Worcester had a win against the IronPigs on Saturday (Phillies AAA) where every single thing that could go right for them did. Mikey Romero went 6-6, Gage Ziehl pitched a shutout performance in his Triple-A debut, and the team scored nineteen runs. Things were not quite the same on Sunday afternoon, but, until Lehigh Valley stormed to a victory with a five-run ninth inning, Worcester looked in line for the win. This was despite Franklin Arias going 0-for-5, Adley Rutschman also going hitless and Blake Wehunt only pitching ten outs (albeit an effective ten outs before he allowed a home run.) And, for the record, I wouldn’t put too much stock in ANY of that; Arias is still batting almost .300 in a sample size that’s growing. Rutschman had an extra-base hit less than 48 hours ago. On Sunday, though, Kristian Campbell had three hits and a walk, Mikey Romero added two runs after his six-hit-day, and along the last three weeks it looks very much like this team (aka the first line of defense against any real injury problems) looks solid as opposed to a team that can’t be trusted with a lead late.
Rutschman didn’t even play 2 full games down in AAA and was only behind the plate for 5 innings, but he traveled to Toronto with the big league team after the game.
Infielder Mason White is right at home in New England after spending his pro career up to this point in the south, as he belted two home runs in New Hampshire (Blue Jays AA) en route to the Sea Dogs scoring nine runs in the first five innings and coasting to a win. His four RBIs across three hits was the difference maker.
This was a thriller of a series finale against the Renegades (Yankees High-A) as there were twenty-four plays that had a WPA of more than .10. Thirteen pitchers were used, five home runs were hit, only one of those was from the Drive, Trennor O’Donnell had to wear the loss after giving three home runs up in the eleventh and twelvth combined following a good ninth and tenth, and the Drive left seventeen on base. It was a four hour and nineteen minute thriller that resembled the thirteen-inning marathon the Red Sox pulled off against the White Sox earlier in the week, but, in this iteration, anyway, Greenville did not come out on top.
