Cup of Coffee: Rosario, Blalock lead Greenville to win

7/26 Cup of Coffee: Bradley Blalock and Gabriel Jackson both had great starts to lead Greenville and Salem to wins. Ronald Rosario (pictured) also had a big night with the bat for the Drive, while Cutter Coffey and Alexis Hernandez each went deep. Worcester was washed out and will play two on Wednesday.

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Rain at Polar Park washed this one out. They will make it up Wednesday as part of a doubleheader, beginning at 12:15 p.m. 

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Portland was held to just four hits, all singles. Marcelo Mayer, Chase Meidroth, Nathan Hickey, and Tyler Dearden all went 1 for 4 with a single. Tyler McDonough was the only Sea Dog to reach base twice, doing so with a pair of walks. He also swiped his 14th bag of the season. Chih-Jung Liu started and had a bit of an up-and-down outing. The right-hander allowed five earned runs on six hits over 4 1/3 innings, but he did manage seven strikeouts, his ninth outing of the season reaching that total. Robert Kwiatkowski was terrific, tossing three shutout innings with three strikeouts and no walks. 

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Ronald Rosario's bat carried the Drive to a victory in this one. The 20-year-old went 3 for 5 with a pair of doubles and drove in four runs. Allan Castro and Tyler Miller each singled and scored two runs as well. Roman Anthony was 1 for 4 with a walk. Greenville did some running, as Eddinson Paulino swiped two bases, and Max Ferguson and Eduardo Lopez each picked up a stolen base of their own. Bradley Blalock was great on the bump, going the first 5 1/3 innings and allowing just one run on four hits and two walks. He punched out seven, the second most he has had in an outing this year. Nate Tellier pitched a shutout eighth inning, and Joey Stock picked up the save, his sixth, with a clean ninth and two strikeouts. 

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Mikey Romero got the offense started right away in the first inning with an RBI double that followed a Cutter Coffey walk and stolen base. Coffey would later add a solo shot in the sixth, his fifth long ball of the year. Alexis Hernandez went 2 for 4 with his third home run of the year and two runs scored. Enderson Lira also doubled and drove in a run. Gabriel Jackson delivered another good outing to move his record to 4-0 on the year. He surrendered just one run on a solo homer over five innings with two strikeouts and just one walk. His ERA is down to 2.68. Luis Talavera and Caleb Bolden each threw two scoreless innings to close it out. 

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The Sox came back from a 3-0 deficit, scoring four in the seventh and grabbing the game-winning run in the ninth. Deundre Jones, who came into the game in the sixth inning, roped a two-run double in the seventh inning. Johanfran Garcia was 2 for 5 with a double as well. Marvin Alcantara added a two-bagger and a walk, while Natanael Yuten singled and drove in a run. Wandy Abreu started on the mound and surrendered one run over 3 2/3 frames. He struck out just one and walked three. Veteran right-hander Dan Altavilla made his third appearance for the FCL Sox this year and did not allow a run over 1 1/3 innings. Royman Blanco struck out three without issuing a free pass in his two innings of work. 

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The Sox got some tremendous efforts on the mound, beginning with Oded Balderas. The righty tossed five shutout innings, lowering his season ERA to 2.03. He scattered six hits, walked one, and punched out a pair. Juan Valera followed Balderas and was dominant, striking out four without a walk in two scoreless innings. Alisson Del Orbe was just as good, finishing the final two innings off without allowing a hit and striking out three. At the plate, Kleyver Salazar singled in a pair of runs, while Gabriel Marvarez and Moises Semerite each singled, walked, and scored twice. Cristofher Paniagua drew three walks as well. 

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Shortstop Yohander Linarez was the lone member of the lineup to record multiple hits, as he went 2 for 3 with a run scored. Gerardo Rodriguez, Jancel Santana, and Claudio Evangelista all had a single and one RBI. Luis Jerez struggled on the mound, allowing four runs on seven hits in just 2 1/3 innings. He did punch out three. Cristofer Soriano tossed 2 2/3 shutout innings with three strikeouts in relief, and Yoelvin Chirino retired all three batters he faced in the sixth. 

The Red squad had four extra-base hits in Game 2, but went just 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position. Alex Castillo, Franyer Noria, and Gerardo Rodriguez each ripped doubles and Nixson Cueche hit a triple and drove in the only run. Rodriguez now has seven doubles and a .910 OPS, and Cueche is hitting .328. Breilin Arredondo pitched very well, going the first five innings and surrendering just one run. He struck out three and did not walk anybody. Deybi Salcedo took the loss, allowing two runs in one inning. 

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Player of the Day: Ronald Rosario had a big night to boost his overall season OPS to .751. He has played 17 games with Salem and 42 for Greenville. Rosario is on a hot streak, currently riding a six-game hitting streak. The 20-year-old was signed as an international free agent in 2019.