6/14 MiLB Gameday: Rehab, Rehab, Rehab

[Cuzittt]

Today's Games:

IL:Pawtucket (Clay Buchholz/Anthony Ranaudo) vs. Charlotte (Dylan Axelrod/Deunte Heath) [5:05pm]
EL: Portland (Henry Owens) @ Akron (Duke von Schamman) [7:05pm]
CL:Salem (Corey Littrell) vs. Lynchburg (Greg Ross) [7:05pm]
SAL: Greenville (Joe Gunkel) @ Hagerstown (Lucas Giolito) [7:05pm]
NYPL: Lowell (Heri Quevedo) vs. Vermont (AJ Burke) [5:05pm]
GCL: GCL Sox - Opening Day - June 20th vs GCL Twins
DSL: DSL Sox @ DSL Giants [10:30am]

Notes:

Besides Clay Buchholz, Pawtucket is scheduled to have appearances by Will Middlebrooks (DH first game, possible 3B in the 2nd) and Shane Victorino.


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

 

[Cuzittt]

Pawsox lose game one, 3-0.

Boxscore

Clay Buchholz went 4 2/3 innings, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits (2 HRs); striking out 5. Rich Hill went 1 1/3 innings, giving up a hit and a walk; striking out 2. John Ely went an inning, giving up a hit and striking out one.

Christian Vazquez went 2/2 with a walk. Ryan Roberts and Will Middlebrooks each went 1/3. Mookie Betts went 0/2 with a walk. Shane Victorino went 0/2 before being replaced by Corey Brown who went 0/1. Travis Shaw, Carlos Rivero, Garin Cecchini, and Shannon Wilkerson each went 0/3.

 

[Cuzittt]

Spinners lose 6-3.

Boxscore

Heri Quevedo went 3 innings, allowing 6 runs (4 earned) on 7 hits, a walk and 2 WPs; striking out one. Oscar Perez went 4 innings, giving up 3 hits and a walk; striking out 2. Rob Smorol went 2 innings, giving up a hit and striking out 2.

Nick Moore went 2/4 with a HR. Mauricio Dubon went 2/5 with a SB. Deiner Lopez went 1/3 with a HBP. Raymel Flores went 1/3 with a walk. Alixon Suarez went 0/2 with 2 walks. Nick Longhi and David Sopilka each went 0/4. Mike Meyers and Bryan Hudson each went 0/5.

 

[Cuzittt]

DSL Sox lose 6-5.

Boxscore

Enmanuel de Jesus went 4 1/3 innings, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits; striking out 3. Darwinzon Hernandez went 2 2/3 innings, allowing 2 runs on 2 hits, 2 walks and a WP. Shair Lucrus pitched a perfect inning.

Rafael Toribio went 3/4 with a CS. Gerardo Carrizalez went 2/3 with a CS before being replaced by Isaias Lucena who went 0/1. Jesus Perez went 1/2 with 2 walks. Rafael Devers went 1/3 with a walk before being replaced by Luis Benoit who had a walk in his PA. Carlos Tovar and Roldani Baldwin each went 1/4 with a walk. Juan Barriento and Yoan Aybar each went 1/4. Luis Alexander Basabe went 0/5.

 

[Cuzittt]

Salem loses 6-3.

Boxscore

Corey Littrell went 5 2/3 innings, allowing a run on 6 hits and a walk; striking out 3. Kyle Stroup went an inning, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits; striking out one. Madison Younginer went 2 1/3 innings, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 2 hits and a walk; striking out one.

Mike Miller went 2/3 with 2 walks, a SB and was also picked off. Aneury Tavarez went 2/4. Matt Gedman went 1/2 with a walk before being replaced by Tim Roberson who went 0/1. Mario Martinez and Ryan Dent each went 1/4. Leonel Escobar went 0/3 before being replaced by Carson Blair who walked in his only PA. Kevin Heller and Reed Gragnani each went 0/4. Matty Johnson went 0/5.

