9/7 Cup of Coffee: After dodging various rounds of weather, some games were played across the affiliates on Saturday. In Portland,
Miguel Bleis had a productive outing despite a quiet night from the rest of the Sea Dogs' bats.
Yhoiker Fajardo took the mound in Salem looking to continue his stellar season, and
Henry Godbout continued his strong play in Greenville after a four-hour rain delay.
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Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (NYY) vs. Worcester Red Sox (PPD)
This game was washed out due to inclement weather. It will be made up as part of a doubleheader Sunday, with the first game beginning at 1:05 p.m.
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The Portland offense managed a single hit, which came off the bat of Miguel Bleis, through the first eight innings of the game before scoring three in the bottom of the ninth. Entering the final frame down 8-0, a walk and single began the inning before Bleis doubled home Ahbram Liendo for Portland's first run of the game. The very next hitter, Drew Ehrhard, reached on a fielding error that allowed Marvin Alcantara and Bleis to score for the final runs of the contest. Along with Bleis' two hits, the outfielder also swiped his seventh base of the season.
On the mound, Caleb Bolden went five innings, allowing five runs (four earned) with seven hits, two walks and four strikeouts while taking the loss. Yovanny Cruz pitched three scoreless innings in relief before Jonathan Brand struggled in the ninth inning with three earned runs of his own thanks to three hits and a walk.
With the loss, Portland fell to 4.5 games back of Somerset for the Eastern League Northeast Division's second-half playoff spot with seven games to play.
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After rain pushed the start of the game until after 9 p.m. local time, the back-and-forth game saw Greenville fall short amid a pivotal playoff push. After falling behind 1-0 after one, the Drive took a 2-1 lead thanks to a two-run homer off the bat of Nazzan Zanetello, his sixth of the season. After runs in each of the third and fourth by Winston-Salem, Greenville fought back and tied it in the seventh inning. Down to its final out, Henry Godbout singled home Zanetello, who led off the inning with a single. In the bottom half of the frame, Joe Vogatsky allowed the winning run to score on a single.
Zanetello's home run was part of a 2-for-3 night with a pair of RBIs. Godbout continued his hot start to professional baseball with two hits of his own, an RBI and a stolen base. Shea Sprauge started for Greenville and pitched the first 3 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits with four walks and two strikeouts. Erik Rivera followed and did not allow a run while recording four outs despite walking three. He also struck out two. Vogatsky pitched the final 1 1/3 frames before taking the loss.
The loss puts Greenville 1/2 games behind Hub City for the second-half title in the South Atlantic League South Division. The Drive will need to sweep their doubleheader with Winston-Salem today and hope for a Spartanburgers loss in order to make the playoffs.
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Yhoiker Fajardo cruised through the first two frames but struggled with command in his latest start. While walking four in his three innings of work, Fajardo also allowed a pair of hits, four runs (two earned) and six strikeouts. Joey Gartrell followed and pitched the next three innings, allowing a run on two hits with two walks and two strikeouts added to his line. Wuilliams Rodriguez struggled in his two innings as he surrendered four runs thanks to five hits and three walks, and Calvin Bickerstaff closed it out after pitching the ninth.
The offensive explosion by Salem was led by multi-hit outings from Skylar King, Jack Winnay, Enddy Azocar, Kleyver Salazar, and Caleb Berry. King and Berry each drove in three on the evening, Winnay plated a pair of his own and Salazar added his 36th RBI of the year.
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Player of the Day: With a few weeks of pro ball under his belt,
Skylar King made an impact in Salem's victory on Saturday. The outfielder went 2 for 5 with a run scored and three runs driven in to raise his slashline to .256/.354/.384 across 24 games. Boston's 15th-round pick in this summer's draft is currently unranked in SoxProspects' Top 60.
Photo Credit: Miguel Bleis by Kelly O'Connor
