4/9 MiLB Gameday: In Pursuit of 17... and Henry Owens... and some afternoon games

[Cuzittt]

Today's Games:

IL:Pawtucket (Anthony Ranaudo) vs. Syracuse (Danny Rosenbaum) [12:05pm]
EL: Portland (Henry Owens) @ Trenton (Bryan Mitchell) [7:05pm]
CL:Salem (William Cuevas) vs. Winston-Salem (Jeffrey Wendelken) [7:05pm]
SAL: Greenville (Cody Kukuk) @ Charleston (Rookie Davis) [11:05pm]
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:

Salem has won 16 straight games dating back to last year... a franchise and now league record. They last lost August 28th. With 1 more win, they will BREAK a 64 year old Carolina League Record for consecutive wins (Winston-Salem - 1950).

Salem will attempt to BREAK the record today against... Winston-Salem. And, former Sox Prospect JB Wendelken.

Salem is 35-8 since July 30th 2013.

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

 

[SaveBooFerriss]

Margot with two dingers this afternoon.  He doubles his total from last season.  

 

[dbn]

Seems like a good outing for Webster: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 83 pitches, 65% strikes, 10 ground outs
 
Edit: seems I'm a day late. Probably also a dollar short.

 

[Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat]

Really impressive that Webster did that on two consecutive days.
 
Meanwhile, not so good for Ranauldo today:  5.2IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1BB, 4K

 

[Merkle's Boner]

We have a MDC sighting for the Chiefs!  1.1 IP, 3H, 0R.

 

[Cuzittt]

First, my apologies to dbn for his error is on me. I failed to change the date in the Score link.

Pawsox lose 7-0.

Boxscore

Anthony Ranaudo went 5 2/3 innings, allowing 5 runs (4 earned) on 7 hits (1 HR) and a walk; striking out 4. Rich Hill went 1 1/3 innings, allowing a run on 2 hits and a walk; striking out one. Dalier Hinojosa went an inning, allowing a run on 4 walks and a balk. Alex Wilson went an inning, giving up a walk and striking out 2.

Brock Holt and Ryan Lavarnway each went 1/3 with a HBP. Dan Butler, Christian Vazquez and Corey Brown each went 1/4. Brandon Snyder and Alex Hassan each went 0/3 with a walk. Justin Henry went 0/3. Garmin Cecchini went 0/4.

 

[Cuzittt]

Drive even up their record by winning 6-3.

Boxscore

Cody Kukuk went 3 innings, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits (1 HR) and 2 walks; striking out 5. Jacob Dahlstrand went 4 innings, giving up 4 hits and striking out 3. Mike Adams went 2 innings, giving up 2 hits and striking out 2.

Manuel Margot went 3/4 with a pair of 2 run HRs and was also PO/CS. Tzu-Wei Lin went 2/4 with a walk. Tim Roberson went 2/4. Carlos Asuaje went 2/4 before being replaced by Jimmy Rider who went 0/1. Jantzen Witte, Kevin Mager and Wendell Rijo each went 1/4. Jake Romanski went 1/5 with a SB. Jesus Loya went 0/3 with a sacrifice.

 

[pokey_reese]

Don't forget Garin, 0-4

 

[Manzivino]

Owens through 4:
 
3 H, 0 R, 4 K, 0 BB, 39 pitches, 31 strikes.
 
Giddy up.

Edit: Strikes out the side swinging in the fifth on 13 pitches, 9 strikes.

 

[rlcave3rd]

Owens through 6:
 
5 H 0 R 8 K 0 BB 71 pitches, 53 strikes
 
Hi ho, Silver!

 

[Plympton91]

Wow; Owens seems to have figured out that "control" thing.  A beast in the making.  Very exciting.
 
Nice to see the power from Margot as well; he's high ceiling tools and if the skills come along he can rocket up the prospect rankings as well.
 
Great nights for Betts, Marerro, and Coyle in AA, too

 

[LogansDad]

Holy shit.  Giddy up is right.

 

[Again2004]

For last couple of outing Henry threw 70% for strikes. Very impressive.

 

[Cuzittt]

Seadogs wins 9-2.

Boxscore

Henry Owens went 6 2/3 innings, giving up 6 hits (5 singles and a double) while striking out 9. Matty Ott went 1 1/3 innings, allowing 2 runs on 2 hits (both doubles) and a walk; striking out one. Jose Valdez pitched the 9th; hitting a batter.

