July 23, 2021 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Munoz lifts Worcester to a win
7/23 Cup of Coffee: There was a good amount of offense last night, as Yairo Munoz, Kole Cottam (pictured), and Will Dalton had huge games for Worcester and Greenville, respectively. Portland dropped a tough one despite a great outing for Frank German, while Matthew Kent and Bradley Blalock were solid for Worcester and Salem. The DSL Sox Blue team was also on fire with the bats, scoring 17 runs.
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Yairo Munoz' huge game propelled the Sox to a win in this one. The leadoff hitter went 3 for 5 with a double, his fifth home run, and three runs scored. Chris Hermann also belted a two-run shot, his sixth of the year. Josh Ockimey added a pair of hits as well. Matthew Kent was solid, surrendering two runs in five innings with four strikeouts, two walks, and five hits allowed. Jose Adames and Kaleb Ort each tossed a scoreless frame to close it out, with Ort picking up save number 10.
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Frank German started off a great night for the pitching staff with five shutout innings with two strikeouts and no walks. Victor Santos followed with three scoreless frames of his own before allowing the leadoff runner on in the ninth, who eventually came around to score the winning run. The Portland offense was silenced outside of a double by Hudson Potts and a 2-for-3 game from Pedro Castellanos.
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It was a wild back-and-forth game, but the Drive fell short despite 13 hits and two home runs. Kole Cottam had a huge game, going 3 for 4 with a triple, a home run, and a walk. Wil Dalton drove in five runs, including a three-run shot, an RBI single, and an RBI walk. Christian Koss went 2 for 5 with a triple, Tyler Dearden went 2 for 4 with a double and two runs, and Nick Sogard went 3 for 5 with a double and two runs. The pitching staff struggled mightily last night, as Chris Murphy gave up three runs in the first 2 2/3 innings on four walks and four hits, but he did strike out five. The lone bright spot was Brendan Nail, who tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts and no walks.
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A single run in each of the first three innings for Salem proved to be enough. The runs were scored on sacrifice flies by Stephen Scott and Nick Northcut, as well as an RBI by Antoni Flores after reaching on an error. Nick Decker also had a double, Ceddanne Rafaela had a triple, and Matthew Lugo reached three times with a single and a pair of walks. Bradley Blalock allowed two runs in five innings of work with three strikeouts and one walk. Jordan DiValerio was great out of the pen, tossing three scoreless innings with two strikeouts and no walks. Casey Cobb finished it off with a clean ninth.
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FCL Red Sox @ FCL Pirates (PIT); Cancelled
The Sox and Pirates were cancelled yesterday due to rain.
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The Sox cranked out 20 hits in this one, led by Alex Zapete, who went 4 for 6 with a double and three runs. Catcher Diego Viloria also had a huge game, going 3 for 5 with a pair of triples and five knocked in. Alixandri Alvarez added three hits and a double of his own, Diego Rodriguez had a double and three RBI, and Alexis Hernandez doubled twice. Jean Carlos Reyes pitched well, going the first three without allowing a run with three strikeouts. Carlos Reyes and Faysel Gregorio each fanned three as well in two innings each, and Robinson Parra pitched a scoreless ninth.
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Albertson Asigen hit a clutch game-tying home run in the ninth inning as part of his 1-for-5 day at the plate. Kelvin Diaz also had a clutch hit, hitting a game-tying RBI double in the 10th. Enderso Lira added a pair of hits including a double. Starlin Santos was fantastic, tossing four perfect innings with six strikeouts to begin the game. Frailyn Sanchez followed him with two hitless innings of his own with two strikeouts. Jesus Rosillo struck out two in his 2 1/3 innings of work without allowing an earned run, and Efren Diaz got the win by pitching both extra-inning frames without allowing an earned run.
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Player of the Day: Kole Cottom's big night bumped his season slash line up to .281/.393/.500. The 24-year old catcher has 19 extra-base hits for Greenville this year. He is having a massive month of July, hitting .395/.465/.658 in 10 games.
Photo Credit: Kole Cottam by Kelly O'Connor