August 20, 2021 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Jordan homers in Salem debut
8/20 Cup of Coffee: The bats were alive for Salem, as they belted three home runs, including one off the bat of Blaze Jordan, who was making his first appearance for Salem. Connor Wong (pictured) had a huge hit in Worcester's win in their first game, but the second one didn't turn out as well, getting no-hit. Shane Drohan also pitched a very nice game for Salem.
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Daniel Gossett started this one off well for Worcester, firing two shutout innings with three strikeouts and no free passes. Ryan Brasier followed with a clean inning that included one strikeout. Stephen Gonsalves had a mixed bag in his three innings, allowing three runs, but also striking out six batters. Kaleb Ort picked up save number 13 with a scoreless seventh. Connor Wong had the big blow on offense, roping a three-run double in the third. The catcher also added a single. Joey Meneses and Josh Ockimey also added doubles. In his second rehab game, Christian Arroyo played second base and went 0 for 2 with a walk.
The Sox were no-hit in game two by RailRiders right-hander Sean Boyle. The only two baserunners came from a walk by Franchy Cordero and a hit-by-pitch from Jeremy Rivera. Seth Blair had his issues hitting batters, as he plunked four RailRider hitters in just three innings while allowing two runs. On the bright side, he struck out four and did not walk anybody. Yacksel Rios struck out four in two innings while giving up one run, and Austin Brice allowed two runs in two innings with three strikeouts.
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Binghamton Rumble Ponies (NYM) @ Portland Sea Dogs, PPD (rain)
This game was washed out and will be played as part of a doubleheader on Saturday.
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Greenville Drive @ Rome Braves (ATL), PPD (rain)
This game was rained out and will be played tonight as part of a doubleheader.
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In his first game with Salem, 13th ranked prospect Blaze Jordan went deep as part of a 1-for-4 game. Gilberto Jimenez continued his fantastic season, reaching base three times with a triple, a single, and a hit-by-pitch. The triple was his sixth of the season and third in two days. Ceddanne Rafaela blasted his eighth home run of the year, and Jonathan Diaz went 1 for 3 with a three-run shot. Shane Drohan pitched very well, not allowing a run to score over five innings. He struck out four and did not issue a free pass. Yasel Santana struck out four in two innings despite allowing a pair of runs, and Robert Kwiatkowski closed it out with two scoreless frames with two punchouts.
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It was a rough day for the offense, as they mustered just five hits. Brainer Bonaci went 1 for 3 with his 11th double and a walk. Nathan Hickey also went 1 for 3, taking the first walk of his professional career. Gabriel Jackson started on the mound and pitched very well, tossing four shutout innings, allowing just two hits and no walks while striking out three. Gregori Segovia also lowered his ERA to 1.08 in 8 1/3 innings this year, allowing just an unearned run in his lone innings with two strikeouts.
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Johnfrank Salazar belted a solo home run in the eighth inning, proving to be the difference in this one. It was his second long ball of the year, boosting his season OPS to .870 in 23 games. Lyonell James went 2 for 4 with an RBI, and Jhostynxon Garcia and Juan Chacon each went 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. Jedixon Paez allowed one run over the first four innings, striking out three and allowing two walks. Henry Morales picked up the win, throwing two hitless frames with one strikeout and one walk. Royman Blanco grabbed a three-inning save, surrendering one run and striking out three.
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DSL Red Sox Red @ DSL Athletics (OAK), PPD (rain)
Yet another game was rained out with a makeup date unknown.
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Player of the Day: Left-hander Shane Drohan bounced back after a very rough outing last time out. The 2020 fifth round selection has been very good of late outside of that last outing, as he has gone five innings and allowed one or fewer runs in four of his past five starts. He has a 4.04 ERA this season, but without the horrible start last time, it is 3.42.
Photo Credit: Connor Wong by Kelly O'Connor