June 10, 2024 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Dean dominates; Yorke crushes grand slam
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Richard Fitts took the loss in his start after allowing five runs (four earned) on four hits (including one home run), five walks, one hit batsman, and four strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings. Ryan Zeferjahn and Luis Guerrero each gave up homers as well while Bailey Horn tossed a scoreless ninth inning. Worcester's only extra-base hit came off the bat of Nick Yorke, who went 1 for 3 with a walk and an eighth-inning grand slam for his second big fly in as many days. Nick Sogard went 2 for 4 with one RBI and one run scored out of the leadoff spot. Masataka Yoshida drew one walk and scored one run in the second game of his rehab assignment.
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Roman Anthony led the way out of the leadoff spot, going 2 for 4 with his fifth home run of the season, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Kristian Campbell and Tyler McDonough also went 2 for 4, with the former doubling in two runs and the latter notching a two-run triple. Phillip Sikes and Alex Binelas both went 1 for 3 with a double while combining for three runs. Binelas drove in the go-ahead run (Sikes) with his sixth-inning double. Marcelo Mayer, meanwhile, went 1 for 3 with one walk and one run scored.
Wikelman Gonzalez struggled yet again in his start for Portland, surrendering seven earned runs on seven hits, three walks, three hit batsmen, and just one strikeout over 4 1/3 innings. Robert Kwiatkowski improved to 7-0 with the Sea Dogs this year by scattering three hits and one walk across 2 2/3 scoreless frames out of the bullpen. Felix Cepeda contributed with two more shutout innings of relief to notch his 11th save of the season.
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A four-run ninth inning propelled Greenville to a come-from-behind win. Cutter Coffey paced the Drive lineup by going 3 for 5 with one home run, two RBIs, and one run scored. Jhostynxon Garcia and Bryan Gonzalez also went deep for their only hits of the contest. Mikey Romero went 2 for 4 with one walk and one run scored out of the leadoff spot while Luis Ravelo went 2 for 5 with a pair of RBI singles and two runs scored.
Dalton Rogers did not fare well in his start, as he allowed five runs (four earned) on four hits, four walks, and five strikeouts over 2 2/3 innings. Gabriel Jackson and Nathan Landry were each tagged for two runs out of the bullpen. Adam Smith, on the other hand, yielded just one hit across 2 1/3 scoreless frames of relief en route to picking up the winning decision.
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Noah Dean put forth a strong start for Salem, striking out eight and walking only one over five scoreless, no-hit innings. He finished with 70 pitches (45 strikes) and elicited 13 swings-and-misses. In relief of Dean, Trennor O'Donnell allowed two earned runs on four hits, one walk, and two strikeouts across four innings out of the bullpen. Offensively, Nazzan Zanetello made his only hit of the day count by going 1 for 3 with a solo home run. Antonio Anderson drew two walks and scored two runs while Miguel Bleis went 1 for 4 with a two-run single. Brooks Brannon and Nelly Taylor both drove in runs as well.
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Player of the Day: Noah Dean gets the nod here after tying his season-high in strikeouts (8) on Sunday. The 23-year-old lefty has posted a 1.89 ERA with 24 strikeouts to seven walks over his last five outings (three starts) and 19 innings pitched dating back to May 10. As noted by our own Ian Cundall, Dean has relied more on his slider and less on his fastball while minimizing hard contact as of late, though command and control is still a work in progress.
Photo Credit: Noah Dean by Kelly O'Connor