August 28, 2023 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Dalbec breaks out for four hits; Jimenez crushes grand slam
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Every member of Worcester's starting lineup recorded at least one hit in Sunday's series finale. Bobby Dalbec, who had been 2 for his last 35 at the plate, broke out in a big way by going 4 for 4 with a home run (his 31st of the season), a triple, three RBIs, and two runs scored out of the cleanup spot. Yu Chang registered multiple hits as well, going 2 for 4 with a home run, a double, two runs driven in, two runs scored, and a walk. Ceddanne Rafaela, batting leadoff, drew one walk and made his only hit of the day count by clubbing a two-run homer in the top of the fourth inning. It was his fourth big fly for the WooSox and his 20th of the year overall. Niko Kavadas plated three runs on a bases-clearing double while Ronaldo Hernandez drove in two.
Brandon Walter dazzled in his 17th start of the season for Worcester. The 26-year-old lefty allowed just one earned run on five hits and one walk to go along with six strikeouts over a season-high seven innings of work. He gave up that one run in the bottom of the second and then retired 15 of the final 18 batters he faced from the middle of the third through the end of the seventh. Of the 97 pitches he threw, 64 went for strikes and nine elicited a swing-and-miss. In relief of Walter, Ryan Fernandez and Joe Jacques combined for five punchouts across two scoreless frames out of the WooSox bullpen.
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A four-run second inning lifted Portland to a series-clinching win in Game 1 of Sunday's doubleheader at Hadlock Field. Nick Yorke paced the Sea Dogs lineup by going 2 for 4 with a two-run single, a double, and one run scored out of the two-hole. Chase Meidroth and Matthew Lugo each doubled as well while the speedy Phillip Sikes went 1 for 3 with his eighth home run of the season. Despite going hitless, Alex Binelas drew two walks, stole two bases, and scored one run.
Wikelman Gonzalez put forth a solid effort in his seventh start of the season for Portland. The 21-year-old righty went five innings, allowing only one run on two hits and two walks while striking out six of the 19 batters he faced. He finished with 90 pitches (54 strikes) and induced 10 swings-and-misses. Out of the Sea Dogs bullpen, Ryan Zeferjahn and Luis Guerrero combined for two scoreless frames of relief.
A four-run seventh inning for Richmond came back to bite Portland in Game 2 of Sunday's twin bill. Alex Hoppe took the loss out of the bullpen, as he surrendered four runs on four hits (three home runs) while only recording the first two outs in the top of the seventh. Sterling Sharp opened for the Sea Dogs and allowed one run in two innings. Wyatt Olds was then rocked for four runs in the fourth. Brendan Cellucci put up a zero in the fifth and Jacob Webb got taken deep in the sixth. Christopher Troye, who took over for Hoppe with two outs in the seventh, retired the only batter he faced.
As he did earlier in the afternoon, Phillip Sikes homered (nine) yet again as part of a 2-for-4 showing in which he doubled, drove in two runs, and scored a pair. Brainer Bonaci also went yard to lead off the bottom of the first and then added two more RBIs on a pair of sacrifice flies. Matthew Lugo tallied a team-high four hits, going 4 for 4 with an RBI, two runs scored, and a stolen base out of the seven-hole. Tyler Dearden and Tyler Esplin each went 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored. Unlike Dearden, though, Esplin hit a triple.
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Gilberto Jimenez enjoyed a productive day at the plate out of the nine-hole, going 2 for 5 with a grand slam and two runs scored. Kristian Campbell had a memorable afternoon of his own, as the Georgia Tech product hit the first home run of his professional career as part of a 2-for-3 showing in which he also stole a base and recorded an outfield assist. Tyler Miller, meanwhile, went 2 for 4 with a walk and a three-run double. Cutter Coffey and Ronald Rosario each had RBI singles while Allan Castro and Max Ferguson drew two walks apiece.
On what was a bullpen day for the Greenville pitching staff, Nate Tellier earned the win by scattering one hit and one walk with two strikeouts over 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief from the bottom of the second through the end of the fourth. The Attleboro native now owns a 1.04 ERA in six appearances this month. After Caleb Bolden and Gabriel Jackson were tagged for three total runs in the middle innings, Robert Kwiatkowski and Brock Bell combined for two shutout frames to close it out.
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A 13-inning thriller ended in disappointing fashion for Salem. Hayden Mullins served as the opener and struck out four of the seven batters he faced over 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Nathanael Cruz recorded the final out of the second before making way for bulk reliever Jedixson Paez, who yielded three runs (two earned) on seven hits, zero walks, and one hit batsman with three strikeouts across five innings. Railin Perez then gave up one run in the eighth and Jonathan Brand later allowed the automatic runner to score in the 10th. It was ultimately Luis De La Rosa who took the loss, though, as the righty allowed the automatic runner to score in all three innings (11th, 12th, and 13th) he was on the mound.
Johnfrank Salazar, Marvin Alcantara, and Johanfran Garcia powered the Salem lineup on Sunday. Together, the trio of young Venezuelans went a combined 6 for 16 with one home run a piece. Alcantara and Garcia each hit solo shots for their first homers with the Red Sox while Salazar got his side on the board with a two-run blast for his fourth big fly of the year. Garcia added another RBI on an 11th-inning sacrifice fly.
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Player of the Day: As previously mentioned, Bobby Dalbec was in the midst of a major slump coming into play on Sunday. The power-hitting 28-year-old bounced back in a significant way in Worcester's series finale against Rochester, though, homering for the 31st time in the process of putting together his third four-hit game of the season. With big-league rosters set to expand this Friday, Dalbec could be in consideration for a call-up if the Red Sox intend on adding a right-handed bat to the mix down the stretch.
Photo Credit: Bobby Dalbec by Kelly O'Connor