In the finale against the Mets, the pitching provided a steady frame, even having to use five arms, allowing just six hits on the game, two of which were home runs. But this game was on the verge of turning into a laughter in the top of the first when the WooSox batted around and catcher Nate Knizner (who was the DH Sunday) had his first home run in his new organization. Mickey Gasper also continues to rake at a Triple-A level; two doubles on Sunday adds to that sample. The score was 5-1 at the end of one and the fate of Worcester’s win was never in worry.
This was a masterclass by Blake Wehunt and Jedixson Paez as the Curve (Pirates AA) absolutely got carved up, striking out seventeen times and managing just two hits. Paez didn’t allow a walk and got the 12-out save. Now, this win would have been safe even without run support, but the Sea Dogs had plenty of that too. Brooks Brannon had a home run to heat his bat back up, bringing the score to 6-0, and it’d only grow in the later innings. For Paez in particular, though, a lengthy relief appearance going this successfully is amazing. Paez was selected in the Rule 5 draft by the White Sox in December, made the opening day big league roster, and, pretty immediately, was returned to Boston after falling flat in the majors. The 22-year-old has some developing to do, but getting eight of twelve outs via strikeout is a promising sign.
Devin Futrell has either been automatic or struggled quite a bit this season. The Dash (White Sox High-A) tagged him for eleven hits but the towering lefty was able to put in five innings, and the bullpen held it. But, it was tough for Greenville to overcome allowing Winston-Salem two runs in each of the first three frames. No one was safe offensively from striking out at least once, but almost everyone also was in the “getting knocks” business. Unfortunately, no one out of six attempts was successful in the “getting knocks with runners in scoring position” business.
Not going to win many games with just three hits against the Green Jackets (Braves A), including the four through seven holes in the lineup going 0-for-14 with 10 strikeouts. As a whole, if you look at the team’s OPS up and down the lineup, nothing really jumps off the page in the lower levels. The pitching did enough to win a game where there was more offense than that, but it wasn’t to be on Sunday.
