On July 11, the Greenville Drive made history with a combined no-hitter. Not even a month later, the Boston Red Sox High-A affiliate did it again.
A trio of Boston's pitching prospects combined to throw a no-hitter against the Wilmington Blue Rocks in what ended up being a 4-0 victory. On the same day Sox fans learned of Marcelo Mayer's injury, they were gifted with another stellar performance from the farm system.
Yordanny Monegro started the game. The right-handed pitcher tossed five scoreless innings, didn't walk anyone (but did hit one batter), and struck out six.
Mongero kicked down the door last year to become one of the most exciting pitching prospects in the system. An injury forced him to miss the first two months of the 2024 season, and it was clear he needed some time to adjust when he returned. He's now thrown 21 1/3 straight scoreless innings (down to a 3.95 ERA). The Aura God is back.
NO HITTER! That ball lands safely in the mitt and the Drive have done it again! The second no-no of the season! pic.twitter.com/V2RT4TeFto
— Greenville Drive (@GreenvilleDrive) August 2, 2024
Next came Cooper Adams. The right-handed pitcher threw three innings sterling innings, too. He didn't walk anyone (but also hit a batter) and struck out two.
The final two outs of the eighth inning included Eduardo Lopez robbing a base hit at first base and Jhostynxon Garcia taking away extra bases in centerfield. Lopez also hit a home run in the game, and Garcia had an RBI single.
Adams has a 5.16 ERA but has now thrown nine shutout innings over his last three outings combined. He's surrendered one hit in that time.
Finally, Isaac Stebens came in to close the game out. The right-handed pitcher walked the first batter of the inning before promptly getting a double play. The very next pitch after the double play was a fly ball to left field that landed in Juan Chacon's glove to ensure history for Greenville.
Stebens has a 3.75 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 50 1/3 innings between Single-A and High-A this season.
While the pitchers obviously get all of the credit for the incredible showing, the offense made sure to score runs (Allan Castro also hit a solo home run) and the defense came to play.
Catcher Juan Montero deserves some love, as well. They won't get nearly as much attention, but catchers play a huge role in no-hitters, and every pitcher will gladly tell you that.
Montero isn't an offensive juggernaut, but he's a strong defensive backstop and someone that Salem Red Sox (Single-A) manager Liam Carroll noted as a massive clubhouse leader. It's not surprising that he was catching for Greenville Drive history.