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MLB

Cole Deals, Avina Homers in Both Ends of Doubleheader Split

By Somerset Patriots
an hour ago

The Somerset Patriots split a doubleheader with the Portland Sea Dogs at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, NJ on Wednesday. Somerset won Game 1 by a score of 13-1, before dropping Game 2 by a score of 6-5. In Game 1, Somerset tallied 15 hits with every starter collecting at

The Somerset Patriots split a doubleheader with the Portland Sea Dogs at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, NJ on Wednesday. Somerset won Game 1 by a score of 13-1, before dropping Game 2 by a score of 6-5.

In Game 1, Somerset tallied 15 hits with every starter collecting at least one. Somerset’s 15 hits marked the third time this season the Patriots have reached that mark. That’s tied with Richmond and New Hampshire for the most games with 15-plus hits in the Eastern League this season.

Somerset played its league-leading 11th one-run game this season in Game 2 of the doubleheader, falling to 4-7 in one-run games.

With two home runs in each game, Somerset has hit multiple home runs in four straight and five of its last six games. In that span, the Patriots have smashed a league-high 12 homers. Somerset’s 37 home runs this season leads the Eastern League.

RHP Cade Smith (6.0 IP, W, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 SO) picked up his first career Double-A win in Game 1. Smith notched his first career Double-A quality start, tallying Somerset’s third quality start of the season and first since Chase Chaney’s on 4/26/26 at Richmond.

His 6.0 IP were a season-high. Through 18.2 IP, he’s tallied 22 strikeouts to eight walks this season.

RHP Gerrit Cole (5.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 3 SO) made his second start with Somerset and third overall of his rehab assignment in Game 2. Cole’s 5.2 IP and 60 total pitches both marked season-highs for the Yankees ace during his three games of rehab from Tommy John surgery. Through three rehab appearances between Somerset and Hudson Valley, Cole has a 4.40 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, .216 BAA with 10 strikeouts to one walk in 14.1 IP. He’s thrown 78.8% of his pitches for strikes.

Across four rehab outings with Somerset dating back to 2024, Cole has a 3.50 ERA, 0.61 WHIP, 0.159 BAA, 15 SO to one walk in 18.0 IP.

DH/LF Jackson Castillo (3-for-6, 2B, 2 BB, 4 R) continued his six-game hit streak to start the season. Through six games this season, Castillo is 9-for-20 with a HR, two doubles, five RBI and three walks. Dating back to last season, Castillo has a hit in eight straight games with Somerset.

CF/DH Jace Avina (3-for-8, 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R) hit home runs in each of the two games. Avina smashed home runs in back-to-back games for the sixth time in his career and first time since 7/8/25 and 7/10/25 with High-A Hudson Valley.

He has hit four HR in his last five games and five HR in his last eight games. In that span, he’s slashing .241/.313/.828 with seven XBH. Avina’s six home runs this season rank sixth-most in the Eastern League and are tied for third among Yankees farmhands.

2B/2B Marco Luciano (3-for-7, HR, 3 RBI, R) notched home runs in back-to-back games for the first time this season in Game 1 of the doubleheader. Luciano’s homer in Game 1 marked a streak of four consecutive hits for the infielder being homers. That streak ended with a hard-hit single in Game 1 for his seventh multi-hit game of the season.

Luciano’s team-leading seven homers this season ranks tied for third in the Eastern League and is tied for first in the Yankees minor league system. Luciano also ranks first among Yankees farmhands in SLG (.649), is tied for first in XBH (13) and is second in OPS (1.017). Luciano is tied for first in the Eastern League in XBH, is seventh in SLG and 10th in OPS.

1B/1B Coby Morales (2-for-4, 2B, 3 BB, 4 R) reached base safely in all four plate appearances in Game 1. Morales’ four runs in Game 1 marked a new single-game career high.

Morales’ 12 XBH are tied for fourth-most in the Eastern League, while his seven doubles are tied for the eight-most in the Eastern League. Aided by eight multi-hit games this season, Morales’ 24 hits this season lead all active Patriots.

Morales has reached base safely in 20 of 21 starts this season and 20 of 22 appearances overall. Across his last 10 games, Morales is slashing .357/.486/.786 with three HR and six RBI.

3B/3B Tyler Hardman (4-for-6, 2B, RBI, BB, 2 R) notched hits in both games of the doubleheader, reaching base safely four times in Game 1. Through three games against Portland this season, Hardman is batting .471/.526/.765 with a HR, five RBI, three XBH and two multi-hit games.

RF Garrett Martin (1-for-3, HR, RBI, BB) mashed his fifth home run of the season in Game 2 for his second homer in his last three games. With hits in eight of his last nine, Martin is slashing .243/.300/.432 with three XBH.

***

Box Score (Game 1)

Box Score (Game 2)

Postgame Notes

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