The Providence Journal

Jarrod Ulrey - Bowden struggles in 1st Triple-A start


COLUMBUS, Ohio — During the final two-plus innings of his first Triple-A start last night in Cooper Stadium, Michael Bowden flashed some of the velocity and location that has made him one of the Red Sox’ top prospects.

He settled down after a leadoff double to Roger Bernadina in the third and a two-out double to Pokey Reese in the fourth and posted three of his four strikeouts over his final two-plus innings. It was the beginning that left Bowden with a sour taste in his mouth.

He gave up hits to the first three batters he faced, with two of the runners scoring, and allowed a run after giving up a leadoff ground-rule double in the second.

“Obviously I’m not very happy with it,” Bowden said. “I was falling behind on almost every count and they were capitalizing. I was excited and I did have a little bit of adrenaline, but I’ve felt that before and that shouldn’t have affected me negatively. There might have been a spurt toward the end when I was pitching well, but I was just very hard on myself tonight.”

...

“It was pretty exciting watching Mr. Bowden get his first start,” Johnson said. “I just watched some of his pitches and this is a young man that didn’t walk anybody. He gave up three runs on seven hits in four innings and I’m sure he’s not happy with that. But that isn’t what lost us the game. He got his first Triple-A start out of the way. This is about development. Even though he gave up three runs, I thought he pitched efficiently the first three innings before a couple of their veterans hit a lot of foul balls.”



Jarrod Ulrey - Clippers 4, PawSox 1 -- Pawtucket loses third straight as bats go quiet


The PawSox scored their only run in the third when Sean Danielson singled, stole second and moved on to third when the throw from catcher Luke Montz went into center field and scored on a sacrifice fly by Joe Thurston.

Bowden struggles in PawSox debut

COLUMBUS, Ohio ---- Prized prospect Michael Bowden was unable to come away with a victory in his Triple-A debut for the Pawtucket Red Sox on Monday night, as the host Columbus Clippers scored three runs off him in the first two innings and came away with a 4-1 victory that handed the PawSox their third straight loss.

...

The 21-year-old Bowden, who is ranked the No. 7 prospect in the Red Sox organization by Baseball America, worked the first four innings, allowed his three runs on seven hits, struck out four batters, and walked none. He came out of the game in the bottom of the fifth after surrendering a leadoff double to Jorge Padilla and throwing 84 pitches, 57 of them for strikes.

...

Bowden gave up hits to the first three batters he faced, with the third one, a long double to center by former PawSox slugger Luis Antonio Jiminez, bringing home the Clippers’ second run. The first run came home when the hosts’ second hit, a line single to center by Roger Bernadina, was misplayed by center fielder Sean Danielson and allowed Padilla to score from first.

The Clippers then made it a 3-0 contest when Leonard Davis led off with a ground-rule double to center and later scored on a groundout by Ed Rogers, another former PawSox player.

Paul Betit - Big Papi-razzi; David Ortiz comes to town for a rehab appearance and goes 2 for 3 with an RBI, helping Portland beat Connecticut.

Most of the 7,368 fans who were at Hadlock Field on Monday night were there to see Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz.

What they also saw was a well-pitched game by Portland Sea Dogs starter Dave Gassner, who allowed three hits in six innings, and a timely hit by Josh Reddick, Portland's newest outfielder.

The result was an 8-2 win for the Sea Dogs against the Connecticut Defenders in the opener of a four-game series.

...

Reddick's big hit came in the first inning, when he pulled a single into right field for a 2-1 lead after the Sea Dogs loaded the bases on three walks, with Ortiz drawing the first one.

"He played up here a couple of games last year and didn't get a hit," Beyeler said of Reddick, who was promoted Sunday for Class A Lancaster. "He hit some balls hard and didn't get a hit. But he's got some more confidence now."

"I tried not to do too much," said Reddick, who is in his second professional season. "I tried not to let my nerves take over. I just tried to put it through the hole."

...

Gassner (3-5) limited the Defenders to two unearned runs. He walked none and struck out one.

"I just tried to keep the ball down and use my defense, and my defense played great," said Gassner.


Kevin Thomas - Ortiz leftovers, results
Speaking of former Sea Dogs, do you get the sense that Jed Lowrie knows that the shortstop job is his for the taking? Lowrie (4-for-10 in his last 3 games) upped his average to .298 with a 2-for-3 night, including a 2-run single.

Pitcher Michael Bowden made his Triple-A debut Monday. He began the game by giving up two singles and a double (by former Sea Dog Luis Jimenez) ... Bowden left after allowing a lead-off double in the fifth ... In four innings, Bowden gave up 7 H, 3 R, 0 BB, and struck out 4 ... Sean Danielson went 2-for-4.

Ortiz was the story in Portland, but outfielder Josh Reddick made his debut with a 2-run single in the first, on a 1-for-4 night ... the Sea Dogs pitching was superb with starter Dave Gassner (6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K) and scoreless relief from Richie Lentz (1 IP, 1 K), Daniel Bard (1 IP, 1 BB, 2 K) and Beau Vaughan (1 IP, 1 H).

