May 30, 2024 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Fitts flirts with perfection; Campbell and Mayer stay hot
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Richard Fitts helped Worcester end a six-game losing streak by flirting with perfection on Wednesday night. The righty yielded one unearned run on one hit and zero walks to go along with seven strikeouts over seven-plus dominant innings. He retired the first 21 batters he faced before giving up a leadoff single in the bottom of the eighth. At that point, Lucas Luetge took over, and another unearned run crossed the plate on his watch. Bailey Horn tossed a scoreless ninth inning to close it out.
Nick Sogard went 2 for 4 with a double, walk and run scored. Jamie Westbrook also doubled, walked, and scored a run as part of a two-hit night. Bobby Dalbec made his only hit of the contest count, crushing a three-run home run in the top of the seventh. Corey Rosier had an RBI double to open the scoring while Mark Contreras drew two walks, scored one run, and stole his team-leading 13th base of the year.
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Marcelo Mayer paced the Portland lineup by going 2 for 4 with a double, his sixth homer of the season, two RBIs, and two runs scored. In addition to drawing two walks, Tyler McDonough connected on his second home run of the year. Nick Decker tallied three hits, including a two-run double, out of the nine-hole. Matthew Lugo went 2 for 4 with one run scored.
Isaac Coffey fired five scoreless innings in his start for the Sea Dogs. The righty gave up one hit and three walks to go along with four strikeouts. He also plunked two batters but managed to keep Altoona off the board. Jacob Webb and Felix Cepeda combined to allow two earned runs on six hits, zero walks, and five strikeouts over four innings of relief.
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It was a high-scoring affair in Greenville. Kristian Campbell led the way, going 3 for 5 with a double, home run, walk, and three runs scored. Ronald Rosario and Bryan Gonzalez each went 2 for 4, with the former driving in two runs and the latter scoring another. Allan Castro also collected two RBIs and scored two runs as part of a 1 for 4 night at the plate. Juan Daniel Encarnacion lasted just four innings in his start, as he surrendered four earned runs on six hits, two walks, and three strikeouts. Bryce Bonnin, who made his first relief appearance since May 8, was charged with the loss.
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Blake Wehunt was solid in his start for Salem, allowing only one earned run on three hits, zero walks, and three strikeouts over five pretty efficient innings. CJ Weins retired three of the four batters he faced out of the bullpen. Offensively, Freili Encarnacion and Marvin Alcantara accounted for four of their side's five hits. Encarnacion went 2 for 4 with a double and one run scored while Alcantara went 2 or 3 with an RBI single and walk. Stanley Tucker had the other hit and stole one base to bring his season total up to 10.
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Player of the Day: Richard Fitts gets the nod after a stellar performance in Charlotte. The 24-year-old hurler threw 82 pitches and induced 15 swings-and-misses. He improved to 4-1 and lowered his ERA on the season to 3.72. He is currently ranked as the top pitching prospect in the organization and is in a position to make his major league debut at some point in 2024.
Photo Credit: Richard Fitts by Kelly O'Connor