Anyone noticing Dave O’Brien and Lou Merloni having some sophomoric fun during the Red Sox’s second consecutive scoreless game by repeating the 6-7 meme about, as our own Bryan Joiner put it, “about 6-7 months late”, the scoreboard of the WooSox game has some bad news.
The game looked to be heading in a different direction following another fantastic start by Jake Bennett. He’s now got 21 innings under his belt to start 2026, and tonight marked just the second run he’s allowed. The Mets contributed all of their offense in the middle innings and kept the WooSox at bay enough to retain a one-run lead in the late going. But, still, folks might be a bit curious about why Jake Bennett remains on this Worcester roster and Double-A standout Eduardo Rivera was allowed to pitch 3 1/3 scoreless against the Yankees. Still, Bennett’s got some control left to master before he becomes yet another big lefty to debut.
Is a .450 batting average almost three weeks into the season good? Is five home runs in two weeks good? After watching the Red Sox infield looking lost at the plate, I won’t blame you if you’re hoping for Franklin Arias to keep climbing the development ladder until he eventually “saves the season,” even though he’s only 20. Still, Arias’ offense as well as Tyler McDonoughs’ home run was no match for the team allowing eighteen hits to the Yard Goats (Rockies AA). Arias’ emergence raises the question: does this organization wait too long to strike when the prospect iron is hot, promoting only when the iron is no longer hot? It happened with Roman Anthony, and it’s currently happening with Payton Tolle to some degree. Please, Craig, give the man a ladder!
Yoelin Cespedes went 3-for-5 with two doubles against Asheville (Astros High-A) and helped put the Drive into prime position to pull the game within reach in the ninth inning. Isaiah Jackson made the unthinkable happen with a bases-loaded, two-out grand slam to tie it up, and Salem did its thing from there. Jackson’s home run was spectacular, bringing the team from a 4.5% chance of winning all the way back. Justin Gonzales’ two-RBI double was a mark that signified that the ten-inning affair was practically two separate games.
Oh, make it the 6-7 madness stop! The Nationals walked off the RidgeYaks in a fashion that may not have even warranted such a close game if not for Jacob Mayers’ strong performance. Salem actually started this game down 6-0 in short order, but couldn’t quite take this game even with two home runs in the 8th and 9th frames. Salem struck out 14 times and went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. It was just a matter of what team wanted to lose less, and on Wednesday, it was not Salem.
