Cup of Coffee: Bennett, Sweet shine but WooSox fall in opener
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3/28 Cup of Coffee: The 2026 minor league season is officially underway, as is the SoxProspects.com daily coverage. Worcester kicked off at home with a marquee pitching matchup of Jake Bennett taking on Mets prospect Jonah Tong. The rest of the full-season affiliates get underway late next week.
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The WooSox offense was largely held silent by Jonah Tong and a quartet of relievers, managing five hits, all of them singles. Mickey Gasper was 1 for 3 with a pair of walks, scoring Worcester's lone run on a Tsung-Che Cheng single. Nick Sogard also had a hit and walked twice. Jake Bennett took the loss despite a solid effort in his organizational debut, allowing one unearned run on two hits in three innings. He struck out five without issuing a walk and threw 44 of 59 pitches for strikes. Seth Martinez struck out three in two innings but surrendered one run on a solo homer. The Mets reached Noah Song for an insurance run on four hits in 1 2/3. Devin Sweet (pictured) was the standout out of the bullpen, striking out six of the seven batters he faced in 2 1/3 perfect frames.
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Player of the Day: It was an impressive Worcester debut for right-hander Devin Sweet. After inducing a pop-up with two runners on to close the seventh, the veteran fanned the final six batters he faced. All 10 pitches Sweet threw in the eighth inning were strikes, with only a two-strike foul ball to the leadoff hitter keeping him from an immaculate inning. Sweet was signed as a minor-league free agent in December, joining his fifth organization. He appeared in seven major league games in 2023 with Oakland and Seattle.
Photo Credit: Devin Sweet by Kelly O'Connor