April 8, 2024 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Bastardo and Criswell impress on mound; Big Three debuts in Portland
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Cooper Criswell was solid yet again in his second start of the season for Worcester. The 27-year-old righty allowed just one earned run on four hits, two walks, two hit batsmen, and four strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings of work. Of the 82 pitches he threw, 50 went for strikes and 11 were whiff-inducing. Out of the WooSox bullpen, Chase Shugart and Brennan Bernardino combined to surrender nine runs (eight earned) in just 1 1/3 innings. On the flip side, Lucas Luetge and Andrew Politi put together 2 1/3 scoreless frames of relief.
Tyler Heineman led the way offensively by going 4 for 4 with one walk and one run scored out of the eight-hole. Niko Kavadas drew a team-high two walks and made his only hit of the day count by crushing a 389-foot two-run blast in the ninth inning for his first homer of the season. Eddy Alvarez also hit his first home run in a WooSox uniform while Jamie Westbrook doubled and scored a run as part of a 2 for 5 effort. Mark Contreras, who went 0 for 4 with a walk, stole his seventh base of the year to put himself in a three-way tie for the second-most in the International League thus far.
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Angel Bastardo was the tough-luck loser for the Sea Dogs on Opening Day at Hadlock Field. The 21-year-old right-hander was impressive in his 2024 debut, yielding only one earned run on two walks and three strikeouts over five strong innings. He retired the final seven batters he faced in order and finished with 67 pitches (44 strikes). In relief of Bastardo, Theo Denlinger and Christopher Troye each amassed two scoreless frames out of the Portland bullpen. Together, they gave up just one hit and three strikeouts while recording seven punchouts.
The top third of Portland's starting lineup featured the top three prospects in the organization. Playing in an affiliated game together for the first time, Roman Anthony went 2 for 4 with a pair of singles and two strikeouts, Marcelo Mayer went 1 for 4 with a double and stolen base, and Kyle Teel went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts. Additionally, Blaze Jordan was hit by a pitch while Eddinson Paulino, Mickey Gasper, and Tyler McDonough each drew a walk.
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Ronald Rosario paced the Greenville lineup on Sunday by going 2 for 4 with an RBI double out of the cleanup spot. Bryan Gonzalez also drove in a run with a fourth-inning RBI single that plated Eduardo Lopez. Like Gonzalez, leadoff man Cutter Coffey went 1 for 4 with a run scored and a stolen base. Miguel Ugueto swiped his first bag of the year as well, though he and Tyler Miller both committed throwing errors.
Hayden Mullins got the start for Greenville in his High-A debut. The 23-year-old lefty went the first 2 2/3 innings, allowing one unearned run on one hit, three walks, one hit batsman, and two strikeouts. Only 29 of the 60 pitches he threw went for strikes. Out of the Drive bullpen, Gabriel Jackson and Cade Feeney were both tagged for three runs (all three of Jackson's runs were unearned). Jonathan Brand, on the other hand, struck out two of the three batters he faced in a perfect bottom of the eighth.
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A five-run eighth inning went for naught as Salem was unable to avoid getting swept by Carolina. Luis Cohen had a difficult time of things in his full-season debut, surrendering five runs (four earned) on six hits, one walk, and three strikeouts over 2 1/3 innings. Max Carlson did not fare much better, as he too allowed five runs (three earned) in 2 1/3 innings. After Denis Reguillo recorded the final out of the fifth, though, Austin Ehrlicher and Jojo Ingrassia combined for four scoreless frames of relief in their respective professional debuts.
Miguel Bleis and Albert Feliz accounted for Salem's only extra-base hits on Sunday. The former went 1 for 5 with a double and run scored while the latter went 1 for 3 with a walk and three-run home run for his first big fly of the year. Marvin Alcantara reached base twice and drove in two runs. Jhostynxon Garcia did not record a hit but he walked, stole a base, and scored a run. Antonio Anderson also drew a walk and scored one run while Nelly Taylor collected an RBI with a sacrifice fly.
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Player of the Day: He may have been saddled with the losing decision, but Cooper Criswell still put forth another fine outing for Worcester at Polar Park on Sunday. Through two starts for the WooSox now, the North Carolina product owns a 0.87 ERA with nine strikeouts to three walks over 10 1/3 innings in which he has held opposing hitters to a .229 batting average against. He could be in consideration for a call-up soon if the Red Sox opt to go with a six-man rotation for a stretch of 13 games in 13 days from April 9-21.
Photo Credit: Cooper Criswell by Kelly O'Connor