June 20, 2022 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Jordan belts two home runs; Seabold leads Worcester
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Another stellar start from Connor Seabold led Worcester to victory. Seabold allowed one run on six hits over six innings, walking one and striking out four. Since returning from the injured list earlier this month, Seabold has allowed just one run over 14 innings, with 12 strikeouts. Eduard Bazardo and Frank German each tossed a scoreless inning, and Kaleb Ort came on to strand the tying run at third for the save.
A three-run home run from Ryan Fitzgerald was the big hit, as he launched his 12th of the year. Ronaldo Hernández and Yolmer Sánchez had a single and a double, and Devlin Granberg went 1 for 3 and was hit by a pitch. Sánchez now has a five-game hitting streak in which he is 8 for 15.
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A 17-hit flurry was led by Tyreque Reed, who went 4 for 5 with a home run and a double. Ceddanne Rafaela kept pace with Reed, going 2 for 3 with a double and a triple, but was ejected in the fourth inning. Christian Koss walked twice and went 2 for 4 with a double, and Kole Cottam went 3 for 5. All 10 batters for Portland notched at least one hit. Rio Gomez made his first appearance as an opener, throwing a scoreless inning. Chris Murphy acted as the bulk reliever, allowing three runs in five innings while striking out five.
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In one of his better outings, Wyatt Olds held the Crawdads to one run over 5 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out six. Brendan Cellucci got five outs without allowing a run, and Cody Scroggins earned the save. Alex Binelas and Nick Decker were all the offense the Drive needed, as each hit solo home runs, and Binelas drove in Greenville's third run on a ground out. Matthew Lugo, Tyler McDonough, and Nicholas Northcut all added doubles, with McDonough also contributing a steal.
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A back-and-forth affair with Delmarva ended with a walk-off single from Nathan Hickey. A day after blasting two home runs, Hickey went 3 for 4 with two doubles, two walks, and five RBI. It was Blaze Jordan's turn to hit two home runs on Sunday, as he hit his fifth and sixth of the year. Niko Kavadas continued to be one of the more difficult outs in the minors recently, as he went 2 for 3 with two doubles and two walks. Eddinson Paulino went 3 for 5 with a triple and a walk, and Brainer Bonaci went 1 for 4 with two walks and two stolen bases.
It was a rough day for the pitching staff, as Wikelman Gonzalez allowed five runs on seven hits over 3 2/3. He walked multiple batters for the fifth straight start. The most impressive performance came from Maceo Campbell, who struck out three in his lone inning.
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Player of the Day: Blaze Jordan went 3 for 5 with two home runs and four RBI in Salem's high-scoring win. Jordan's average is up to .291, and his OPS is now .810. Jordan is almost two years younger than the average player in the Carolina League, but his OPS is almost 15 percent higher than the league average. A .291/.343/.467 triple slash and a strikeout rate of 17.3 percent are impressive numbers for a 19-year-old playing his home games in Salem, and Jordan seems to be heating up with the weather.
Photo Credit: Blaze Jordan by Kelly O'Connor