August 12, 2022 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Miller hits grand slam, finishes triple shy of cycle; Rafaela homers
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It was an interesting night on the mound for Chris Murphy. Making his eighth start for Worcester, the left-hander allowed four earned runs on five hits, five walks, one hit batsman, and five strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings. All four of those Scranton runs came in the second inning. Murphy did face the minimum on four separate occasions, though. In relief of Murphy, James Norwood recorded the final out of the seventh while Jeurys Familia -- who was recently signed to a minor-league deal -- struck out the side in his organizational debut.
Worcester's lone run came on a solo blast from Abraham Almonte in the seventh inning. It was Almonte's 15th home run of the season and fourth since he was acquired from the Brewers late last month. Besides that, Triston Casas accounted for Worcester's only other hit with a seventh-inning double that came immediately after Almonte's homer.
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A five-run eighth inning lifted Portland to its third straight win at Hadlock Field on Thursday afternoon. Ceddanne Rafaela got the scoring started for the Sea Dogs in the third inning by crushing his 18th home run of the season as part of a 2 for 4 day at the plate. Elih Marrero, who drove in the winning run in the eighth, and Christian Koss also enjoyed multi-hit games. Izzy Wilson and Tyler Dearden both doubled in the come-from-behind victory while Wilyer Abreu and Wil Dalton collected RBIs as well.
Brian Van Belle put together a quality start for Portland. The University of Miami product allowed three earned runs on six hits, zero walks, one hit batsman, and four strikeouts over six innings of work. All three runs he gave up came within the first two innings, so the righty wound up retiring 12 of the final 15 batters he faced. In relief of Van Belle, Rio Gomez tossed a scoreless seventh inning before surrendering a two-run double in the top of the eighth. Despite giving up two hits and plunking a batter, Michael Gettys managed to keep Richmond off the board in the ninth to preserve the win and pick up his second professional save.
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Greenville was no-hit by Hickory at Fluor Field on Thursday night. Marcelo Mayer, Niko Kavadas, and Tyler McDonough were the only three Drive hitters to reach base as the trio of 2021 draftees each drew one walk. On the mound, Wyatt Olds made his 20th start of the season for Greenville and allowed two runs on five hits, three walks, and five punchouts over 3 2/3 innings. Forty-eight of the 85 pitches the right-hander threw went for strikes. Out of the bullpen, Jordan DiValerio tossed three innings of one-run ball while Maceo Campbell also yielded one run over two frames.
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Three members of Salem's lineup enjoyed three-hit games on Thursday. Three more enjoyed two-hit nights. In terms of run production, Tyler Miller led the pack by going 3 for 5 with five RBIs and one run scored. He hit his 11th home run of the season -- a bases-clearing grand slam -- in the second inning. Eddinson Paulino went 3 for 6 with an RBI and two runs scored and Yorberto Mejicano went 3 or 5 with an RBI. Deuces were wild for Kier Meredith, who registered two hits, two walks, two RBIs, and two runs scored out of the leadoff spot. Johnfrank Salazar went 2 for 4 with a walk and two runs scored in his second game at the Low-A level while UConn product Matt Donlan picked up the first two hits of his professional career.
Juan Daniel Encarnacion got the start for Salem and surrendered just one unearned run on three hits, zero walks, and five strikeouts over five scoreless frames. Bryan Lucas impressed out of the bullpen by tossing three scoreless innings while Graham Hoffman retired the side in order in the ninth to wrap up a blowout win.
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Jedixson Paez made his eighth start of the season for the FCL squad and yielded just one hit and no walks to go along with five strikeouts over five scoreless frames. The Venezuelan-born right-hander flirted with a perfect game through four innings before giving up a two-out double in the bottom of the fifth. His ERA on the year now sits at 2.70. Railin Perez followed Paez by spinning four innings of one-run ball in which he struck out seven and walked none to earn his fourth save of the season.
Lyonell James led the way offensively by going 2 for 4 with a run scored. Roman Anthony and Danny Santana each drove in runs while Miguel Bleis stole his 18th base of the season. Out of the nine-hole, Luis Ravelo drew three walks and scored two runs while playing both middle infield positions.
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The Red squad managed to hold off the Royals' Stewart affiliate in 10 innings on Thursday. Johanfran Garcia, Yohander Linarez, and Franyer Noria all had two hits while reaching base a total of nine times. As a pinch-hitter, Frank Astacio came off the bench in the 10th inning and delivered with a two-run single. Eybersson Polanco made his ninth start of the season and gave up two runs on five hits, zero walks, and four strikeouts.
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It was a productive day at the plate for Fraymi De Leon, who went 3 for 5 with a run and stolen base out of the leadoff spot. Marvin Alcantara also swiped a bag while 17-year-old catcher Anger Romero reached base three times on two singles and a walk. Cristian Nunez, Thursday's starter, and reliever Henry Morales combined to record 12 strikeouts over seven solid innings.
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Player of the Day: Finishing a triple shy of the cycle, Tyler Miller put together one of the better performances of his young career on Thursday night. While the 2022 season has mostly been a tough one for the 22-year-old out of Auburn, he is now batting .257 with 10 RBIs through his first 10 games of August after driving in a grand total of 10 runs in 22 games last month.
Photo Credit: Tyler Miller by Kelly O'Connor