Cup of Coffee: Yorke homers twice in Worcester; Bleis comes through late for Greenville
7/11 Cup of Coffee: Boston's affiliates went 3-1 on Wednesday. Nick Yorke (pictured) homered twice while Nick Sogard and Enmanuel Valdez added home runs of their own for Worcester. Alex Binelas also went deep while Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell recorded doubles for Portland. Bryan Gonzalez and Miguel Bleis had two clutch hits while David Sandlin put together a strong start for Greenville. Nazzan Zanetello left the yard while Trennor O'Donnell struck out seven for Salem.
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Nick Yorke led the way by recording his second multi-homer game of the month. He went 2 for 4 with a pair of solo shots off old friend Thaddeus Ward and has now homered six times in 27 games for Worcester. Nick Sogard and Enmanuel Valdez also went deep, crushing go-ahead two- and three-run shots, respectively. Brad Keller started on the mound and went 2 2/3 innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits, one walk, and two strikeouts. Bryan Mata surrendered three additional runs out of the bullpen before Luis Guerrero, Isaiah Campbell, and Ryan Zeferjahn combined for 4 1/3 scoreless frames of relief.
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It was another rough night on the mound for Juan Encarnacion, who allowed six earned runs on seven hits, zero walks, one hit batsman, and two strikeouts over four innings. Four of those six runs came by way of a first-inning grand slam. In relief of Encarnacion, Jonathan Brand gave up two more runs while Christopher Troye struck out three across two scoreless frames. At the plate, Alex Binelas crushed a solo shot for his eighth homer of the season. Kristian Campbell went 2 for 3 with one double, one run scored, and one walk. Marcelo Mayer also doubled and drew a walk as part of a 1 for 3 showing. Roman Anthony singled and stole his eighth base of the year.
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A three-run ninth inning propelled Greenville to a come-from-behind win. Bryan Gonzalez stood out by going 2 for 4 with one double, two RBIs, and one run scored. Miguel Bleis ripped a two-run double, scored one run, and stole two bases. Ronald Rosario recorded an RBI double for his lone hit of the night while Mikey Romero went 2 for 5 with one double and one run scored. David Sandlin impressed on the mound, allowing two earned runs on three hits, zero walks, and seven strikeouts over four innings. He recorded all seven punchouts consecutively before giving up a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth.
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Nazzan Zanetello paced the Salem lineup by going 3 for 5 with a game-tying two-run home run. Antonio Anderson doubled, scored one run, and drew one walk as part of a 1 for 4 afternoon. Natanael Yuten singled, drove in one run, and stole one base. Despite going hitless, Nelly Taylor scored two runs thanks to drawing three walks and swiping one bag. On the flip side, Trennor O'Donnell went three innings in his start, yielding two runs (one earned) on three hits, three walks, and a season-high seven strikeouts. Out of the bullpen, Ovis Portes, Royman Blanco, and Nathanael Cruz combined to allow just one unearned run over the final six innings.
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Player of the Day: Nick Yorke gets the nod after homering in his first two at-bats at Polar Park on Wednesday. The right-handed hitting 22-year-old has batted .336/.427/.561 with six doubles, six home runs, 17 RBIs, 25 runs scored, six stolen bases, 17 walks, and 26 strikeouts in 27 games (124 plate appearances) since being promoted to Worcester on June 5. He is currently ranked as the No. 12 prospect in the organization.
Photo Credit: Nick Yorke by Kelly O'Connor