June 2, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Garcia, Bleis, and Gonzales homer; Song spotless again
6/2 Cup of Coffee: Jhostynxon Garcia raised his OPS to 1.113 with another home run, while Zach Ehrhard (pictured) launched two for Portland. Greenville lost a slugfest in extra innings, and Salem could not capitalize on a big day from Justin Gonzales.
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Worcester scored runs in bunches to salvage a series split with the RailRiders. After being blanked through five frames, the bats woke up to score seven runs over the next three innings. Home runs from Jhostynxon Garcia and Tyler McDonough were the key hits, with both players ultimately driving in three runs as they added run-scoring singles. Yasmani Grandal went 1 for 2 with a double and two walks, and Karson Simas went 2 for 4. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre scored all four of its runs in the third inning, with three coming off José De León and the other from Wyatt Mills. The win went to Brendan Cellucci, who pitched a scoreless sixth, and Isaiah Campbell earned the save with two clean innings.
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The Curve scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth to earn a series split. A quality start from Yordanny Monegro was erased after Altoona got to Reidis Sena for one run and Yovanny Cruz for three. Monegro allowed three runs over six innings, striking out two without issuing a free pass. The offense was led by Zach Ehrhard, who went 2 for 3 with two home runs. Mark Kolozsvary also went deep while notching two hits, and Mikey Romero returned from a four-day absence to go 0 for 5 with a strikeout.
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The Drive had game-tying hits in the bottom of the ninth, 10th, and 11th innings, but ultimately came up short. In the bottom of the ninth, the Drive scored a run on an error, and then Justin Riemer tied the game with a single. In the 10th, Miguel Bleis launched a two-run shot to tie the game, and Franklin Arias tied it with a double in the 11th. Antonio Anderson added a sacrifice fly in the 12th, but Nelly Taylor was stranded at first to end the game. Bleis finished the day 3 for 6 with three runs scored, while Riemer, Arias, and Anderson all had two hits.
Noah Dean struggled over his four frames, allowing three runs while allowing nine baserunners. Danny Kirwin followed with three innings of one-hit ball, and Albert Feliz took the loss after surrendering three runs (one earned) over two innings.
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Justin Gonzales launched a lead-off home run, but Salem's offense went quiet from there. It was the first Low-A four-bagger for Gonzales, who finished the day 2 for 4 with a double and a steal. A solo home run from Starlyn Nunez accounted for the other run, while Freili Encarnacion went 1 for 2 with two walks. Devin Futrell acted as the opener, allowing one run in the first. He turned it over to Noah Song, who tallied three strikeouts over two perfect innings. Song is up to six scoreless innings on his rehab assignment. Blake Aita finished the final five innings but allowed three solo home runs as he took the loss.
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Player of the Day: Zach Ehrhard had gotten off to a slow start with Portland in his first two weeks after being promoted from Greenville. But his .448 OPS entering the day was dragged down by a .188 batting average on balls in play. While technically his two home runs on Sunday will not change his BABIP, it did boost his OPS to .681. The 21-year-old gets to share a dugout with his older brother Drew Ehrhard, and he will hope that Sunday's fireworks are a sign of things to come this summer with Portland.
Photo Credit: Zach Ehrhard by Kelly O'Connor