May 6, 2024 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Lugo lifts Portland with homer; Wehunt dazzles for Salem
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The top third of the lineup feasted at the plate, combining for nine of Worcester's 12 hits. Leadoff man Chase Meidroth went 2 for 4 with a double, a home run, two RBIs, two runs scored, and one walk. Enmanuel Valdez doubled three times as part of a 4 for 4 day in which he scored three runs, drew one walk, and stole two bases. Romy Gonzalez went 3 for 5 with three RBIs and one run scored. Like Meidroth, Bobby Dalbec and Niko Kavadas homered as well, with the former crushing a 444-foot solo shot for his second of the year and the latter drilling a 425-foot three-run blast for his sixth.
In an effort to manage his workload, Richard Fitts went just 3 2/3 innings in his sixth start of the season. The 24-year-old right-hander allowed one earned run on two hits, one walk, and four strikeouts. He threw 56 pitches (42 strikes) and induced a game-high 10 swings-and-misses. Out of the Worcester bullpen, Luis Guerrero, Bailey Horn, and Melvin Adon combined for 5 1/3 scoreless, one-hit frames of relief. Guerrero earned the winning decision to improve to 2-1 while Horn (making his organizational debut) faced the minimum in the top of the seventh.
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Isaac Coffey was solid in his fourth start of the season for Portland. The 23-year-old righty allowed only one earned run on two hits, three walks, and one hit batsman with three strikeouts over six quality innings of work. Of the 84 pitches he threw, 49 went for strikes and nine were whiff-inducing. Out of the Sea Dogs bullpen, Jacob Webb and Felix Cepeda combined for three scoreless frames of relief. Webb notched the winning decision to improve to 2-0 while Cepeda recorded his fifth save in six opportunities.
On an otherwise quiet afternoon for the Sea Dogs lineup at Hadlock Field, Matthew Lugo came through in the clutch with a go-ahead, two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. The homer was the seventh of the season for Lugo, who went 2 for 2 with a walk. Portland's only other extra-base hit belonged to Blaze Jordan, who went 1 for 4 with a fourth-inning double to extend his hitting streak to 14 games.
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Ronald Rosario went 2 for 5 with an RBI double that opened the scoring. Enderso Lira also enjoyed a multi-hit day, going 2 for 4 with an RBI and run scored out of the nine-hole. Allan Castro doubled for his lone hit of the afternoon while adding a walk, stolen base, and two runs scored. Tyler Miller plated Castro with a run-scoring double in the seventh inning. Luis Ravelo made his only hit count by clubbing a go-ahead, three-run home run with two outs in the top of the fifth.
Juan Encarnacion went 4 2/3 innings in his fourth start of the season for Greenville. The 23-year-old right-hander yielded two earned runs on seven hits, two walks, and eight strikeouts. He finished with 82 pitches (52 strikes) and induced 15 swings-and-misses. Gabriel Jackson (who picked up the win) and Reidis Sena then combined for 4 1/3 scoreless frames out of the Drive bullpen.
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Blake Wehunt recorded the first winning decision of his professional career in Salem on Sunday. The Kennesaw State product yielded just one hit and zero walks (one hit batsman) while striking out eight of the 17 batters he faced over five strong innings. Of the 75 pitches he threw, 48 went for strikes and 14 were whiff-inducing. Conor Steinbaugh and Royman Blanco combined to give up one run in four innings to close things out.
Marvin Alcantara led the way offensively by going 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI triple that turned into a little-league home run as a result of a throwing error. Miguel Bleis went 2 for 4 with a run scored while Nelly Taylor doubled in a run as part of a 1 for 4 afternoon. Jhostynxon Garcia went 0 for 3 with a walk in his first appearance since April 19.
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Player of the Day: Blake Wehunt lowered his ERA on the 2024 campaign to 1.15 after tossing five more scoreless innings for Salem on Sunday afternoon. The 23-year-old righty has held opposing hitters to a .148 batting average against to begin his first full professional season. He is currently ranked as the No. 38 prospect in the organization.
Photo Credit: Blake Wehunt by Kelly O'Connor