Cup of Coffee: Garcia plates four in Worcester's win, Miller picks up four hits in Portland

8/17 Cup of Coffee: There was plenty of action across the Boston affiliates as Payton Tolle took the mound for Worcester, tossing five scoreless innings while teammate Jhostynxon Garcia (pictured) had a big night at the plate. Tyler Miller had four hits in Portland's matchup against a former Boston prospect. Justin Gonzales slugged another home run for Salem, and the DSL squads managed to sweep their games on Saturday. 

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Payton Tolle bounced back nicely after a tough first outing in Worcester. The left-hander earned the win as he fired five shutout innings while allowing just three hits and a walk with five strikeouts. He also touched 98.6 mph on his fastball and threw 46 of his 71 pitches for strikes. While Tolle was dominating, the WooSox offense jumped out to a 9-0 lead, highlighted by a pair of two-run singles by Jhostynxon Garcia, one in the fourth and sixth as part of a 4-for-4 day. The outfielder has now driven in 55 runs in 64 games since being promoted to Triple-A. 

Following Tolle, Brennan Bernardino pitched a scoreless sixth before Alex Hoppe ran into trouble. While being nearly untouchable for all of August so far, the right-hander allowed five runs (three earned) while recording just two outs before Hobie Harris came in to get the final seven outs of the game and seal the win. 

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Isaac Coffey struggled out of the gate for the Sea Dogs, lasting just a single inning as he was tagged for three runs on four hits while throwing 22 pitches in the frame. Eduardo Rivera and Cooper Adams followed Coffey and each allowed runs to score, as Rivera allowed a pair of unearned runs while walking four. Adams also surrendered a solo home run in the fifth inning. Noah Song fired a scoreless sixth and seventh and Reidis Sena pitched the eighth and ninth, allowing two runs of his own. 

Offensively, Portland could not come back from the early 3-0 deficit but got strong outings from Allan Castro, Miguel Bleis, and Tyler Miller as part of a 16-hit night while also facing former Boston farmhand Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz. Castro went 3 for 5 with a double and two runs scored. Bleis had three hits of his own, including a pair of RBI singles, while adding his third stolen base of the season. Miller led the way with four hits and an RBI in the loss. 

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Entering the seventh inning leading 4-3, Shea Sprague allowed a trio of runs on his way to taking the loss as Greenville dropped its third in a row. Sprague came on in relief of Jedixson Paez, who allowed two runs (one earned) in 2 2/3 innings of work while adding five strikeouts and walking no one. Although he took the loss, Sprague missed plenty of bats with six strikeouts across his four frames of work, with four runs, six hits and a walk added to his final line. Isaac Stebens followed Sprague and recorded the final four outs. 

Greenville took an early lead in the second after a single by Fraymi De Leon scored Keiner Delgado. After falling behind 2-1, Justin Riemer belted his first home run of the season to give the Drive a 3-2 lead. After Greensboro tied it at three in the bottom of the inning, Greenville took the lead for the final time an inning later as 2025 draft pick Mason White singled home Franklin Arias to make the score 4-3. 

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Justin Gonzales continued his strong start to August by slugging his fourth home run of the season as part of a two-run first that gave Salem a brief lead before Jesus Travieso allowed a pair of unearned runs in the bottom half. Those two runs were the only ones allowed by Travieso across 4 2/3 innings. He also struck out seven and walked just one batter. Salem plated two runs in each of the fourth and fifth to retake the lead. The Red Sox scored in the fourth thanks to an RBI groundout by Gerardo Rodriguez and a single by D'Angelo Ortiz that chased Skylar King home. In the fifth, Ortiz plated two more on another single as part of his 2-for-4 evening. Salem added a final run in the ninth after King reached on a fielding error that scored Maximus Martin.

After Travieso, Griffin Kilander earned the win out of the bullpen with 3 1/3 frames in which he was charged with three runs on six hits with no walks and two strikeouts. Nicolas De La Cruz closed the game out in the ninth to earn his third save of the year. 

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Jakson Gamboa started for Team Red and recorded the first four outs of the game before being replaced by Angelo Ladera, who eventually earned the win. Ladera allowed two runs on three hits with two walks and five strikeouts added to his line. Jose Golindano earned a hold after getting the final two outs of the fifth and Jesus Martinez closed it out with two scoreless innings of his own. 

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A masterful pitching performance by the Team Blue staff, which allowed just two hits and five walks across the game in the shutout victory. Dariel Morillo started the game with three scoreless frames while adding a walk and two strikeouts. He also allowed just a single hit across his work. Michael Manjarres earned the win with a scoreless fourth despite walking three in the inning, and the trio of Alexander Heredia, Jainer Almanza, and Erickson Ettien combined to get the final nine outs. 

Team Blue scored all its runs across the second and third. The team plated two in the second after a double steal scored Edwin Darville followed by a run-scoring triple by Harold Rivas to make it 2-0. The following frame, a passed ball scored Josue Brito and Enmanuel Figuereo reached on fielding error that scored Jostin Ogando and Darville.

Blue clinched the division title on Saturday, by virtue of its win and DSL Rays' loss. They have two more games to jockey for position for the DSL Cup and Pool Play.

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Player of the Day: It seems these days that Jhostynxon Garcia can do no wrong in Worcester. The outfielder went 4 for 4 with four RBIs in Worcester's victory over Iowa on Saturday. The outfielder is now slashing .309/.372/.578 in 64 games since earning a promotion from Portland. Garcia is currently the fifth-ranked prospect on the SoxProspects Top 60.