Cup of Coffee: Home runs for Hickey and Abreu; Paez dominates

5/13 Cup of Coffee: The affiliates won three of the four contests on Friday night, led by the solid offense in the upper minors and great pitching further down on the farm. Wilyer Abreu, Nathan Hickey, Stephen Scott, and Tyler Dearden (pictured) all homered, while Jedixson Paez led a 19-strikeout performance for the Salem staff. 

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A sacrifice fly off the bat of Nick Sogard proved to be the difference as the WooSox won in extra innings. Wilyer Abreu had scored earlier in the inning on a passed ball. Abreu also hit his fifth home run as part of a 2-for-5 night. Daniel Palka went 2 for 3 with a home run, double, and a walk, and Ryan Fitzgerald went 2 for 5 with a double. 

The rocky start to the year for Chris Murphy continued as he allowed four runs on seven hits over five innings. He did set a season-high with six strikeouts while walking two. A quartet of relievers kept Rochester off the board, led by AJ Politi and Kaleb Ort. In extras, Chase Shugart allowed the zombie runner to score but was able to shut the door and earn his fourth save. 

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The Sea Dogs launched four home runs as they doubled up the Patriots. Nathan Hickey hit his first Double-A home run, and Niko Kavadas hit his third of the year while adding two walks. Stephen Scott went 2 for 4 with a home run in his second straight game, and Tyler Dearden went 2 for 3 with a home run and two walks. Christian Koss had three hits and swiped two bags, and Chase Meidroth went 2 for 4 with a walk. He has reached base eight times in 15 plate appearances with the Sea Dogs. 

Wyatt Olds was one of a few Portland pitchers who struggled with control. Olds walked six and allowed two runs over 2 1/3. Rio Gomez walked three over three innings of two-run ball, and Luis Guerrero worked around three walks in a scoreless ninth. 

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Brainer Bonaci drove in all three of Greenville's runs in a loss to the Dash. Bonaci went 2 for 4 with a double to improve his line to .324/.395/.559. Ronald Rosario also had a multi-hit game going 2 for 3 with a double and two runs scored. Isaac Coffey struck out six and walked one over five innings, allowing three runs on seven hits. Coffey has an impressive 39-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio on the year but has also given up a system-leading ten home runs. Graham Hoffman had two shutout innings of relief, and Nathan Landry struck out the side in the ninth. 

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After missing about three weeks with shoulder stiffness, Jedixson Paez looked good as new. He allowed just one baserunner over three shutout innings while striking out six. Luis De La Rosa struck out six, Caleb Bolden struck out two, and Railin Perez struck out five as the Salem staff totaled 19. Three players combined for eight hits, led by Enderso Lira, who went 3 for 3 with a double and a walk. The three hits were Lira's first of the season after recently being added from extended spring training. Ahbram Liendo went 3 for 4 with a triple, and Luis Ravelo went 2 for 3 with a double and two walks. 

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Player of the Day: Tyler Dearden reached base four times and hit his first home run in a Portland victory. Dearden appeared in 94 games with the Sea Dogs in 2022 and hit .263/.367/.396. In 15 games this season, he has improved each of those numbers to a line of .309/.406/.436. Though he does not have a full-time starting role, Dearden has significantly reduced his strikeout rate. It sits at 20% this year after being around 32% in 2021 and 2022.