August 16, 2021 at 6:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Wu-Yelland bounces back; Davis and Dearden continue to mash
8/16 Cup of Coffee: Some of the hottest hitters in the system stayed that way on Sunday, with Devlin Granberg, Tyler Dearden, and Joe Davis all homering. Connor Seabold was effective for Worcester, though Ryan Brasier had another rocky rehab appearance. Kole Cottam (pictured) and Hudson Potts added home runs for Portland, while Nick Yorke saw his lengthy on-base streak come to an end. And after not being able to get through two innings on Tuesday, Jeremy Wu-Yelland was nearly unhittable on Sunday.
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The WooSox had only two hits as they were nearly blanked by the Mets. A solo home run from Jack López in the ninth prevented the shutout. Since coming back from the Olympics on August 11, López is hitting .333/.368/.778 over 18 at-bats, and he also stole two bases on Sunday. The only other hit was a single from Ryan Fitzgerald. Starter Connor Seabold went the first five innings and allowed two runs on three hits, walking one and striking out five. It was another rough outing for Ryan Brasier as he gave up three runs in his lone inning of work. He's up to eight runs allowed while recording only eight outs on his rehab stint.
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The Sea Dogs secured a series win with a 10-5 victory over Somerset. The Sea Dogs had five players record multi-hit games, led by Kole Cottam who went 3 for 4 with a home run, double, and three RBI. Devlin Granberg went 3 for 5 with a home run and a double, and Grant Williams went 3 for 5 with a stolen base. Hudson Potts added his ninth home run, and he now has an extra-base hit in three straight games.
Denyi Reyes gave up five runs on seven hits, but did strike out seven and walked only one in 3 1/3 innings. The bullpen was dominant from there, as Enmanuel De Jesus limited the Patriots to one hit in 3 2/3, and Joan Martinez struck out five and did not allow a baserunner over two innings.
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The Drive launched three home runs, including one each from Tyler Dearden and Joe Davis. This season, Dearden and Davis now have 17 total home runs, which ties them with Tyreque Reed for the most in the system. Jaxx Groshans also homered, and Nick Sogard went 3 for 5 with a double and a stolen base. Dylan Spacke allowed one run over the first three innings, Jacob Wallace struck out two in a scoreless inning, and Yorvin Pantoja struck out five over two scoreless innings. So far in August, Spacke has surrendered just one run and struck out 14 in 9 2/3 innings.
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Five shutout innings from Jeremy Wu-Yelland was not enough as Salem fell to Fredericksburg. Wu-Yelland rebounded from his tough start on Tuesday to strike out five and allow just one hit as his ERA dipped back below 4.00. Miguel Suero took the loss, as he was roughed up for three runs in two innings. Nick Yorke saw his 41-game on-base streak end as he went 0 for 4. Ceddanne Rafaela had two of Salem's five hits as he went 2 for 3 with a double.
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Player of the Day: Kole Cottam has shown improvement each season, and he currently has the highest OPS of any full-time catcher in the Red Sox system. The 24-year-old was drafted in the fourth round in 2018 out of the University of Kentucky, and over 56 games this season he is hitting .288/.385/.497. He now has seven home runs, which is just shy of his career high of eight in 2019.
Photo Credit: Kole Cottam by Kelly O'Connor