Plus, Vaughn Grissom has five more hits as Worcester drops 20 runs in Rochester on Friday night.
The Red Sox won in their yellows, and well, you read the headline, so I could say anything in this section: Pluto was named a planet again; I’ve acquired a bridge in Brooklyn and I’m renaming it the Manny Ramirez Bridge; snails breathe through their feet (that one is true…) Have fun discussing if Vaughn Grissom, who’s logged time at first and third base this week, could be useful back in the Major Leagues, or when Marcelo Mayer will make his long-awaited debut. In the meantime, let’s get into it.
Worcester: W, 20-7 (BOX SCORE)
Worcester set a franchise record for runs and hits (though they scored more runs as the PawSox in 1989) as they denied Rochester (Nationals AAA) their fourth win of the season. No, this wasn’t a football score. And, it’s time we start paying close attention to Marcelo Mayer. While going 2-for-7 in a game isn’t outstanding, two of his ground outs scored runs and he hit a mammoth grand slam in the second inning to make the game 8-0…. and the runs obviously didn’t slow done there.
All told, Mayer had seven RBIs on the night. Vaughn Grissom, his infield counterpart who played third Friday and who’s really been getting playing time anywhere that makes sense, had five hits including the last Worcester home run of the night to make it 20-2. Tyler McDonough went 5-for-6 with two RBIs. Abraham Toro continued his hot streak, collecting three hits and four runs batted in of his own. Robert Stock went five solid innings, too, and the WooSox were even able to finish the game with Philip Sikes recording the final out on the mound. All ten hitters on Friday recorded a hit, and eight recorded multiple. That the WooSox scored 20 runs even while leaving a dozen men on base really speaks to how dominant this performance was.
Portland: L, 4-11 (BOX SCORE)
Portland, on the other hand, goes to 2-2 on the week against Hartford (Rockies AA) due to some tough relief work by Wyatt Olds and Zach Bryant, with the game already a bit out of reach, to no huge fault of Tyler Uberstine’s. It’s tough to score runs when one walk is taken all night… though if you want to point another finger of blame, don’t point it at Ahbram Liendo. The 21-year-old infielder went 3-for-4 and hit his first home run of the season; he’s slashing .367/.387/.533 on the young season. One more finger of blame may be pointed at the team’s three more defensive errors on the night to build onto an already rough season on the gloves in 2025.
Greenville: W, 3-2 (BOX SCORE)
Greenville pitching struck out fifteen Dash… Dashes? Dashers? (White Sox High-A) on Friday night. This is behind a five-inning performance that Hayden Mullins put together to strike out eight on the night before ultimately calling it due to leverage. The Drive weren’t exceptional at the plate, having just three hits and seven total baserunners on the entire night, They did, however, start the night off with a Miguel Bleis home run to plate Zach Ehrhard and pulled ahead with an Albert Feliz solo shot that had a .242 WPA.
Salem: L, 2-5 (BOX SCORE)
Michael Sansone redeemed his rough night Thursday by eating some innings for Salem, who lost a tough one to the Hillcats (Rays A) in the early going and couldn’t recover, striking out six and taking an eleven-out relief inning and at least giving Salem a shot of coming back. Salem, however, went hitless in six attempts with runners in scoring position and stranded nine on Friday. And as beneficial as the speedy (or progressively getting quicker) Nataniel Yuten’s three hits were near the bottom of Salem’s order, he was picked off stealing and Lynchburg runners were doing laps around the bases, stealing five on the night en route to Salem dropping to 5-8.
Have a great Saturday – Dan’s got you covered tomorrow; see you Monday!