5/3 Cup of Coffee: Amid a winless night across the Boston affiliates on Saturday, some exciting season debuts occurred with the beginning of the Complex League season kicking off.
Conrad Cason homered twice in his return to the field,
Franklin Arias picked up another extra-base hit in Portland's loss, and
Justin Gonzales reached base three times in Greenville's game.
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It was a tough day on the mound for Michael Sansone, allowing six runs in his 5 1/3 innings of work on Saturday. The left-hander also struck out five but surrendered a pair of home runs in his outing. Worcester took a brief lead after trailing 4-0 thanks to a two-run home run by Allan Castro in the fourth, a solo home run by Nathan Hickey in the fifth and two runs scoring thanks to a fielding error off the bat of Hickey in the sixth to make it 5-4 WooSox before Rochester took the lead in the bottom half for good.
Jacob Webb followed Sansone on the mound as the only other pitcher to appear in the game, tossing 2 2/3 innings, allowing one run with a hit, two walks and two strikeouts on his line. Outside of Castro and Hickey's productive days at the plate, Vinny Capra recorded a multi-hit day to boost his OPS on the season to 1.072 in 23 games.
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An eight-run fourth inning by Somerset put the Sea Dogs away early as Portland dropped its third in a row. Despite allowing just one of the 11 runs on the evening, Jedixson Paez took the loss with his 2 2/3 innings of work in his second start of the season. After Paez, Shea Sprague recorded four outs but allowed eight runs on seven hits (three home runs) and a pair of walks. Calvin Bickerstaff pitched three innings of two-run ball in his Double-A debut, and Caleb Bolden pitched a scoreless eighth with a hit allowed.
Offensively it was a quiet night for the Sea Dogs, with only five hits scattered throughout the night. Franklin Arias stayed hot at the plate with his fifth double of the year and Brooks Brannon went 2 for 4 with a double of his own.
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Greenville led the game 2-1 entering the late innings, but the Drive pitching staff allowed a run in the seventh, three in the eighth, and one in the ninth to drop its third straight. Devin Futrell continued his hot start since earning a promotion from Salem with 5 1/3 innings with a run allowed on three hits. He walked two and struck out five while throwing 56 of his 84 pitches for strikes to lower his High-A ERA to 1.26 across 14 1/3 innings.
While Futrell was dealing, Henry Godbout doubled home Justin Gonzales after the right fielder tripled to open the bottom of the first and Gerardo Rodriguez plated Gonzales again in the fifth on a single to left field. Leading 2-1 entering the late innings, Danny Kirwin, who eventually took the loss, allowed four runs (two earned runs) in his two innings on the mound on four hits with a walk and strikeout. Matt McShane followed him and allowed the run in the ninth while recording four outs in his appearance.
Gonzales' day at the plate featured the aforementioned triple, a walk, a hit by pitch as well as scoring the only runs for Greenville. Godbout hit a pair of doubles and stole a base to up his OPS on the season to .872, and Rodriguez followed the Drive shortstop with his own two-hit performance.
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Salem was held hitless through the first six innings and only mustered a pair of knocks in the contest. While the team did walk seven times as well, it went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position to keep them off the scoreboard. Dalvinson Reyes took the loss after allowing five runs (four earned runs) in 3 1/3 innings along with four hits, a home run, three walks and three strikeouts. Barrett Morgan was a bright spot on the mound as Boston's 11th-round pick from last year's draft held Wilson scoreless over 3 2/3 frames with seven strikeouts to lower his season ERA to 0.96. Adam Bates followed in the eight and gave up five runs of his own on four hits.
Starlyn Nunez, Ilan Fernandez and Anderson Fermin each reached base multiple times, with Fernandez walking twice and recording a single.
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The Red Sox dropped its first game of the Florida Complex League in heartbreaking fashion, allowing five runs to score in the bottom of the seventh after leading 6-3 entering the final half-inning. Yoelvin Chirino took the loss along with a blown save after he could not record an out and allowed five runs on two hits with a pair of walks.
The unfortunate ending overshadowed a promising day for a handful of notable prospects. On the offensive side, Dorian Soto went 1 for 3 with a walk in his stateside debut, Harold Rivas walked twice and scored a run, and Conrad Cason slugged a pair of home runs in the defeat. After only appearing in two games last season, Cason showcased some power that makes him an intriguing two-way player. On the mound, Carter Rasmussen was the star pitching in relief. In his two innings of work, Boston's 14th-round pick from last year's draft struck out three while walking three in the process.
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Player of the Day: Although the Red Sox fell in its FCL opener,
Conrad Cason quickly reminded Boston fans why the organization was so high on him entering last season. Cason hit a pair of solo home runs, his first two as a professional, in a 2-for-4 day. While the two-way player is not pitching this season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, the 19-year-old's bat is very much a weapon on its own. Cason is currently ranked the 38th-ranked prospect at SoxProspects.com
Photo Credit: Conrad Cason by Kelly O'Connor