 

[Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat]

Owens tonight--
6 2/3 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 66% strikes

 

[Cuzittt]

Drive win 3-1.

Boxscore

Joe Gunkel went 6 innings, giving up a hit, a walk and a WP; striking out 6. Mario Alcantara went 2/3rds of an inning, allowing a run on a hit, 2 walks and a HBP. Taylor Grover went 2 1/3 innings, giving up 2 hits.

Carlos Asuaje went 2/4 with a HR and a SB. Manuel Margot went 2/4 with a double. Wendell Rijo and Jake Romanski each went 1/3 with a walk. Forrestt Allday went 1/5. Tzu-Wei Lin and Zach Kapstein each went 0/3 with a sacrifice. Jantzen Witte went 0/3 with a SF. Kendrick Perkins went 0/4.

 

[Cuzittt]

Pawsox win game 2, 3-0.

Boxscore

Anthony Ranaudo went 5 2/3 innings, giving up 4 hits and a walk; striking out 4. Chris Hernandez gave up a hit to the only batter he faced. Dalier Hinojosa struck out the only batter he faced. Tommy Layne pitched the final inning, giving up a hit.

Mookie Betts went 2/4 with a HR and a SB. Carlos Rivero and Justin Henry each went 2/3 with a double. Travis Shaw went 1/3. Alex Hassan and Dan Butler each went 0/2 with a walk. Mike McCoy, Corey Brown and Garin Cecchini each went 0/3.

 

[Cuzittt]

Portland wins 5-1.

Boxscore

Henry Owens went 6 2/3 innings, allowing a run on 6 hits and a walk; striking out 7. Noe Ramirez went 1 1/3 innings, striking out one. Miguel Celestino went an inning, giving up a hit and striking out one.

Derrik Gibson went 2/4 with a double and a HBP. Blake Swihart went 2/4 with a HR and a walk. Keury de la Cruz went 2/4 with a double. Jonathan Roof went 1/3 with a HBP. Matt Spring went 1/4. Sean Coyle went 1/5. Heiker Meneses went 0/3 with a walk. Deven Marrero went 0/4 with a walk. Stefan Welch went 0/4.

 

[mabrowndog]

Luis Alexander Basabe went 0/5.

 
:whaaaat:
 
I think I jinxed the kid.

 

[RoDaddy]

Who's hot:  Owens obviously, who looks ready for a promotion; and Derrik Gibson, who has now at least positioned himself as a longshot to make the bigs as a utility player, since he can play infield and outfield
 
Who's not:  Cecchini.  He's too good a hitter to stay in this slump, but right now, he's a MUCH weaker looking prospect without the high OBP 

 

[Back Bay]

Owens tonight--
6 2/3 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 66% strikes

 

Good to see Owens limiting walks lately. No more than 2 last 4 outings.

 

[Cuzittt]

STORIES

PAWSOX

Games Story

While a trio of rehabbing Red Sox who made the trip south to McCoy Stadium Saturday, they couldn’t help the Pawtucket Red Sox get a sweep of the last place Charlotte Knights.

With Clay Buchholz on the mound and Shane Victorino and Will Middlebrooks in the lineup, the Sox were shut out by the Knights in the first game of a doubleheader, 3-0. Victorino and Middlebrooks did not appear in the nightcap, but the PawSox rode a strong pitching outing from Anthony Ranaudo to a 3-0 victory.

Neither Victorino nor Middlebrooks will be in lineup for the PawSox on Sunday.

The opening game on Saturday held plenty of promise for the 7,613 fans but nothing positive happened. Not only was Buchholz cuffed around (three runs, two solo homers) but Victorino (0-for-2) and Middlebrooks (1-for-3) didn’t make much of an impact. Victorino hit only twice and played five innings in right field to test his hamstring injury. He spent quite a bit of time stretching and running in the outfield before the game and was tested right away when the game’s first hitter, Micah Johnson, took a Buchholz pitch deep to right. Victorino had to run very hard to secure the ball on the warning track.