Lancaster catcher Jon Still (.279) went 2-for-5 with his 19th home run.

Two recent additions to Greenville have continued to hit ... third baseman Michael Almanzar, 17, went 2-for-4 and is at .375 through 3 games ... first baseman Carlos Fernandez-Oliva, 21, went 3-for-4 and is at .360 in six games.

Lowell's 19-year-old outfielder Mitch Dening (.346) was 2-for 5 ... recent sandwich round draft pick Bryan Price (2.08) started and went 3 innings (3 H, 1 BB, 1 K) ... reliever Seth Garrison (1.62) got his third save (1 IP, 1 H, 1K)

Eric Harding - JetHawks can't make it a sweep

The Mavericks took control in the sixth when the JetHawks defense let down when they loaded the bases with nobody out in the sixth off reliever Craig Molldrem.

First baseman Mike Jones misplayed Geraldo Valentin's groundball before Kuo Hui Lo singled. Next, Gavin Dickey reached on Molldrem's throwing error, which set up Carlos Triunfel, who followed with a grand slam to right as High Desert took a 8-5 lead and control from the JetHawks, who got off to a 4-0 lead.

"They took advantage of the errors on all sides," Molldrem said. "(Triunfel) was looking fastball, and it was on the out outer third but elevated. He got the bat on the ball, and that's all that's needed in this ballpark."

Center fielder Matt Sheely led off the game with a double to left, advanced to third on a wild pitch. With two outs, catcher Jon Still hammered a two-run home run to left, giving the JetHawks a quick 2-0 lead.

Catcher Luis Exposito added a solo shot in the second, making the score 3-0. It's the third straight time this series Exposito has hit one deep during his first at-bat of the night.

...

The JetHawks got consecutive singles from Aaron Reza and Luis Segovia in the eighth as they tried to mount a rally.

They advanced to second and third on a wild pitch, but Sheely was struck out looking by reliever Aaron Cotter and Navarro grounded out to short to end the inning.

Willie T. Smith III - Mailman makes timely delivery for Drive

Just when it appeared that Monday's South Atlantic League game between the Hagerstown Suns and Greenville Drive would go extra innings, David Mailman took matters in his own hands.

The Drive left-fielder drove an Erik Amesen pitch over the right-field wall for a three-run homer with two outs in the eighth to lead Greenville to a 5-2 victory in front of 4,303 at Fluor Field.

...

Drive starter Terumasa Matsuo allowed two unearned runs on three hits and two walks, while striking out 10 batters. In his last three starts, he is 1-0 with one earned run in 17" innings.He's walked five and struck out 23 during that span.

Kyle Fernandez (3-1), the second Greenville pitcher to enter the game, was equally effective. He shut the Suns down on one hit, striking out two in 2- innings.

...

Catcher Will Vasquez was taken to the hospital prior to Sunday's game after experiencing chest pains. It was not believed to be serious, however, so he has not been placed on the disabled list.



Willie T. Smith III - World Series trophy visits Fluor Field


The trophy had an active social calendar during its 36-hour stint in Greenville. Its first appearance was Sunday night at Michelin on Main for a Greenville Drive reception for their sponsors.

Accompanied by Red Sox assistant of player development Jared Banner, Drive co-owner/president Craig Brown, Drive general manager Mike deMaine and Drive media relations director Eric Jarinko, the trophy began its day at 6:15 a.m., making appearances at numerous television and radio shows.

“It travels pretty regularly,” Banner said. “But this is actually our first affiliate stop.”

The Lowell Sun

Cabreja the hero for Lowell

TROY, N.Y. -- Rafael Cabreja hit the first pitch he saw deep over the right field wall for a two-run homer, propelling the Lowell Spinners to an exciting 5-4 victory in yesterday's rubber game of a three-game New York-Penn League series with the Tri-City ValleyCats.

...

Mitch Dening put Lowell on top almost immediately, hitting the first pitch of the game over the fence in right field for a 1-0 lead. The Spinners added a run in the fifth, as Luis Sumoza continued his torrid three-game stretch with a solo blast deep into left-center field.

Cabreja delivers for Spinners

The Spinners continued to show a flair for the dramatic in the top of the ninth inning, as Jon Hee drew a leadoff walk and after an out was made, Cabreja, pinch-hitting for Gil, launched a rocket deep into right field to put Lowell on top to stay.

Dening, Gil and Will Middlebrooks each had two hits, leading a nine-hit Lowell attack that included six extra-base hits. Cabreja, Sumoza and Ronald Bermudez each had a hit for the Spinners. On this three-game trip, Sumoza was 8 for 11 and now he holds a 16-game hitting streak, the longest active hitting streak in the NY-Penn League this season. Sumoza has raised his average from .154 to .303 and is batting .391 over the course of the streak.