Shannon Wilkerson went 3/5 with a SB. Mookie Betts went 2/5 with a walk and a SB. Sean Coyle went 2/5 with a double and a SB. Deven Marrero went 2/6 with a SB and was picked off. Stefan Welch went 1/3 with 2 walks. Bo Greenwell went 1/3 with a walk and a CS before being replaced by Michael Brenly who went 1/1. Henry Ramos went 1/4 with a walk. Travis Shaw went 1/5 with a walk and a PO/CS. Blake Swihart went 0/4 with a walk.

 

[Cuzittt]

The Streak ends at 16 as Salem loses for the first time this season, 4-2.

Boxscore

William Cuevas went 5 innings, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits, a HBP and a walk; striking out 8. Austin Maddox went 2 innings, allowing a run on 3 hits; striking out 2. Dayan Diaz went 2 innings, giving up 2 hits, a WP and a walk; striking out 2.

David Chester went 1/3 with a HR and a walk. Kevin Heller went 1/3. Matty Johnson, Jonathan Roof and Mario Martinez each went 1/4; Martinez with a double. Carson Blair and Matt Gedman each went 0/3 with a walk. Dreily Guerrero went 0/3. Ryan Dent went 0/4.

 

[Cuzittt]

STORIES

PAWSOX

Game Story

A good opening homestand ended poorly for the Pawtucket Red Sox Wednesday afternoon at McCoy Stadium.

As two team buses idled outside the old ballpark awaiting a long trip to Buffalo, the Sox tried to shake off a 7-0 loss to the Syracuse Chiefs. The players dressed and packed their gear in relative silence, grabbed a few snacks and prepared for the start of an eight-game road trip. The Sox finished 4-3 on the first home stand of the season.

“We struggled getting anything going today, but we’re off to a pretty solid start and are learning about our guys every day,” said manager Kevin Boles.

The game was marked by poor defense, some bad luck for starting pitcher Anthony Ranaudo and an anemic offense that produced only five hits, all of which were singles. Ranaudo, who took the loss to fall to 0-1, fell into an early hole thanks to two misplayed balls in the outfield. An error and third inning home run by Steve Souza combined to give the Chiefs a 5-0 lead after only three innings.

Syracuse starter Danny Rosenbaum avoided similar issues with a dominating performance. He faced the minimum nine hitters through three innings and didn’t allow a hit until a two-out Corey Brown single in the fifth inning. He gave up only one other single before leaving after 6.2 innings and earned the impressive victory.

“I got to see Rosenbaum this winter down in Venezuela and he utilizes his mix well and pitched well from the stretch when he needed. It was a pretty impressive outing by Rosenbaum,” Boles said.

Ranaudo left an eventual 9-4 PawSox win last Friday after four innings and 73 pitches. He gave up just four hits but miscues behind him led to three unearned runs. He owned a similar fate in his second start. In the first inning, Will Rhymes hit a breaking ball to right-center that fell into enough of the outfield gap that he was able to leg out a double. Souza then opened the scoring with a one-out RBI single.

Zach Walters led off the second with a deep fly ball to center that clearly confused Brown from the moment it was hit. The ball fell onto the warning track and Walters cruised into third with a triple. He scored the second Syracuse run on Brian Goodwin’s RBI groundout. Another miscue cost Ranaudo in the third inning. Justin Henry booted a grounder to second by Eury Perez and after a single by Rhymes, the Chiefs blew the game open on Souza’s three-run home run onto the berm in left field.

Boles credited Ranaudo’s ability to settle down after the lapses in his defense but the pitcher said he wasn’t as sharp as he needed to be. Ranaudo left after 5.2 innings and 94 pitches where he allowed seven hits and five runs (four earned).

SEADOGS

Game Story

Owens pitched 62/3 shutout innings Wednesday night, striking out nine to lead the Portland Sea Dogs to a 9-2 victory against the Trenton Thunder.

The start followed Owens’ no-hitter in a six-inning, rain-shortened season opener at Reading.

“The last time I threw here, I think I threw 12 straight balls,” Owens said, “so this was better. I felt good, I felt like I had command of all three pitches and I could throw them in any count.”

Relying heavily on a curveball and change-up that generated confused looks and ugly swings, Owens didn’t issue a walk and didn’t allow his first hit of the season until a clean leadoff single by Gary Sanchez in the second inning. Shortly thereafter, he escaped his only real jam.

