June 3, 2024 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Perales shines in Portland debut; Chacon walks it off in Greenville
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Justin Hagenman went three innings in his start for Worcester. The righty allowed just one hit and two walks while striking out two over three scoreless innings. Naoyuki Uwasawa and Lucas Luetge combined for four shutout, no-hit innings out of the bullpen before Bailey Horn surrendered his first three runs as a member of the Red Sox organization in the bottom of the eighth. Only one of those three runs was charged to Horn as a result of an Eddy Alvarez fielding error. At the plate, Tyler Heineman accounted for his side's lone run by driving in Nathan Hickey on a sacrifice fly. Both Chase Meidroth and Nick Sogard went 1 for 3 with a walk.
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Luis Perales was sharp in his Double-A debut on Sunday. The highly-touted righty surrendered just one unearned run on two hits and one walk with seven strikeouts over five strong innings. He finished with 67 pitches (47 strikes) and elicited 12 swings-and-misses en route to picking up his first win for Portland.
Mickey Gasper led the way offensively by going 2 for 4 with a double, four RBIs, and one walk. Tyler Miller belted a solo shot in the fourth inning for his first homer at the Double-A level. Eddinson Paulino tripled and drove in two runs as part of a 1 for 4 afternoon while Marcelo Mayer went 1 for 3 with an RBI single and two walks. Nick Decker, who has been getting more playing time in the absence of Roman Anthony, drew two walks, scored two runs, and stole two bases out of the nine-hole.
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A six-run ninth inning propelled Greenville to a walk-off win on Sunday. Juan Chacon played hero by knocking in the tying and winning runs on a two-run double with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Kristian Campbell, who went 1 for 3 with one double, one walk, and one run scored, accounted for the Drive's only other extra-base hit. Mikey Romero and Jhostynxon Garcia each went 2 for 4 with a walk and run scored while Ahbram Liendo went 2 for 3. Cutter Coffey, Ronald Rosario, and Miguel Ugueto combined for four RBIs.
Yordanny Monegro went four innings in his first start for Greenville since last September. The righty allowed one run on three hits, two walks, and two strikeouts. Jeremy Wu-Yelland surrendered one run in the top of the fifth before making way for Jedixson Paez, who notched the win in his High-A debut after yielding three runs (two earned) on six hits (including two homers), zero walks, and four strikeouts over four innings of relief. He finished with 54 pitches (41 strikes) and induced a game-high 10 swings-and-misses.
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Jojo Ingrassia took the loss in his start for Salem after allowing three earned runs on four hits, zero walks, and two strikeouts over four innings. Nathanael Cruz gave up one run in three innings of relief before CJ Weins put up a zero in the bottom of the eighth. Andy Lugo paced the Red Sox lineup by going 2 for with an RBI double. Marvin Alcantara, who scored on Lugo's double, also went 2 for 4 with his fourth stolen base of the season. Miguel Bleis, making his first appearance since May 28, singled in four trips to the plate.
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Player of the Day: Luis Perales gets the nod here after impressing in his Portland debut. The 21-year-old hurler joined the Sea Dogs last week after posting a 3.42 ERA with 46 strikeouts to 10 walks in his first seven starts (26 1/3 innings) of the season for Greenville. As recently noted by director of scouting Ian Cundall, Perales will return to his spot as the organization's top pitching prospect in our next rankings update.
Photo Credit: Luis Perales by Kelly O'Connor