August 21, 2026 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Heyman, Martin power Greenville; Song has career night
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Gage Ziehl went four innings and took the loss in his start for Worcester, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits (including one home run), three walks, and two strikeouts. He threw 82 pitches (49 strikes) and generated 10 whiffs. In relief of Ziehl, Noah Song struck out a career-high seven over three frames of one-run ball, while Devin Sweet worked a scoreless eighth inning. Offensively, the WooSox were held to just four hits (all singles) as a team. Brett Harris accounted for two of those knocks. Franklin Arias and Nate Eaton, who each drew a walk, were responsible for the others.
With the loss, Worcester remains 1 1/2 games back of Indianapolis for first place in the International League second-half standings.
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Hayden Mullins went five innings and took the loss in his start for Portland, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits, one walk, and eight strikeouts. He threw 82 pitches (60 strikes) and generated 17 whiffs. Caleb Bolden, Jeremy Wu-Yelland, and Griffin Kilander (making his Double-A debut) combined to surrender nine additional runs out of the bullpen. At the plate, Will Turner led the way by going 2 for 4 with a double and a solo shot, his ninth home run of the season. The Sea Dogs' only other hit was a Yoeilin Cespedes double. Roman Anthony played six innings in left field and went 0 for 3 with a strikeout in the second game of his rehab assignment.
With the loss, Portland now trails Reading by 1 1/2 games for first place in the Eastern League Northeast second-half standings. The two teams have three games remaining in this series.
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Luke Heyman paced Greenville's lineup, going 3 for 4 with one home run, one RBI, three runs scored, and one walk. Maximus Martin also went deep as part of a 2-for-5 night in which he doubled and drove in three runs. Isaiah Jackson went 2 for 4 with one double, two RBIs, and one run scored. Skylar King and Stanley Tucker doubled as well. King scored one run, while Tucker drove in one run, scored another, stole one base, and drew one walk. Owen Hull drew one walk and scored once.
Jason Gilman went 3 1/3 innings in his start for Greenville, allowing three earned runs on four hits, four walks, one hit by pitch, and six strikeouts. He threw 77 pitches (41 strikes) and generated 11 whiffs. Luis Cohen took over in the fourth and gave up three additional runs before making way for Trennor O'Donnell in the seventh. From there, O'Donnell spun three innings of one-run ball to notch his first win of the season at any level.
With the win, Greenville now leads Winston-Salem by a half-game for a spot in the South Atlantic League playoffs.
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Despite scoring nine times over the final three innings, Salem fell just short on Thursday. Franklin Primera went 2 for 4 with one RBI. Starlyn Nunez went 1 for 2 with one RBI, one run scored, and two walks. Andrews Opata and Anderson Fermin each went 1 for 3, with the former scoring three times, stealing one base, and drawing two walks, and the latter recording one RBI and one walk. Colton Coates and D'Angelo Ortiz both doubled for their only hits. Coates added an RBI, two runs, and one walk, while Ortiz drove in two runs and scored another. Louis Andujar clubbed a two-run home run, his 10th of the season. Martin Shelar drew one walk and scored one run.
On the mound, Williams Montero took the loss in his start after allowing three earned runs on three hits, three walks, and two strikeouts over 2 2/3 innings. He threw 48 pitches (26 strikes) and generated six whiffs. While Berny Ortiz gave up one unearned run across 3 1/3 innings of relief, Caden Vire and Nicholas Judice combined to surrender seven earned runs in 1 1/3 innings. Harry Blum, on the other hand, tossed 1 2/3 scoreless frames.
With the loss, Salem now trails Fayetteville by 3 1/2 games for first place in the Carolina League North second-half standings.
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Player of the Day: Luke Heyman ended an 18-game homerless drought on Thursday, going deep for the first time since July 19. The 23-year-old catcher has now hit 17 home runs in 91 games (394 plate appearances) between Salem and Greenville this season. He is currently ranked as the organization's No. 26 prospect.
Photo Credit: Luke Heyman by Kelly O'Connor