Cup of Coffee: Houck begins rehab assignment, Garcia doubles twice for Sea Dogs

9/9 Cup of Coffee: The minor league season is beginning to wind down, as Greenville and Salem's seasons ended on Sunday and the Sea Dogs enter their last week of the season. With only two Red Sox affiliates still active, the WooSox were walked off in their series opener in Lehigh Valley while the Sea Dogs came away with a win on the night of Tanner Houck's return to the mound. 

 

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Lehigh Valley IronPigs (PHI) 5, Worcester Red Sox 4 (10 innings)

Top prospect Franklin Arias drove in the first two runs of the game for the WooSox, hitting a sacrifice fly in the first inning and floating an RBI single to right field in the fifth. Arias was 1 for 3 on the night and is now hitting .328 in 33 games since his promotion to Worcester. Mikey Romero also recorded an RBI single in the fifth inning as part of a 3-for-5 game. Allan Castro walked three times and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the top of the tenth. Braiden Ward went 3 for 5 and scored two runs.   

 

It was a bullpen game for the WooSox, as Devin Sweet pitched a scoreless inning to open the game. Seth Martinez followed him with two impressive innings, striking out four batters while allowing a hit and a walk. Patrick Halligan worked two scoreless frames before allowing the first run of the game to score for the IronPigs in the sixth, pitching three innings of one-run ball on the night. Hobie Harris walked three batters and allowed two runs (one earned) in an inning. Sam McWilliams struck out three batters in two shutout innings to send the game into extra innings, where Osvaldo Berrios took over and allowed two runs to score on a walkoff single for IronPigs designated hitter Carter Kieboom. 

The loss drops the WooSox into fifth place in the International League standings, three games behind first-place Rochester.

 

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Portland Sea Dogs 8, Binghamton Rumble Ponies 6 

Dalton Rogers started for the Sea Dogs, missing plenty of bats as he struck out six hitters but he allowed five runs (two earned) and walked three hitters in four innings. However, the story of the night was the return of Tanner Houck, who underwent Tommy John Surgery last August. Houck showed some rust in his first game back, as he walked two batters and threw only eight of his 20 pitches for strikes. The 2024 All Star is expected to make one more appearance in Portland before jumping up to Worcester next week. Joe Vogatsky was excellent out of the bullpen as he struck out five batters without allowing a baserunner in 2 2/3 innings. Jeremy Wu-Yelland and Steven Brooks each threw a scoreless inning to close out the game. 

 

The Sea Dogs bats got off to a quick start, scoring three runs in the first inning on an RBI double for Johanfran Garcia (pictured) and a two-run homer for Will Turner. Garcia went 2 for 4 on the night, adding another RBI double in the third inning. After losing the lead in the middle innings, in no small part due to three errors, Portland pulled ahead for good on a pinch-hit two-run homer for Ronald Rosario in the eighth. Fresh off being named the SoxProspects.com Player of the Week, Henry Godbout continued his recent tear as he went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI. Justin Gonzales was 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored, snapping an 0-for-23 skid. 

Portland moves into a tie with Rumble Ponies for third place in the Northeast Division. First place Reading also fell, so the Sea Dogs move to 3 1/2 games out with five to play. 

 

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Player of the Day: Johanfran Garcia had a great performance in an exciting win for the Sea Dogs, ripping a pair of RBI doubles. The 21-year-old Garcia is having a great season in Portland, as he is now hitting .289/.345/.502 with 12 doubles and 18 home runs. Garcia is ranked No. 37 in September's SoxProspects.com rankings update and he is Rule 5 eligible in the offseason.  

 

Photo Credit: Johanfran Garcia by Kelly O'Connor   

 

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