June 21, 2026 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Gonzales breaks out of slump in Greenville, Portland pulls off stunning walk-off win
-----
Despite recording 10 hits as a team, the WooSox stranded seven runners on base and went just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position as they fell short. Worcester got their runs from a sacrifice fly by Mikey Romero, a solo home run off the bat of Allan Castro, and an RBI single from Tyler McDonough as the WooSox led 3-2 after four innings. After Osvaldo Berrios and Eduardo Rivera pitched two innings each, Alec Gamboa was charged with a blown save as he allowed the tying run in the fifth. Gamboa struck out three over his three frames of work, handing the ball off to Kyle Keller, who took the loss with a run charged to his line while recording just one out.
Castro was the leader offensively on Saturday with his home run being part of a 3-for-4 evening. He also added a double and scored a run. McDonough and Tsung-Che Cheng also had multi-hit performances and Kristian Campbell added a walk as well as an outfield assist.
-----
Trailing 6-3 entering the bottom of the ninth, Portland plated four runs, capped off by a walk-off fielder's choice off the bat of Marvin Alcantara. In the final frame, every Sea Dogs hitter to come to the plate reached base as Franklin Arias singled, Will Turner was hit by a pitch, Nate Baez singled, Brooks Brannon was hit by a pitch to bring in a run, Johanfran Garcia singled to plate a pair and tie the game to set the scene for Alcantara's knock. Garcia and Nelly Taylor each had two hits, and Arias went 3 for 5 with a run scored as he played second base for the first time this season. Brannon also belted his tenth home run of the season earlier in the contest while also drawing a walk of his own.
On the mound, John Holobetz was tagged for four runs in four innings with six strikeouts on his pitching line. Jedixson Paez followed the right-hander with four innings of his own, surrendering two runs. Cooper Adams pitched a scoreless ninth and picked up his seventh win of the season.
-----
The Drive jumped out to a lead that would hold all game in the top of the first as Justin Gonzales hit his first home run since May 31. The Greenville outfielder followed a leadoff walk by Enddy Azocar with a two-run shot for his eighth of the season. The would end up being all the runs Greenville would need for Alex Bouchard, who limited Jersey Shore to a single run over five innings in his sixth start of the season. He scattered three hits, did not walk a batter, and struck out five. The Drive picked up single runs in the fifth and eighth as Jack Winnay plated Gonzales on a fielding error, and Mason White singled home Isaiah Jackson. Ben Hansen followed Bouchard on the mound with four scoreless innings to pick up his first save of the year.
Gonzales led the charge offensively with his home run as well as drawing a walk and swiping a base, a positive game in what has been a tough month. Azocar reached base twice on walks, and Yophery Rodriguez doubled and singled as part of a 2-for-4 night.
-----
Salem's pitching was tagged for two runs in each of the first three innings and found itself trailing 9-0 after four innings thanks to 10 hits and 11 walks by the RidgeYaks pitching staff. Christian Foutch fell to 0-5 after struggling to find the strike zone. The right-hander walked five in two innings that eventually led to four earned runs. He struck out three and also allowed a home run. Yermain Ruiz allowed five runs of his own in three frames before Griffin Kilander and Nicolas De La Cruz combined to allow one run over the final three. The Salem offense recorded ten singles and left 11 runners on base in a frustrating night at the plate. Kleyver Salazar reached base four times with two hits and two walks while Anderson Fermin and Louis Andujar also had two hits in the loss.
-----
FCL Twins 8, FCL Red Sox 1 (Suspended)
Saturday's contest between the Twins and Red Sox complex squads was suspended due to rain in the top of the fourth inning. The game will be resumed on June 26.
-----
Team Blue quickly fell behind 3-0 after two innings as Cristian Alcanatra struggled in his third start of the season. The right-hander surrendered three runs (two earned runs) in his pair of innings with four hits, a walk and three strikeouts. After scoring a run in the top of the sixth on an Esterlin Casanova RBI groundout, team Blue managed to load the bases in the seventh with two outs before Isaac Velasquez grounded out to end the game. Garielvin Silverio led the way with a pair of hits including his first double of the season while scoring the team's only run of the contest. Rinangel Mayora starred on the mound with three scoreless innings in relief following Alcantara.
-----
Team Red grabbed a quick 1-0 in the first thanks to a run-scoring single off the bat of Edgardo Gutierrez that drove in Helvin Mendoza. Yeider Pineda ran into trouble on the mound in the top half of the frame, loading the bases with one out before being taken out for Anthony Herrera. Herrera managed to escape the threat and went on to hold the Dodgers scoreless over 4 2/3 innings. He allowed one hit, walked two and struck out six. Still holding the one-run lead into the sixth, Ranfi Vargas struggled by allowing two runs in the frame and three more in the seventh to put Team Red behind for good. Vargas would take the loss with four hits allowed along with the runs. Gutierrez paced the squad with a pair of hits as well as the aforementioned RBI. Andruw Zambrano was the only other member to reach base twice as he walked a pair of times in the defeat.
-----
Player of the Day: In what hopefully is a sign of things to come, Justin Gonzales busted out of a slump with a strong all-around game on Saturday. The slugging outfielder's home run ended a 12-game homerless drought and brought his OPS up to .769. Entering Saturday's win, Gonzales was slashing just .149/.273/.149 with no extra-base hits in the month of June. It remains to be seen if the SoxProspects' 5th-ranked prospect's latest performance will propel him on a hot streak.
Photo Credit: Justin Gonzales by Kelly O'Connor