4/25 MiLB Gameday: Barnes debuts

[Cuzittt]

Today's Games:

IL:Pawtucket (Matt Barnes) vs. Rochester (Trevor May) [6:15 pm]
EL: Portland (Miguel Pena) vs. Trenton (Matt Tracy)[6:05pm]
CL:Salem (Brian Johnson) vs. Lynchburg (Mauricio Cabrera) [7:05pm]
SAL: Greenville (Mario Alcantara) vs. Lexington (Jake Junis) [7:05pm]
NYPL: Lowell - Opening Day - June 13th vs. Vermont
GCL: GCL Sox - Opening Day - June 20th vs GCL Twins
DSL: DSL Sox - Opening Day - May 31st

Notes:

Mookie Betts has reached safely in 46 consecutive games.


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

 

[Rovin Romine]

Williams holds the consecutive on base record for the majors with 84.   I wonder what the record for the minors is?

 

[Cuzittt]

Williams holds the consecutive on base record for the majors with 84.   I wonder what the record for the minors is?

While there may be someone who has more... the official record of 71 consecutive games is held jointly by two very familiar names... Kevin Youkilis and Kevin Millar.

 

[Manzivino]

Mookie doesn't waste any time, leads off with a single, up to 47 straight.

 

[mabrowndog]

Not a banner night for Mickey Pena in Portland. A 4-run 1st and a 4-run 5th, all earned, on 8 hits and a walk. Kyle Roller hits a 2-run shot in the 1st, and Trenton goes back-to-back in the 5th as Rob Segedin clubs a 3-run blast and Roller follows up wit a solo shot.
 
The good news is the Sea Dogs have put 7 on the board, with Shaw & Ramos both 3-for-3.
 
8-7 Thunder through 5.

 

[Plympton91]

Very interesting that Christian Vazquez is hitting second. That's a pretty stong endorsement of his plate approach and developing skills.

Not a bad first start by Barnes. Could be better though.

 

[mabrowndog]

Nothing dominant, but a solid season debut for Barnes: 5 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 6 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 44 of 81 pitches for strikes, and he exits with a 6-2 lead.
 
Portland has tied Trenton with a run in the bottom of the 7th, and the Sea Dogs are still batting. 
 
EDIT - And now a Shannon Wilkerson RBI singles puts Portland ahead 9-8. Noe Ramirez now the pitcher of record with 2 shutout innings in the books.

 

[mabrowndog]

Mario Alcantara had a nice outing going with goose eggs through 4 innings, but a Jimmy Rider error spawns a 4-run 5th for Lexington (3 unearned) and Myles Smith comes in to get the final out.
 
Drive trail 4-3, with all their runs coming on solo HRs (Jantzen Witte 2, Bo Greenwell 1).

 

[mabrowndog]

On the heels of his 6-inning, 5-K, no-hit performance last week at Winston-Salem, Brian Johnson is dominating again. With an 8-0 lead he's through 4 innings with 2 H and 4 K. Nice to see after his two implosions earlier in the month.

 

[mabrowndog]

Portland gives the lead right back in the T-8th. Two singles and a groundout off Ramirez put runners at 2nd & 3rd, and Aaron Kurcz gets the call to hold the Thunder at bay. No such luck, as a Mason Williams single plates both runs.
 
10-9 Trenton.

 

[RoDaddy]

81 pitches is too many for Barne's first time out. Who gives an eff about making it to 5 innings for a minor league W!?

 

[Joshv02]

He's been pitching in xst - this isn't his first time pitching in six months.  

 

[mabrowndog]

For those wondering, Nava has a single and 2 walks in 4 trips tonight with a stolen base and a run scored. He was also caught in a steal of home that ended the last of the 7th, breaking for the plate after lefty reliever Aaron Thompson made a pickoff throw to 1st base. Not sure if the throw was bobbled or got away, prompting Nava to chance it, but they got him.

 

[mabrowndog]

What a game up in Portland. The Sea Dogs tie it up as -- guess who? -- Mookie starts the manufacturing process with a leadoff walk and promptly steals 2nd. A Marrero fly to center moves him to 3rd, and he scores on a Stefan Welch grounder.
 
10-10 heading to the 9th.

 

[mabrowndog]

On the heels of his 6-inning, 5-K, no-hit performance last week at Winston-Salem, Brian Johnson is dominating again. With an 8-0 lead he's through 4 innings with 2 H and 4 K. Nice to see after his two implosions earlier in the month.

