It’s a long season, and it would appear from the very small sample size of games (three!) that Chad Tracy and Dan DeLucia are making a concerted effort to limit the workload of the starters — at least with respect to this opening series with the Syracuse Mets.
In the season opener, Jake Bennett threw fewer than 60 pitches. So, too, did Tyler Uberstine on Saturday afternoon. Payton Tolle was somewhat efficient with his four innings given how disastrous they were, but he was still able to finish the fourth
with 71 pitches. This has implications to how fresh they’ll be to join a Red Sox Major League club that has to ration their multi-inning relief options in the early going. Ryan Watson just debuted and threw over two innings and Johan Oviedo will only go every few days — the Red Sox will need guys without the early wear and tear on their treads. How did the leading candidates fare? Let’s get into it and find out.
Worcester, Saturday: W, 5-3 (BOX SCORE)
Behind the efficient arm of Tyler Uberstine, who allowed two hits in his four innings while walking one and struking out three, the Red Sox jumped out to an early lead in the fourth thanks to the club’s first home run of the season, a solo shot by Mikey Romero. Romero, a former first-round pick, is primed to be an intriguing prospect to watch this season.
Mickey Gasper would score Nick Sogard and make it 3-1 in the fifth. Syracuse would threaten in the sixth thanks to something that will make Kristian Campbell truthers feel real great, a fielding error directly before a throwing error by Vinny Capra (yes, that’s two blunders in the same play, getting runners in scoring position) on a Christian Arroyo batted ball, no less. That made the score 4-3, though the game would stay in the WooSox control, as a return piece for the Password trade, Tyler Samaniego, went seven commanding outs and Tayron Guerrero slammed the door.
The pitching staff may have only struck ou seven Mets and the WooSox offense may have gone 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, stranding nine, but those key hits by the heart of their lineup served them well on Saturday evening.
Worcester, Sunday: L, 8-10 (BOX SCORE)
Payton Tolle will be good enough to be on a Major League roster by mid-spring. I’d argue he’s already good enough, though perhaps in a bullpen role. It’s also extremely easy to root for him as a person. This did not mean he had a good showing in his first Triple-A action of the season. Tolle ran into a lot of problems in his fourth and final inning but was able to finish it, though not before giving up six runs in total, four earned, and battling around two more unearned runs to go with the four errors committed by the team on Sunday. That’s eight errors on the season, if you’re keeping track.
The game was decided by a late home run by former Pirate Ji Hwan Bae off of former organization-mate Kyle Keller. Worcester did not muster any balls over the Polar Park wall, but they did draw ten walks and gather five hits with runners in scoring position, so they at least kept it close, even with Tolle’s middling start. This was thanks in part to the top of their lineup; Braiden Ward and Mickey Gasper combined to go 5-for-9 in the one and two slots, and Mikey Romero had three RBIs on the day to drive them each in (It’s not all roses for Romero, though; he did have half of the team’s errors on the day). Still, the home run surrendered with 1 out in the ninth had a .354 WPA and even with Matt Lloyd singling to lead the inning off, Kristian Campbell grounding into a double play all but sealed it in a close one.
Have a happy first Monday of the MLB season!
