Cup of Coffee: Fitts cruises in Worcester win

8/9 Cup of Coffee: Wins and rain were the results on Thursday, with both fitting into the Worcester box score. Richard Fitts (pictured) turned in a strong outing following a lengthy delay to lead the Worcester victory. First-place Portland picked up a half-game in its division, while the DSL squads swept their three contests. 

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It was an exciting pitching matchup in Syracuse with Richard Fitts lined up against 2023 second-round pick Justin Sproat in his Triple-A debut. After a 90-minute rain delay at the start, Fitts surrendered a two-run homer in the first but cruised thereafter, finishing with just the two runs allowed on five hits across six innings, striking out seven against one walk. It was the second straight quality start for Fitts after he scuffled through July. Greg Weissert, who accompanied Fitts to the organization in last winter's Alex Verdugo trade, struck out three in two scoreless innings, and Wyatt Olds gave up one run in the ninth. 

The WooSox lineup exploded for six runs in the third inning, highlighted by a two-run homer by Mickey Gasper and a three-run blast by Nathan Hickey. Gasper added a single and a walk as he extended his hitting streak to nine games. Eddy Alvarez doubled as part of his 2-for-4 night.

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The first Double-A hit off the bat of Ahbram Liendo proved important, as his two-run second-inning single erased an early 2-0 deficit. Kyle Teel did not record a hit but worked a pair of walks and stole a base. Roman Anthony had a scheduled day off following his four-hit effort on Wednesday, and Marcelo Mayer told Rob Bradford that may be activated from the seven-day injured list on Friday. On the mound, Hunter Dobbins surrendered eight hits in 4 1/3 innings but escaped with just two runs allowed. Dobbins struck out five and walked a pair. Portland's bullpen was outstanding, with Jacob Webb going 2 2/3 scoreless with one hit, one walk and three strikeouts to earn the win. Christopher Troye and Zach Bryant had matching lines, striking out two apiece in one hitless inning. 

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The call was made on Wednesday to postpone this one with the dangerous remnants of Hurricane Debby coming through. A doubleheader will be played at some point during the homestand to make up, but the date of that new game has not yet been announced.

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Ill weather up the coast also led to the postponement in Salem. They'll try for a twinbill on Saturday.

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Team Red opened their own doubleheader with a three-hit shutout led by Madinson Frias. The 19-year-old right-hander scattered three hits across six scoreless innings, striking out five without issuing a walk. The performance set career highs for Frias in both innings and strikeouts. Raphy Gil struck out all three batters he faced in the seventh to earn the save. Avinson Pinto had two of the Red squad's three hits, singling twice and scoring a run. 

In what was scheduled for a seven-inning matchup, Team Red scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth for the come-from-behind walk-off and the sweep. Justin Barry ripped the two-out bases-loaded single that ended things. On the mound, Yoandys Veraza got the start, allowing a run on five hits in 3 1/3 innings. Anthony Felix allowed just one hit over 2 2/3 scoreless, striking out three against one walk. Yander Bonaci went the final two innings and was on the hook for the loss until Barry's heroics.

With the sweep, Team Red opened up a 3 1/2 game lead on the DSL Reds in the West Division with nine games remaining, 

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A fourth straight win for Team Blue has kept their very improbable playoff hopes alive. Emanuel Reyna keyed Thursday's win, going 2 for 4 with a double, run scored, and two RBI out of the ninth spot in the lineup. Givian Sirvania also doubled as part of a two-hit effort. Trent Wilson fell one out short of qualifying for the win, allowing one run on three hits in 4 2/3 innings. Instead, the victory went to William Reynoso, who recorded a single out. Jose Golindano was excellent in relief, giving up one hit in four shutout frames, striking out six while walking three.

A loss by first place DSL CLE Goryl drops Team Blue's deficit in the North Division to eight games, though with 11 games remaining and four teams in between them, a playoff run remains all but impossible.

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Player of the Day: Richard Fitts turned in a second straight strong performance as he works to get his season back on track. Sitting with a 3.84 ERA through June 22nd, Fitts then went through a stretch of 21 runs allowed in 22 innings across five starts, having allowed a particularly concerning nine round-trippers in that stretch. In two August starts, Fitts has now allowed just three runs in 12 innings while striking out 14.