a pinch hitter replacing Zach Gentile who went 0/2. Jeremy Hazelbaker went 0/3 with a walk. Drew Hedman went 0/3. Jackie Bradley went 0/4.

Brentz and Butler hit back to back HRs to lead off the 7th and tie the game... leading to the 8th:

Portland Bottom of the 8th

• Reynaldo Rodriguez triples (3) on a fly ball to center fielder Jake Marisnick.
• Bryce Brentz singles on a ground ball to right fielder Kenen Bailli. Reynaldo Rodriguez scores.

[Cuzittt]

Salem loses 1-0.

Boxscore

Yeiper Castillo went 7 innings, allowing a run on 5 hits and a walk; striking out 6. Michael Olmsted pitched an inning, striking out 2.

Heiker Meneses went 2/4 with a double. Travis Shaw went 0/3 with a walk and a SB. Lucas LeBlanc, Sean Coyle, Adalberto Ibarra, Carson Blair and Michael Almanzar each went 0/3. Brandon Jacobs and Shannon Wilkerson each went 0/4.

[Cuzittt]

Drive lose 3-1.

Boxscore

Noe Ramirez went 6 innings, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks; striking out 4. Matty Ott went 2 innings, giving up a hit and striking out one.

Jordan Weems and Jose Vinicio each went 1/3; Vinicio with a SB. Keury de la Cruz went 1/4 with a double and a PO/CS. Blake Swihart went 1/4. Boss Moanaroa went 0/2 with 2 walks. Bryan Johns and Garin Cecchini each went 0/3 with a walk. Drew Turocy and Cody Koback each went 0/4.

[Cuzittt]

DSL Sox win 5-4 in 12 innings.

Boxscore

Dioscar Romero went 4 innings, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits, 5 walks, a HBP and a WP; striking out 3. Yankory Pimentel went 4 innings, giving up 2 hits; striking out 3. Leonel Vazquez went 3 innings, giving up 3 hits, a walk and a WP; striking out 1. Edwin Osorio went 1/3rd of an inning, walking 2 and throwing a WP. Wildyn Florian went 2/3rds of an inning.

Junior Estrella went 3/5 with a double. Raymel Flores went 3/6. Alixon Suarez went 2/4 with a double and a walk. Andres Garcia went 2/5 with a HBP and a PO/CS. Robert del Rosario went 1/5 with a walk. Roberto Duncan went 1/5 with a double. Manuel Margot went 1/6 with a double. Anthony Amaya went 0/4 with a walk. Kevin Segovia went 0/2 before being replaced by Aneudis Peralta who went 0/3.

[Cuzittt]

Portland wins 3-1 in game 2.

Boxscore

Jeremy Kehrt went 5 innings, allowing an unearned run on 4 hits; striking out 2. Caleb Clay went 2 innings, striking out 2.

Jeremy Hazelbaker, Bryce Brentz and Peter Hissey each went 1/3; Hazelbaker and Brentz with HRs, Hissey with a double. Marquez Smith, Matt Smith and Ryan Dent each went 0/1 with 2 walks. Drew Hedman went 0/2 with a walk. Nick Natoli went 0/3. Jackie Bradley went 0/4.

Bradley 0/17 with 6 Ks and 3 walks in his last 5 games.

[Cuzittt]

Lowell loses 7-4.

Boxscore

Mike Augliera went 1 2/3 innings, allowing 4 runs on 5 hits; striking out 3. Francisco Taveras went 4 1/3 innings, giving up 4 hits and a walk; striking out 4. Gregory Larson went 2 innings, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks; striking out 2. Kyle Kraus went an inning; striking out one.

Kendrick Perkins went 1/3 with a double and 2 walks. Mike Miller and Deven Marrero each went 1/4 with a walk; Marrero with a double. Oscar Perez went 1/4 with a double. Dreily Guerrero went 1/5. Matthew Gedman and Zach Kapstein each went 0/3 with a walk. David Chester went 0/4 with a walk. Aneury Tavarez went 0/4.

[Cuzittt]

Pawsox lose 8-2.

Boxscore

Billy Buckner went 6 innings, allowing 6 runs on 5 hits (3 HRs) and 4 walks; striking out 5. Junichi Tazawa pitched an inning, striking out 3 and throwing a WP. Daniel Bard pitched an inning, allowing a run on a walk, HBP and 2 WPs; striking out one. Mark Prior pitched an inning, allowing a run on a HR, striking out 2.

