May 27, 2023 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Arroyo and Chang start rehab assignments; Dobbins strikes out 10
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Another home run from Bobby Dalbec was not enough for Worcester. Dalbec went 1 for 2 with a walk in addition to his ninth home run. In his first game on a rehab assignment, Christian Arroyo went 1 for 2 with a walk. Daniel Palka reached base twice with a double and a walk, and David Hamilton stole his 24th base.
It was another rocky start for Chris Murphy, who struggled with control. He walked four and struck out six over 4 1/3 innings while allowing three runs. His ERA dropped slightly to 8.35. The RailRiders put the game away with two solo home runs off AJ Politi in the eighth.
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Corey Rosier scored on a walk-off wild pitch in a thrilling finish. Rosier went 2 for 4 with a double and a walk and has reached base eight times in his last four games. Ceddanne Rafaela had a great night offensively but made some uncharacteristic defensive mistakes. He went 2 for 5 with a home run, double, and a walk, but he also made two errors at shortstop. The home run tied the game in the bottom of the ninth. Nick Yorke went 2 for 4 with a walk, and Alex Binelas went 1 for 3 with two walks. One month after breaking his hamate bone, Yu Chang started a rehab assignment in Portland. He went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts.
Brian Van Belle allowed only two unearned runs over 6 1/3 innings, walking two and striking out nine. The nine strikeouts are a new season high, topping his last start when he had eight. Joe Jones allowed one run over 2 2/3 innings, and Luis Guerrero earned the win with two shutout innings.
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A dominant performance from Hunter Dobbins led the way for Greenville. Dobbins struck out 10 and allowed just four baserunners over seven innings. He threw 86 pitches with 63 of them for strikes. Nate Tellier allowed a run in the eighth, and Joey Stock struck out the side in the ninth. Greenville had many chances to provide the pitching with some support, but they went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position. Max Ferguson and Miguel Ugueto had two hits, and Brainer Bonaci went 1 for 4 with a double and a walk. Marcelo Mayer had the team's only RBI on a go-ahead groundout in the seventh.
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Salem's bullpen struggled in a loss to Fredericksburg. Roman Anthony continued to flash more power, going 1 for 3 with a double and two walks. Cutter Coffey went 2 for 4 with an RBI on a sacrifice fly, and Ahbram Liendo went 2 for 2 with two walks and two stolen bases. Jedixson Paez went the first four innings, allowing one run on two hits. The bullpen struggled from there, with Luis De La Rosa, Luis Talavera, and Brock Bell all giving up multiple runs.
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Player of the Day: Hunter Dobbins was magnificent over seven shutout innings, striking out 10 without issuing a walk. The 23-year-old spent the season's first month on the development list and was making his fourth start of the year on Friday. He finished a career-high seven innings and tied a career high in strikeouts. With the small sample size, the outing lowered his ERA from 4.80 to 3.27.
Photo Credit: Hunter Dobbins by Kelly O'Connor