With his fourth consecutive quality start, he’s getting hot at the right time… as are some more familiar names.
You’ll notice a common theme in most of the games played in the Red Sox farm Tuesday: good pitching, but no offense to speak of. Maybe that’s to be expected when logjams have been cleared and new talent graces each roster. At least Roman Anthony and Kristian Campbell are making things a lot of fun in these final weeks of the season. Let’s get into it.
Worcester: W, 12-3 (BOX SCORE)
I mean, it’s getting comical at this point. Kristian Campbell really can hit at just about any level. He had his first Triple-A double and drove in three runs on Wednesday, on a night the whole team was hitting well, including Roman Anthony, who also secured multiple knocks. It’s a good night when you strand 13 men on the base paths and still score a dozen runs. This was due to their patience at the plate, drawing 12 walks on the night, including three from Nick Sogard. And the pitching was even solid! They struck out 13 Tides (Orioles AAA) on the night, and the bullpen really held up for Richard Fitts’ passable night, including Luis Guerrero, who’s held his own in the bullpen in the later part of the season, striking out 5 in 2 innings. The WooSox had this in the bag with 7 runs in the second inning, but it’s still nice to see the bats so hot given the talent on this team.
A question becomes, when rosters expand, do you give Richard Fitts a call to evaluate him? It may be worth a shot depending on how competitive the September baseball ends up being. He’s had a 2.12 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP in August, so September 1 may be as good of a time as any to pull the trigger.
Portland: L, 0-12 (BOX SCORE)
With all the talent that now graces Polar Park (or, in this week’s case, Harbor Park) the Portland roster now feels a little barren. This team can’t hit! They haven’t scored a run in 22 consecutive innings. Their starter, Caleb Bolden, gave up five runs to the Patriots (Yankees AA), committed a throwing error, and was pulled after two innings. Jacob Webb, who’s still struggling in Double-A, gave up 3 more, putting this one into the laugher category early. The Sea Dogs had just two hits on the night, courtesy of Alex Binelas and Tyler Miller, and they struck out fifteen times
Greenville: L, 1-2 (BOX SCORE)
I said Portland couldn’t hit, but Greenville actually got no-hit against the Emperors (Braves High-A). If you’re wondering how they managed to score, it actually happened in the first inning via leadoff runner Justin Reimer (who’s actually been pretty standout following some promotions to Portland): walk, ground ball to advance, took third on a wild pitch, scored on sacrifice fly. Besides that, it was a quiet night… on both sides. Jedixson Paez gave up the only two hits of the night despite pitching pretty nails overall, striking seven out and walking just one across 4 2/3 innings. But it’s tough to win against a no-hitter.
Salem: L, 2-3 (BOX SCORE)
Salem fell to another team tough to get on the board against in the Hillcats (Guardians A) as they managed just four hits all night. As luck would have it, the pitching was solid, too, giving up just two hits in the middle of the game. It’s the latest in a series of poor run support for good pitching on the farm, which is bound to happen when a logjam gets cleared in the organization. Still, it’s refreshing to see Nazzan Zanetello rip another home run in quick succession. Nelly Taylor had his third home run in as many games; his dominant August continues. Good to find some silver lining in an overall negative day at the plate.
Happy Thursday!