 
Make that a 6 IP, 4 H, 8 K, 1 BB outing for Johnson, with one of the hits on an infield grounder to Dent.
 
EDIT - Kyle Martin takes over for the 7th.

 

[Cuzittt]

Pawsox win 6-2.

Boxscore

Matt Barnes went 5 innings, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 6 hits and 2 walks; striking out 2. Tommy Layne went 2 innings, giving up 2 hits and a walk; striking out 2. Drake Britton went 2 innings, walking 2 and striking out 3.

Christian Vazquez went 2/4 with 2 doubles. Daniel Nava went 1/2 with 2 walks, a SB and a CS. Ryan Lavarnway went 1/3 with a walk. Bryce Brentz and Corey Brown each went 1/4; Brentz with a double, Brown with a HR. Garin Cecchini did not have an official AB tonight, walking 3 times and hitting a SF. Justin Henry went 0/3 with a walk. Brandon Snyder and Mike McCoy each went 0/4.

 

[mabrowndog]

Yikes. Bullpen implosion for Portland.
 
After blowing the hold in the 8th, Kurcz begins the 9th with a pair of walks. Matt Spring bails him out with a diving catch of a pop-up bunt for the first out, but Kurcz uncorks a wild pitch and then walks the bases loaded. Michael Olmsted replaces him, promptly hitting the first batter he faces and forcing in the lead run.
 
Bases still loaded for Trenton, just one out...

 

[Quintanariffic]

 
Make that a 6 IP, 4 H, 8 K, 1 BB outing for Johnson, with one of the hits on an infield grounder to Dent.
 
EDIT - Kyle Martin takes over for the 7th.

 
At this rate, Johnson will be in Portland by May.

 

[JakeRae]

What a game up in Portland. The Sea Dogs tie it up as -- guess who? -- Mookie starts the manufacturing process with a leadoff walk and promptly steals 2nd. A Marrero fly to center moves him to 3rd, and he scores on a Stefan Welch grounder.
 
10-10 heading to the 9th.

By walk you mean single? Or, is Gameday wrong?

 

[mabrowndog]

Greenville ties up Lexington 4-4 on a Bo Greenwell RBI single in the b-7th.

 

[mabrowndog]

By walk you mean single? Or, is Gameday wrong?

 
No, you're correct. I brainfarted.

 

[mabrowndog]

Yikes. Bullpen implosion for Portland.
 
After blowing the hold in the 8th, Kurcz begins the 9th with a pair of walks. Matt Spring bails him out with a diving catch of a pop-up bunt for the first out, but Kurcz uncorks a wild pitch and then walks the bases loaded. Michael Olmsted replaces him, promptly hitting the first batter he faces and forcing in the lead run.
 
Bases still loaded for Trenton, just one out...

 
Good night, Sea Dogs. A double by Ali Castillo clears the bases, and it's 14-10.

 

[Cuzittt]

Seadogs lose 14-10.

Boxscore

Miguel Pena went 5 innings, allowing 8 runs on 8 hits (3 HRs), a walk, a HBP and a WP; striking out 3. Noe Ramirez went 2 2/3 innings, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits and an intentional walk; striking out one. Aaron Kurcz went 2/3rds of an inning, allowing 3 runs on a hit, 3 walks and a WP. Michael Olmsted went 2/3rds of an inning, allowing a run on a hit, walk and HBP; striking out 2.

Henry Ramos went 4/5 with a double and a CS. Travis Shaw went 3/4 with a walk. Shannon Wilkerson went 2/4 with a walk and a CS. Matt Spring went 2/5 with a HR. Mookie Betts went 2/6 with a SB. Sean Coyle went 1/3 with a double and 2 walks. Peter Hissey went 1/3 with 2 walks. Stefan Welch went 1/5. Deven Marrero went 0/5.

 

[Cuzittt]

Salem wins 10-0.

Boxscore

Brian Johnson went 6 innings, giving up 4 hits and a walk; striking out 8. Kyle Martin went 3 innings, giving up a hit and striking out 3.

