One rainy day removed from the WooSox’s one-run loss to the RailRiders (Yankees AAA) on Friday night, they fell to a walk-off home run at the end of a pretty effective bullpen day when they allowed just five hits, three of those being home runs. The WooSox even being in a position to close out the game was unthinkable because they had almost no offense to speak of until the eighth inning; that frame was when they had three of their seven hits, three of their four runs and turned a 4-1 deficit into a tie game, but ultimately couldn’t get the series finale to extras.
Gage Ziehl is making better and better starts as the season goes on, save for that horrific outing ten days ago when he allowed eight runs, and he’s one to watch as a potential piece to be dealt at the deadline if this team is truly going to buy (and I’m finally in the camp that says they should.) Sunday was another example of him generating those swings and misses; he had eight strikeouts in his five scoreless innings and he allowed just three base runners. He did not have a ton of run support in Sunday’s win against the Patriots (Yankees AA) but, with Somerset being shut out until the ninth inning, all the Sea Dogs needed were two runs, which they got with RBI knocks from Matt Frazier and a white-hot Jack Winnay.
Ziehl, who I’ll never stop reminding people the Red Sox acquired in part of the “please get Jordan Hicks off this team” deal, is an interesting piece. He’s never been a particularly highly regarded prospect, but he’s sat down 84 batters on strikes in 72 innings of work, and his five-pitch repertoire is also intriguing.
*And, yes, I’m aware that the picture of him above is from when the 23-year-old and former Miami Hurricane was in high school, but it’s an incredibly posed shot.
To say Frederick (Orioles High-A) dominated Salem pitching would be an understatement. When guys start coming to the plate a seventh time in a nine-inning game, you know something has gone catastrophically wrong. When four batters in a row in a lineup have at least three hits, you’re in blowout territory. The Drive allowed twenty-five hits and six home runs (half of those coming off the glove of Griffin Kilander) in a game that couldn’t have even been close. Catcher Luke Heyman got his fourth home run of July, but even that cut the deficit to 6-5 after the Drive took Matt Duffy for five runs in the top of the fifth, and the hole didn’t get any more level.
The RidgeYaks had this rainy one against Delmarva (Orioles A) wrapped up with a three-run shot in the first inning by catcher Kleyvar Salazar, they just weren’t aware of it yet. They’d get a very respectable five innings out of Leighton Finley and twelve lock-down outs from Trennor O’Donnell. On top of Salazar also stealing a base later in the afternoon, the usual suspects showed their speed in the win; Andrews Opata stole his 39th base of the season and Skylar King swiped his 27th.
