Cup of Coffee: Anthony, Marrero record season-high four hits in Portland
8/8 Cup of Coffee: Wednesday's slate featured plenty of offense across the board. Triston Casas had two doubles and Jamie Westbrook had four hits for Worcester. Roman Anthony and Elih Marrero (pictured) combined for eight hits in Portland. Jhostynxon Garcia and Allan Castro combined for seven hits while Yordanny Monegro struck out six for Greenville. Freili Encarnacion drove in four runs and Danny Kirwin punched out five for Salem.
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Five members of Worcester's starting lineup recorded multiple hits. Jamie Westbrook led the way by going 4 for 5 with one double, two RBIs, and one walk. Triston Casas went 2 for 6 with two doubles and one run scored. Mickey Gasper went 2 for 4 with a pair of walks and four runs scored. Eddy Alvarez went 2 for 6 with one RBI and one run scored. Tyler McDonough doubled, drove in one run, drew one walk, and scored two runs as part of a 2 for 4 showing. Vaughn Grissom and Reese McGuire drove in runs as well.
Zach Penrod went two innings in his third start since returning from the injured list. The lefty allowed one earned run on two hits, one walk, and three strikeouts. Justin Hagenman took over for Penrod out of the bullpen and picked up the win after yielding five runs (one earned) on six hits, one walk, and four strikeouts over three innings. Luis Guerrero and Yohan Ramirez followed by combining for four scoreless frames of relief.
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Elih Marrero had a career night at the plate, going 4 for 5 with two doubles, two home runs, four RBIs, and three runs scored. Roman Anthony also tallied four hits (all singles), drove in one run, and scored twice out of the leadoff spot. Kristian Campbell went 2 for 4 with one RBI, one walk, and one stolen base. Alex Binelas went 2 for 5 with three RBIs and one run scored. Blaze Jordan had just one hit, but he made it count by coming through with a go-ahead three-run double in the eighth inning.
Connelly Early went three innings in his third start for Portland. The lefty allowed four earned runs on four hits, three walks, and three strikeouts. He was removed from the game for precautionary reasons after warming up for the fourth inning and is considered day-to-day, according to our own Chris Hatfield. In relief of Early, Robert Kwiatkowski tossed two scoreless frames before Alex Hoppe gave up a grand slam in the top of the sixth. Brendan Cellucci retired five of the six batters he faced to close it out and notch the winning decision.
With the win, the Sea Dogs improved to 22-11 in the second half of the season. They lead the Somerset Patriots (21-14) by two games for first place in the Eastern League Northeast.
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A nine-run 10th inning lifted Greenville to victory. Jhostynxon Garcia paced the Drive lineup by going 4 for 6 with one double, four RBIs, and two runs scored. Allan Castro went 3 for 5 with one double, one triple, one RBI, one run scored, and one walk. Ronald Rosario and Bryan Gonzalez each had two hits. The former went 2 for 6 with one RBI while the latter went 2 for 4 with two RBIs, one run scored, and one walk. Justin Riemer and Juan Montero combined to score five runs. Will Turner, Boston's seventh-round draft pick this year, made his professional debut and went 1 for 5 with a two-run triple, two runs scored, and one walk.
Yordanny Monegro put together another solid start for Greenville, allowing only one earned run on two hits and zero walks with six strikeouts over five innings. He finished with 65 pitches (42 strikes) and induced eight swings-and-misses. Bryce Bonnin took over for Monegro and struck out two in two scoreless frames of relief. Reidis Sena surrendered two runs (one earned) in the bottom of the eighth while Zach Fogell gave up a two-run and three-run home run before closing things out in the 10th.
With Greenville winning and Bowling Green losing on Wednesday, the Drive (23-15 in the second half) now trail the Hot Rods (23-13 in the second half) by one game for first place in the South Atlantic League South.
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Freili Encarnacion ripped a pair of two-run singles as part of a four-RBI night. He also stole his 15th base of the year. Nelly Taylor went 1 for 4 with one double, two runs scored, and one stolen base. Franklin Arias and Antonio Anderson each went 1 for 3 with one run scored and one walk. On the mound, Danny Kirwin got the start for Salem, allowing one unearned run on one hit, zero walks, and five strikeouts over four innings. Denis Reguillo and Francis Hernandez combined for four scoreless frames out of the bullpen.
With their fifth straight win, the Red Sox improved to 22-16 in the second half. They trail the Fredericksburg Nationals (24-14) by two games for first place in the Carolina League North.
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Player of the Day: Elih Marrero gets the nod for putting together the first multi-homer game of his professional career on Wednesday. The switch-hitting catcher went deep from both sides of the plate and threw out two of four would-be base stealers. He is batting .294/.355/.482 with seven doubles, three home runs, 13 RBIs, 10 runs scored, five stolen bases, eight walks, and 19 strikeouts in 24 games (93 plate appearances) for Portland this season.
Photo Credit: Elih Marrero by Kelly O'Connor