Matty Johnson went 2/4 with a walk. Reed Gragnani went 2/4 with a triple. Mario Martinez went 2/4 with a HR. Jayson Hernandez went 1/3 with a walk. Matt Gedman went 1/3 before being replaced by Dreily Guerrero who went 0/1. Ryan Dent went 1/4 with a double and a walk. David Chester went 1/4. Jonathan Roof went 1/5. Kevin Heller went 0/2 with 2 walks.

 

[Cuzittt]

Drive lose 9-8.

Boxscore

Mario Alcantara went 4 2/3 innings, allowing 4 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits and 3 walks; striking out 2. Myles Smith went 4 innings, allowing 5 runs on 5 hits, 3 walks and a HBP; striking out one. Mike Adams was able to pick up the final out, throwing a WP.

Jantzen Witte went 3/5 with 2 HRs. Tim Roberson went 2/3 with a double and 2 walks. Bo Greenwell went 2/4 with a HR and a walk. Zach Kapstein went 2/4. Jimmy Rider went 1/4. Kevin Mager went 1/5. Tzu-Wei Lin went 0/4 with a walk. Carlos Asuaje went 0/4 with a sacrifice. Jordan Weems went 0/4 before being replaced by Jake Romanski who went 0/1.

 

[mabrowndog]

Greenville rallies to within 9-8, but can get no closer.
 
Pretty disheartening for two Sox affiliates to have top-of-the-9th bullpen meltdowns less than an hour apart. Portland yielded 4, while the Drive gave up 5.

 

[LeftyTG]

Williams holds the consecutive on base record for the majors with 84.   I wonder what the record for the minors is?

I'm pretty sure Kevin Millar and Kevin Youkilis share the record, with 71 straight games.

 

[Cuzittt]

STORIES

PAWSOX

Game Story

Pawtucket batted around and scored five times in the third and Matt Barnes tossed five solid innings in his season debut as the PawSox topped the Rochester Red Wings, 6-2, Friday night in front of 7,680 fans at McCoy Stadium to earn a split in the four-game series.

Barnes (1-0) allowed just two runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks while striking out two. Daniel Nava, playing in his first game since being optioned from the Boston Red Sox, reached base three times on two walks and a single.

The PawSox (13-10) alternated losses and wins for the entire eight-game homestand and finished with a 4-4 record. Corey Brown's solo home run against Rochester starter Trevor May (1-1) on the first pitch of the third opened the big rally for Pawtucket.

Christian Vazquez's RBI double followed Justin Henry's one-out walk, and May then issued back-to-back free passes to Nava and Ryan Lavarnway to load the bases. Bryce Brentz slugged a two-run double to center that made the score 4-1, and Garin Cecchini's deep sacrifice fly plated the fifth run of the inning.

After a Rochester run in the top of the fifth made the score 5-2, the PawSox added an insurance run in the bottom of the frame on Lavarnway's RBI single. Tommy Layne (sixth and seventh innings) and Drake Britton (eighth and ninth innings) combined for four scoreless innings in relief to finish the victory.

Vazquez doubled twice and went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, while Cecchini walked three times and drove home a run with his sac fly. Chris Parmelee's RBI single against Barnes opened the scoring in the top of the third while Doug Bernier lifted a sac fly to drive home the second Red Wings run.

SEADOGS

Game Story

When Slugger the mascot interrupted the Sea Dogs’ game Friday night, it didn’t bode well for the home team.

With two outs in the first inning and a 1-2 count on Trenton’s third batter, the right-field gate prematurely opened. Slugger motored in, riding in an ATV on the Hadlock Field warning track.

Oops.

Play came to a halt. It was too late for the ATV to turn, so it continued on the track and out the left-field gate.

Trenton then scored four runs in the inning.

The premature entrance was “an honest mistake,” said Sea Dogs General Manager Geoff Iacuessa, explaining that the worker who opened the gate thought there were three outs.

It was the start of a whacky game, won by Trenton 14-10 in a not-so-crisp 3½ hours.

The eventual winning run was scored when reliever Michael Olmsted hit pinch-hitter Taylor Dugas with a slider with the bases loaded in the ninth. Ali Castillo added a three-run double.

Trenton lost the lead three times, Portland lost it twice. It was 10-10 heading into the ninth.

Portland outhit Trenton 16-13.

Henry Ramos went 4 for 5, including a two-run double. Travis Shaw singled three times and walked. Matt Spring added two hits, including a two-run homer.

Mookie Betts continued his hot hitting with two singles, with his average now .431.