Lars Anderson, Juan Carlos Linares and Nate Spears each went 2/4; Spears with a double, Anderson with 2 doubles. Scott Podsednik went 1/4 with a SB. Ryan Kalish went 1/4 with a SB before being replaced by Ronald Bermudez who went 0/1. Ryan Lavarnway went 1/5. Jon Hee went 0/3 with a HBP. Carl Crawford went 0/4 with a walk and a SB. Jose Iglesias went 0/1 before being replaced by Mike Rivera who went 0/2 with a walk.

[Back Bay]

Tazawa is getting called up anytime soon? Wasting his efforts in the minors when he should learn how to get it done at the majors.

[Rasputin]

Tazawa is getting called up anytime soon? Wasting his efforts in the minors when he should learn how to get it done at the majors.

Who would he replace on the major league roster?

[Plympton91]

Who would he replace on the major league roster?

Judging from the discussions main board, he should replace Jon Lester, who they should trade for a couple 18 year olds that Keith Law is high on but are currently playing in the Gulf Coast League.

[Cuzittt]

STORIES

PAWSOX

Game Story

After getting two outs in the fifth inning, PawSox starter Billy Buckner issued a walk and then allowed a two-run homer.
After getting two outs in the sixth inning, Buckner issued a walk and then allowed a two-run home run — and then issued another walk and allowed another two-run homer. Those three walks and three home runs proved too much for the PawSox to overcome in an 8-2 loss to Buffalo at McCoy Stadium on Friday night.
Junichi Tazawa struck out three in a scoreless seventh inning. Daniel Bard struck out one, walked two and threw two wild pitches in the eighth inning, allowing one earned run.
Buffalo starter Jeurys Familia, one of the top prospects in the Mets’ organization, struck out six in six shutout innings.
Early exit for Iglesias
Jose Iglesias hit the deck hard after fouling a pitch off the inside of his left knee in the second inning on Friday. Iglesias stayed in the game for another inning but eventually had to come out of the game. He could miss a day or two with a contusion on his knee but was not expected to be taken for X-rays or other further tests.
Because the PawSox already were without third baseman Andy LaRoche, who left Thursday night’s game with back spasms, manager Arnie Beyeler had to improvise. To replace Iglesias at shortstop, Beyeler inserted backup catcher Mike Rivera into the game at third base and shuffled the rest of his infield around.
In more than 1,000 career games in the minor leagues and almost 200 games in the major leagues, Rivera had appeared in just three games at third base, handling seven chances.

Zach Stewart

In some ways, the Red Sox are starting all over with Zach Stewart.
Had the Red Sox drafted Stewart four years ago, whether they saw him as a starter or reliever, Stewart would have pitched as a starter at all levels of the minor-league system.
He’d have climbed from Single-A Greenville to High-A Salem to Double-A Portland to Triple-A Pawtucket, a starting pitcher all the while. He’d have been turning over lineups two or three times a game. In doing so, he’d have honed a variety of pitches rather than just pitching an inning or two out of the bullpen — a role that barely requires a second pitch, let alone a third pitch, at the lower levels of the minor leagues.
That’s the way Jonathan Papelbon did it. That’s the way Clay Buchholz did it. That’s the way Justin Masterson did it. That’s the way Felix Doubront did it. That’s the way Kyle Weiland did it. That’s the way Alex Wilson did it.
“We try to have guys have as many weapons as possible,” Red Sox farm director Ben Crockett said. “When they get up to the major leagues, even if that third weapon isn’t necessarily their top option, the fact is that they have a better chance to get both sides out. Often guys are two-pitch guys, but unless they’re dominant pitches, it’s a challenging thing for them to face both right-handed or left-handed hitters.”
Buchholz, Doubront, Masterson and Weiland still are starters. Papelbon grew into one of the game’s best relievers. Wilson was a reliever in college, but it wasn’t until this year that he was converted from starting back to relieving.
“I learned how to pitch being a starter,” Wilson said. “If I were to come straight out of college and stayed a reliever, I would have had the same mentality of, ‘I have the same stuff I always have. It’ll keep working if I throw one or two innings,’ instead of being open to more ideas. I would have been more bullheaded rather than learning how to pitch. I was just a thrower coming out of college. It changed a lot for me, being able to start all the way up to this year.”
Unlike Wilson, Stewart already has pitched in the major leagues. He hasn’t been on that type of development track before now.
The Cincinnati Reds plucked Stewart out of Texas Tech in the third round of the 2008 draft — one pick before the Red Sox selected Stephen Fife, one of the players involved in the Erik Bedard trade last July. The Reds made Stewart a reliever right away in 2008, and he made 14 starts in 2009 before going back to relieving again.

