August 21, 2023 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Jordan, Yorke lift Portland; Feliz, Ravelo power Salem
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It was a tough day on the mound for Shane Drohan. After dominating the RailRiders in Tuesday's series opener, the 24-year-old left-hander was tagged for six earned runs on six hits, three walks, and three strikeouts over just three innings in Sunday's finale. Half of the runs Drohan gave up came by way of the long ball as both Wilmer Difo and Jamie Westbrook took him deep. Out of the Worcester bullpen, Oddanier Mosqueda and Andrew Politi combined to surrender seven runs (six earned). Andres Nunez and Cam Booser, on the other hand, combined for three scoreless frames of relief.
Worcester's lone run came on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Enmanuel Valdez in the first inning. Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu each went 1 for 3 with a walk. The former singled and scored one run while the latter doubled to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. Yu Chang -- who went hitless -- and Niko Kavadas -- who went 1 for 2 -- also drew walks on what was an otherwise quiet afternoon for the WooSox lineup.
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Nick Yorke paced the Sea Dogs lineup by going 3 for 4 with a stolen base, a double, and a go-ahead RBI single in the top half of the seventh inning. Fellow 2020 draftee Blaze Jordan first got Portland on the board by crushing a solo homer in the top of the third off Massachusetts native David Griffin. In addition to hitting his fifth home run at the Double-A level, Jordan also drew a walk as part of a 1-for-3 day at the plate. Tyler Dearden went 2 for 3 with a walk and a pair of singles. Despite going hitless out of the nine-hole, Corey Rosier drew two walks, scored one run, and stole one base to bring his season total up to 43.
Grant Gambrell was solid in his 15th start of the season for Portland. The 25-year-old righty yielded only one earned run on three hits, three walks, and one hit batsman to go along with five strikeouts over six quality innings of work. Of the 87 pitches he threw, 51 went for strikes and nine elicited a swing-and-miss. In relief of Gambrell, Jacob Webb, Alex Hoppe, and Luis Guerrero combined for three scoreless frames of relief. Guerrero, who fanned two of the four batters he faced in the ninth, picked up his 17th save of the year.
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The Greenville pitching staff did not have the best of times on Sunday afternoon. Casey Cobb, making his first start and 26th overall appearance of the season for the Drive, surrendered two earned runs on four hits, one walk, and three strikeouts over three innings. Gabriel Jackson, making his High-A debut, was tagged for two earned runs on five hits, two walks, and one strikeout across 1 1/3 innings of relief. Caleb Bolden then gave up four runs (three earned) before making way for Nate Tellier, who managed to keep Winston-Salem off the scoreboard in the process of recording five outs.
Three members of Greenville's starting lineup enjoyed multi-hit games. Leadoff man Roman Anthony went 2 for 4 with a double, a triple, a walk, and two runs scored. Two spots below him, Kyle Teel went 2 for 4 with a pair of singles, an RBI, and a run scored. He was also hit by a pitch and committed the first throwing error of his professional career. Eddinson Paulino, the six-hole hitter, went 2 for 4 with a double and a two-run single. Cutter Coffey, who went 1 for 4, also doubled and drove in one run on a seventh-inning sacrifice fly.
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A seven-run sixth inning propelled Salem to a series-splitting win over Delmarva. Luis Ravelo and Albert Feliz made their only hits of the day count by clubbing two- and three-run home runs for their fifth and seventh big flies of the year, respectively. Albertson Asigen also drove in multiple runs, going 1 for 3 with a walk, a run scored, a stolen base, and a two-run single. Jhostynxon Garcia went 2 for 4 with a walk, a run scored, and a triple out of the leadoff spot. He scored that run on an RBI single off the bat of his younger brother, Johanfran Garcia. Lyonell James and Johnfrank Salazar combined for five hits (all singles) and two runs.
Jedixson Paez earned the win in his 16th start of the season for Salem. The 19-year-old righty allowed two runs on four hits, two walks, and five strikeouts over six strong innings. He finished with 80 pitches (54 strikes) and induced 10 swings-and-misses. Out of the Red Sox bullpen, Nathanael Cruz and Jonathan Brand were each roughed up for two runs. Railin Perez, meanwhile, worked his way around a one-out walk by striking out the side in a scoreless bottom of the eighth.
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Player of the Day: Nick Yorke wrapped up an impressive week in Binghamton by putting together his seventh three-hit game of the season on Sunday. Appearing in five of Portland's six games against the Rumble Ponies, the 21-year-old second baseman went 8 for 21 (.381) with two doubles, one home run, seven RBIs, three runs scored, two stolen bases, two walks, and four strikeouts. He is currently ranked as the No. 6 prospect in the organization.
Photo Credit: Nick Yorke by Kelly O'Connor