But Trenton got the big hits, including three homers, two by Kyle Roller. The first was in the first inning, when Portland starter Mickey Pena fell out of sync.

SALEM

Game Story

Wahoo wins this one: How hot is University of Virginia alum Reed Gragnani these days? He even drove in a run against a longtime nemesis Friday — a Hokie, no less.

Gragnani continued his torrid start to the season with a 2 for 4, three-RBI performance as Salem chased Virginia Tech alum Patrick Scoggin early and ripped Lynchburg 10-0 to complete a three-game sweep at Salem Memorial Ballpark.

Gragnani, who began the night second in the Carolina League in hitting, raised his average to .385. He actually did more damage against the Hillcats’ bullpen than he did against Scoggin, but he was glad to get a sacrifice fly against the fellow Richmond native as part of Salem’s two-run first inning.

“I actually know Patrick,” Gragnani said. “We faced each other in high school, Little League, growing up. Historically, he’s had my number. I got a lucky swing off him today, but he’s a great guy, great person, great pitcher. I was happy to face a guy that I knew.”

Tough night: Scoggin, making his first start of the season after six relief appearances, was touched up for five runs (three earned) on three hits and four walks. He departed without retiring a batter in the second — a six-run inning for Salem highlighted by Mario Martinez’s first home run.

In a groove: Salem’s pitching, meanwhile, was masterful. Brian Johnson and Kyle Martin combined on a five-hitter, with Johnson striking out eight over six innings.

Johnson has now thrown 12 straight scoreless innings after back-to-back shaky starts against Winston-Salem and Myrtle Beach.

“I think in his first couple outings, he relied too much on the curveball,” Sox pitching coach Kevin Walker said. “But the last couple outings he’s really started to trust his fastball. He’s throwing it for strikes, and he’s pitching inside very well, which is really starting to set up his curveball late and open up that outer half.”

SALEM

Game Story

Twice Greenville pitchers ran out of gas, sparking rallies for Lexington, and the Legends needed every run they got to hold off the Drive 9-8 before 5,674 Friday night at Fluor Field.

Fireworks that followed the game seemed to begin early as Lexington scored five in the top of the ninth to take a 9-4 lead. Greenville scored four in the bottom of the inning and fell just short with the tying run on base as the game ended.

Ramon Torres doubled and drove in three, and Dominique Taylor went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs to lead Lexington. Relief pitcher Tripp Davis allowed a tying run in the seventh to blow the save but picked up the win while allowing nothing else in 22/3 innings.

That spoiled a big night at the plate for Greenville first baseman Jantzen Witte, who belted a pair of homers deep over the left-field wall in a 3-for-5 night with three runs and three RBIs.

He said he worked with hitting coach Nelson Paulino on a minor change in his mechanics at the plate earlier in the day.

“Baseball is a crazy sport with how tiny things can either help you a lot or end up hurting you,” Witte said. “I’m looking to be more consistent.”

Greenville starter Mario Alcantara, who entered with a team-high 9.00 ERA, put forth his best effort of the season. He was perfect through three innings AND then ran into trouble in the fifth, when three walks and two doubles were compounded by an error by third baseman Jimmy Rider. Lexington scored four to take a 4-3 lead.

Bo Greenwell hit his third homer in two games to lead off the night, helping Witte stake Greenville to a 3-0 lead.

 

[mabrowndog]

The most important takeaway from those recaps, IMO:
 

 
[Brian] Johnson has now thrown 12 straight scoreless innings after back-to-back shaky starts against Winston-Salem and Myrtle Beach.
 
“I think in his first couple outings, he relied too much on the curveball,” Sox pitching coach Kevin Walker said. “But the last couple outings he’s really started to trust his fastball. He’s throwing it for strikes, and he’s pitching inside very well, which is really starting to set up his curveball late and open up that outer half.”

 

[MyDaughterLovesTomGordon]

Attended Portland last night. Mickey wasn't as bad as his line. It was cold and windy and his control was off in the first. However, he looked to have out three in the first, only to walk the guy instead, which led to the meltdown. Then he did a nice job settling down, only to tire and give up the bombs.

But the ball was shooting out of Hadlock last night, too. We saw three dingers and two wall balls that didn't exactly seem crushed.

Betts is the real deal. With Dusty's deal, you have to wonder what will become of him. He's a perfect second baseman.