April 13, 2023 at 11:24 AM
Cup of Coffee: Hamilton homers again, Sikes accounts for all 3 of Portland's hits
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Bryan Mata was erratic in his second start of the season for Worcester. The 23-year-old right-hander allowed four earned runs on four hits, three walks, and four hit batsmen to go along with two strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings of work. He plunked four of the last five batters he faced in the top of the fourth and finished with 81 pitches (45 strikes). Out of the WooSox bullpen, Jake Faria got tagged for three runs on two hits while Cam Booser surrendered one run on four hits. Left-hander Ryan Sherriff put up a zero in the top of the eighth before Andrew Politi gave up a two-run double to Richie Palacios in the ninth.
Offensively, Worcester got on the board first courtesy of an RBI groundout from Caleb Hamilton and an RBI double from Nick Sogard in the bottom of the second. An inning later, David Hamilton took Columbus starter Konnor Pilkington deep to right field for his third home run of the season. In the sixth Jorge Alfaro tacked on another run with a sacrifice fly before Enmanuel Valdez drove in Jarren Duran on an RBI double. Alfaro, Valdez, and Sogard each had two hits. Duran drew three walks out of the leadoff spot.
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Sterling Sharp impressed in his season debut for the Sea Dogs. The 27-year-old righty allowed just one run on three hits, no walks, and four strikeouts over six quality innings. After giving up a one-out home run to Zach Britton in the bottom of the first, he retired 16 of the last 18 batters he faced. Of the 69 pitches he threw, 46 went for strikes. In relief of Sharp, Jacob Webb worked a scoreless seventh inning before giving up a go-ahead, two-run homer to Steward Berroa in the bottom of the eighth. Theo Denlinger would have to come on to record the final out of the frame.
On the other side of things, the Portland lineup was limited to just three hits. All three of those hits belonged to Phillip Sikes, who went 3 for 4 with a triple, an RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base out of the leadoff spot. Sikes scored his side's first run on a Niko Kavadas sacrifice fly in the first and then drove in Stephen Scott with a run-scoring single in the seventh.
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Isaac Coffey picked up the win in his first start of the year for Greenville. The Oral Roberts product yielded two earned runs on six hits, one walk, and five strikeouts over five solid innings. Fifty-two of the 73 pitches he threw went for strikes. Out of the Drive bullpen, Joe Jones, Graham Hoffman, Christopher Troye, and Joey Stock combined to toss four scoreless, no-hit frames of relief. Hoffman and Troye each struck out the side in their respective innings of work.
All five of Greenville's runs came within the first two innings of Wednesday's contest at Fluor Field. Chase Meidroth got things started by scoring on a passed ball in the bottom of the first. In the bottom of the second, Gilberto Jimenez led off with his first home run of the year before Meidroth (double), Blaze Jordan (single), and Miguel Ugueto (sacrifice fly) each drove in runs. Meidroth, Greenville's leadoff hitter, went 1-for-3 with an RBI, two runs scored, a walk, and a stolen base. Nathan Hickey and Max Ferguson each had two hits while the former drew two walks and the latter swiped two bags.
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In some early morning Carolina League action, Jose Ramirez held the opposition to just one hit over four scoreless innings in his first start of the season for Salem. The 22-year-old righty also walked two and plunked another, but he did so while striking out six of the 15 batters he faced. Felix Cepeda, Caleb Bolden, and Marques Johnson preserved the shutout effort by combining for five scoreless frames out of the Salem bullpen.
A two-run second inning is all Salem needed to improve to 3-2 on the young season. Ronald Rosario got the scoring started with an RBI double that scored Luis Ravelo all the way from first base. Four batters later, Roman Anthony plated Rosario with a line-drive RBI single. Anthony went 2 for 4 with an RBI, a walk, and a stolen base out of the leadoff spot. Miguel Bleis, Salem's No. 2 hitter, went 2 for 5 with a pair of singles. Ravelo and Juan Chacon each drew two walks.
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Player of the Day: On an otherwise quiet night for Portland offensively, leadoff man Phillip Sikes stood out by registering his first multi- and three-hit game of the season. The speedy 23-year-old is now batting .267 (4 for 15) with a .989 OPS through his first four games at the Double-A level. He is currently ranked as the No. 45 prospect in Boston's farm system.
Photo Credit: Phillip Sikes by Kelly O'Connor