WORCESTER –– It was Minor League Opening Day in Worcester on Friday afternoon, however the Triple-A WooSox sport was extra main than minor.
Six of the 9 hitters in Friday’s lineup have already made their main league debuts: Jarren Duran, Bobby Dalbec, Jorge Alfaro, Daniel Palka, Niko Goodrum and Greg Allen.
Palka and Allen every had two-hit video games, and every contributed a house run; Allen’s fourth-inning grand slam opened the floodgates. By sport’s finish, the WooSox had crushed the Syracuse Mets, 11-2, regardless of each groups accumulating 10 hits.
Garrett Whitlock headlined the present.
A Rule 5 steal from the Yankees, Whitlock went 4 innings, and allowed one run (earned) on six hits, walked one, and struck out six. His velocity sat within the mid- 90s, however dropped a couple of mph decrease because the outing went on.
He’d thrown 63 pitches over 4 innings in his final outing in Florida, so the Red Sox have been hoping for 5 on Friday. Pitch depend, 75 to be precise (50 for strikes), restricted him to 4.
The 26-year-old righty was with the big-league membership for the house opener at Fenway on Thursday earlier than heading out to Worcester for a few rehab video games. It’s technically a stint on the injured listing, however he’s not harm per se; the Red Sox have been cautious to not rush his preseason program after his season-ending hip surgical procedure final September. The expectation is that he’ll be able to be activated round April 11, the earliest obtainable date per the parameters of the 15-day IL.
“Just getting built up” has been his focus, he stated Thursday. “That’s really it. You know, just making sure the hips hold strong and you know, just trying to fine-tune every every pitch again. I feel great right now. So I think again, just the thing is just get built up and ready to be back with the team.”
Technically, Whitlock shall be again at Fenway on Saturday, in order that he can meet with the group and discover out the place his subsequent rehab look shall be. The WooSox go to Buffalo subsequent week, so Double-A Portland is the logical location.
Speedy Ham
David Hamilton set an organizational report final 12 months with 70 stolen bases at Double-A, a feat that, unsurprisingly, earned him the organizational honor of Minor League Baserunner of the Year.
The 25-year-old infielder acquired right down to enterprise in his Triple-A debut on Friday, swiping his first bag within the backside of the primary inning. He went for a second within the seventh, however acquired caught stealing. No different WooSox participant tried a steal.
Batting second within the lineup behind Duran (1-for-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB), Hamilton broke up a 1-1 tie with a solo dwelling run within the backside of the third. He completed the day 3-for-5 with a run, two RBI and two strikeouts.
A brand new Sherriff on the town
Ryan Sherriff impressed in his season debut, pitching a 1-2-3 eighth inning.
The 32-year-old lefty is a candidate for the most important league bullpen, which solely has one lefty, Richard Bleier, in the mean time. Joely Rodríguez is on the 15-day injured listing with a Grade 2 indirect pressure, and there’s no timetable for his return.
Sherriff debuted with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2017, and spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays. He has a 3.65 ERA in 44 1/3 profession regular-season innings, and hasn’t allowed a serious league dwelling run since 2018. He additionally made two one-inning appearances for the Rays within the 2020 World Series, and didn’t enable successful.
It was a formidable day for the bullpen, typically. In 5 aid innings, 5 pitchers held Syracuse to 4 hits, one run, 4 walks, and 7 strikeouts.
Source: www.bostonherald.com