At the plate, he flew out to right and then chopped a grounder to short that he could not beat out. Middlebrooks came to the plate three times as the designated hitter. He struck out looking, bounced a single between the first and second basemen and grounded out to shortstop.

Middlebrooks was available for pinch hitting duty in the second game but did not see any action. Ranaudo (52/3 IP, four hits, no runs) allowed two singles in the second inning before bouncing back with two strikeouts and coasted most of the way. With a runner on first and two outs in the sixth inning, the big righty came out after 95 pitches. Dalier Hinojosa got the final out with a strikeout and Tommy Layne picked up the save in the seventh inning. Ranaudo improved to 7-4 on the season.

The Sox’ offense was sparked by Mookie Betts. Playing in his 11th Triple-A game, Betts singled, stole second and moved to third on an error in the third inning. Carlos Rivero cracked an RBI single to push Betts across. In the fifth inning, Justin Henry singled and then Betts cracked his second home run onto the berm in left-center field for a 3-0 lead.

Clay

Forget the scoreboard. Clay Buchholz says he’s ready for a return to the big leagues.

Starting for the first time since leaving a game in the third inning in Atlanta on May 26, Buchholz was roughed up for two solo home runs among four hits and three runs overall in a start for the Pawtucket Red Sox on Saturday night at McCoy Stadium.

Buchholz left the mound in the fifth inning after the second home run and took the loss in a 3-0 defeat at the hands of the Charlotte Knights.

Despite the troubles, Buchholz pronounced his hyperextended left knee fit and healthy. Asked if he thinks he’d need another start in the minors, the 29-year old Texan said, “I’d rather go right back (to Boston). I think I can.”

The brass in Boston will make that call, but clearly Buchholz’s standards of a successful start were quite simple. He wants to throw all his pitches without pain, pound the strike zone and regain some confidence. On the way to throwing 62 pitches (42 strikes), he said he “was able to throw first-pitch curveballs for strikes, a lot of changeups, cutters, fastballs. I mixed in everything I had.”

Asked about the shaky results, Buchholz said he wasn’t concerned about velocity (his fastball topped out at 94 mph) or stringing up zeroes.

“It’s part of the game when you don’t get (results), but this is the place I can go and not have to worry about results,” he said. “It’s more about what you put into it and coming out healthy, and I was able to throw all my pitches for strikes. I felt fine.”

Charlotte scored runs in the first, fourth and fifth innings. In the first, a ground ball over first base was ruled a fair ball as it trickled into the right-field corner and Carlos Sanchez rolled all the way to third base for a triple. A ground ball RBI out plated the game’s first run. Buchholz then gave up a solo home run to Sanchez in the fourth inning and another homer (both went to right field) to Blake Tekotte in the fifth that made it 3-0.

In between, he struck out five hitters, three on called strikes. His cutter was clearly moving well, and while the Knights caught up to his fastball, he had several swing-and-misses on that pitch as well.

“It was a factor of me wanting to go out there and throw all my pitches,” he said. “One of the home runs (by Sanchez) was a good pitch (a cutter on the inside of the plate), right where I wanted it. It sort of ran into his bat. The second (by Tekotte) was a two-seamer I was trying to go away with and I left it up in the zone and it got hit.”

SEADOGS

Game Story

The Portland Sea Dogs were looking to get back to their winning ways, and left-hander Henry Owens was ready to make that a reality Saturday night.

Owens broke the Sea Dogs’ scoreless innings record during the game against the Akron RubberDucks, scattering six hits with one run, a walk and seven strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings.

Two runs in the ninth clinched a 6-1 victory for the Sea Dogs in a game between the Eastern League’s division leaders in front of a sellout crowd of 8,107 fans at Canal Park.

Portland improved to 43-33. Akron fell to 40-29.

