August 8, 2026 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Fermin walks off Salem; Anderson, Schaffner shine for Drive
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The WooSox continued their excellent stretch, winning for the 14th time in 16 games. Franklin Arias delivered the key hit, a two-run double in the fifth inning that snapped a 2-2 tie. The knock extended Arias' hitting streak to nine games. Mikey Romero was 2 for 4 with a homer, his first since July 17th. Mickey Gasper also collected a pair of hits, while Braiden Ward had a single, a hit-by-pitch, and his 51st stolen base of the year. Alec Gamboa got the opening nod in the bullpen game, surrendering a pair of runs on four hits in two innings. Noah Song was outstanding in his 3 1/3 innings, allowing one hit and striking out three without issuing a walk. Hobie Harris gave up one run in 1 2/3 innings, and Angel Bastardo finished things up with two frames, striking out three and allowing one run on a solo homer. The run snapped a stretch of six straight scoreless outings by Bastardo. He has not walked a batter in his last 11 appearances.
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A six-run rally in the seventh powered Portland as Devin Futrell made his Double-A debut. Futrell went five innings, surrendering four runs on eight hits, striking out five, and walking one. Patrick Halligan and Jeremy Wu-Yelland fired two scoreless innings apiece out of the bullpen. Halligan allowed just one hit in his two frames to earn the win, while Wu-Yelland fanned four in the save. A three-run homer off the bat of Miguel Bleis highlighted the Portland comeback. Bleis delivered his 11th homer of the year while going 2 for 4 on the evening. Brooks Brannon also went deep as part of a two-hit effort. Nate Baez went 3 for 5 with a run scored and two RBI, and Johanfran Garcia had two singles and a walk to raise his average to .296.
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Greenville had 13 hits and six walks but went just 2 for 16 with runners in scoring position. Jason Gilman made his Greenville debut, sliding into the slot previously occupied by Devin Futrell. Gilman allowed three runs on three hits in five innings, striking out seven and walking two. Antonio Anderson led the way at the plate, going 4 for 5 with a double, RBI, and run scored. First-round pick Jake Schaffner had a big night as he went 3 for 6 with a double and a pair of stolen bases. Justin Gonzales celebrated his move up to the number two position in the SoxProspects.com rankings by going 2 for 5 with a double. Owen Hull failed to get a base hit for the first time in five professional starts, but he did draw two walks and steal a base.
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Salem prevailed on a literal walk-off on Friday night. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, Anderson Fermin worked a free pass that plated pinch runner Givian Sirvania to send the Salem Memorial faithful home happy. Fermin drove in three of Salem's four runs, as he also had RBI singles in the second and sixth innings. Louis Andujar was 2 for 3 with a double and a pair of walks. Kleyver Salazar was held hitless but drew two walks and started the ninth-inning rally when he was hit by a pitch. Sadbiel Delzine was excellent on the mound, giving up two hits in 3 2/3 scoreless innings. He struck out five, walked one, and threw 40 of 57 pitches for strikes. Jose Bello got credit for the win in a piggyback role, going 5 1/3 innings and giving up three runs on three hits.
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Team Blue pounded out 13 hits in the seven-inning contest to deliver their fifth straight win. Top international free agent Garielvin Silverio led the way, going 3 for 4 with a home run, double, two runs scored, and three RBI. The big afternoon snapped a 3-for-32 skid for Silverio. Miguel Welch, Freyerso Vasquez, and Isaac Velasquez each had two-hit efforts that included a double apiece. After Harry Canedo retired the game's first two batters, Jesus Lopez came in from the bullpen to go 3 1/3 innings, allowing one run on two hits to get credit for the win.
Despite the win, a victory by the DSL Royals Fortuna club pushes Team Blue to the brink of elimination, sitting nine games out of first place with nine left to play.
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The Red squad has not been able to match Team Blue's late-season success, dropping their fifth straight. Eliezer Alfonzo led the way at the plate, going 2 for 2 with a double, walk, and RBI. Dawvris Brito added an RBI double, while Joskairo Ramirez ripped his 14th two-bagger of the season. Anthony Herrera got bulk duty on the mound, going 2 1/3 innings and allowing two runs on one hit and getting saddled with the losing decision.
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Player of the Day: Though his team failed to capitalize, Antonio Anderson continued his stretch of excellent play with a 4-for-5 Friday night effort. After a brutal 1-for-30 stretch to open the season, Anderson has hit .326/.410/.544 over 53 games since April 24th. He has been even better since taking over as Greenville's regular third baseman in mid-June, posting a .381/.449/.664 slash line with 10 doubles and six homers in his last 32 games.
Photo Credit: Antonio Anderson by Kelly O'Connor