6/15 MiLB Gameday: Rehab, Rehab, Rehab - Take 2

[Cuzittt]

Today's Games:

IL:Pawtucket (Felix Doubront) vs. Charlotte (Tommy Hanson) [1:05pm]
EL: Portland (Brian Johnson) @ Akron (Cody Anderson) [2:05pm]
CL:Salem (William Cuevas) vs. Lynchburg (Jarrett Miller) [4:05pm]
SAL: Greenville (Trey Ball) @ Hagerstown (Austin Voth) [5:05pm]
NYPL: Lowell (Jake Drehoff) vs. Vermont (Jerad Grundy) [1:05pm]
GCL: GCL Sox - Opening Day - June 20th vs GCL Twins
DSL: DSL Sox - OFF

Notes:

Besides Felix Doubront, Pawtucket may have rehab appearances by Will Middlebrooks and Shane Victorino.

Jonathan Aro added to the South Atlantic League All-Star Game.

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

 

[Brohamer of the Gods]

Two Ks for Felix in the 1st.

 

[Brohamer of the Gods]

Mookie walked, stole second (no throw, in the dirt), went to 3B on nice bunt single, and scored on a wild pitch.

 

[Brohamer of the Gods]

6 K 1W 0Hits through three for Felix

 

[SouthernBoSox]

Mookie walked, stole second (no throw, in the dirt), went to 3B on nice bunt single, and scored on a wild pitch.

Impacting the game without the bat, dynamic stuff.

 

[Brohamer of the Gods]

It was a beautiful thing. Then he struck out with the bases loaded in the 2nd. Felix with 7K 2W and 0H through 4.

 

[Brohamer of the Gods]

Felix a bit wild in the 4th. Top speed I have seen is 91, but I have been walking a two year old a lot. Found $5 on one of those walks though.

 

[Brohamer of the Gods]

Probably that is it for Felix, as he struck out the side in the 5th along with 2W. 10K, 3W 0H. 93 pitches, was sitting 89-90 in the 5th. Curve was working well and he got a lot of swings and misses with it. Great outing.

 

[Brohamer of the Gods]

Knights' pitcher broke his belt, which is a new one for me.

 

[Brohamer of the Gods]

Britton gives up 2R HR with two out in the 9th.

 

[Brohamer of the Gods]

Hassan Kd with two on to finish it off. Paw Sox lose 2-1.

 

[RoDaddy]

Interesting to see Barnes relieving - has he ever done this before?  It might have more to do with just getting some work in that was taken away by rehabbing Buchholz and Doubront but still, it'd an interesting scenario.  Personally, I have felt that Barnes repertoire - or I should say lack of repertoire - is more suited for relieving.  With only one plus pitch, I see him as a potential lights-out Papelbon type closer. 

 

[Brohamer of the Gods]

I believe that is Barnes' first pro relief appearance. He looked pretty good. There was no offense at all for Pawtucket, they blew a bases loaded, one out situation in the 2nd, and never threatened again until putting two on with two out in the 9th.

 

[Cuzittt]

Pawsox lose 2-1.

Boxscore

Felix Doubront went 5 innings, walking 4 and throwing a WP; striking out 10. Matt Barnes went 3 innings, giving up 3 hits and a HBP; striking out 2. Drake Britton went an inning, allowing 2 runs on 2 hits (1 HR); striking out 2.

Mike McCoy went 1/3 with a walk and a CS. Garin Cecchini went 1/3 with a HBP. Christian Vazquez went 0/2 with 2 walks. Justin Henry went 0/2 with a walk. Alex Hassan and Mookie Betts each went 0/3 with a walk; Betts with a SB. Travis Shaw, Carlos Rivero and Ryan Roberts each went 0/4.

 

[Cuzittt]

Seadogs win 8-0.

Boxscore

Brian Johnson went 6 innings, giving up 4 hits and a walk; striking out 5. Michael Olmsted went an inning, giving up a hit and a walk; striking out 2. Matty Ott went an inning, striking out one. Aaron Kurcz went an inning, giving up a hit and a walk; striking out one.

Keury de la Cruz went 2/4 with a pair of HRs and a walk. Sean Coyle went 2/4 with a HR and a walk. Heiker Meneses went 2/4 with a SB. Blake Swihart went 1/3 with a double and 2 walks. Michael Brenly went 1/3 with a walk and a HBP. Derrik Gibson and David Chester each went 1/5 with a double. Jonathan Roof went 0/2 with 3 walks and a CS. Bo Greenwell went 0/5.

