Cup of Coffee: Grissom, Thompson power WooSox in slugfest win

7/9 Cup of Coffee: It was a tough night for the Red Sox farm as only two affiliates picked up wins in a full slate of games on Tuesday. A four-hit game from Vaughn Grissom (pictured) and a three-hit game by Trayce Thompson led the WooSox to victory despite an inconsistent outing from Kyle Harrison on the mound. The Sea Dogs and Drive fell despite strong starting pitching performances by Eduardo Rivera and Michael Sansone. Justin Gonzales and Enddy Azocar collected run-scoring doubles in a loss for Salem, while Anderson Fermin and Gerardo Rodriguez delivered outstanding games in the FCL. The DSL teams split their games, with Geomaikel Martinez powering the Red team to the win. 

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The Worcester bats exploded in their series opener against Rochester. Vaughn Grissom kicked off the scoring with an RBI single in the first and went on to have one of his best games of the season, going 4 for 4 with a walk and two doubles. Trayce Thompson drilled RBI singles in the third and fifth innings as part of a 3-for-5 game. Seby Zavala and Nathan Hickey each blasted two-run homers, their fourth and 11th of the season, respectively. Kristian Campbell started at first base and went 1 for 3 with a double and two walks. 

Kyle Harrison made his third start with the WooSox as he continues to tinker with his pitch mix. Harrison has been working on adding a cutter to his repertoire and he threw 15 cutters (84 pitches total) on Tuesday night. However, he turned in another shaky performance, allowing four runs on seven hits in five innings. Harrison struck out four batters and walked two. Hobie Harris allowed a run on one hit in two innings. Bryan Mata and Jose Adames each struck out a pair of batters in a scoreless inning to close out the win. 

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After being named the SoxProspects.com Pitcher of the Month in June, Eduardo Rivera continued his impressive run with another great performance on Tuesday night. Rivera allowed just one unearned run on four hits and three walks while punching out three batters in six innings. After a scoreless seventh inning, Caleb Bolden unraveled in the eighth and ninth as he allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits in two innings. Christopher Troye allowed a run on a pair of walks in an inning of relief. Zach Ehrhard got the Sea Dogs on the board with an RBI double in the first inning but that was the only run the Portland bats could muster. James Tibbs III was 1 for 4 with a run scored.   

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The Drive opened their series against Winston-Salem with an exciting walkoff win. Freili Encarnacion drove in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth on a single up the middle. Miguel Bleis drove in the only other run of the game with a solo home run in the first inning. Bleis was 1 for 4 and is now hitting .236/.323/.443 with 12 home runs this season. Michael Sansone pitched a scoreless 3 1/3 innings to start the game the Drive, allowing three hits and a walk while striking out one batter. Darvin Garcia followed him with 2 1/3 innings, allowing a run on three hits and striking out a pair. Manuel Medina finished the game with three shutout innings, fanning three and allowing two hits. 

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The Salem bats got going late with a four-run eighth inning but it was not enough to overcome an early deficit in Augusta. Justin Gonzales got the Red Sox on the board with an RBI double and then came around to score on a single by Yoeilin Cespedes. Enddy Azocar continued the rally with a two-run double as part of a 1-for-4 game. Catcher Kleyver Salazar had a productive game, going 1 for 2 with two walks. Starter Steven Brooks tossed four solid innings, allowing two runs on five hits while punching out four GreenJackets batters. Joe Vogatsy allowed two unearned runs in an inning of relief and then Nathanael Cruz followed him with an inning, giving up two runs (one earned). Eybersson Polanco struck out two but allowed a run on two hits in 1 2/3 innings. Nicolas De La Cruz struck out the only hitter he faced. 

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Merlin Bido drew the start on the mound and tossed a pair of scoreless innings before running into trouble and allowing two runs in the third. He was pulled after three innings and replaced by Yermain Ruiz. Ruiz struggled mightily in four innings of relief, allowing six runs on nine hits and walking a pair of batters. Jeison Payano allowed a run on three hits in two innings, striking out one batter. The Red Sox were quiet at the plate outside of big games from Anderson Fermin and Gerardo Rodriguez. Fermin reached base four times, going 2 for 3 with two walks and two runs scored. Rodriguez was 2 for 3 with a pair of doubles, including an RBI two-bagger in the third inning. 

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LAD Mega walked off the Blue squad, pulling out the win after an exciting battle on Tuesday afternoon. Starting pitcher Juan Medina gave the team 4 1/3 strong innings, fanning five batters while allowing just one run on two hits. The bats got off to a quick start as Edwin Darville clocked a solo home run and Reyli Mariano added an RBI triple in the first inning. However, the bullpen was unable to hold onto an early lead as Yomar De La Rosa allowed three runs in three innings and Dariel Morillo took the loss, allowing two runs and walking three batters in 1 1/3 innings. Enmanuel Figuero reached base in all four of his plate appearances, going 1 for 1 with a double and three walks. 

 

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Right fielder Geomaikel Martinez powered the Red Sox team to victory, as he went 2 for 3 with an RBI single in the first and a game-tying two-run triple in the sixth. Miguel Welch drove Martinez in with a go-ahead single as part of a 1-for-3 game. Alexander Alzi started the team's scoring with an RBI double in the first and was 1 for 2 with a walk on the day. Dorian Soto was 2 for 4, raising his average to .341 through 24 games in the DSL. Jakson Gamboa, who entered the game having thrown 11 1/3 scoreless innings to start the season, struggled for the first time this year. Gamboa allowed four runs (two earned) on five hits in 3 1/3 innings, though he did strike out four batters. However, the bullpen locked down the Royals Fortuna in the later innings as Yohandry Gonzalez and Eddison Septimo each threw 1 2/3 shutout frames and Breylin Cruz closed out the win with a scoreless 1/3 of an inning.  

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Player of the Day: Worcester's offensive outburst was the highlight of the night in the Red Sox system and Vaughn Grissom was the standout performer in the WooSox win. Grissom reached base in all five of his plate appearances, going 4 for 4 with a walk. He also was right in the middle of the scoring, collecting an RBI single in the first and two-run single in the eighth while scoring two runs. Grissom's strong game boosted his season line to .284/.360/.446 through 77 games.