June 28, 2023 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Salazar and Garcia lead FCL Sox to a win
6/28 Cup of Coffee: It was just the FCL and DSL teams for the second straight night, as the full-season affiliates are off at the midway point. Johnfrank Salazar (pictured) and Johanfran Garcia each had big days for the FCL Sox in their win, while Wandy Abreu and Odbed Balderas delivered good outings on the mound. Yoeilin Cespedes also continued his great season.
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Johnfrank Salazar and Johanfran Garcia led the offense, as they each went 3 for 4 with a double, a walk, and an RBI. Garcia raised his OPS to 1.103 in the process. Marvin Alcantara also reached twice with a single and a walk, leading to a couple of runs scored. Mikey Romero added an RBI single. Wandy Abreu was terrific to start this game, tossing the first four innings without allowing a run. He struck out four and walked just one. Francis Hernandez was great out of the bullpen with three scoreless frames of his own with three strikeouts. Garrett Ramsey finished it off with three strikeouts in a hitless ninth inning.
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The Sox started 16-year-old Obed Balderas on the mound and he pitched well. The right-hander allowed two runs (one earned) over five innings with three strikeouts and two walks. His ERA is 2.03 in four appearances so far. Jose Martinez followed him and was tremendous, punching out five in three scoreless innings. At the plate, Yoeilin Cespedes raised his batting average to .354 on the year with a 3-for-4 performance. Yoiber Ruiz and Frederik Jimenez each reached base twice with a single and a walk.
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Albert Chalas had a great day at the bottom of the order, going 3 for 4 with a pair of triples and an RBI. Yohander Linarez also picked up a single and a double while knocking in two runs. Jancel Santana was productive without recording a base hit, walking a couple of times, stealing a base, driving in a run, and scoring twice. Gilberto Batista surrendered four runs (three earned) over four innings, but had a very impressive seven strikeouts and no walks. Oscar Sanchez struck out three over 1 2/3 innings, but allowed a couple of runs.
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Player of the Day: Johnfrank Salazar gets the nod over Johanfran Garcia, even though they each had identical days at the plate. Salazar gets a bonus for catching the whole game. Salazar is a 19-year-old who was signed as an international free agent in August of 2019. He is hitting .341/.375/.545 with seven extra-base hits in 11 games so far in 2023 for the FCL Sox.
Photo Credit: Johnfrank Salazar by Kelly O'Connor