Cup of Coffee: Garcia homers again for Worcester; Mullins notches first Double-A win

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Worcester's nine-game winning streak was snapped on Thursday night. Starter Richard Fitts took the loss, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits, two walks, and four strikeouts over four innings. Robert Stock tossed a scoreless fifth inning before Brendan Cellucci, Austin Adams, and Jose Adames combined to surrender eight additional runs out of the bullpen. Offensively, all three of Worcester's runs came by way of the long ball. In addition to drawing two walks, Jhostynxon Garcia went 1 for 2 with a two-run blast for his sixth homer at the Triple-A level. Vaughn Grissom went 1 for 4 with a ninth-inning solo shot for his fifth big fly of the season. Corey Rosier doubled as part of a two-hit showing, while Nick Sogard singled, scored one run, and drew one walk out of the leadoff spot.  

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Hayden Mullins earned his first win with Portland after putting together a strong start. The 24-year-old lefty scattered one hit and four walks while striking out four over five scoreless innings. He threw 74 pitches (40 strikes) and generated 10 swings and misses. Jack Anderson was responsible for the final four innings and was almost equally as impressive, allowing just one earned run on three hits, one walk, and five strikeouts. Mullins faced the rehabbing Giancarlo Stanton (who went 0 for 4) three times and struck him out twice, while Anderson got the veteran slugger to fly out for the final out of the seventh.

Karson Simas enjoyed a productive night at the plate, going 3 for 4 with his first home run of the season, one RBI, two runs scored, and two stolen bases. Allan Castro likewise went 3 for 4 with two RBIs, one walk, and two stolen bases. Zach Ehrhard, meanwhile, went 2 for 4 with one double, two runs scored, and two stolen bases out of the leadoff spot. Despite going hitless, Marvin Alcantara drove in one run, scored another, drew two walks, and stole one base. Tyler Miller plated one run and stole one base as well, while Caden Rose scored one run, drew one walk, and stole two bases.     

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John Holobetz picked up the win in his fifth start for Greenville after allowing only one earned run on seven hits, one walk, and five strikeouts over 5 2/3 solid innings. The 22-year-old righty threw 92 pitches (69 strikes) and generated 15 swings and misses. In relief of Holobetz, Erik Rivera fanned two of the four batters he faced over 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Matt McShane yielded one run on two hits in the eighth but held on to put up a zero in the ninth for his second save of the season.

Miguel Bleis and Yophery Rodriguez accounted for four of Greenville's nine hits. Bleis went 2 for 4 with one run scored, one walk, and two stolen bases. Rodriguez went 2 for 3 with an RBI double and a walk. Nazzan Zanetello went 1 for 4 with an RBI single that scored Nelly Taylor, who drew three walks and stole his 15th base of the season. Zanetello scored one run as well, while Johanfran Garcia, Freili Encarnacion, Justin Riemer, and Albert Feliz all singled.  

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Joey Gartrell served as the opener for Salem and went the first 1 1/3 innings, walking four and striking out one without giving up a run or hit. Shea Sprague received the bulk of the work out of the bullpen and allowed just one earned run on three walks and five strikeouts over four no-hit innings. Joe Vogatsky gave up an additional run across 2 2/3 innings before making way for Jay Allmer, who notched his first save of the year with a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth.

On an otherwise quiet night offensively, Kelvin Diaz stood out by going 1 for 3 with one double, two runs scored, one walk, and one stolen base. Starlyn Nunez and Fraymi De Leon both went 1 for 4 with RBI singles. Yoeilin Cespedes scored the opening run on a wild pitch after singling in the first inning and stole his fourth base of the year as well. Frederik Jimenez went 1 for 2 with a single and two walks  

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Dalvinson Reyes took the loss in his fifth start of the season, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits, one walk, two hit by pitches, and no strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings. Fellow righty Denison Sanchez did not fare much better out of the bullpen, as he surrendered two earned runs on five hits, three walks, one hit by pitch, and three strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings of relief. Offensively, the FCL Red Sox were held to just six hits (all singles) as a team. Jorge Rodriguez and D'Angelo Ortiz combined for four of those hits. Will Turner went 0 for 1 with a strikeout but also drew three walks to raise his on-base percentage to .432.

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Josue Brito led the way at the plate for the Blue squad, going 2 for 3 with two home runs (his second multi-homer game of the season), three RBIs, and two runs scored. Christopher Alvarado also homered for the first time as a professional as part of a 1-for-1 showing in which he drove in two runs and scored twice. Edwin Darville tripled in one run and scored another, while Harold Rivas doubled and scored two runs. On the mound, Dariel Morillo got the start and lasted 2 1/3 innings, yielding one earned run on two hits, seven walks, and one strikeout. Fellow righty Yomar De La Rosa notched the win in relief, while Luis Cabrera recorded his first save after retiring the side in order in the seventh.

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Williams Montero took the loss in his second start of the season, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits, two walks, and three strikeouts over four innings. Jose Golindano and Jomar Fernandez combined to surrender five additional runs (four earned) out of the bullpen. At the plate, Miguel Welch and Jhonny Osta both had RBI hits, with the latter doubling in one run and the former scoring another. Adrian Valdez also doubled and drew one walk as part of a 1-for-3 performance. Dorian Soto went 0 for 4 with a strikeout, putting an end to a six-game hitting streak to begin his professional career.

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Player of the Day: Karson Simas gets the nod for recording his first three-hit game of 2025 on Thursday night. The versatile 24-year-old has already suited up for three affiliates this season but has spent most of his time (26 of 37 games) with Portland. In those 26 games, he has batted .210/.256/.321 with four doubles, one triple, one home run, seven RBIs, 10 runs scored, five stolen bases, four walks, and 25 strikeouts over 87 plate appearances.