Only one minor league affiliate is still playing, and they were shut out on a two-hitter last night. But the show must go on!

Johan Oviedo beat the buzzer and got back on the mound in a rehab game on Thursday night. It was his first appearance at any level since March 30th (for Boston). Oviedo averaged 95.9 mph on both of his fastballs, and maxed out at 98.5 mph. He struck out four batters over 2 1/3 innings, allowing two hits, a walk, and one earned run, and was charged with the loss. While it might be aggressive to add him to the postseason roster, at least in round one, Oviedo was expected to be a key piece of the Red Sox rotation in 2026, acquired for Jhostynxon Garcia last offseason.

John Holobetz followed and was excellent, striking out eight over 4 1/3 shutout innings. Tyler Samaniego allowed a run in the eighth, and Noah Song threw a shutout ninth.

The Red Sox were shut down by former Cardinals great Jake Woodford, mustering just a double from Allan Castro, a single from Tomas Nido, and one walk at the plate.

With three games to go against the Bulls (TB) before the season comes to a close, Worcester is 39-31 in the second-half standings, three games out of first place, with three teams ahead of them in the standings. However, since Rochester is in first place in the second half, and also won the International League first half, Worcester is not a complete long shot to make the playoffs. If you want to look at the tiebreaker procedures in Triple-A, go nuts.

Michael Sansone (2-6, 6.55) gets the ball this evening at 6:05 for the Woo Sox. The Bulls will counter with Jesse Scholtens (3-4, 4.15).

The Woo Sox then play on Saturday at 4:05 and Sunday at 1:05. Numerous promotions remain during the final homestand, including opportunities to bring your children to play catch on the field and run the bases throughout the weekend. Get out there before summer comes to a close.

With this likely being the final Minor Lines of the year for me (Dean has you this weekend), I want to thank all of the readers at Over The Monster. It’s such a joy talking baseball with all of you. You can follow me on Twitter @BobOsgood15, and you can reach me at redseatpodcast@gmail.com throughout the postseason and offseason.