September 12, 2021 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Rivera walks off Worcester, Salem scores 11 in the ninth
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Worcester drilled three home runs in the opener of the doubleheader, one each from Franchy Cordero, Joey Meneses and Josh Ockimey, whose deep fly was of the two-run variety. Cordero and Meneses each also had a base knock to make it two hits. The starter was Kyle Hart, who struggled in his outing. He allowed six runs on nine hits across four innings. Colten Brewer didn't fare much better, as two runs came across on his two-inning watch. Brandon Brennan pitched the final frame, doing so without permitting a baserunner to reach safely.
It was Worcester with the close win in Game 2 of the twin bill, as four Red Sox had multiple hits, including Jeremy Rivera, who was 3 for 4 with a home run. Taylor Motter and Franchy Cordero added two hits as well. Worcester went for a bulk approach, as Matt Kent and John Schreiber each pitched three innings. Kent surrendered a pair of runs on two hits and recorded two strikeouts. Schreiber fared better, despite more traffic, as he gave up four runs and a walk but did not allow a run. However, Austin Brice had a tough outing as he allowed two runs across the seventh inning before Rivera walked it off with a single.
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Ryan Fitzgerald led the way offensively with a 3-for-4 day, including a solo home run, leading Portland to the win. Cameron Cannon and Ronaldo Hernandez also had a multi-hit outing. Despite allowing five runs, Brayan Bello earned the win in his five-inning start. He struck out six batters and surrendered seven hits. The rest of the bullpen combined to shut out the Rumble Ponies, as Zach Schellenger, Dominic LoBrutto, Jake Thompson, Rio Gomez, and Frank German combined for four shutout innings. Thompson did not record an out, instead walking all three batters he faced, but Gomez put out the fire in the eighth.
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Greenville scored a pair of runs in the eighth and ninth to come away with the win. Eight Drive hitters recorded a hit, including two each from Tyler Dearden, Brandon Howlett, Joe Davis, and Christian Koss. Three Greenville hitters each drilled a home run, including Howlett, Stephen Scott and Nick Yorke. Yusniel Padron-Artiles pitched the first three innings and gave up four hits and walks each, allowing two runs to score. He was followed by a three-run outing form Casey Cobb, who gave up one run on three hits. He had one walk against six strikeouts. The save belonged to Zach Bryant, who finished the game with 1 1/3 shutout frames.
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Salem had enough runs for one series in just one inning, pushing 11 runs across the plate in the ninth to extend a four-run lead to an impressive 15 in the win. Sixteen hitters arrived at the plate, eight of which recorded a hit, including a three-run home run from Nicholas Northcut, who was 3 for 4 on the day and was one of two players to record a deep fly, as Tyler Miller had the other. Miller was one of two Salem hitters to reach four hits, including Matthew Lugo. Each starter recorded at least one hit, including six multi-hit outings. Wilkelman Gonzalez surrendered five hits and two walks across five innings of work in his start, but he did not permit a run to score. He was followed by Jordan DiValerio, who was responsible for both runs. He contributed three innings, with four hits and a pair of punch outs. Devon Roedahl closed the game out, pitching two no-hit innings.
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The Red Sox were three-hit in a seven-inning contest, which was the regularly scheduled game on Saturday. The FCL team had no extra-base hits. A rehabbing Ryan Zeferjahn handled the first four innings, surrendering only an unearned run. He scattered three hits and struck out six hitters, as well. The game was tied headed into the bottom of the sixth, but Blake Loubier had a tough frame, allowing all three runs that went on his tab.
The Red Sox were able to get revenge in the completion of a suspended game from August 28. Marcelo Mayer led the way with two of his team's five hits. The team's first-round selection in July also had both RBI, one on a double in the third, while he broke the tie in the eighth with a single. Juan Daniel Encarnacion started the game, pitching 4 1/3 innings. While he walked two, just three hits and one run went on his ledger, with six punch outs mixed in, as well. He was followed by Cole Milam, who contributed 2 2/3 no-hit innings, though he did walk a pair of Twins. Gabriel Jackson closed it out, throwing a clean eighth.
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Blue had only six hits and five walks, but took advantage of four errors by Red to win handily on Saturday. Jhostynxon Garcia and Johnfrank Salazar had a pair of knocks each, with the former hitting a two-run homer in the third. Salazar also had two RBI, delivering a single as part of a six-run sixth. Frank Astacio was the offensive highlight for Red, going 3 for 3 with a double, registering 60 percent of his squad's hits. Jedixson Paez had the standout performance on the mound, throwing three shutout innings for Blue, with two hits and a walk against a pair of strikeouts. Carlos Reyes also did not allow a run across the fourth inning for Blue, while Jesus Rosillo pitched a shutout seventh for Red to close the game.
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Player of the Day: The organization's ninth-round pick in July's draft, Tyler Miller was an important part of a huge game for Salem, as the Red Sox had 20 hits, eight of which were in the ninth inning as part of an 11-run frame. Miller skipped the FCL and has impressed through his first season in the organization, slashing .319/.410/.528 across 83 plate appearances for Salem. Miller also had three extra-base hits, including his second professional home run, on Saturday.
Photo Credit: Tyler Miller by Bryan Green