“I think it started with (Owens) getting ahead of hitters,” Portland Manager Billy McMillon said. “He had three pitches working – fastball, curveball, change. He worked ahead in the count and kept their hitters off balance.

“As the competitor he is, he could have gone past the seventh inning. Even though he was at 97 pitches he probably could have gone longer.”

With a second-inning strikeout of Jake Lowery, Owens set Portland’s record for scoreless inning streak at 24 1/3. That string was extended to 272/3 before Joe Wendle’s one-out RBI single in the sixth.

“It’s not too important,” said Owens, who lowered his ERA from 2.24 to 2.16 and improved to 8-3. “I’m not focused on things like that.

“I’m just focused on development and I feel like I took another step forward in that department, so I’m happy about that.”

Facing one of the best hitting teams in the league, with a lineup led by two of the Cleveland Indians’ top prospects in Tyler Naquin, who extended his hitting streak to 16 games, and Francisco Lindor, Owens also relied on his defense to make some good plays.

Shortstop Deven Marrero made a big play in the fifth when he threw out Anthony Gallas at third following a leadoff double.

Jonathan Roof

The three-story house in Paducah naturally has a basketball hoop out front. This is Kentucky, after all.

But open the garage door at the Roof residence and you will find something else.

A batting cage.

Jonathan Roof, one of the newest Portland Sea Dogs, grew up in that house. His two older brothers played professional baseball, as did his father, four uncles and a few cousins.

“The stories at family reunions are pretty interesting,” Roof said.

The brothers and dad are still in the game. Gene Roof has been a coach in the Detroit Tigers’ organization for nearly 30 years. Oldest son Shawn is a coach with the Orioles’ Class A team in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and next-oldest Eric is coaching at Michigan State.

That leaves Jonathan, 25, as the only Roof still playing, in his first year with the Boston organization.

“Hopefully he’ll be able to open up some eyes,” Shawn said.

So far, so good. Roof was promoted from Class A Salem two weeks ago and is batting .357 in his first time in Double-A.

Normally, baseball-playing families don’t get together much during the season because they’re so busy.

But Gene Roof has a delightful Father’s Day planned. He and his wife of 30 years, Marianne, will watch daughter Jacqueline play in the Kentucky High School All-Star Game – did we mention that Jacqueline was the Kentucky Class 3A softball player of the year?

After the game, all three will drive to Erie, Pennsylvania, and meet up with Jonathan, whose Sea Dogs bus will be pulling in from a day game in Akron, Ohio.

Also, Fredericksburg begins its All-Star break Sunday night, so Shawn is also headed to Erie.

The Sea Dogs begin a three-game series Monday against Erie, the Double-A affiliate of the Tigers. Gene Roof, the Tigers’ roving base-running instructor, set a visit this week.

SALEM

Game Story

WIN AT THE GATE: In April, Salem Red Sox management set a goal of selling out five home games in 2014. It was a lofty aspiration, given that Salem Memorial Ballpark hadn’t had a full house in five years.

One down, four to go.

In a landmark day for the three-pronged leadership team created last August, the Sox announced a sellout throng of 6,368 for Saturday’s game, won by visiting Lynchburg 6-3.

EFFORT REWARDED: The Sox hadn’t had a sellout since opening night of 2009. That was their first game as a Boston affiliate, when the stadium’s capacity was suppressed by tarps over some of the general admission seats.

Sliding attendance in the years that followed prompted Fenway Sports Group to establish a leadership triumvirate late last year headed by general manager Ryan Shelton, who overhauled game presentation and aggressively marketed pre-sold tickets.

Attendance was up 27 percent from the same point last year heading into the weekend, but the Sox were still seeking their first full house. They got it thanks to several large groups and a strong walk-up lured by clear skies and 81-degree temperatures.

“We think that’s going to start to become more the norm,” Shelton said. “We’d love to make it two in a row tomorrow.”

