Cup of Coffee: Mayer and Kolozsvary power Worcester; Brannon homers twice

4/21 Cup of Coffee: The affiliates finished 2-2 on Sunday with solid performances throughout the system. Home runs from Marcelo Mayer and Mark Kolozsvary supported a strong start from Shane Drohan for the WooSox. Connelly Early and Jhostynxon Garcia were great for Portland, while Lucas Giolito made another rehab start. Greenville came out on top thanks to two home runs and five RBI from Brooks Brannon (pictured). 

-----

Marcelo Mayer and Mark Kolozsvary combined to drive in all seven of Worcester's runs, while Shane Drohan was dominant once again. Mayer opened the scoring with an RBI single in the third, and he added a two-run home run in the sixth. Rochester will be glad to see him go, as he finished the series with 13 RBI in six games. Later in the sixth, Kolozsvary launched a grand slam to put the game out of reach. Vaughn Grissom stayed hot, going 2 for 4 with a double while also being hit by a pitch. Drohan carved up the Red Wings for the second time in the series, striking out five over four shutout innings. Jose Adames, Isaiah Campbell, and Nick Burdi combined to preserve the shutout over the final five frames. 

-----

After winning the first two games of the week, Portland dropped four in a row to the Yard Goats. Lucas Giolito was back on the mound, and tossed an economical 65 pitches in five innings. He gave up three runs on six hits, and struck out four without issuing a walk. Connelly Early was excellent again out of the bullpen, striking out six over three shutout innings. He walked one and allowed one hit. For the week he struck out 14 and allowed one run in seven innings. At the plate, Jhostynxon Garcia went 2 for 2 with two walks and hit his first home run of the year. A Tyler Miller single was the only other hit for Portland, while Ahbram Liendo stole two bases despite having an 0-for-4 day. 

-----

The Drive came out on top in another thrilling finish. Greenville held a two-run lead going into the ninth, and Darvin Garcia remained in the game after a scoreless eighth to close it out. After striking out the leadoff batter, Garcia gave up a walk and two singles that plated one run and put the tying run in scoring position with one out. He got the last two batters to fly out to center field to earn his first save. The defense let down Jedixson Paez as he gave up four unearned runs in his four innings. He struck out five without walking a batter. The win went to Erik Rivera who allowed two runs over three innings. 

Offensively, the hero was Brooks Brannon who went 3 for 4 with two home runs and five RBI. Miguel Bleis went 1 for 3 with a walk and his first double, and Zach Ehrhard went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI. 

-----

A tough homestand for Salem came to an end as Lynchburg took its fifth game of the series. The Hillcats out-hit Salem 14 to four, and catcher Diego Viloria recorded the last two outs on the mound for the Red Sox. Starter Trennor O'Donnell only surrendered two earned runs, but allowed nine baserunners in 3 2/3. Matt McShane allowed his first earned run of the year, though his ERA is still an impressive 0.82. Franklin Arias kept his on-base streak alive as he went 1 for 4 with a stolen base. The only player with a multi-hit game was Freili Encarnacion who went 2 for 4 with an RBI. 

-----

Player of the Day: Sunday provided a few good options, but none better than Brooks Brannon and his two home runs. Brannon entered the year with some momentum after a solid showing in the Arizona Fall League that saw him be named an All-Star (Fall Star). His plus-plus raw power helped him earn a 2025 SoxProspects.com Pre-Season All-Star nod, but he started off slow over the first 10 games. He was 8 for his first 39 with only one extra-base hit. A 3-for-4 day with two home runs raised his OPS from .542 to .766.