Cup of Coffee: Encarnacion, Salazar power Salem to victory in extras
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5/9 Cup of Coffee: Boston's affiliates went 1-4 on a Thursday that included one rain-shortened contest and two games that went into extra innings. Cooper Criswell struck out seven, and Nate Eaton homered as Worcester's comeback bid against Lehigh Valley fell short due to inclement weather. Mikey Romero and Blaze Jordan each had two hits, while Max Ferguson went deep in Portland's 10-inning loss to Chesapeake. Noah Dean fanned nine and Franklin Arias doubled as part of a two-hit night in Greenville's loss to Rome. Freili Encarnacion (pictured) and Kleyver Salazar combined for two homers and eight RBIs in Salem's action-packed victory over Fayetteville.
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This game was called in the top of the seventh inning due to rain. Cooper Criswell took the loss on the mound after surrendering three earned runs on four hits, three walks, one hit by pitch, and seven strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings. Zack Kelly recorded the final out of the sixth inning. The offense drew a tough test, as Phillies top prospect Andrew Painter made his Triple-A debut, holding the WooSox scoreless in his three innings of work. Nate Eaton provided the only offense for Worcester by going 1 for 2 with a fourth-inning solo homer for his fourth big fly of the year. Marcelo Mayer also went 1 for 2 with a walk, while Roman Anthony drew two free passes out of the leadoff spot.
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Blake Wehunt got the start for Portland and did not factor into the decision. The 24-year-old righty allowed two earned runs on two hits, a season-high five walks, and four strikeouts over four innings. Zach Bryant, Alex Hoppe, and Gabriel Jackson combined to yield an additional seven runs (six earned) out of the bullpen in the extra-inning loss. Offensively, Mikey Romero and Blaze Jordan each had two hits. The former went 2 for 5 with an RBI double, while the latter went 2 for 4 with one double, one run scored, and one walk. Max Ferguson also drew a walk and cranked a two-run shot for his first home run of the season. Tyler Miller drove in one run and scored another as well.
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Noah Dean went 4 2/3 innings in his fifth start of the season for Greenville, allowing one earned run on two hits, one walk, and nine strikeouts. The 24-year-old lefty threw 79 pitches (49 strikes) and generated 15 swings and misses. Darvin Garcia took the loss in relief, surrendering six earned runs in two innings before Adam Smith put up a zero in the eighth. At the plate, Franklin Arias accounted for half of his side's hits by going 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored. Zach Ehrhard and Antonio Anderson each had one hit, with the former adding an RBI on a sacrifice fly and the latter scoring a run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Hudson White.
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A four-run ninth inning and a two-run tenth inning propelled Salem to a wild win in extras. Freili Encarnacion finished a triple shy of the cycle by going 3 for 4 with a double, his sixth home run of the season, three runs scored, and one walk. Kleyver Salazar went 2 for 5 with one home run and a career-high five RBIs. Starlyn Nunez went back-to-back with Salazar by clubbing his third homer of the year in the top of the ninth. Justin Gonzales doubled in the go-ahead run to lead off the 10th inning and scored twice.
Ben Hansen got the start for Salem and went 3 1/3 innings. The 23-year-old righty allowed four earned runs on five hits (including a three-run homer), two walks, and four strikeouts. Adam Bates took over for Hansen in the fourth and stabilized things a bit before giving up a three-spot on a pair of home runs in the bottom of the seventh. Eybersson Polanco then put up a zero in the eighth, served up a game-tying two-run shot in the ninth, and retired the side in order with a two-run lead in the 10th to secure his first winning decision of the season.
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The FCL Red Sox dropped their fourth straight to open the season. Dalvinson Reyes took the loss in his stateside debut, yielding four earned runs on three hits, three walks, one hit by pitch, and no strikeouts over one-plus inning. Juan Henriquez and Jeison Payano combined to surrender seven runs out of the bullpen while Yoandys Veraza tossed a scoreless top of the seventh. Offensively, Enddy Azocar led the way by going 4 for 4 with a double. Anderson Fermin went 2 for 3 with a pair of singles. Gerardo Rodriguez scored his side's lone run on a fourth-inning sacrifice fly from Franyer Noria.
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Player of the Day: Freili Encarnacion gets the nod for putting together one of his better offensive performances of the season thus far. In five games this month, the right-handed hitting 20-year-old has gone 8 for 17 (.471) with two doubles, three home runs, seven RBIs, seven runs scored, one walk, and four strikeouts. He is not currently ranked among the organization's top 60 prospects.
Photo Credit: Freili Encarnacion by Kelly O'Connor