SEVENTH (NOT) HEAVEN: The game was tied 1-1 and moving briskly until the seventh, when the Hillcats struck for three runs against Sox reliever Kyle Stroup. Lynchburg came up with four straight two-out hits, capped by Kevin Ahrens’ RBI single.

DRIVE

Game Story

oe Gunkel allowed just one hit over six scoreless innings to lead the Greenville Drive to a 3-1 win over Hagerstown Saturday night. Gunkel (3-0) had one walk and six strikeouts.

Carlos Asuaje’s eighth homer of the year staked Greenville to a 1-0 lead in the second inning. The Drive made it 3-0 in the sixth on a sac fly by Jantzen Witte and an RBI-single by Manuel Margot.

The Suns answered with a run in the seventh and loaded the bases with two out. Greenville reliever Taylor Grover came on and got out of the jam, then worked two more scoreless innings for his first save.

Asuaje and Margot led the Drive with two hits apiece.

Former Clemson catcher Spencer Kieboom had the lone hit off Gunkel with a double in the second.

Drive pitchers have allowed a total of just nine hits in winning the first three games of the series at Hagerstown. The Suns entered the series with a league-best home record of 23-7.

Asuaje

Through the first half of the 2014 season, Carlos Asuaje has made a good impression on the baseball diamonds of the South Atlantic League.

Actually, he has impressed for the Drive from the batter’s box, third base, second base and other places on the field.

The 22-year-old Venezuelan -- whom the Boston Red Sox drafted in the 11th round of the 2013 draft from Nova Southeastern (Fla.) University -- has been among the best hitters in the SAL. His efforts earned him a spot in the league’s all-star game Tuesday night.

When the Drive’s most recent homestand ended June 11, Asuaje was batting .304 with seven home runs and 45 RBIs. That last number was third-best in the league, and his eight triples were second-best. He may not look like the prototypical clean up hitter at 5-foot-9 and 160 pounds, but he has started 36 games in that slot, most on the team, and generated a .551 slugging percentage.

His manager, Darren Fenster, said Asuaje’s presence in the middle of the order is key.

“We obviously need him in the middle of our lineup to just be consistent,” he said.

Further evidence of Asuaje’s value to the team is his versatility in the field. He has played third base (25 starts), second base (16), left field (11), and shortstop (three). He also has been the designated hitter six times.

SPINNERS

Nick Moore/Game Story

Nick Moore spent nearly all of last summer trying to find a comfort zone at the plate.

Moore showed glimpses of his potential during an 11-game hitting streak for the Lowell Spinners last August. But for the most part, Moore never managed to get into any type of consistent hitting groove, and finished the 2013 season with a .183 batting average (34-for-186) in 57 games for Lowell.

A new season offers Moore a chance at a new beginning, and the Spinners first baseman has come out swinging.

Moore had 2 hits, including a home run, in the Spinners' 6-3 loss to the Vermont Lake Monsters at LeLacheur Park Saturday night.

"I feel good," said Moore, 21. "I had a lot of time to get ready for this season in extended (spring training).

I'm ready to go.

"Staying in extended was pretty good for me. I needed to work on some things. Last year wasn't the best year for me. So I want to rebound this year."

Moore is in fourth year of minor league baseball. He has spent parts of the past three seasons in Lowell. He started the 2013 campaign in Class A Greenville, where he batted .158 with 2 homers in 24 games before returning to Lowell.

Staying in extended spring training and getting a chance to work on his overall game has helped him regain his confidence. And it shows in Moore's approach at the plate.

Moore had a double in the Spinners' Opening Night win Friday. Through two games, he is batting .375 (3-for-8) with 3 RBI.

"I'm excited for Nick," said Spinners' manager Joe Oliver. "He's worked really hard. I don't know if there's anybody out there who has put in the time and the effort in the cage like he has. It looks like it's showing in his play. He put some good swings on some balls.

"I hope he stays in this groove. It doesn't look like anything is really fazing him. He's playing solid defense, too. He made some tough plays look easy, so I'm pretty happy for him."