After Tyler Austin grounded into a fielder’s choice, Rob Refsnyder doubled to center to put runners on second and third with one out.

But Owens recovered to strike out Zach Wilson and induce a weak groundout to third by Yeral Sanchez.

“(Owens) has competed really well out there in his two outings,” said Portland Manager Billy McMillon. “Guys are in Double-A for a reason, and there’s still a lot of development there and maturing. Suffice it to say, I think he has a lot of upside. You could close your eyes and see him pitching at higher levels, but he’ll get there when he gets there. If he keeps having outings like this, he’ll probably open up some more dialogue about what’s going to happen a month from now.”

Owens received plenty of support. With the bases loaded, Thunder starting pitcher Bryan Mitchell’s wild pitch allowed Travis Shaw to score in the first inning. Shaw’s groundout two innings later made it 2-0, and the Sea Dogs tacked on two in the fifth inning to knock Mitchell out of the game.

Ultimately Portland blew the game open late, sending 11 batters to the plate in the seventh and scoring five runs against relievers Taylor Garrison and Charley Short. Every Portland batter reached and only Blake Swihart, who walked, was without a hit.

SALEM

Game Story

MAYBE NEXT YEAR: For the first time in 2014, the Salem Red Sox clubhouse was quiet after a game. No blaring music. No laughter. No victory.

Salem’s run of five straight wins to open the season came to an end Wednesday night, as three Winston-Salem pitchers combined on a five-hitter to defeat the Sox 4-2 in front of 1,233 at Salem Memorial Ballpark.

START TO SAVOR: Despite the loss, the Sox couldn’t have asked for a much better beginning to this season. The first 5-0 start in the franchise’s 47-year history has helped a new group — and a new manager — settle into their roles.

“Winning cures everything,” said Sox skipper Carlos Febles, who managed at low-A Greenville last year. “When you’re winning, everything goes smooth. Guys want to come to the field to work. So far it’s been a pleasure.”

NO RETURN: Sox right-hander William Cuevas struck out eight and has a 2.45 ERA over his first two starts, but he made a costly mistake with two outs in the fourth, hanging an off-speed pitch that Adam Heisler ripped for a two-run triple.

“Tonight he was pretty good; just one pitch away,” Febles said. “I think he left a change-up over the plate. Other than that, he was pretty good. He was able to change speeds, good pitch mix working for him tonight. Only one pitch.”

MEMORABLE BLAST: The Sox hadn’t trailed in a game all season before Tim Anderson’s RBI double in the third inning, and they fell behind 3-0 on Heisler’s triple.

But they got two runs back in the fifth, starting with David Chester’s leadoff home run that disappeared into the trees behind the wall in left-center.

“Amazing,” Febles said. “Probably one of the longest homers I have seen in 20 years. I still can’t believe how far that ball went.”

DRIVE

Game Story

Wednesday's game between the Greenville Drive (3-3) and the Charleston RiverDogs (3-3) began at 11:00 AM. Those in attendance in Charleston who missed daytime television saw the Manuel Margot Show instead, as the Drive center fielder pounded two homers as part of a 3-4 day to propel the Drive to a 6-3 victory.

With the Drive trailing 3-0 in the top of the fourth, Margot stepped to the plate and smacked a two-run homer to left field against Rookie Davis to cut the Charleston lead to one.

He did the trick again in the eighth with another two-run blast, this time off Andrew Benak (0-1), to push the Drive lead to the eventual final score.

Margot also collected an infield single in the sixth and finished the afternoon 3-4 with two homers and four RBIs.

The Drive received another standout performance on the mound on Wednesday courtesy of Jacob Dahlstrand (1-0). After firing three perfect innings in the season opener last week, Dahlstrand had another terrific outing out of the bullpen, with four shutout innings and three strikeouts. Mike Adams collected his first save of the year with two shutout frames to end the game.

Charleston struck first with single runs in each of the first three innings against Drive starter Cody Kukuk. The first two came on RBI groundouts, with the run in the third inning coming from a Mike Ford solo homer.

Jake Romanski delivered the game-tying hit for the Drive in the top of the fifth, lining a single to center to score Carlos Asuaje, who singled with one out. Tzu-Wei Lin gave the Drive the lead for good in the seventh with an RBI single of his own.