It started with the lumpiest no-hitter you’ll ever see, and ended with a rain delay.

Four baseball games in five days, up and down the Boston Red Sox system. That was the theme of a recent sprint from Maine to Virginia that I took with two friends I’ve known since college, Steve Van Dolman and Bob L’Heureux. It was Steve’s idea, and Bob and I didn’t hesitate to say yes when he proposed it in April. Take in a game Major League game in Boston, a Triple-A game in Worcester, a Double-A game in Portland and a Single-A game in Salem, Virginia. Boston’s High-A affiliate in Greenville, South Carolina, was a little too far off the path, unfortunately.

We looked at the schedules of each team, saw that the last full week of July would work, and started making plans. This trip was a chance to see where the Red Sox stand in the present, and catch a glimpse at the team’s potential. We drove approximately 1,700 miles.

Game 1: Portland Sea Dogs 6, New Hampshire Fisher Cats 2

My job leads me to Hadlock Field a lot in the summer, but rarely as a spectator. So as I watched the Sea Dogs’ bizarre no-hitter unfold, I watched with the eye of a journalist. What would I ask Wikelman Gonzalez, who was making his second start for Portland after a promotion from Greenville? He walked the first two New Hampshire hitters of the game, then set down 16 Fisher Cats in a row before another pair of walks in the sixth inning. Despite allowing no hits, Gonzalez, who struck out 10, and the Sea Dogs trailed 1-0 going to the bottom of the sixth.

Trevor Story made a rehab start for Portland at shortstop. Neither Marcelo Mayer nor Nick Yorke, the team’s top two prospects, played. The Sea Dogs rallied for six runs with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Brendan Cellucci threw two hitless innings in relief of Gonzalez, walking one. Luis Guerrero came on to pitch the ninth inning and walked two of the first three hitters, and threw a wild pitch. Guerrero got a sacrifice fly to right field, allowing the Fisher Cats to push across a second run, but a grounder to Chase Meidroth at short ended the game and preserved the ugly – seven walks and two runs allowed – no-hitter.

I’ve seen two no-hitters live (not counting one I played in as a high school junior, a 5-3 win in a no-no tossed by my teammate Charles McDonough, in which we booted the ball like soccer players behind our lefty ace and eked out the win). The other was Derek Lowe’s no-hitter for the Red Sox in 2002. L’Heureux was with me at both games.

Game 2: Salem Red Sox 6, Lynchburg Hillcats 1

Monday was a travel day as we drove from the Portland area to Salem, Virginia. On Tuesday, we explored Roanoke, the bigger city next to Salem. Roanoke is Portland surrounded by mountains. Chock full of local breweries, downtown Roanoke is the Old Port with a drawl. We tried three: Three Notch’d Brewing, Olde Salem Brewing and Golden Cactus Brewing. My favorite was Olde Salem, but that’s not a knock on the other two.

Salem Memorial Ballpark is where the University of Southern Maine baseball team won its second national championship in 1997. It’s 325 feet down both lines and 401 feet to dead center. A 20-foot high wall runs from foul pole to foul pole. It’s not a home-run killer of a wall. Salem’s Alexis Hernandez and Cutter Coffey each went deep as did Lynchburg’s Marc Filia.

We had our best seats of the trip in Salem, in the first row behind the Red Sox dugout. That gave me a chance to study the Red Sox, and make mental notes of who I expect we’ll see in Portland, perhaps as early as next season after they make their way through High-A Greenville first. Certainly Coffey, who played third base, and Hernandez, the right fielder. Shortstop Mikey Romero looked good, as did starting pitcher Gabriel Jackson, who allowed one run on five hits and a walk in five innings.

After Salem wins, they play “Dirty Water” by the Standells and “Shipping up to Boston” by the Dropkick Murphys. Even in Appalachia, so physically and metaphorically far from Boston, traditions must be upheld. They even played “Sweet Caroline” in the middle of the eighth inning. This is something we heard at each ballpark, and I’m told the Neil Diamond classic is played at High-A Greenville, too. I have to be honest here. I’m tired of the song. It’s not for me, but that’s OK. A majority of the fans love belting it out.

Olde Salem even makes a beer called Sweet Carolime, a Mexican lager, as a nod to the song that’s become a Red Sox staple at every level of the organization. I liked the beer better than the song.

Game 3: Boston Red Sox 5, Atlanta Braves 3

We left Salem around 7 a.m. Wednesday, and pulled into a parking garage a few blocks from Fenway Park around 6 p.m. I’ve sat just about everywhere in Fenway over the years, but this was my first time in the Pavilion seats high above the third-base line. The seats provided a great view not just of the ballpark, but the Boston skyline beyond the center-field bleachers.

We saw Brayan Bello continue his progress toward being the ace we are starting to believe he’ll become. Bello made one mistake, allowing a three-run home run to Ozzie Albies in the sixth, but was otherwise sharp. Home runs by Rafael Devers, Triston Casas and Adam Duvall, and a two-run double by Justin Turner provided the offense. Kenley Jansen pitched a shaky ninth inning, but got the save. We left Fenway thinking maybe this team was on the verge of becoming a wild-card contender.

We saw the Red Sox when they were at the height of their season-long grift, fooling us and themselves into thinking they’re contenders. The 5-3 win we saw over a strong Atlanta Braves ballclub was the fourth in a five-game win streak. As you know now, it was an illusion, and the Sox dropped seven of their next eight heading into this week’s series against the Kansas City Royals.

Game 4: Rochester Red Wings 6, Worcester Red Sox 5

Well, they couldn’t win them all. The last game of the trip was the only game lost by the Red Sox affiliate, when the Woo Sox bullpen couldn’t hold a one-run lead in the top of the ninth.

For much of the afternoon, we wondered if we’d get a game at all. Severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings were issued for Worcester. As we took a tour of Polar Park (well worth the $10 ticket, by the way. The new home of the Triple-A Sox is a palace), we kept an eye on the radar. Just after 5, it began to pour. Not a slow build up to rain, it was as if a shower was turned on above Worcester. No tornados, though, and the game started shortly before 8 p.m., a delay of just over an hour.

Polar Park’s concourse, where fans find concession stands, overlooks the field. Get a bite to eat and keep your eye on the game. Perfect.

We saw Ceddanne Rafaela do the kind of thing we grew accustomed to seeing when he played in Portland earlier this season and much of 2022. Stealing second base in the fourth inning, Rafaela went to third and home when the throw sailed into center field. We saw Bobby Dalbec blast a home run. It appears Dalbec is squeezed out of another opportunity in Boston, and probably deserves a shot to restart his career with a new team.

Polar Park is a short drive from southern Maine, and worth the trip. Salem is worth the longer drive. Find a pair of old friends to split the gas money with and go.

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