 

[Cuzittt]

Salem with the walk-off win, 6-5.

Boxscore

Cody Kukuk went 1 2/3 innings, allowing 4 runs on 7 walks and 2 WPs; striking out 3. William Cuevas went 3 1/3 innings, allowing a run on 5 hits, 3 walks, 2 HBPs and a WP; striking out 4. Nate Reed went 4 innings, giving up 2 hits and a HBP; striking out 3.

Aneury Tavarez went 3/4 with a double, HR and a walk (and a CS). Carson Blair went 3/4 with a walk. Ryan Dent went 2/3 with a double, 2 walks and a SB (and was picked off). Mike Miller went 2/5. Mario Martinez went 1/3 with a walk and a SF. Matty Johnson went 1/4 with a walk. Tim Roberson went 1/4 before being replaced by Dreily Guerrero who went 0/1. Reed Gragnani went 1/5. Kevin Mager went 0/2 with 2 walks and a SF.

 

[Cuzittt]

Drive lose 8-5.

Boxscore

Trey Ball went 5 1/3 innings, allowing 4 runs on 8 hits (1 HR) and a walk; striking out 8. Jacob Dahlstrand went 1 2/3 innings, allowing 4 runs on 5 hits and a WP. Mike Adams pitched a perfect inning.

Zach Kapstein went 2/4 with a double. Jantzen Witte, Manuel Margot and Jordan Weems each went 1/3 with a walk; Witte with a HR, Margot with a CS. Tzu-Wei Lin went 1/4 with a walk and a CS. Wendell Rijo and Aneudis Peralta each went 1/4; Peralta with a double. Jimmy Rider went 1/3 with a walk and a SF. Kendrick Perkins went 0/3 with a walk.

 

[Cuzittt]

Spinners lose 6-4.

Boxscore

Jake Drehoff went 5 innings, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits and a WP; striking out 6. Edwar Garcia went 1 2/3 innings, allowing a run on 3 hits and 4 walks; striking out 2. German Taveras went 2 1/3 innings, allowing 3 runs on 2 hits, 3 walks and a WP; striking out 3.

Nick Longhi went 2/4 with a double, a SF and a CS. Alixon Suarez went 2/4 with a triple. Bryan Hudson went 2/5. Mike Meyers went 1/1 after replacing Danny Bethea who went 0/2 with a walk. Raymel Flores went 1/3 with a walk. Jordan Betts went 1/5 with a HR. Franklin Guzman went 0/3 with a walk and a HBP. Nick Moore went 0/4 with a SF. Mauricio Dubon went 0/4 with a walk.

 

[Cuzittt]

STORIES

PAWSOX

Game Story

Down to a final out and trailing 1-0 in the ninth inning, Charlotte right-fielder Blake Tekotte drilled a two-run home run against reliever Drake Britton to propel the Knights past the Pawtucket Red Sox, 2-1, in front of 8,226 fans Sunday afternoon at McCoy Stadium to salvage a split in the four-game series.

The PawSox lost despite carrying a no-hitter through 6.2 innings. Felix Doubront, making his second start with Pawtucket as part of his MLB rehab assignment, did not allow a run or a hit in five innings. Doubront struck out ten batters and pitched around four walks to keep the Knights off the scoreboard.

The PawSox were held to only two hits, none after the second inning, and struck out 16 times in the game. Three Charlotte pitchers combined to strike out nine of the final 13 batters they faced, including closer Donnie Veal stranding two runners in the ninth by striking out the side.

Pawtucket (35-36) finished the eight-game homestand with a 5-3 record, winning three of four from Louisville before splitting the Charlotte series. The squad was one out away from a second-straight shutout victory before Britton (0-2) allowed Tekotte's two-run shot into the picnic area in right field. It was Tekotte's second home run in as many nights and eighth of the season.

Matt Barnes, making his first professional relief appearance by piggy-backing with Doubront, allowed the first Charlotte hit with two outs in the seventh on a bloop single by Tyler Saladino.

