August 23, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Tolle highlights day of dominant pitching; DSL Blue advances
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Payton Tolle was dominant in his five innings of work before things went sideways against the Worcester bullpen. Tolle surrendered a soft double down the line to the game's leadoff hitter, the only baserunner the left-hander would allow. He retired the final 15 batters he faced, with that leadoff double coming on to score on a groundout followed by a wild pitch. He struck out nine and threw 45 of his 63 pitches for strikes. Justin Slaten followed, making his second appearance of his rehab stint. He allowed an unearned run on one hit in his inning of work, walking one and striking out a pair. David Sandlin continued to have mixed results in his tryout in a bullpen role. After consecutive scoreless efforts, Sandlin struggled on Friday, allowing four runs in 1/3 of an inning.
Kristian Campbell had Worcester's only multi-hit effort, going 2 for 4 with a double and a walk. Nick Sogard hit a solo homer in the first, while Mikey Romero had a double and a walk.
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Eduardo Rivera battled some wobbly control as he took the loss at Hadlock Field. Rivera went three innings, allowing two runs on three hits, walking three, and hitting a pair of batters as he struck out five. Caden Rose led the way at the plate, going 2 for 4 with a triple, an RBI, and a run scored. Ahbram Liendo walked, singled, drove in a run, and stole his organization-leading 38th base.
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Down 2-0 from the fifth inning on, the Drive staged a dramatic comeback in the ninth before picking up the victory in extra innings. Maximus Martin made a memorable Greenville debut with an RBI single that snapped the shutout bid. Freili Encarnacion followed that with a game-tying double that sent the contest into extras. In the 11th, a pair of walks advanced automatic runner Franklin Arias to third, where he raced home on a wild pitch with the go-ahead run. Martin was 2 for 4 with a walk and a steal on the evening, while Encarnacion matched him with a pair of hits. Arias scored two of the three runs, going 1 for 4 with a walk.
Jedixson Paez was excellent as he continues to work his way back from a calf injury that cost him over three months. The 21-year-old righty retired the first seven batters he faced before surrendering a leadoff single. He then struck out his final two opponents to finish with five punchouts over three innings. He has 10 strikeouts without issuing a walk in 5 2/3 innings since returning. Shea Sprague followed, going four innings in a piggyback role. He allowed two runs on six hits, walking and striking out two apiece. Isaac Stebens got credit for the win with his three scoreless frames, scattering three hits and walking one against two punchouts. Noah Dean walked one and struck out two in a hitless 11th for the save.
Greenville and Hub City entered the day in a three-way tie with Bowling Green for first place in the South Division's second-half standings. Bowling Green also was victorious to keep pace with the Drive with 15 games remaining--including six head-to-head--on the schedule.
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The strong slate of pitching continued down to the Carolina League, as Salem needed only three hits to knock off Carolina in the completion of Thursday's suspended game. After Yhoiker Fajardo went a scoreless first in the false start, Jesus Travieso got the first call when play resumed Friday. Travieso allowed a run on five hits in four innings, walking one while matching a season high with eight strikeouts. Patrick Galle, Boston's 17th-round pick in July's draft out of Mississippi, made his professional debut in relief. He went two hitless innings to help hold onto the lead, walking two. Calvin Bickerstaff went the final two scoreless frames for the save, allowing one hit, walking one, and striking out three. Gernardo Rodriguez had a solo home run in the second inning in addition to a walk. Starlyn Nunez picked up his 20th double of the year and scored a run. Justin Gonzales extended his hitting streak to five games with a leadoff single. He is hitting .343/.405/.529 in 17 games in August.
Salem and Carolina were to play their regularly scheduled game following the completion, but rainy conditions pushed that contest to Saturday as part of a doubleheader.
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Team Blue advanced to the Dominican Summer League semifinals with a win and some help. Juanyerlin Duran went the first two innings, giving up one run on four hits, before the bullpen went a combined seven shutout innings. Yander Bonaci got credit for the win with his four scoreless frames, scattering two hits and striking out five without walking a batter. Angel Lopez went the next two scoreless before Erickson Ettien notched a perfect ninth for the save. At the plate, Andruw Zambrano was 1 for 3 with a double, a walk, and an RBI. Top prospects Harold Rivas and Dorian Soto had a walk and run scored apiece.
The win, combined with the Giants Black win over the DSL Miami squad, gave the Sox an early ticket to the league semis. As Team Blue holds the tiebreaker over both the Giants and Marlins clubs, Saturday's contest will not be played. They join the DSL Pirates Gold and DSL Padres Gold in the semis, with the fourth spot still up in the air among all four teams in that pool. The semifinals are scheduled to begin on Sunday.
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Player of the Day: The standout on a stellar day of pitching, Payton Tolle showed why he's emerged as the system's top prospect. After a rocky first intro to the International League, Tolle has breezed through his last two outings, giving up just one run on four hits in 10 innings, striking out 14. He dropped his ERA on the year to 3.04 in 91 2/3 innings across three levels, and his 133 strikeouts give him 17 more than anyone else in the system.
Photo Credit: Payton Tolle by Kelly O'Connor