Plus, Lucas Giolito rehabs in Hartford.
Are you still pontificating over whether the Red Sox current infield structure is working for them, or whether it’s time to promote the remaining two members of the Big Three Four Three? Well, look no further than these Minor Lines, which saw one of them get on base five times on Tuesday night, and still another well-discussed prospect collect four hits and three RBI. Let’s get into it!
Worcester: W, 7-2 (BOX SCORE)
The WooSox opened their series in Rochester with a convincing W against the struggling Red Wings (Nationals AAA.) Drohan gave up one hit, a home run to Trey Lipscomb in the second inning, and besides that experienced some smooth skies across his five innings, striking out seven and keeping his ERA in Worcester to just over one to start the season.
Offensively, Abraham Toro collected two extra base hits including a triple. Roman Anthony reached base five times including three walks in that leadoff spot. And Vaughn Grissom compiled four hits and drove three runs to the plate. This could have been even more of a statement victory for some guys about to break through if the WooSox didn’t leave 13 stranded, but any night you hold a team to four hits and have your own offense collect hits so mundanely, you’re likely to win.
Portland: W, 7-5 (BOX SCORE)
It was an eventful night in Hartford, CT as Lucas Giolito rehabbed against the Yard Goats (Rockies AA) in what may be one of his final appearances before making his Red Sox debut. He was, eh, okay… not great to see three earned runs off three walks and five hits in just two innings, and perhaps as alarming, it took him sixty pitches to get out of those two innings. Luckily, Connelly Early (and, in a shorter fashion, Chris Troye) was nails out of relief, and even more fortunately, it was bat day for the Sea Dogs, as five doubles led Portland to a win in a “death by a thousand paper cuts” sense, leading to Portland tallying more hits than runs despite also only drawing five walks total. The discussion now moves onto whether Giolito and Bryan Bello are actually ready to come back, but in the meantime, Portland enjoys moving to 6-2 on the season.
Greenville: W, 9-3 (BOX SCORE)
The Drive hosted the Dash (White Sox High-A) and hit around the lineup within their first four outs, when Yophery Rodriguez, who’s slashing .333/.444/.633 in the young season across his two teams, theoretically put this one out of reach early with a three-run shot and made this a 5-0 game, boosting Greenville’s win probability to 92.1%. It never hit lower than eighty percent save for a brief period in the sixth, when Dalton Rogers gave up a leadoff triple, the only notable blip during four-inning relief appearance, which included a clutch strikeout with the bases loaded to end the fifth. Prior to that, Payton Tolle also had the best outing of this season, going four strong. But perhaps the most exciting thing about this game is Marvin Alcantara’s four hits, as he’s continuing to rake in April.
Salem: L, 8-10 (BOX SCORE)
Fans in Salem should have known this game against the Hillcats (Rays A) was going to be eventful when Yoelin Cespedes led the Sox off with a triple, and when another triple came in the very next half-inning, this time off of Salem starter Steven Brooks. Franklin Arias got his hits in as if he often does, scoring Natanael Yuten, but ultimately Michael Sansone was brought in a bit too early in this one following some bullpen blunders by Nick Judice and Eybersson Polanco, and ended up blowing a save opportunity.
Have a happy Wednesday!