Mookie Betts scored Pawtucket's lone run of the contest in the bottom of the first inning against Knights starter Deunte Heath (2-2). Betts led off the frame with a walk and then stole second base before advancing to third on Mike McCoy's bunt single. A wild pitch by Heath then brought home the PawSox's only tally.

SEADOGS

Game Story

The Portland Sea Dogs (44-23) got another fantastic outing from a lefty and used three home runs to sink the Akron RubberDucks (40-30) 8-0 in the finale of the three-game series, Sunday afternoon at Canal Park. The win upped the Sea Dogs' record on the road trip to 3-1.

Brian Johnson has been outstanding all season long, and it was no different on Father's Day Sunday in Akron. The southpaw picked up right where Henry Owens left off on Saturday night and silenced the RubberDucks offense over his six-inning outing.

Johnson (5-1) retired the side in order on six pitches in the first, and pitched around a leadoff single in the second. Akron had their best chance against the starter in the third when they had runners at second and third with one out. The lefty slammed the door shut with back-to-back strikeouts - one swinging, one looking - to retire the side.

Keury De La Cruz provided the pop and put the Sea Dogs in front 1-0, with a solo home run, his first in Double-A, on the first pitch he saw from Cody Anderson in the second inning. The left fielder continued his display of power with a 2-run shot, against Anderson (2-5), in the fourth inning, which upped the Portland lead to 3-0.

Johnson pitched a quick fourth, striking out two, and worked around a one-out single in the fifth, before he took the mound for his sixth and final frame. He retired the first two in order, walked Alex Lavisky, and induced a groundout to third for the final out. In total he went six scoreless innings, gave up four hits, walked one and struck out five.

The 'Dogs offense wasn't done yet and powered up for four more runs in the seventh. Heiker Meneses began the rally with a single and moved to third after a throwing error on the catcher when he stole second. Derrik Gibson followed with an RBI double and Jonathan Roof walked against Jordan Cooper before Louis Head was summoned from the bullpen.

The righty got his first man, Blake Swihart, to fly to center, but gave up a three-run home run to the clean-up hitter Sean Coyle, which increased the Portland lead to 7-0. Mike Brenly capped off the scoring with a sacrifice fly to left in the ninth that scored Coyle.

SALEM

Game Story

The Salem Red Sox scored in the first inning for a seventh straight night, lost the lead, and battled back from a 5-1 hole to beat the Lynchburg Hillcats 6-5 at LewisGale Field Sunday. With the bases loaded, Ryan Dent singled home Mario Martinez in the bottom of the ninth to win it.



Nate Reed got the win in relief, holding down the fort in four innings of shut out ball, allowing just two hits. Zach Jadofsky picked up the loss, going an inning and a third, allowing five hits and two runs.



The Sox struck first in the bottom of the first. Mike Miller singled with one out of Hillcats starter Jarrett Miller. After a single by Reed Gragnani and a walk to Carson Blair, Mario Martinez hit a sacrifice fly to give the Sox a 1-0 lead.



But immediately the lead was lost. Cody Kukuk walked five Hillcats in the second inning, which along with two wild pitches led to four Hillcats runs. William Cuevas came in to relief Kukuk and allowed an infield hit that got the fourth run of the frame home. Kukuk finished with an inning and two thirds, allowing seven walks, four runs, and no hits.



The Cats added to their 4-1 lead in the third. Tyler Tewell singled with one out off of Cuevas, then moved up on a single by Anthony Nunez and scored on a single by Garcia to give the 'Cats a 5-1 lead.



The added a run in the bottom of the second on Aneury Tavarez's sixth home run of the season. The game held at 5-2 until the seventh inning.



The Sox started their comeback with a one out walk to Kevin Mager in the seventh off Matt Chaffee. Then a single by Johnson and single by Miller got Mager home and made it 5-3.



Salem tied up the game in the eight. Mario Martinez led off with a four pitch walked which chased Chaffee, and the 'Cats brought in Jadofsky. He surrendered a single to Tim Roberson, and double by Tavarez which made it 5-4. Then after an intentional walk to Dent, Kevin Mager knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 5.

DRIVE

Game Story

All good things must come to an end, and the Greenville Drive's (34-35) four-game winning streak can be added to the list, as the Hagerstown Suns (44-26) avoided a sweep in the four-game series with an 8-5 victory on Sunday afternoon.