SEADOGS

Game Story

He knows when to go for the fences -- like when he crushed an outside slider over the left-field Maine Monster in a seventh-inning rally Friday.
And Brentz knows when to go with the pitch -- like when he poked an outside curveball into right field for a walk-off RBI single in the eighth inning, giving the Sea Dogs a 4-3 win over New Hampshire in Game 1 of a doubleheader before 5,199 at Hadlock Field.
Dan Butler also homered in the first game.
In Game 2, Brentz hit another homer -- his 12th -- and Jeremy Hazelbaker hit his 11th home run in a 3-1 win.
Game 1 featured pitcher Chris Carpenter in a rehab appearance with the Sea Dogs. Carpenter, 26, is one of two pitchers the Red Sox received (along with Sea Dogs reliever Aaron Kurcz) from the Chicago Cubs as compensation for General Manager Theo Epstein.
Carpenter, who reached the majors last year with 10 appearances for the Cubs, began this season on the disabled list after undergoing elbow surgery to remove a bone spur. Friday was his fifth rehab appearance, his first in Double-A.
On a strict pitch count, Carpenter threw two innings. He allowed a run in the first inning on an infield single and a Kenen Bailli triple but retired the last five batters he faced, three by strikeout.
"Took me a couple of batters to settle in," said Carpenter, whose fastball reached 95 mph. "Just trying to get my confidence back, and my command back."
Chris Balcom-Miller relieved Carpenter and threw a bullpen-saving five innings (four hits, two runs, one earned, four strikeouts).
Reynaldo Rodriguez had two doubles and a triple. His RBI double put Portland on the board in the fourth.
With the Sea Dogs down 3-1 in the seventh, Brentz and Butler ruined a solid start by Deck McGuire, forcing extra innings with back-to-back home runs over the Monster, on a slider and then a fastball.
Rodriguez led off the eighth with a triple. Brentz came up next, thinking sacrifice fly, but was able to poke a grounder through the drawn-in infield.
"Tonight might be what I need to get going, said Brentz, who was batting .190 in July.

SALEM

Game Story

Hillcats right-hander Cody Martin dominated the Salem lineup on Friday, pitching a two-hit shutout to lead Lynchburg to a 1-0 Carolina League win over the Red Sox.
Salem starter Yeiper Castillo was the hard-luck loser in his second start for the Sox. He allowed one run on five hits and a walk through seven innings. He struck out six.
Michael Olmstead pitched a perfect eighth with two strikeouts, but Martin did the Salem pitchers one better.
Martin struck out 14 batters. He walked one.
Salem shortstop Heiker Meneses got the only hits off Martin. Meneses singled in the fourth inning and doubled with one out in the ninth - the closest Martin came to giving up a run.
Martin got Shannon Wilkerson to pop out, then walked Travis Shaw. He completed the shutout by striking out Brandon Jacobs.
Martin (10-6) was a seventh-round draft pick out of Gonzaga in 2011. He has twice been named the league's pitcher of the week in his first full season of professional ball.
The Hillcats' run came with two outs in the third inning. Nick Ahmed singled, stole second and went to third on a throwing error by catcher Adalberto Ibarra. Ahmed scored on a single by Chris Garcia.

Notes

For much of the season, Christian Vazquez's impact has been felt primarily when Salem is in the field.
The Puerto Rican catcher has been fabulous behind the plate, nailing 44 percent of would-be base stealers and drawing raves from the pitching staff for the way he manages games.
That made it easy to give him a pass when he struggled offensively, hitting only .155 in May and seeing his average hover around .200 for most of the first half.
Lately, that's changed.
Vazquez has emerged as one of the team's hottest hitters. After batting .309 with a .413 on-base percentage in June, he has gone 11 of 28 (.393) with six walks and seven RBIs in the first eight games of July. He entered Friday's game at Lynchburg hitting .259 for the season.
His resurgence has been a major reason the Sox have taken over the Carolina League lead in average (.277).
Vazquez hasn't dropped off defensively, either. On Monday night - a game in which he hit his fifth homer - Vazquez made a snap throw to third in the seventh inning to pick off former Virginia Tech outfielder Steve Bumbry, ending Frederick's only legitimate threat of the game.
"He's a great catcher," Sox pitcher Brandon Workman said. "Calls a good game. His ability to handle the running game is second to none. It makes it easy throwing to him."

