August 18, 2024 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Another sweep for the affiliates; Duffy strikes out nine
8/18 Cup of Coffee: The full-season affiliates went undefeated again on Saturday. A stellar start from Brad Keller led Worcester, while home runs from Phillip Sikes, Jhostynxon Garcia, and Corey Rosier propelled Portland. Matt Duffy (pictured) led a shutout for Salem with his nine strikeouts.
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Worcester won by a score of 3-0 for the second straight night. Brad Keller led the way with six innings, walking one and striking out four. Greg Weissert struck out two in the seventh, and Joely Rodríguez closed it out with a two-inning save. Jamie Westbrook led the offense, going 2 for 3 with a double, triple, and an RBI. Chase Meidroth saw his on-base percentage climb to .444 as he went 2 for 3 with a walk and an RBI, and Eddy Alvarez went 2 for 2 with two doubles and a walk.
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The Sea Dogs launched three home runs in a rout of Binghamton. Phillip Sikes, Jhostynxon Garcia, and Corey Rosier went deep, with Rosier and Garcia notching their first with Portland. Sikes had three hits, and Kristian Campbell went 2 for 5 with a double. Thanks to four shutout innings, Wikelman Gonzalez pushed his ERA under 5.70 for the first time this season. He walked one and struck out four while allowing two hits. Brendan Cellucci followed and allowed two runs in his 3 2/3 innings, and Zach Bryant recorded the final four outs.
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Greenville survived a late rally from Aberdeen to hang on for the win. Hayden Mullins worked in and out of trouble, limiting the IronBirds to one run in five innings. He struck out four, walked four, and allowed four hits. Cooper Adams was more economical, needing just 30 pitches to get through his three scoreless frames. Juan Montero drew three walks and doubled, while Will Turner went 1 for 4 with a two-run double and a walk. Reidis Sena got a ground out with the bases loaded in the ninth to earn the save.
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Salem's pitching was dominant as they moved to a game back of Fredericksburg in the second-half standings. Matt Duffy was brilliant, striking out nine over five shutout innings. He walked one and allowed two hits. Max Carlson struck out five in his three innings, and Nathanael Cruz tossed a scoreless ninth. Kelvin Diaz hit his first home run and triple since his promotion from the FCL as part of a 2-for-4 night. Antonio Anderson went 2 for 5 with a double, and Marvin Alcantara had two singles.
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Player of the Day: Matt Duffy threw five scoreless innings for the second straight start, with Saturday's outing including a career-high nine strikeouts. His ERA dropped to 2.99, and he has 84 strikeouts in 84 1/3 innings this year. The 22-year-old was a fourth-round pick in 2023 out of Canisius and is currently ranked 60th in the system. SoxProspects.com Executive Editor Chris Hatfield was at Duffy's start, noting that his fastball was 92-94, pairing that with his changeup to get several whiffs.
Photo Credit: Matt Duffy by Kelly O'Connor