June 23, 2021 at 6:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Chavis homers twice; Downs notches four hits
6/22 Cup of Coffee: Michael Chavis's (pictured) torrid June rolled on as he combined with Jeter Downs and Jonathan Araúz to lead the Worcester attack. One of the few players who can rival Chavis right now is Brandon Howlett who went deep again for Greenville. In Salem, Nick Yorke had a walk-off single and Matthew Lugo was on base five times.
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The WooSox continue to score runs in bunches as they put up a 10-spot on the Red Wings. Michael Chavis led the offense as he hit two home runs and added a single and a walk. Jeter Downs went 4 for 5 with a stolen base as his average has crept up to .250, and Jonathan Araúz went 2 for 5 with a three-run home run. Daniel Gossett got the start but could not make it through the fourth inning as he allowed four runs in 3 2/3 innings. Kevin McCarthy was lights out in relief striking out four in two hitless innings.
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Somerset Patriots (NYY) @ Portland Sea Dogs, PPD (rain)
Tuesday's game was postponed due to rain and will be made up on Wednesday as part of a doubleheader.
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A strong start from Brian Van Belle was erased by a couple poor performances out of the bullpen as the Drive dropped the first game of the series. Van Belle allowed only one run in five innings, walking two and striking out six. The game was tied going into the seventh, but the Grasshoppers got to Jacob Wallace and Yorvin Pantoja for four runs apiece. Greenville had only five hits, with one being a solo home from Brandon Howlett. The home run was his sixth already in June as he continues to be one of the hottest hitters in Boston's farm system.
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Five starters had multi-hit nights, led by Matthew Lugo who went 3 for 4 with two walks and a stolen base. Nick Yorke was the hero as he hit a walk-off single in the 11th as part of a 3-for-6 night, and Nicholas Northcut hit his third home run of the year. Ryan Zeferjahn gave up four runs in his 4 1/3 innings and Jacinto Arredondo took a blown save after the Hillcats got to him for two runs in the top of the ninth to tie the game. The win went to Ryan Fernandez who fired two scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
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Player of the Day: Michael Chavis was the SoxProspects.com Player of the Week two weeks ago and is the early front runner for the honors this week. Chavis went 3 for 4 with two home runs and a walk in another Worcester slugfest. Chavis is now hitting .333/.382/.650 in June with six home runs and a strikeout rate right around 20 percent. Similar to Franchy Cordero, Chavis is not letting his struggles at the major league level affect his performance in Triple-A, and if he keeps hitting like this he will force an opportunity for himself soon.
Photo Credit: Michael Chavis by Kelly O'Connor