Cup of Coffee: Mayer homers, Criswell dominates in WooSox shutout

4/23 Cup of Coffee: Tuesday night featured impressive performances from several of the top hitters in the Red Sox system, as Marcelo Mayer was 2 for 4 with a home run and Roman Anthony was 2 for 4 with a double for Worcester, while Mikey Romero and Jhostynxton Garcia collected two hits apiece in Portland. Cooper Criswell's (pictured) five outstanding innings were the highlight of a shutout win for the WooSox, while Danny Kirwin and Steven Brooks delivered strong starts on the lower levels of the farm. 

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Worcester's offensive output was heavily concentrated on Tuesday night, as the WooSox scored all five of their runs in the fifth inning. This rally was highlighted by a pair of two-run homers by Yasmani Grandal, who is 4 for 13 through his first four games with the WooSox, and Marcelo Mayer. Mayer also hit a double in the fourth inning as part of a 2-for-4 game overall, bumping his OPS to .752 this season. Roman Anthony, who continued to start at designated hitter as he nurses a shoulder injury, was 2 for 4 with a double and a pair of strikeouts. 

While it took the WooSox bats a few innings to kick into gear, starting pitcher Cooper Criswell kept the team in the game with a phenomenal performance. Criswell fanned eight hitters over five shutout innings, allowing only two hits and no walks en route to his first win of the season with Worcester. Wyatt Mills and Luis Guerrero closed out the game with two scoreless innings each. 

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The Sea Dogs came from behind to pick up the win with a thrilling five-run rally in the eighth inning. Losing 8-4 and with two outs in the inning, the Sea Dogs put together four consecutive scoring hits including an RBI single to center by Mikey Romero, an RBI double by Ahbram Liendo, a two-run double off the bat of Jhostynxon Garcia, and a go-ahead infield single by Blaze Jordan. The top two prospects in the Portland lineup led the way for the Sea Dogs tonight, as the sixth-ranked Romero was 2 for 4 with a walk and the 14th-ranked Garcia was 2 for 5 with two runs and two RBI. Second baseman Luis Ravelo was 2 for 3 with two runs, two RBI, and a walk. 

Right-hander Yordanny Monegro drew the start for Portland and struggled through 2 1/3 innings. The 28th prospect in the system allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits and three hits, striking out five batters. Gabriel Jackson followed him with 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief before Caleb Bolden ran into trouble in the sixth, allowing five runs in just 2/3 innings. However, Christopher Troye and Reidis Sena were able to keep Reading's bats in check over the final innings of the game, tossing 1 2/3 and two shutout innings, respectively. 

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It was a quiet night for hitters on both sides in Greenville's Tuesday night matchup. Drive starter Danny Kirwin worked through four scoreless innings but allowed a pair of runners to reach base before departing the game in the fifth. One of these runners, Spartanburgers catcher Julian Brock, stole home against Greenville reliever Eduardo Rivera to score the only run of the game. Rivera was fantastic in 2 2/3 innings of work, allowing only one hit while striking out seven. The Greenville lineup collected only three hits on the night, all singles coming off the bats of Brooks Brannon, Marvin Alcantara, and Andy Lugo. 

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Salem's runs came in bunches in their series opener against the Crawdads, as the Red Sox put together a trio of four-run innings in the second, third, and sixth. There were four Salem batters with multiple hits, including designated hitter Kleyver Salazar, first baseman Freili Encarnacion, right fielder Natanael Yuten, and center fielder Kelvin Diaz. Encarnacion continued his strong start to the season, going 2 for 5 with two doubles, two runs, and two RBI as he raised his slash line to .281/.311/.509 through 14 games. 

Steven Brooks, an 11th round pick in the 2024 draft, started for Greenville and earned the win with five strong innings. Brooks allowed just one run on one hit and three walks, striking out four. Nicholas Judice walked three batters but minimized the damage with 1 2/3 shutout innings. Eybersson Polanco allowed four runs (three earned) in 1 1/3 innings, as his ERA ballooned to 14.85 this season.  

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Player of the Day: Worcester starting pitcher Cooper Criswell was lights out on Tuesday night, stealing the show in a fantastic all-around performance by the WooSox pitchers. Criswell opened the season in Boston's bullpen but was optioned to Worcester on April 7 and has been stretching out as a member of Worcester's rotation. Criswell's five innings on Tuesday was his longest outing of the season and he looked electric, striking out eight batters and allowing just two hits. Through 11 innings since being optioned to Worcester, Criswell now has a 0.82 ERA with 16 strikeouts and three walks.