June 26, 2023 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Monegro fans 11 in Salem debut; Anthony's power surge continues
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Shane Drohan's eighth start of the season for Worcester was cut short due to an apparent leg cramp. Before leaving the field with a trainer in the top of the fifth, the 24-year-old lefty had impressed by scattering three hits and three walks to go along with one strikeout over four scoreless innings. He finished with 56 pitches (35 strikes) and his injury is not considered to be serious. In relief of Drohan, Chase Shugart picked up the win by allowing one run over two innings. A rehabbing Joely Rodriguez then struck out three in the seventh before Tayler Scott gave up a home run in his WooSox debut and Ryan Fernandez fanned three more in a scoreless ninth inning.
Stephen Scott paced the Worcester lineup by going 2 for 3 with a sacrifice fly, an RBI double, and a two-run home run out of the eight-hole. Leadoff man Nick Sogard also clubbed a two-run shot as part of a 2 for 5 day at the plate. The homer was his second of the season and his first-ever at Polar Park. In similar fashion to Sogard, Narciso Crook went 2 for 5 with a run-scoring triple. Daniel Palka and Wilyer Abreu each recorded RBI doubles. Niko Goodrum and Ronaldo Hernandez combined to draw five walks and scored three runs as a result. Max Ferguson went 0 for 2 with a strikeout in his Triple-A debut.
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Phillip Sikes provided the only real thump for Portland on Sunday by cranking a two-run home run in the seventh inning. It was good for his only hit of the day and for his third big fly of the year. The only other extra-base hits for the Sea Dogs belonged to Alex Binelas and Matt Donlan, who both doubled. Tyler McDonough and Chase Meidroth each went 2 for 4 with a strikeout, though the former stole a base and scored a run as well. Elih Marrero went 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored out of the nine-hole. The 26-year-old backstop also threw out a would-be base stealer in the fifth inning.
Marrero's battery mate at the time, CJ Liu, made his 14th start of the season for Portland. The Taiwanese-born righty surrendered five runs (four earned) on five hits, four walks, and seven strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings. He finished with 98 pitches (59 strikes) before making way for Dylan Spacke, who allowed one of the runners he inherited to score. Ryan Miller then got tagged for two runs on three hits in the eighth while Skylar Arias stranded a runner in a scoreless top of the ninth.
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Greenville blew a 3-0 lead and was walked off on by Bowling Green on Sunday. Juan Daniel Encarnacion fared well in his 12th start of the season. The 22-year-old righty yielded just one run on four hits, zero walks and five strikeouts across five solid innings. The lone run he gave up came by way of the long ball in the bottom of the fifth. Out of the Drive bullpen, Jordan DiValerio retired the first seven batters he faced before surrendering a solo shot to the same hitter who took Encarnacion deep in Kenny Piper. Joey Stock then came on and issued back-to-back two-out walks in the ninth before giving up a game-winning, two-run single to Blake Robertson.
Roman Anthony led the way offensively for the Drive by going 2 for 4 with a pair of run-scoring hits out of the leadoff spot. The 19-year-old outfielder opened the scoring with a leadoff home run in the first and pushed across another run with an RBI double in the fifth. Tyler Miller also recorded an RBI with a run-scoring single in the first while Blaze Jordan went 2 for 3 with a double, a walk, and a run scored.
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Yordanny Monegro shined in his first start for Salem. After being promoted from the Florida Complex League last week, the 20-year-old right-hander racked up a career-high 11 strikeouts while scattering only two hits and zero walks over five scoreless innings. He sat down the final nine batters he faced and wound up inducing 17 swings-and-misses on the 74 pitches (50 strikes) he threw. Out of the Red Sox bullpen, Marques Johnson gave up a pair of runs in the sixth before Reidis Sena and Jonathan Brand shut it down by combining for three more scoreless frames.
Though they scored seven runs, only four members of Salem's starting lineup were credited with RBIs. Adding on to that, Enderso Lira was responsible for his side's lone run-scoring hit by doubling in Alexis Hernandez to cap off a seven-run third inning. Ahbram Liendo also doubled and drove in a run (via a bases-loaded walk) while Allan Castro went 2 for 4 with a triple. It's Castro's fourth multi-hit game in the last 10 days.
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Player of the Day: Yordanny Monegro continues to turn heads in his third professional season. Following Sunday's outing, the Dominican-born righty now owns a 0.90 ERA and 0.55 WHIP with 31 strikeouts to four walks in four starts (20 innings) between the FCL and Salem Red Sox. Signed for just $35,000 out of Santo Domingo in February 2020, Monegro is not yet regarded as one of the top pitching prospects in the organization. That will likely change soon.
Photo Credit: Yordanny Monegro by Kelly O'Connor