August 17, 2023 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Dobbins dominates for Portland; Abreu homers again in Worcester
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In his third and likely final rehab start for Worcester, Tanner Houck was extremely effective. Over four scoreless innings, the 27-year-old right-hander allowed just one hit and zero walks while striking out four of the 13 batters he faced. He finished with 59 pitches (36 strikes), inducing 11 whiffs and sitting between 90.5 to 93.7 mph with his sinker. In relief of Houck, Oddanier Mosqueda surrendered a solo home run in the top of the sixth inning. Joe Jacques, Justin Garza, and Nick Robertson then combined for three scoreless frames out of the bullpen.
Three members of Worcester's starting lineup went deep on Wednesday afternoon for their only hits of the contest. David Hamilton opened the scoring with a three-run home run in the third inning. Wilyer Abreu followed suit in the bottom of the fifth, crushing a three-run shot of his own for his 21st big fly of the season and his eighth this month. Stephen Scott went back-to-back with Abreu for his 12th homer in a WooSox uniform. Hamilton, who also stole his 45th base of the year, and Abreu each drew two walks. Ryan Fitzgerald, meanwhile, went 2 for 4 with a pair of hard-hit doubles and one run scored.
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Hunter Dobbins was sharp in his seventh start of the season for Portland. The 23-year-old righty scattered five hits and zero walks to go along with eight strikeouts over seven innings of one-run ball. That lone run came in the first inning, as Dobbins ultimately settled in and retired 17 of the final 21 batters he faced. Of the 91 pitches he threw, 68 went for strikes and 16 elicited a swing-and-miss. Out of the Sea Dogs bullpen, Jacob Webb and Theo Denlinger got roughed up for six runs while only recording the first two outs of the eighth inning. Luis Guerrero then came on and worked his way around two singles in the ninth to notch the four-out save, his 16th of the year.
Elih Marrero paced the Sea Dogs lineup, going 3 for 3 with his first home run of the season, one walk, and two runs scored. From behind the plate, the 26-year-old backstop threw out a would-be base stealer for the 15th time in 40 opportunities this year. Tyler Dearden and Chase Meidroth also enjoyed multi-hit games, with the former racking up a pair of singles and the latter doubling in three runs as part of a 2-for-5 night at the plate. Nick Yorke, who went 1 for 5, came through with a three-run double himself while Phillip Sikes clubbed a three-run homer for his seventh big fly of the season.
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It was a tough night on the mound for Dalton Rogers. Making his 14th start of the season for Greenville, the 22-year-old lefty surrendered four earned runs on four hits and five walks (tying a season-high) to go along with six strikeouts over just 4 1/3 innings. He finished with 88 pitches (50 strikes). Caleb Bolden did not fare much better in his High-A debut, as the righty reliever gave up two home runs in 2 2/3 innings. Felix Cepeda then worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning to extend his scoreless appearance streak to eight.
Offensively, the Drive were shut out in a nine-inning game for just the fourth time this season. Eddinson Paulino accounted for nearly half of Greenville's hits, going 2 for 5 with a pair of singles. With a fourth-inning single, Mikey Romero collected his first hit at the High-A level. Kyle Teel struck out twice as part of an 0-for-4 night, marking his first hitless showing since making the jump from the Florida Complex League last week.
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Elvis Soto was charged with the loss in his fourth start of the season for Salem. The 19-year-old righty allowed four earned runs on seven hits, zero walks, and four strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings. Half of the runs he gave up came by way of the long ball. Out of the Red Sox bullpen, Gabriel Jackson and Connor Butler (making his Low-A debut) combined for 3 1/3 scoreless frames of relief. Garrett Ramsey (also making his Low-A debut) was then tagged for three runs (one earned) in the bottom of the eighth.
Luis Ravelo opened the scoring with a two-run double in the first inning. It was Ravelo's only hit of the night and Salem's lone extra-base hit. Out of the leadoff spot, Jhostynxon Garcia went 1 for 2 with a walk and RBI single. His younger brother, Johanfran Garcia, also drew a walk and scored a run as part of a 1-for-3 showing. Despite going hitless, Marvin Alcantara swiped two bags for his first two stolen bases at the Low-A level.
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This was the makeup of a game that originally began on August 7 but was suspended in the fourth inning due to inclement weather. Not much went right for the Blue squad offensively, as they were held to just three hits as a team. Kleyver Salazar, who doubled in the ninth inning, was responsible for his side's lone extra-base hit. On the other side of things, righties Enrique Carta and Emmanuel Polo each struck out two over two scoreless innings of work.
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It was another low-scoring affair for the Red squad, who had just two hits as a team. That being said, Franklin Arias reached base three times with a double, two walks, and a run scored. Andruw Musett picked up his 23rd RBI of the season by driving in Arias on a fourth-inning groundout. Deybi Salcedo had arguably the strongest day of any Red Sox pitcher, striking out five across three scoreless innings of relief to lower his ERA to 1.93 on the year.
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Player of the Day: Dating back to July 27, Hunter Dobbins had struggled to a 9.39 ERA in his last three starts (15 1/3 innings). As such, Wednesday's outing in Binghamton represented an encouraging performance for the former Texas Tech hurler. Dobbins, who turns 24 later this month, is currently ranked as the No. 32 prospect in the organization.
Photo Credit: Hunter Dobbins by Kelly O'Connor