8/11 Gameday Thread: Groome Goes Bowling; Portland Plays Two

I'd presume Chris Murphy today as well given his start was supposed to be last night.

Guess next year is kind of make or break for him.

It's one thing to kind of jump a level at a younger age and struggle, but to repeat the level and struggle again would be troublesome.

Hopefully next year he goes to Worcester and rakes and either ups his trade value or shows that he can be looked at as somebody who could produce at the major league level for the Red Sox come 2023.

Yeah I think they either need to send him down or give him some kind of breather. Most concerning is his August line which included a 46.7% K rate entering today. K's were too high in July but he also had a brutally low BABIP. In August he has struck out 14 times and put 10 balls in play.

Wil Dalton goes back down to Greenville from Portland.

Liu has been impressive early. He’s got 3 Ks through his first 4 outs and is pumping fastballs by people. He’s sitting 93-94 but reaching back for 95-96 occasionally. Lots of weak contact early when they do make contact.

That’s gotta be it for Chih-Jung Liu and I am very, very impressed. I’ve seen just about every pitcher for Salem this year and this was the best appearance bar none. 5.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 10 Ks. Liu was dominant all night. Got swing and misses on every pitch. Importantly, his velocity was strong all the way through the 5th inning. He was 93-95 for most of the game but was able to repeatedly go back for 97 (and 98 once) according to the stadium gun. He’s got too many pitches for me to track and tell what his offspeeds are, but this was a very very good outing.

Nick Yorke has oppo pop too.
Extending the hitting streak.

I'm very impressed with the Fredericksburg broadcast production values in comparison with Salem's. 

Yorke with a home run to RF

Definitely, but also if I never have to watch Salem's shot-from-above broadcast again it'll be too soon.

Promote him

Also, and don’t quote me on this because I’m very bad with faces, but I’m pretty sure Blaze Jordan at least is in the dugout with Salem. McDonough too. They weren’t in the dugout yesterday so that’s a step in the right direction to getting them on the field.