July 25, 2021 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Reed walks it off for Portland; Winckowski goes seven strong
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Worcester scored three runs in the top of the first, courtesy of a three-run homer by Josh Ockimey, but the home side crossed the plate eight of the next 10 times on its way to victory in Game 1 of the doubleheader. Jeremy Rivera was a perfect 3 for 3 at the plate, adding a walk as well, while Michael Gettys and Jonathan Arauz, as well as Ockimey, added a pair of knocks. Raynel Espinal was allowed to work through a five-run second inning, but was lifted after three of the first hitters reached in the third, including back-to-back home runs to begin proceedings in the frame. Brandon Brennan fared much better, scattering three hits over 2 2/3 shutout innings. Kaleb Ort handled the sixth and surrendered a pair of runs.
Worcester got the tying run to the plate in the seventh but could not force extra innings and was swept in the doubleheader. Yairo Munoz was the star of the show offensively, notching three of Worcester's six hits, while Jonathan Arauz hit his sixth home run of the year, a two-run shot in the fourth. Lehigh Valley scored five in the first inning, all off of John Schreiber, who settled down afterwards to throw three innings. His final line included five runs on seven hits, while he did not walk a batter and struck out four. Marcus Walden handled the final three, scattering three hits and an unearned run. Walden also recorded one punch out.
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The Sea Dogs saved it all for the end, trailing 2-1 headed into the seventh inning stretch, before a three-run seventh gave the hosts the lead. However, Harrisburg responded with two in the ninth, a score that Portland was able to match with a Tyreque Reed home run, his first in a Portland uniform, to walk it off. It was two of Reed's three RBI on the day, as he broke the ice for Portland with a double in the sixth to plate a run. Josh Winckowski shined, pitching seven two-run innings. He scattered a pair of hits and walked just one hitter. Joan Martinez threw a clean eighth before Zack Kelly got into trouble with traffic on the bases, allowing a two-run double to set up Reed's heroics. Devlin Granberg, who singled to lead off the ninth and represented the winning run, as well as Tanner Nishioka, had two hits on the day.
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Greenville, along with DSL Red Sox Blue, were shut out on Saturday. The Drive mustered only five hits, two of which came from Cameron Cannon. Yusniel Padron-Artiles pitched well in his start, striking out eight across six innings of two-run ball. He would allow five hits and walk one batter. However, Jacob Wallace struggled on the mound in the seventh. He faced five batters, all of which reached, four of which scored. Oddanier Mosqueda pitched two innings, while Brandon Cellucci handled the ninth without issue.
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It was not pretty in Salem on Saturday night. Red Sox pitching gave up 18 runs and 23 hits, including a disastrous eight-run first inning. Chih-Jung Liu was only able to get two outs and the entire first inning went on his tab. The eight runs came on seven hits and a walk and each of the final five hitters he faced reached base. Casey Cobb, who replaced him, was able to get through the second and third without incident, but was charged with four runs in the fourth and did not record an out in the inning. Alexander Montero served up another-four spot in the fifth and by then, the game was out of reach. Alex Erro led the way offensively, drilling three hits. Ceddanne Rafaela, who hit a home run, as well as Antoni Flores, also had multi-hit outings.
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The Twins scored four in the ninth, but it was not enough to complete a comeback. The Red Sox had just eight hits, including two each from Blaze Jordan and Eddinson Paulino, but they took advantage of three Twins errors to keep pressure on the base paths all afternoon. Juan Daniel Encarnacion started and threw well, delivering five innings of four-hit, shutout ball. He also struck out five batters against one walk. Reidis Sena, Jose Disla and Maceo Campbell each threw shutout frames to hand it to Merfy Andrew in the ninth. He struggled with his control, walking three hitters, setting up a grand slam with two outs. However, he was able to induce a ground ball from the next batter to end the game.
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In a game that was scoreless through five, Red was able to prevail, scratching a run across in each of the sixth and seventh. Not a single player had multiple hits as the two sides combined for just 11 hits, just two of which were for extra bases, in the shortened game. Not a single DSL game made it nine innings Saturday. Jose Ramirez and Yizreel Burnet earned the starts for Red and Blue, respectively, and had strong outings. Ramirez went four innings to Burnet's three, but had significantly more traffic, giving up five hits and a walk, compared with one hit and zero walks. Railin Perez (two innings), Cesar Soto (two innings) and Luis Talavera (one inning) each turned in scoreless outings, as well.
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Player of the Day: A walk-off home run is tough to beat. Tyreque Reed picked a great time to hit his first home run for Portland after earning his promotion July 16. The deep drive helped the Sea Dogs win their 18th game in its last 19 completed contests. While it is just a 26 at-bat sample size, Reed is slashing .346/.406/.615 since his promotion, sliding nicely in the middle of the Portland order while Triston Casas is with the Olympic team. Reed's slash line for the year is .302/.405/.590.
Photo Credit: Tyreque Reed by Jerry Coli