After dropping game one in Norfolk (Orioles AAA) following a six-game win-streak, the WooSox are back on top on Wednesday. They enjoyed not only another solid five-inning start from Blake Wehunt, who is impressing with a small sample size in Triple-A thus far, but also twin sixth inning home runs from their infielders, Bret Harris and Vinny Capra (the latter was the DH last night.) Those two long balls broke a 2-2 tie and put Worcester up for good, as the bullpen perfectly navigated the waters following Wehunt’s exit. Braiden Ward also was notably a speed demon on the basepaths, increasing his season total to a eyebrow-raising 46 stolen bases. The other two batters with multiple hits, you ask? Mikey Romero and Kristian Campbell.
The Sea Dogs tried to subject Harrisburg (Nationals AA) to some small ball, as all but two of their eleven hits were singles, and they had 4 hits with runners in scoring position. They had 4 batters with 2 knocks. Still, Erik Rivera had a ninth inning melt down in a save situation and took the decision loss after a 6-4 lead turned into a 9-6 loss.
Offense was not at a premium on Wednesday night in Asheville. (Astros High-A) This game featured a lot of offense as Greenville got to the Tourists early and often. After four innings, the score was 12-1. A white-hot Justin Gonzales left the yard in the first inning with this 15th homer of the year. Maximus Martin, who made some waves with his contact tool in 2025, is back after a lengthy injury, and he hit a home run of his own in third. The Drive were able to coast to a win and Kyson Witherspoon had a lot of pressure taken off of him and was able to relax into one of his most effective starts as a pro, pitching into the sixth and allowing just the lone run.
Correction to yesterday’s article: the double header from Tuesday’s rain-out starts tonight at 5:05.
The RidgeYaks got two early home runs of their own in an abbreviated contest in Kannapolis (White Sox A) following Tuesday’s rainout. I guess in a seven-inning game homering in the third and calling it “early” is relative, but it came before Salem had still another effective inning in which they hung three more on the Cannonballers. As you might imagine, having a sizable lead like that gave the pitchers a bit longer of a leash than they might normally be offered, and Blake Foutch and Cole Tolbert were able to pitch a bit more lax (and longer into the game) than usual; they each allowed 2 hits en route to a decisive win in the afternoon game.
The nightcap featured about 25% of the total offense despite having an extra inning, and, by my math, only sported 11% of the runs. The only run of the game came via a sac fly in the bottom of the fourth, and it’s fitting that it wasn’t via a bonafide hit, as both teams combined for just five hits and three walks. Despite pitching well and super efficiently, Jason Gilman, who pitched all six innings for Salem, was handed the decision loss. There was suspense, but the game was still extremely brisk due to no one getting on base: these seven innings lasted just an hour and twenty minutes.
