Cup of Coffee: A pair of potential reinforcements to the Red Sox pitching staff took the mound in Worcester on Tuesday night, as
Kyle Harrison allowed three runs in five innings and
Justin Slaten opened his rehab assignment with a dominant outing. Big games for
Brooks Brannon (
pictured) and
Ronald Rosario powered the Sea Dogs to a win. Greenville lost ground in their playoff hunt as
Luis Cohen struggled against Hub City and Salem was shut out in pitching duel. Both DSL teams lost in their regular season finales, but the Blue team put on a show, hitting back-to-back homers twice.
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Coming off his best outing since joining the WooSox, left-hander Kyle Harrison took a step back on Tuesday night. He allowed three runs on seven hits and a walk in five innings, striking out just two batters after fanning eight in his last start. Harrison now has a 3.61 ERA with 46 strikeouts and 25 walks in 46 1/3 innings with Worcester. Justin Slaten made the first appearance of his rehab assignment as he returns from a shoulder injury and he looked excellent, striking out the side in order. Bryan Mata threw a scoreless 1 2/3 innings and Zack Kelly added 1 1/3 shutout frames to pick up his first save in Worcester this season.
Leadoff hitter David Hamilton started the bottom of the first with a bang, ripping a home run to right-center. The WooSox pulled ahead for good with a three-run rally in the fourth inning. Seby Zavala drove in a run with a double and Phillip Sikes knocked a two-run single. Mikey Romero was 1 for 3 with a double and a walk.
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Ronald Rosario and Brooks Brannon were right in the middle of the action on a productive night for the Sea Dogs offense. Portland got off to a fast start in the first inning as Rosario drove in two runs with a double and Brannon collected an RBI single. Rosario added an RBI knock in the third inning and Brannon blasted a three-run homer. On the night, Rosario was 2 for 3 with two runs and three RBI and Brannon with 2 for 4 with four RBI. Shortstop Marvin Alcantara was 3 for 5 with a double and two runs scored.
Caleb Bolden turned in five solid innings to earn his third win with the Sea Dogs this season. He allowed two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out three batters. Jacob Webb threw two innings in relief, allowing a run on two hits while punching out two. Cooper Adams closed out the win with two shutout frames, allowing just one hit.
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Locked in a battle for the second-half South Atlantic League South division title, the Drive and Spartanburgers began a crucial series. Hub City pulled into a tie with Greenville with a win on Tuesday night, rocking Drive starter Luis Cohen for six runs on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings. The Drive bullpen was solid, as Erik Rivera threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings and Joe Vogatsky struck out three in 1 1/3 shutout frames, but it was too little too late. The Greenville bats couldn't string any rallies together, collecting just four hits. Franklin Arias was 1 for 4 with a double, recording Greenville's only extra-base hit of the night. Johanfran Garcia was 1 for 4 and scored the Drive's only run.
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It was a quiet night for the Salem bats as a double from Justin Gonzales and a single for Yoeilin Cespedes were their only two hits in a shutout loss. Alex Bouchard started for the Red Sox and allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk in four innings. Jay Allmer followed him with 2 1/3 solid innings, allowing a run on three hits while punching out two batters. Eybersson Polanco fanned five in 2 2/3 scoreless innings.
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The Blue team bats showed off their power with four home runs on Tuesday afternoon. After falling behind 5-0 early, they began to climb back into the game with back-to-back home runs from Justin Ogando and Edwin Darville in the second inning. Remarkably, the Red Sox Blue went back-to-back once again in the fifth inning as Josue Brito clubbed a two-run homer and was promptly followed by Andruw Zambrano. Juan Medina threw a scoreless first inning but surrendered five runs in a brutal second frame. Jainer Almanza threw one shutout inning after Medina was removed. However, Luis Cabrera and Michael Manjarres ran into trouble in the middle innings. Wascar Berroa and Yariel Valdez finished the game with 1 1/3 and 2/3 innings of scoreless ball.
The loss dropped Team Blue to the 13th seed in the final DSL postseason ordering. They will enter a four-team pool with the two Marlins' affiliates (DSL Miami and DSL Marlins) as well as the DSL Giants Black.
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The Red team closed out its season in a rout as the pitching staff could not contain the Padres Brown team's lineup. Starter Robert Moreno tossed the first two innings of the game, allowing three runs (one earned) on six hits. Eddison Septimo followed him with 1 2/3 innings of relief, giving up two runs on two hits and a walk. Leosmar Perez and Jose Golindano each allowed three runs in 1 1/3 and 1 inning, respectively. While the offense was quiet on the whole, two Red team hitters reached base three times. Designated hitter Alexander Alzi was 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. First baseman Miguel Rivera was 1 for 2 with two walks and an RBI single in the sixth inning.
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Player of the Day: Brooks Brannon's three-run bomb was a key blow in Portland's win against Binghamton. On the night, Brannon was 2 for 4 with a home run and four RBI. Brannon has struggled through 24 games since being promoted to Portland, slashing .167/.235/.300, and his home run on Tuesday night was his second with the Sea Dogs (seventh overall). Brannon's power is his best tool and he has split time between catcher and first base this season.
Photo Credit: Brooks Brannon by Kelly O'Connor
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