June 10, 2023 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Mayer and Yorke go deep; Dobbins dominates
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Rochester Red Wings (MIN) @ Worcester Red Sox, PPD (rain)
Friday night's game was rained out and will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Saturday.
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Home runs from Nick Yorke and Marcelo Mayer were not enough for the Sea Dogs to top the RubberDucks. Yorke went 2 for 4 and added a walk, while Mayer went 1 for 4 with a walk. Ceddanne Rafaela went 2 for 4 with a walk and two steals, and Chase Meidroth went 3 for 5 with a double. CJ Liu had a decent start, allowing two runs over five innings, but the bullpen struggled. Jacob Webb and Brendan Cellucci combined to allow eight runs (five earned) over 3 2/3 innings.
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A tremendous outing from Hunter Dobbins propelled Greenville past the Cyclones. Dobbins went the first seven innings, striking out eight without walking a batter. He scattered three singles and a double over those frames as he improved to 4-1. Nate Tellier and Robert Kwiatkowski added scoreless innings to close it out. Bryan Gonzalez ripped a two-run double in the sixth inning that opened the scoring, and Tyler Miller drove him in with a single. Kier Meredith went 0 for 2 with two walks and swiped three bags. The Drive struck out 17 times but got enough timely hits to notch the victory.
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In a game that took less than two hours, the Fireflies won a pitcher's duel. For Salem, Jose Ramirez was the tough-luck-losing pitcher. Ramirez allowed one run on four hits over six innings, walking one and striking out six. The outing actually raised his ERA to 1.24. Railin Perez was dominant in relief, striking out three without allowing a baserunner over two innings. Ahbram Liendo had two of Salem's five hits, going 2 for 3 with a double, but he was also caught stealing.
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The FCL Red Sox came out on top in a slugfest. The team had 11 hits, drew six walks, and stole eight bases. Johnfrank Salazar led the way, going 3 for 6 with a double and a stolen base. Natanael Yuten and Alexis Hernandez had two hits, while Albertson Asigen went 1 for 3 with two walks and three steals. Eybersson Polanco allowed three runs (two earned) and struck out four over the first four innings. Francis Hernandez earned the win by allowing one earned run over the final three innings.
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The Red and Blue squads will face off on the next few Fridays. The Red team pulled out of a walk-off win in the first matchup. Yohander Linarez drove in the winning run after Yosander Asencio tied the game with an RBI double. Albert Chalas went 1 for 3 with two RBI and a triple, and Gerardo Rodriguez went 2 for 3 with a stolen base. In the losing effort for the Blue team, Yoiber Ruiz went 3 for 3 with a walk, and Raimundo De Los Santos went 1 for 2 with a double, walk, and a stolen base.
Daniel Nunez allowed just an unearned run over the first two innings for the Red squad, and Argeny Sanchez followed with three hitless innings. For Blue, Jesus Garcia allowed three runs on six hits over four innings, while Enrique Carta spun two hitless innings.
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Player of the Day: Hunter Dobbins continued his bounce-back season with seven shutout innings on Friday. In Salem in 2022, Dobbins posted a 5.22 ERA. With his 2021 Tommy John surgery further behind him, Dobbins has taken a big step forward in 2023 with Greenville. The 23-year-old now has a 2.57 ERA and has cut his walk rate by more than half.
Photo Credit: Hunter Dobbins by Kelly O'Connor