July 31, 2023 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Castro hits first High-A homer; Cespedes gets All-Star nod in DSL
-----
After Saturday's contest was suspended in the bottom of the second due to inclement weather, the final seven innings were made up as part of an impromptu doubleheader at Polar Park on Sunday. David Hamilton played hero for the WooSox, as he went 2 for 5 out of the leadoff spot with a bases-loaded walk-off single off veteran righty Luis Cessa in the bottom of the ninth. Bobby Dalbec and Ronaldo Hernandez also enjoyed multi-hit games, as the former went 2 for 4 with two runs scored and the latter went 2 for 4 with a double. Ceddanne Rafaela led the way with three hits (including an RBI double) out of the five-hole. Batting behind him, Stephen Scott drew two walks and crushed a 382-foot solo homer for his fifth with Worcester and 11th of the season overall.
Brandon Walter's 13th start of the season for the WooSox lasted just two innings due to the aforementioned rainy conditions on Saturday. The 26-year-old southpaw allowed one earned run on three hits, two walks, and three strikeouts. Norwith Gudino took over for Walter to begin things on Sunday and scattered two hits over two scoreless frames. Oddanier Mosqueda put up a zero in the fifth and Andres Nunez surrendered one run in the seventh before making way for Justin Garza, who kept Rochester off the board through the middle of the eighth. Nick Robertson then gave up a game-tying home run to Jake Noll with two outs in the ninth, but he was ultimately bailed out by Hamilton and picked up the winning decision as a result.
Brian Van Belle put together his best start at the Triple-A level to date in Sunday's regularly scheduled series finale. The 26-year-old righty yielded only one run on six hits and zero walks to go along with five strikeouts over five strong innings of work. The lone run he gave up came in the top of the second, when he served up a solo homer to Matt Adams. After that, though, Van Belle retired 11 of the final 14 batters he faced and finished with 87 pitches (61 strikes). Out of the Worcester bullpen, Chase Shugart and Justin Hagenman combined for two scoreless frames of relief. Andrew Politi then allowed the automatic runner to score on a two-out single in the top of the eighth and was later charged with the loss.
Worcester's only offense in Game 2 came by way of the long ball. To lead off the bottom of the seventh, the pinch-hitting Nick Sogard came off the bench and clubbed a game-tying solo shot off Rochester reliever Gerson Moreno. The ball traveled 349 feet over the Worcester Wall and was good for Sogard's fifth home run of the season. Besides that, though, the WooSox' only other extra-base hit belonged to Ryan Fitzgerald, who went 1 for 4 with a second-inning double. The rehabbing Trevor Story went 0 for 4 with a strikeout. David Hamilton failed to record a hit as well, but the speedster drew two walks and stole two bases to bring his season total up to 38.
-----
Phillip Sikes compiled his third multi-hit game of the week in Sunday's loss to Richmond. The speedy center fielder went 2 for 4 with a solo homer (6) and two runs scored out of the five-hole. Nick Yorke also went deep for the 10th time this season, as he clobbered a two-run shot in the third inning for his only hit of the afternoon. Alex Binelas plated a pair on a two-run double in the top of the fifth. Marcelo Mayer doubles and struck out three times as part of a 1 for 5 day at the plate.
CJ Liu lasted just 1 2/3 innings in his 18th start of the season for Portland. The Taiwanese-born right-hander was rocked for five earned runs on four hits, two walks, one hit batsman, and two strikeouts. All five of those runs crossed the plate in the second inning and three came by way of a three-run blast off the bat of Shane Matheny. Out of the Sea Dogs bullpen, Dylan Spacke, Jacob Webb, and Wyatt Olds combined for 4 1/3 scoreless frames of relief. Brendan Cellucci, on the other hand, was tagged for two runs on three hits in the bottom of the sixth en route to being hit with the losing decision.
-----
Four members of Greenville's lineup recorded two hits in Sunday's series finale in Bowling Green. Allan Castro went 2 for 4 with a double and solo home run, his first at the High-A level. Batting behind him, Brainer Bonaci went 2 for 5 with an RBI and a run scored. Five-hole hitter Tyler Miller also added an RBI and run scored as part of a 2 for 4 afternoon while Eddinson Paulino clubbed a two-run home run (8) in the process of going 2 for 3 with a walk. Karson Simas plated a pair on a two-run single and Max Ferguson drove in a run himself. Out of the leadoff spot, Roman Anthony went 1 for 3 with two walks and a run scored.
Bradley Blalock improved to 5-1 on the season after putting together another solid start for Greenville. The 22-year-old righty allowed only two unearned runs on four hits, one walk, and three strikeouts over five full innings of work. Both of those runs were unearned as a result of a Paulino fielding error that was preceded by a two-run home run from Dominic Keegan in the bottom of the first. Besides that one mishap, Blalock was fairly effective, eliciting 12 swings-and-misses on the 70 pitches (47 strikes) he threw. Out of the Drive bullpen, Felix Cepeda, Brock Bell, and Alex Hoppe combined for four scoreless frames of relief in which they did not walk a single batter.
-----
Noah Dean fell to 1-7 in his 16th start of the season for Salem. The Old Dominion product allowed just one run on one hit (a second-inning solo home run) and two walks to go along with seven strikeouts over four innings of work. Of the 70 pitches he threw, 44 went for strikes. In relief of Dean, Nathanael Cruz gave up a two-run homer in the fifth inning before the likes of Luis De La Rosa, Jhonny Felix, and Jonathan Brand settled in by combining for 4 1/3 scoreless frames out of the Red Sox bullpen.
Yorberto Mejicano homered for the fourth time this season as part of a 1 for 3 day at the plate. Salem's only other run came on an RBI groundout off the bat of Alexis Hernandez in the sixth inning. Jhostynxon Garcia came off the bench for Cutter Coffey in the sixth inning and went 2 for 2 with a run scored. The 20-year-old outfielder is now batting .327 (17 for 52) since returning from the All-Star break.
-----
Shortstop Yoeilin Cespedes and right-hander Wuilliams Rodriguez represented the Red Sox at Sunday's DSL All-Star Game. Cespedes came on as a defensive replacement for the American League in the fourth inning and drew a walk in his only plate appearance before stealing base. Rodriguez, on the other hand, allowed one run on three hits in the seventh inning but still recorded a hold.
-----
Player of the Day: Following Sunday's 2 for 5 performance, Allan Castro is now batting .300/.397/.460 with three doubles, one home run, four RBIs, eight runs scored, seven walks, and 10 strikeouts in his first 13 games (58 plate appearances) with Greenville after making the jump from Salem earlier this month. The switch-hitting 20-year-old is currently ranked as the No. 24 prospect in the organization.
Photo Credit: Allan Castro by Kelly O'Connor