June 1, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Early continues to shine, Brannon homers twice in Greenville
6/1 Cup of Coffee: It was a mixed bag of results across the farm system, as Connelly Early (pictured) starred on the mound for Portland, Johanfran Garcia continued his rehab in the complex league, and Brooks Brannon stayed hot in Greenville.
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Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (NYY) 3, Worcester Red Sox 0
Despite eight walks drawn by the WooSox offense, Worcester failed to record a hit with runners in scoring position to drop its second straight game. In the shutout, Roman Anthony reached base twice with a walk and a single that left his bat at 111.8 mph and Ryan Noda singled and drew a pair of walks.
On the mound, Zach Penrod opened the game and struggled with his command, walking a pair and throwing just 10 of his 23 pitches of strikes in 2/3 of an inning. After Zack Kelly recorded the final out of the first, Tyler Uberstine pitched in bulk relief, allowing three runs on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.
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Portland Sea Dogs 9, Altoona Curve (PIT) 3 (Game 1)
In a continuation from Friday's suspended game, Portland broke out with six runs across the eighth and ninth innings to pull away. Prior to the game being suspended, Connelly Early continued to showcase his swing-and-miss potential. The left-hander registered eight strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings. Jack Anderson took the mound at the start of the continuation and picked up the win with 3 1/3 scoreless innings in relief.
Offensively, Allan Castro and Ronald Rosario led the way with multi-hit afternoons with Castro driving in a pair and Rosario producing a run-scoring double. Caden Rose put the finishing touches on the victory with a three-run home run to cap off a four-run ninth inning.
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Picking up where it left off in the first game of the doubleheader, Portland plated five runs in the top of the first inning capped off by a Tyler Miller two-run triple. After adding one more run in the top of the fifth on an RBI double by Ronald Rosario, Portland surrendered six runs in the bottom of the inning to knot things up. Portland took the lead again in the eighth inning thanks to a sacrifice fly by Caden Rose, but it gave up three in the bottom of the frame to fall in walk-off fashion.
Zach Bryant was charged with the loss, pitching the final 2 2/3 innings while allowing all three runs in the bottom of the eighth. Blaze Jordan capped off an impressive month of May with a 3-for-3 stat line with a walk and an RBI added.
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Greenville Drive 6, Jersey Shore Blueclaws (PHI) 3
It was the second outing of rehab for Chris Murphy, who followed up his scoreless inning on Wednesday with 1 1/3 frames on Saturday with two walks and three strikeouts added to his line. He threw 15 of his 30 pitches for strikes. After Murphy, John Holobetz and Shea Sprague pitched, with Sprague picking up the win as he pitched the final 3 1/3 innings.
Miguel Bleis and Brooks Brannon led the way on offense as Bleis slugged his sixth home run of the season while Brannon belted a pair of long balls as part of a 3-for-4 day.
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Salem Red Sox vs. Carolina Mudcats (MIL), Postponed
Saturday's game between Salem and Carolina was postponed due to inclement weather. The game will be made up at a later date.
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FCL Red Sox 3, FCL Twins 1
The Red Sox got a stellar pitching performance out of the bullpen from Yoelvin Chirino and a clutch two-run double by Franyer Noria in the bottom of the fifth inning to earn the victory. Chirino entered the game after Joey Gartrell and Calvin Bickerstaff each recorded scoreless outings. Chirino tossed the final three innings, allowing one run on two hits while adding seven strikeouts on his way to earning the win.
Outside of Noria's eventual game-winning hit, Johanfran Garcia continued his rehab with a 1-for-2 outing while adding his third double of the season.
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Player of the Day: Despite having his outing cut short by rain, Connelly Early dazzled in the first game of the day on Saturday. Early struck out eight Altoona hitters across 4 2/3 innings. The 2023 fifth-round pick closes May with a 1.80 ERA with 33 strikeouts over 20 innings. He is currently ranked as the ninth-ranked prospect in the system.
Photo Credit: Connelly Early by Kelly O'Connor