Cup of Coffee: Feliz powers Greenville; Sandlin solid for Sea Dogs

7/12 Cup of Coffee: While the major league squad won a thriller to continue its winning streak, there was a full Friday slate down on the farm. Albert Feliz (pictured) was unstoppable for Greenville, teaming with Justin Riemer to lead a come-from-behind victory. Worcester and Portland rolled with good starts from Cooper Criswell and David Sandlin, respectively. Salem suffered a rain-shortened loss despite the efforts of Austin Ehrlicher, while the complex league squads were swept on the day. 

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Cooper Criswell turned in a strong start to lead the WooSox. The veteran right-hander scattered six hits across five scoreless innings, striking out six and walking two. Rochester reached Tyler Uberstine for three runs (two earned) on a pair of home runs in his 3 2/3 innings. Jose Adames came on to retire the firnal batter to get credit for the save. Blaze Jordan led the way at the plate, going 3 for 4 with a pair of RBI. Philip Sikes went deep in the fourth with a solo homer, his fifth of the season. Nate Eaton was 1 for 4 with a pair of runs scored in his return to Triple-A. 

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A quality start by David Sandlin snapped a five-game Sea Dogs skid. Sandlin allowed three runs on six hits in 6 1/3 innings, striking out seven and walking three. His control was stronger for much of the outing than his line score suggests--after walking the game's first batter, Sandlin did not issue another free pass until the seventh. Overall he threw 64 of his 91 pitches for strikes. Jack Anderson went 2 2/3 hitless innings of relief, striking out four and walking one. 

After falling into a 3-0 hole, Ahbram Liendo blasted a two-run homer in the fifth inning to bring Portland within one. After a prolonged slump in May and June, Liendo is 11 for 30 with four extra-base hits in nine July games. Brooks Brannon doubled in the sixth and scored the game tying run on a Tyler Miller single. Marvin Alcantara then plated Miller with a base hit to put the Sea Dogs in front. 

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The Drive emerged from an early deficit to pull even in their series with the Dash. Albert Feliz led the way, blasting a two-run homer in the second inning and drawing three walks, as Winston-Salem failed to retire him. He scored three of the six Greenville runs, and extended his hitting streak to five games. Justin Riemer was 2 for 3 with a walk, RBI, and two runs scored. Wobbly control and a pair of errors behind him doomed Noah Dean, as the lefty did not escape the first inning. He retired two batters, one via the strikeout, while walking two and allowing three unearned runs on two hits. Cooper Adams emerged to stop the bleeding, going 4 1/3 scoreless innings of relief. He allowed one hit and struck out five against two walks. Manuel Medina allowed two runs in 3 1/3 to pick up the winning decision, and Isaac Stebens threw a scoreless ninth to get the save.

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Rain delayed the start of this one until 9:00, so the teams played just a seven-inning contest. The offense never got going, notching only two hits as Augusta's Rayven Antonio went the distance. A Starlyn Nunez double and Karim Ayubi single were the only base hits on the evening. Austin Ehrlicher matched zeros with Antonio in his four innings of work, surrendering two hits while striking out seven without walking a batter. Augusta reached Ben Hansen for two runs (one earned) in his two frames as he struck out three without walking a batter. The two Salem pitchers were able to pound the zone, combining to throw 60 of 83 pitches for strikes. 

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The FCL Sox took a walk-off defeat in the opener of the scheduled twinbill. Alex Bouchard went 1 1/3 innings in his second appearance since returning from Tommy John Surgery. He allowed one run without surrendering a hit, striking out three and walking two. Denison Sanchez followed, giving up one run on two hits in 4 2/3. He struck out seven and walked two, with the lone run coming on a solo homer. Gilbel Galvan retired the first two batters he faced in the seventh, but a walk-off homer handed him the loss. Avinson Pinto was the highlight at the plate, picking up a single, walk, stolen base, and sacrifice fly. 

Rain interfered with the nightcap, bringing action to a halt in the third inning with the Sox up by one. Madinson Frias had gone two scoreless innings before the delay. The game will resume on Saturday preceding the regularly-scheduled contest.

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Little went right as the DSL Blue squad was shut down on Friday afternoon. Cristopher Alvarado doubled as part of his 2-for-2 effort, while Andruw Zambrano also notched a pair of hits. Juanyerlin Druan took the loss, surrendering five runs on four hits in three innings. Yariel Valdez was solid out of the pen, giving up one run in three frames.

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The DSL contingent suffered the sweep despite Team Red outhitting the Astros affiliate seven to four. Gustavo Artunez had a big day at the plate, going 3 for 3 with a double, scoring the lone Red run. Christopher Cordero turned in a strong start, giving up three hits in four scoreless innings, walking five and striking out one. Cordero, who received the second-largest bonus among pitchers in the Red Sox international free agency class, lowered his ERA to 1.54 with the effort.

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Player of the Day: To call Albert Feliz the Shohei Ohtani of the South Atlantic League may be a bit of an exaggeration, but he has displayed many Ohtani-esque traits. Two days after blasting a home run that registered an exit velocity over 120 mph, Feliz again went deep to lead Greenville's victory. More improbably was the three walks he drew after taking just four free passes on the season before Friday. During his five-game hitting streak, Feliz is now 6 for 16 with five walks and two homers. Like Ohtani, it is not just at the plate where Feliz has proven valuable, as he's also taken the mound five times on the season, often serving in extra-inning duty when the scheduled arms are no longer available. Feliz continues to hold a spot in the organizational record books, as his nine home runs in 2019 tied for the most in DSL Red Sox history.