The Suns entered the bottom of the sixth trailing 3-1, but a three-run sixth against Greenville's Trey Ball (1-6) put them on top and a four-run seventh helped them pull away. Isaac Ballou hit a one-out double in the sixth and came in to score when former Clemson Tiger Spencer Kieboom tripled to left field. Drew Ward followed by smoking a two-run homer to center to make the score 4-3.

Hagerstown added four runs in the seventh against Jacob Dahlstrand, with many of the usual suspects contributing to the big inning. Brennan Middleton singled to begin the frame and later came in on a Narciso Mesa single. Ballou laced an RBI single later in the inning, Kieboom followed with a sacrifice fly to score a run and Ward capped the frame with a single back through the box.

David Napoli (1-0) pitched a perfect sixth inning to earn the victory. Jake Walsh collected his eighth save of the season for the Suns by recording the last four outs.

Kieboom put Hagerstown up 1-0 in the first with an RBI single, and that lead stood until the fourth inning, when Jantzen Witte concluded his monster first half with a two-run homer against Austin Voth to put the Drive up 2-1.

Jimmy Rider's sacrifice fly extended the Drive lead to 3-1 in the fifth, and a wild pitch and an RBI single by Wendell Rijo in the eighth gave the Drive a pair of runs that weren't enough.

Kieboom and Ward both collected two hits and three RBI for the Suns, while Ballou, Middleton and Wilmer Difo added a pair of hits apiece. Zach Kapstein had two hits for the Drive and has now had a multi-hit affair four times in his last ten games.

SPINNERS

Game Story

While neither team's bullpen was particularly efficient when it came to throwing strikes, the Vermont Lake Monsters won the battle of attrition, taking advantage three walks and a wild pitch as part of a three run eighth inning to top the Lowell Spinners by a final of 6-4 Sunday afternoon at LeLacheur Park.

For the first time this season, the Spinners got the scoring started, jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Nick Moore.

Vermont (2-1) quickly evened the score in the top half of the inning, taking advantage of an error by Moore to plate their first run, pulling even at 1-1.

Lowell (1-2) took the lead in the bottom half of the fourth inning on the first professional hit of Jordan Betts career, a one-out solo home run to right-centerfield.

The lead was short lived however, as the Lake Monsters tied things up in the top half of the fifth inning. Justin Higley led off the inning with a double to right, moving to third on a sacrifice bunt, scoring on a single by Chris Wolfe before the Lake Monsters took the lead in the seventh inning on a two-out single by Yario Munoz, taking a 3-2 lead.

The Spinners again battled back to take a 4-3 lead in the seventh inning, taking advantage of a wild streak by Dominique Vattuone after a groundout by Alixon Suarez. Danny Bethea and Raymel Flores worked back-to-back walks and the Spinners loaded the bases with a single by Hudson. A bases loaded walk by Mauricio Dubon brought in a run and a sacrifice fly by Nick Longhi gave the Spinners the lead.

Vermont had the last laugh however when it came to control issues, with German Taveras issuing a lead-off walk that would come around to score on a wild pitch as the tying run. A Ben McQuown single gave the Lake Monsters a lead they would not relinquish.

Once again, the Spinners staged a ninth inning rally, but for the second consecutive night it was in vein as back-to-back strikeouts by Moore and Betts as the potential game winning run ended the game.

 

[Merkle's Boner]

Jesus, Brian Johnson is hot. 1.71 ERA, 40/13 SO/BB ratio. He's got the pedigree and should be in Pawtucket by August if he keeps this up. Between him and Owens that is two LH starters with potential.

 

[Cesar Crespo]

If not for a miserable May, A. Taveras would be getting more attention. Hopefully he keeps it up.

The catchers and Sean Coyle are fun to follow right now.

 

[Plympton91]

Agree about Tavarez, and Mike Miller continues to hit well in his return at Salem too.

Another little while and we'll have to add Carson Blair to that list of catchers tht are fun to follow.

Coyle is incredibly interesting, but seems to be without a position. Anybody know what his arm is like? Can he possibly become a rightfielder?

Nice to see that perhaps Johnson wasn't a wasted draft pick for additional slot money.

On the downside, Kukuk is crashing and burning at Salem, and Drake Britton continues his decent into irrelevancy. That's really disappointing as Britton looked like he was on the verge of breaking through to a permanent spot in the major league bullpen last season.