Pete Ruiz

His pitching numbers are terrific. His Tim Kurkjian impression is a nationwide hit. His broadcasting ability is so natural, so fluid, so insightful that he could quit playing today and instantly find a job in some radio booth.
He's the best (and only) barber on the Salem Red Sox team. He's the clubhouse jester. He's 24 years old but has the baseball perspective of someone twice that age.
Yes, Pete Ruiz has a lot going for him. But if you ask the Salem reliever about the accomplishment he's most proud of, it might be this: He recently turned a $175 video game console into a $4,000 china cabinet.
Ruiz is not a magician in the literal, sleight-of-hand sense, but he is when it comes to haggling on the Internet. Inspired by such TV shows as "American Pickers" and "Barter Kings," he spends most of his free time on Craigslist, trying to swing trades for profit.
He's made about $5,000 since the season started.
How? Well, here's one example: He recently traded his Xbox for a hunting bow. He swapped the hunting bow for a wave runner and trailer. In exchange for those items, he secured the Norman Rockwell china cabinet.
"I think conquest is the right word," said Ruiz, when asked to explain his motivation. "Just the fact that I started with a small Xbox and I could turn it into this ornate, limited-edition china cabinet? I don't know. It's a sense of accomplishment.
"There's work involved, and there's interaction with people and trying to convince someone that they need what you have. I don't know. It just intrigues me."
The bigger challenge? Trying to find something that doesn't intrigue him.
'Do it again!'
"Let me tell you, I talked to a bird scout's cousin yesterday. She saw Anthony Ranaudo poppin' into the grocery store. The kid bought boneless, skinless chicken breast, vegetables and brown rice. He takes care of himself and his body. He is dedicated to his craft." - Pete Ruiz, as ESPN baseball analyst Tim Kurkjian.
Type the name "Pete Ruiz" into Google, and the first suggestion you'll get is Tim Kurkjian. Ruiz, like it or not, has become synonymous with the dead-on impersonation he does of the screechy-voiced ESPN baseball analyst.
He's performed it on YouTube. He's performed it during Salem radio broadcasts. He even performed it for Kurkjian himself this past spring, causing fellow analyst John Kruk to double over in laughter.
The voice is perfect - judge for yourself on YouTube - but Ruiz says "it's all about the content. The stuff that he says is just so asinine that it makes me laugh."
The fun started two years ago when Ruiz was in low-A Greenville. The team had won its game that night, and the mood was light as players watched ESPN on the clubhouse TV.
Kurkjian threw out one of those esoteric statistics he cites so often. Without thinking, Ruiz mimicked it under his breath.
Teammate Derrik Gibson began roaring with laughter.
"Man, you sound just like him!" Gibson said.
"No I don't."
"Do it again! Do it again!"
So Ruiz did. And he hasn't been able to stop since.

DRIVE

Game Story

Augusta starter Kyle Crick checked Greenville on just two hits over six innings as the GreenJackets claimed a 3-1 South Atlantic League baseball victory Friday night at Lake Olmstead Stadium.
Augusta scored all of its runs in the bottom of the first. The GreenJackets got singles from Shawn Payne and Jose Flores and a two-run double from Devin Harris for a 2-0 lead, then Jose Cuevas added a sacrifice fly for a 3-0 advantage.
But Drive starter Noe Ramirez (0-2) settled down after that, allowing just two hits over the next five innings. He walked two and struck out four while lowering his ERA to 3.18.
Augusta’s Crick (4-6) was more effective, however, pitching six innings of shutout ball to lower his ERA to 2.94. He walked three and struck out four.
Greenville scored its lone run in the eighth off reliever Steven Neff, a former University of South Carolina standout. The Drive cut the lead to 3-1 when Bryan Johns walked and Keury De La Cruz followed with his 19th double of the season.

SPINNERS

Game Story

The experts are always preaching that walking is good for your health.
Not if you're a pitcher, though.
Walks continue to haunt Lowell pitchers, as they have for the last three years. On Friday night, reliever Greg Larson walked batters in the seventh and eighth innings, and both of them scored as the Mahoning Valley Scrappers pulled away and posted a 7-4 victory over the Spinners in front of a crowd of 4,343 at LeLacheur Park.
The Scrappers salvaged one game of the series with the win.
Only Aberdeen's pitchers have walked more batters in the New York-Penn League than the Spinners this season. Lowell pitchers are averaging 4.44 walks per nine innings, and they're 11th in the
league in ERA with a 4.57 mark.
Interestingly, in the three years Spinners pitchers have led the league in fewest walks allowed, they've posted a winning record in each of those years and won a Stedler Division crown in one of them.
It shouldn't come as a surprise that Tri-City and Batavia, which have the two top-ranked pitching staffs in the league, have also walked the fewest batters.
And when Spinners pitchers walk batters and give up 12 hits as they did on Friday night, it becomes a lethal combination.
"Absolutely," agreed Spinners manager Bruce Crabbe. "The walks have killed us. They really have.
"But with all that, with only five hits, we still had the tying run at the plate in the ninth."