Cup of Coffee: Penrod K's 10, Sikes homers as Portland ends five-game skid

5/13 Cup of Coffee: Boston's minor-league affiliates went 3-1 on Sunday. Chase Meidroth and Niko Kavadas combined for three hits in Worcester's shutout loss to Buffalo. Zach Penrod struck out 10 and Phillip Sikes (pictured) homered in a much-needed win for Portland. Cooper Adams and Tyler Miller headlined Greenville's victory over Hickory. Matt Duffy put the finishing touches on a solid week of pitching for Salem by tossing five scoreless innings in Columbia.

Grant Gambrell took the loss, though he only allowed one earned run on four hits, two walks, and one strikeout over three innings. Sal Romano produced a similar line out of the bullpen, as he also gave up one run in three innings of relief. On an otherwise quiet afternoon offensively, Chase Meidroth went 2 for 4 while Niko Kavadas went 1 for 3 with a walk and second-inning single to extend his hitting streak to nine games.

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Zach Penrod reached a milestone in his start for Portland. The lefty allowed only one earned run on five hits (including a solo home run) and zero walks with a career-high 10 strikeouts over six strong innings. He finished with 93 pitches (63 strikes) and induced 22 swings-and-misses. Jacob Webb earned the win out of the bullpen despite giving up a homer of his own. Alex Hoppe worked his way around a leadoff walk and put up a zero in the ninth to notch his second save of the year.

Phillip Sikes led the way out of the nine-hole by going 2 for 4 with a go-ahead two-run blast for his first home run of the season. Out of the leadoff spot, Roman Anthony went 1 for 3 with a double, walk, and one run scored. Matthew Lugo singled, drew two walks, and stole his fourth base of the year as part of a 1 for 2 showing. Marcelo Mayer and Kyle Teel each went 1 for 4 with one RBI.

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Cooper Adams went five innings in his start for Greenville. The righty allowed one earned run on four hits, two walks, one hit batsman and one strikeout. Of the 69 pitches he threw, 37 went for strikes. Reidis Sena impressed out of the bullpen, scattering one hit and one walk while fanning four across three scoreless frames. Caleb Bolden held on in a rocky ninth inning to record his fifth save of the season.

Tyler Miller stayed hot at the plate, going 2 for 4 with his fourth home run of the year. Drew Ehrhard, making his first start since April 13, went 1 for 2 with a walk, a go-ahead RBI double, and one run scored. Ahbram Liendo also drove in one run, scored another, drew a walk, and stole two bases out of the leadoff spot.

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Matt Duffy earned the first winning decision of his professional career in his start for Salem. The righty yielded only two hits and zero walks with three strikeouts over five scoreless innings. He finished with 53 pitches (40 strikes). Francis Hernandez contributed with three more shutout frames out of the bullpen. Max Carlson gave up one run on two hits and a walk in the ninth but held on to seal the victory.

Marvin Alcantara accounted for the biggest hit of the day by going 2 for 4 with a two-run double. Natanael Yuten and Daniel McElveny enjoyed multi-hit afternoons as well, as they each went 2 for 3 with a walk. Though he went hitless, Miguel Bleis drew one walk and scored one run.

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Player of the Day: Phillip Sikes played a key role in snapping Portland's five-game losing streak on Sunday and wrapped up a productive weekend in doing so. The speedy outfielder went 5 for 11 (.455) with one double, one home run, two RBIs, and three runs scored in the Sea Dogs' final three games against Binghamton at Hadlock Field.