Cup of Coffee: Mullins strikes out eight; Phillips and Gonzales lead Greenville

4/20 Cup of Coffee: It was another disappointing day for the major league squad, but there were nothing but victories down on the farm. Michael Sansone and Nate Eaton helped Worcester get back on track, while Hayden Mullins (pictured) was electric for Portland. Marcus Phillips missed plenty of bats in his start for Greenville, and Dalvinson Reyes made his debut for Salem. 

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Playing against old friend Shane Drohan, the WooSox salvaged the final game of the series after dropping the first five. Michael Sansone set the tone with six shutout innings after coming up from Portland earlier in the week. The save went to Tayron Guerrero who struck out two in the ninth. The offense was led by Nate Eaton who hit a solo home run off Drohan while also adding a double as part of a 3-for-5 day at the plate. Tsung-Che Cheng filled up the box score as he went 2 for 2 with a walk and sacrifice fly while scoring a run, driving in a run, and stealing a base. The strong day pushed his OPS over 1.000 to begin the year. 

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A delayed start did not slow down Hayden Mullins as he turned in his best outing of the year. He matched Sansone with six scoreless frames, while striking out eight and walking one. Cooper Adams recorded a two-inning save as he slammed the door without allowing a hit. Portland scored all five runs in the fourth inning as they sent 10 men to the plate. Miguel Bleis opened the scoring with an RBI single, and he finished the day 2 for 4 with a double. The double was just his second extra-base hit in 33 at-bats. Tyler McDonough went 1 for 3 with a double, walk, and stolen base. The 27-year-old was having a similar power outage to Bleis this year as this was his second extra-base hit in 41 at-bats. 

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Marcus Phillips continues to trend in the right direction as he settles into the season. The 21-year-old struck out seven over 3 2/3 scoreless innings as he seems fully recovered from a poor first start. The win went to Calvin Bickerstaff who kept the Hot Rods off the board in 3 1/3 frames of long relief, and P.J. Labriola got his first save by recording the final two outs. Two of Greenville's four runs were driven in by Justin Gonzales as he went 2 for 5 with a two-run single. Mason White notched the team's lone extra-base hit as he went 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored. 

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Four players posted multi-hit games as Salem finished off the sweep for the affiliates. Luke Heyman, Avinson Pinto, Stanley Tucker, and D'Angelo Ortiz all had two hits, with Heyman and Tucker lacing a double and Ortiz collecting an RBI. The big hit of the game was a two-run triple in the seventh by Starlyn Nunez that proved to be the difference. Barrett Morgan got the start and worked 2 2/3 shutout frames. A trio of pitchers followed, highlighted by Dalvinson Reyes who made his season debut. He blanked the Crawdads over three innings while striking out three. 

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Player of the Day: There were several options to pick from as every starting pitcher kept the offense off the board. But the eight strikeouts by Hayden Mullins gave him the nod. The 25-year-old left-hander has now struck out 15 over his last 10 innings after a rocky first start that saw him struggle with his control. The 2025 Portland Sea Dogs Pitcher of the Year has had his career slowed by injuries, but he has shown a really strong ability to miss bats when he is on the mound. His fastball has had some of the highest whiff rates for any fastball in the system.