June 7, 2026 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Witherspoon wins his first game in Greenville, Liendo racks up five RBIs
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The WooSox were able to get to a rehabbing Shane Bieber with three runs through the first two innings. Matt Thaiss and Vinny Capra each recorded run-scoring doubles in the bottom of the first and Tyler McDonough slammed his first home run since being promoted from Portland in the second. While Worcester took the lead, Eduardo Rivera pitched two scoreless frames before Garrett Whitlock made his first rehab appearance in the third. The Boston reliever allowed a hit and walked two but did not allow a run in his lone inning.
Buffalo got a pair of runs off Noah Song across the fourth and fifth and an unearned run in the sixth against Jacob Webb to tie the game at three, but Worcester put the game away in the bottom half of the frame with four runs. Allan Castro drove in a pair with a double, McDonough grabbed his second RBI of the game on a sacrifice fly, and Braiden Ward singled home the seventh run for the WooSox. Angel Bastardo pitched the final two innings to close out the win.
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At one point, Portland held a 3-1 lead thanks to a bases-clearing double by Ahbram Liendo, but the Sea Dogs pitching staff struggled in the middle innings, allowing nine runs across the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to drop its third game in a row. Caleb Bolden was charged with the loss after coming on in relief of Jedixson Paez. Bolden allowed five runs while only recording five outs with four hits allowed. While the pitching staff had a rough night, the offense tallied 12 hits as five different Portland hitters registered multi-hit outings. Along with Liendo, Ronald Rosario, Nelly Taylor, Miguel Bleis, and Caden Rose all had two hits apiece. Liendo was the leader in production however, following up his three-run double with a sacrifice fly and RBI single in what turned into a five-RBI evening.
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Kyson Witherspoon continued a stretch of strong performances on the mound on Saturday, earning the first victory of his professional career. The right-hander struck out six across 5 1/3 innings, scattering four hits and a walk as the only baserunners he allowed. Matt McShane earned the save with 1 2/3 innings of relief, allowing two runs on four hits with three strikeouts.
Offensively, Jack Winnay and Mason White continued their torrid seasons with each slugging their tenth home runs of the year. The pair went back-to-back to open the third inning, giving the Drive a 2-1 lead that they would not relinquish. Enddy Azocar and Ronny Hernandez added a pair of hits each with Azocar bringing his average to .300 since being promoted to Greenville. Hernandez hit his fourth home run of the year, a two-run shot that extended the Drive's lead to 6-1.
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Needing one more out to secure the win and a runner on second, Jay Allmer allowed a single to bring home the tying run and another single to the very next batter to lose in walk-off fashion. Salem took a brief 1-0 lead in the top of the first after Andrews Opata singled, stole second and scored on a single by Andruw Musett. Jacob Mayers allowed his only two runs of the contest on the mound in the bottom half of the frame, but settled in to strike out six in 3 2/3 innings. Christian Foutch and Nicolas De La Cruz combined to pitched the following five frames while holding Wilson scoreless. Salem tied the game at 2 in the eighth on another run-scoring single by Musett to send the game to extras. Salem took a 3-2 lead in the top of the tenth on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Stanley Tucker before falling in the bottom half.
Musett led the way for the RidgeYaks with three hits and his aforementioned two RBIs. Opata, Givian Sirvania and Louis Andujar all had multi-hit outings in the loss as well.
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Franklin Primera continues to knock the cover off the ball to begin his season. The catcher and newly minted 13th-ranked prospect in the newest SoxProspects list had two hits including a three-run home run to power the FCL squad to victory. Primera now boasts a .417/.556/.667 slashline in 20 games at the complex. Liosward Marin added his second home run of the year in the bottom of the second to give the team the lead for good. Tavano Baker and Christopher Alvarado joined Primera with multi-hit outings of their own. Jakson Gamboa earned the win in bulk relief with 3 2/3 innings of work, allowing five hits, two runs, two walks and three strikeouts. Gamboa followed Jeremy Wu-Yelland, who started the game as part of his rehab stint. The left-hander recorded a pair of outs on strikeouts but walked two as well.
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Trailing 3-1 entering the bottom of the fifth, team Blue put up a five-run frame the take the lead and earn its first victory of the season after dropping its first four contests. It was a big game for Emmanuel Figuereo, as the outfielder went 2 for 3 with a three-run home run that turned out to be the game-winner. Miguel Welch drove in a run with a single in the second and Esterlin Casanova added two RBIs of his own as part of the fifth inning rally on a single. Eddison Septimo earned the win out of the bullpen in 1 1/3 innings despite allowing a pair of runs in his outing. He followed Cristian Alcantara who held his opponents to a single run across four innings with four hits and four strikeouts.
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DSL Red Sox Red vs. DSL Padres Gold, Postponed
The other DSL contest in the Red Sox system on Saturday was washed out due to rain. It is unsure if and when the game will be made up.
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Player of the Day: After a rocky start to his career, Kyson Witherspoon appears to have found his footing in Greenville. After his outing on Saturday in which he struck out six in just over five innings, the right-hander has now allowed just two runs over his last three starts which has extended over 14 2/3 innings while adding 16 strikeouts in that span. Witherspoon is currently the third-ranked prospect at SoxProspects.
Photo Credit: Kyson Witherspoon by Kelly O'Connor
