April 18, 2024 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Fitts earns first win for Worcester; Mayer extends hitting streak in Portland
4/18 Cup of Coffee: On the same night Tanner Houck threw a complete game shutout at Fenway Park, Boston's minor-league affiliates went 3-1. Richard Fitts impressed and Chase Meidroth stayed hot as Worcester won its third straight. Marcelo Mayer extended his hitting streak and Matthew Lugo (pictured) came through in the clutch in Portland. Bryan Gonzalez homered yet again in Greenville's victory over Wilmington. Blake Wehunt and Jhostynxon Garcia were bright spots in Salem's loss to Lynchburg.
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Richard Fitts earned his first winning decision for Worcester by spinning his first quality start of the season. The 24-year-old righty allowed just one earned run on four hits, zero walks, and one hit batter with five strikeouts over six innings of work. Fitts finished with 80 pitches (53 strikes) and induced 11 whiffs. Chase Shugart, Justin Hagenman, and Luis Guerrero combined for three innings of one-run ball out of the WooSox bullpen.
It was another productive day at the plate for Chase Meidroth. After hitting his first home run of the season on Tuesday, the 22-year-old infielder went 2 for 5 with a double, two RBIs, one run scored, and one stolen base. Mark Contreras also doubled as part of a 1-for-3 night, driving in one run and scoring another. Nick Sogard went 1 for 3 with one run scored, two walks, and one stolen base out of the leadoff spot. Corey Rosier swiped his first two bags of the year and recorded an outfield assist.
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Matthew Lugo played hero for Portland by going 2 for 4 with a game-winning three-run triple in the eighth inning. Nick Yorke also enjoyed a multi-hit night, as he went 2 for 3 with an RBI single. Blaze Jordan doubled in a run and crossed home plate twice. Kyle Teel scored once and threw out a would-be base stealer while Marcelo Mayer extended his hitting streak to nine games with a fifth-inning single. Phillip Sikes stole two bases and Mickey Gasper was hit by a pitch three times.
Isaac Coffey went five innings in his second start of the season. He allowed two earned runs on five hits and one walk to go along with seven strikeouts. He finished with 80 pitches (51 strikes). Out of the bullpen, Jacob Webb and Robert Kwiatkowski combined to fan three over four scoreless innings.
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Juan Encarnacion had an interesting night on the mound in Wilmington. The right-hander allowed one earned run on zero hits, five walks, and five strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings. Caleb Bolden notched his second save of the year, striking out five over three frames of relief in which he gave up two unearned runs. Cutter Coffey and Allan Castro each had two hits, with the former scoring twice and the latter driving in a pair. Kristian Campbell also had two RBIs before leaving the game in the top of the fourth. Bryan Gonzalez went deep for the fourth time in his last four games.
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Blake Wehunt went three scoreless innings in his second start of the season for Salem. The 23-year-old righty allowed one hit and three walks while striking out four of the 13 batters he faced. Jhostynxon Garcia led the way offensively by going 2 for 3 with a walk and a pair of run-scoring singles. Marvin Alcantara and Natanael Yuten each had two hits as well. Miguel Bleis went 1 for 4 with a double and one run scored out of the leadoff spot.
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Player of the Day: Matthew Lugo proved to be the difference maker at Hadlock Field on Wednesday. The 22-year-old is off to an encouraging start with Portland this season, going 5 for 16 (.313) with one triple, two home runs, five RBIs, two runs scored, one walk, and six strikeouts through five games.
Photo Credit: Matthew Lugo by Kelly O'Connor