They had won 15 in a row.
Worcester W 7-5
Yairo Muñoz, CF: 3-5, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI
Connor Wong, DH: 1-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 K
Chris Hermann, C: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 K
Jeter Downs, SS: 1-4, 1 K
Jonathan Araúz, 2B: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 K
Josh Ockimey, 1B: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 R
Matthew Kent (SP; W): 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 K (72 pitches)
Kevin McCarthy (H): 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 0 K (25 pitches)
Kaleb Ort (SV): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (15 pitches)
Coming into camp, Muñoz seemed like a solid candidate for the Opening Day roster even after a surprise DFA over the offseason. But he seemingly never got real consideration, and then his slow start to the season put him almost all the way off the radar. But he’s swinging a good bat again of late, getting his OPS up to .780 after this big game. He’s got a hit in each of his last 15 games, and his OPS during that streak has jumped to that .780 mark from .640. Over on the pitching side, Ort just continues to deal and could still work his way into the big-league picture if there is an injury or two.
Portland L 0-1
Jeisson Rosario, CF: 0-4
Pedro Castellanos, LF: 2-3, 1 BB, 1 K
Devlin Granberg, RF: 0-3, 1 BB
Hudson Potts, DH: 1-3, 1 2B, 1 K
Frank German (SP): 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (67 pitches)
Victor Santos (L): 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K (47 pitches)
Zack Kelly: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (18 pitches)
All good things must come to an end, and that was the case on Thursday with Portland’s 15-game win streak coming to a close. The offense just had nothing in the tank, wasting what was by and large a good performance from the pitching. There weren’t a lot of bats being missed, but German came through with a strong start. It’s a been a little bit of an uneven season for the righty, who the Red Sox got along with Adam Ottavino from the Yankees this past winter, but he’s been solid in July. Over 14 innings of work he has pitched to a 1.93 ERA, though his 10 strikeouts and five walks are a bit less impressive. We also got our first look at Santos, who the organization got as the player to be named later for C.J. Chatham.
Greenville L 10-12
Christian Koss, SS: 2-5, 1 3B, 2 RBI, 1 K, 1 E
Cameron Cannon, 2B: 0-5, 1 K, 1 E
Tyler Dearden, LF: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 BB, 2 R, 2 K
Brandon Howlett, DH: 0-3, 2 BB, 1 R, 1 K
Kole Cottam, C: 3-4, 1 HR, 1 3B, 1 BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 K
Wil Dalton, RF: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 R, 5 RBI
Nick Sogard, 3B: 3-5, 1 2B, 2 R, 1 E
Chris Murphy (SP): 2.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 5 K (74 pitches)
Brendan Nail: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (31 pitches)
Brendan Cellucci: 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K (22 pitches)
This was a pretty wild game in Greenville, with the Drive scoring five runs over their last two innings and having the tying run in scoring position in the ninth, but not being able to win. There was good offense here, with Christian Koss remaining red-hot this month and Cottam coming through with a huge day in what has been a quietly strong season. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t there for the pitching. Murphy had been pitching better of late, but his control issues came back and it came back to bite him. It will be interesting to see how he bounces back from this one next time out.
Salem W 3-2
Nick Yorke, 2B: 1-4, 1 R
Gilberto Jimenez, CF: 1-2, 1 BB
Ceddanne Rafaela, CF: 1-1, 1 3B
Matthew Lugo, SS: 1-2, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 CS
Stephen Scott, DH: 0-1, 2 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI
Nick Decker, LF: 1-3, 1 2B
Nicholas Northcut, 1B: 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K
Antoni Flores, 3B: 0-3, 1 K
Bradley Blalock (SP; W): 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 3 K (60 pitches)
Jordan DiValerio (H): 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (29 pitches)
Salem had control of the strike zone all night in this one, allowing them to eke out a win, drawing seven walks to go with four strikeouts. It should be noted that Jimenez did leave the game early, but that was because of an ejection not any trade-related scenarios. There’s not a whole lot else to report about this one, though, with both Blalock and DiValerio pitching well and leading the way in the win. Both have been more average than good on the season.
FCL CANC
DSL Red W 5-4
Enderso Lira, C: 2-5, 1 2B, 1 R
Kelvin Diaz, CF: 2-5, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 K, 1 SB
Luis Ravelo, SS: 0-5, 1 K
Albertson Asigen, LF: 1-5, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI, 2 K
Starlin Santos (SP): 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K
DSL Blue W 17-10
Juan Chacon, CF: 0-7, 2 K
Jackson Camejo, LF: 2-3, 1 BB, 2 RBI, 1 K
Armando Sierra, LF/RF: 2-6, 2 R
Alex Zapete, DH: 4-6, 1 2B, 3 R, 1 RBI
Alexis Hernandez, 1B: 2-5, 2 2B, 1 BB, 5 R, 2 RBI
Diego Viloria, C: 3-5, 3 R, 5 RBI, 1 K
Alixandri Alvarez, 2B: 3-5, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 R, 3 RBI
Diego Rodriguez, SS: 2-4, 1 2B, 2 BB, 3 RBI, 1 K
Jean Carlos Reyes (W): 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K
It was two very different kinds of wins for the two DSL squads on Thursday, with Red winning in part thanks to a great, no-hit outing from Santos. He was not a big bonus pitcher, but this kind of start is one that can make you start paying attention. The southpaw now has 10 strikeouts in seven innings, though he allowed four runs in three innings his first time out. The Blue team won with an onslaught at the plate, with the most amazing fact being that their best player, Juan Chacon, put up an 0-7. The start of this one was Zapete, who’s in his second go around the DSL and up to a .964 OPS early on in this season.
Player of the Day: Kole Cottam
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