Cup of Coffee: Sikes and Grissom lift Worcester; Tibbs and Castro homer for Portland

-----

The WooSox held off the Mets to end a three-game losing skid. Things got off to a rocky start as the Mets got to Cooper Criswell for five runs over the first 1 1/3 innings, including a two-run home run by the rehabbing Jesse Winker. Wyatt Olds followed and managed to allow only one run over 2 1/3 despite walking six while failing to record a strikeout. Jovani Moran, Alex Hoppe, and Isaiah Campbell combined to allow only one run over the final 5 1/3, with Moran getting the win and Campbell earning the save. 

A two-run home run from Phillip Sikes gave Worcester the lead in the sixth, and a solo shot off the bat of Vaughn Grissom proved to be the winning run in the seventh. Sikes finished 1 for 2 with a walk and three RBI, while Grissom went 2 for 5 with an RBI double. Nick Sogard and Blaze Jordan both doubled as part of a multi-hit game, while Kristian Campbell went 0 for 5 with three strikeouts. Campbell is hitting .160/.222/.200 with 13 strikeouts in 25 at-bats in July. 

-----

Portland failed to earn a series split as it got doubled up by the Fisher Cats. Connelly Early was named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week last week, but he was not able to follow that up on Sunday. He allowed a season-high six runs on nine hits over 4 1/3 with three walks and five strikeouts. Noah Song was first out of the bullpen, and he scattered three hits over 1 2/3 frames while striking out three without issuing a free pass. Allan Castro stayed hot as he went 2 for 5 with a triple and a home run. He had two hits in all six games against New Hampshire with five extra-base hits. James Tibbs III went 2 for 4 while hitting his first home run as a member of the Red Sox, and Ronald Rosario went 2 for 4 with a double. Masataka Yoshida got the start as the designated hitter and went 0 for 2 with a sacrifice fly and a strikeout. 

-----

The Drive lost a heartbreaker as Asheville scored in each of the last three innings. John Holobetz continued to impress as he notched at least eight strikeouts for the fourth time this year. The player-to-be-named-later from the Quinn Priester trade, Holobetz struck out eight and did not allow a walk over five innings of two-run ball. Both runs scored on solo home runs. Jacob Webb kept the Tourists off the board in his two frames, but Cooper Adams blew the save after allowing two runs in the eighth and one in the ninth. After Greenville failed to score in the top of the 10th, Adam Smith allowed a walk-off single. On offense, Freili Encarnacion launched a solo home run as part of a 1-for-4 game, and Franklin Arias went 3 for 5 with two doubles. Yophery Rodriguez and Johanfran Garcia each had two hits and two RBI. 

-----

Salem's loss was even more crushing than Greenville's as Salem was up 5-1 entering the bottom of the ninth. Luis Cohen fired six innings of one-run ball, and Jay Allmer and P.J. Labriola added a scoreless seventh and eighth, respectively. Calvin Bickerstaff allowed four singles and two walks and surrendered two sacrifice flies while recording only two outs in the ninth. Nicolas De La Cruz came in to get out of trouble in the ninth, but he allowed the walk-off single in the 10th. It was a three-pronged attack on offense between Enddy Azocar, Justin Gonzales, and Yosander Asencio. Azocar went 2 for 4 with a two-run home run and a walk, Gonzales went 2 for 4 with two doubles, a walk, and a steal, and Asencio went 2 for 4 with a double. 

-----

Player of the Day: Enddy Azocar reached base three times and had a double and a home run in Salem's loss. Azocar was mired in a slump that lasted from June 4 to July 3. He was 10 for 72 (.139) with a .400 OPS. He went 2 for 5 with a double on Saturday before hitting his first home since June 22 on Sunday. The 18-year-old will look to build on these last couple of games and get back to his early season success.