June 6, 2021 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Offenses struggle, Granberg homers in Greenville back-and-forth win
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Rochester posted eight runs in the first inning against Kevin McCarthy and it did not get better from there, as the visitors followed that up with three and six runs in the second and third innings, respectively, on their way to a dominant win. Worcester scored its only run on a Yairo Munoz home run in the sixth inning. He was one of three Red Sox hitters with two-hit outings, joining Jeter Downs and Marcus Wilson. Matt Hall replaced McCarthy and did not fare much better, allowing seven runs to cross the plate in 1 1/3 innings, though only four of them were earned. Tate Matheny made his debut on the mound, delivering a scoreless ninth.
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It was a little closer in Portland, but the result was the same, as the Red Sox affiliate fell with a tough offensive performance. The Sea Dogs' offense only generated three hits with only one walk as the Senators' pitching staff kept traffic off the bases all evening. Jeisson Rosario did notch a double, but nobody could bring him in. Denyi Reyes put his team in a position to win, allowing three runs on seven hits across five innings of work. He added seven strikeouts as well. Tyler Olson (1 1/3 innings), Durbin Feltman (2/3 inning) and Dominic LoBrutto (1 inning) completed the game, with Olson and LoBrutto surrendering just a hit each.
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It was a back-and-forth contest throughout, with each team trading runs throughout the contest. However, Greenville's patience paid off in the eighth, as the Drive worked three consecutive walks in the bottom half of the inning to give their team the lead. Devlin Granberg (who homered), Kole Cottam, and Christian Koss each had multi-hit outings for Greenville. Chris Murphy was on the mound, delivering five two-run innings. He surrendered four hits to go along with four strikeouts. He was followed by Yasel Santana, who contributed two shutout innings.
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Futile offenses were the theme of the evening, as Salem was only able to rack up five hits in its defeat Saturday. Joe Davis, who is up to a .342 batting average on the year, had two base knocks, as did Stephen Scott. Davis drove in the lone run on an RBI double in the sixth. Bradley Blalock earned the start and surrendered three runs on six hits in his two-inning outing. However, his defense did not help him out, as only one of those runs were earned. Salem committed three errors throughout the game, two of which were by Matthew Lugo. He was followed up by Jacinto Arredondo, who scattered a single hit over two innings of work, striking out three hitters in the process. The bulk of the pitching was done by Jorge Rodriguez, who allowed the final two runs to cross the plate in his four-inning relief stint.
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Player of the Day: In a day without much offensive fireworks or stand-out pitching performances, a home run was enough to earn player of the day honors. Yairo Munoz had the only offense for Worcester, drilling a solo home run in the sixth inning of what would turn out to be a drubbing at Polar Park. The 26-year-old now has a four-game hitting streak and has raised his batting average 25 points in that time, with his season line climbing to .250/.275/.474.
Photo Credit: Yairo Munoz by Kelly O'Connor