August 9, 2026 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Romero goes 6 for 6, Portland gets shut out
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The Red Sox stepped to the plate eight times and scored in seven of them, pounding out 19 hits and surrendering just three of their own in a blowout on Saturday afternoon. Each of the nine starters recorded at least one hit, including rehabber Adley Rutschman, making his organizational debut after being traded from Baltimore on Monday. The backstop walked twice and added a double, driving in two runs. However, Mikey Romero was the headliner, going a perfect 6 for 6, finishing a triple short of the cycle, as he also had a pair of RBI. Romy Gonzalez and Allan Castro also registered three hits and Kristian Campbell also went yard as part of a three-RBI afternoon.
The start went to Gage Ziehl, who had plenty of run support, scattering two hits across his 5 2/3 shutout frames. He also struck out eight and did not walk a batter. The other hit was on Devin Sweet's ledger, who also surrendered a walk across 1 1/3 innings. Tyler Samaniego handled the eighth and Nathan Hickey made his 10th appearance of the season to close out the contest.
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The blowout-shutouts giveth, the blowout-shutouts taketh away. The Sea Dogs kept it close for a while, as they trailed by just two after four, but a five-run fifth inning kicked off a 12-run flurry over the Fisher Cats' final four at-bats to pull away and then some. Ronald Rosario had the only extra-base hit, a double in the second. Six of those runs were on Michael Sansone's tab, as he surrendered nine hits over five innings. He walked one and struck out three.
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Hudson Valley got some work done early, with a 5-0 lead after the top of the third, then added three more between the eighth and ninth to beat the Drive big. Yophery Rodriguez and Stanley Tucker each had two hits, but the only Drive runs came home on wild pitches. Dylan Brown had the start and while he struck out nine in five innings, he also allowed five runs on nine hits. Shea Sprague relieved him and contributed 2 2/3 frames, surrendering two runs, just one of which was earned.
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Salem got its scoring out of the way early, with its six runs all crossing the plate before the end of the fourth inning. Louis Andujar led the way offensively, with a 3-for-4 day. He scored two runs and drove in another. His double was also the only extra-base hit for the RidgeYaks. Leighton Finley had plenty of traffic on the bases, as he allowed seven hits across his five-inning start, but only two runs came across the plate. Nicholas De La Cruz (1 2/3 innings) and Henry Blum (1 inning) didn't allow a hit to finish the game, but the former arm walked three and the latter issued another free pass, dealing with plenty of traffic.
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Miguel Welch had three hits, but the rest of his team had just two as Blue dropped Saturday's contest. The Red Sox did not record any extra-base hits, though they out-hit their opponents. However, the Braves worked 10 walks. Rinangel Mayora got the start, but was able to get just two outs and allowed three runs. However, Juan Verdus had the bulk of the pitching, contributing three shutout innings.
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The bats were cold all over the Dominican Republic, as Red fared even worse than Blue, with just two singles in a shutout loss. Control eluded Yeider Pineda, as he didn't allow a hit, but walked three and allowed a run in his two-inning start. Radinsson Lopez, who pitched an inning, was the only arm to not have a run charged to their record.
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Player of the Day: There's only one choice when there's a 6-for-6 day. Step right up, Mikey Romero and take your prize. After hitting a home run on Friday, the No. 22 prospect in the system out-did himself with a perfect day at the plate, finishing a triple short of the cycle and scoring four runs in the process. It's just a 25 at-bat sample, but Romero is hitting .400/.500/.760 so far in August.
Photo Credit: Mikey Romero by Kelly O'Connor