Martin Continues Power Surge, Rivas Dominant in 11-0 Shutout Win
EL Somerset Patriots

Martin Continues Power Surge, Rivas Dominant in 11-0 Shutout Win

Published on May 7, 2026 under Eastern League (EL)
Somerset Patriots News Release


Somerset Patriots right fielder Garrett Martin rounds the bases
Somerset Patriots right fielder Garrett Martin rounds the bases
(Somerset Patriots)

The Somerset Patriots shut out the Reading Fightin Phils 11-0 at FirstEnergy Stadium on Thursday night. The Patriots have now won seven of their last 10 games.

Somerset's pitching staff combined for its second shutout of the season and first since 5/2/26 vs. Portland. Somerset has pitched a shutout in two of its last five games. It has allowed three or fewer runs in three of those five games. Somerset's two hits allowed were the fewest in a game this season and fewest since allowing two hits 9/11/25 at Reading.

Somerset's seven-run third inning saw the Patriots score the second-most runs in an inning this season (eight vs. POR 5/2/25). It marked the 10th time this season the Patriots have scored five or more runs in an inning. Somerset's 10 innings with five or more runs are tied with New Hampshire for the Eastern League lead. The 13 plate appearances Somerset recorded in the third inning tied a franchise record for the fourth time. It was the first time the Patriots sent 13 batters to the plate in an inning since the seventh inning 5/16/24 vs. Reading.

Through the first three games of the series, Somerset has tallied 49 hits, 34 runs and nine home runs. The 49 hits and 34 runs mark the most by Somerset in the first three games of a series in franchise history. The nine homers are tied for second behind Somerset's 10 HR vs. Reading 7/22/24-7/24/24 and are the most through a series' first three games since 6/28/23-6/30/23 at Bowie.

Somerset's 13 hits recorded marked the third consecutive game the Patriots have collected 10-plus hits. The Patriots have posted double digit hits in eight of their last nine games and are batting .356 as a team in that span.

With two home runs in the contest, Somerset has smashed multiple homers in a franchise record 11 straight games and 15 of its last 17 games. Somerset's 58 home runs this season lead all of Double-A. The 58 home runs mark the most home runs by a Double-A team and are tied for fifth most by any MiLB team through the season's first 30 games since at least 2005. Over Somerset's last 17 games, the Patriots have hit 42 home runs with 56.1% of their runs in that span coming around to score on the long ball. Somerset is the only MiLB team with multiple hitters that have double-digit homers.

LHP Xavier Rivas (4.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K) tossed Double-A career-highs in innings pitched, strikeouts and pitches. Across the first through fourth innings, Rivas retired 11 consecutive batters headlined by allowing no hits in his first four innings of work.

CF Jace Avina (1-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, R) extended his hit streak to a season-high eight games and notched an extra base hit for the fifth consecutive game. Avina has smashed an XBH in seven of eight games during his hit streak, slashing .333/.366/.769 with nine XBH and 12 RBI in that span. After three XBH in his first 12 games, Avina has nine XBH in his last 14 games. He has raised his OPS from .482 to .812 in that span. Avina's 16 XBH this season are tied for third in the Yankees minor league system.

RF Garrett Martin (2-for-6, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R) belted home runs in back-to-back games for the third time this season. Powered by three HR in his last two games and eight HR in his last 10 games, Martin's 11 HR this season lead the Eastern League and are tied for first in the Yankees minor league system. In his last eight games, Martin is slashing .333/.381/.872 with seven HR and 12 RBI. He's raised his OPS from .709 to .900 in that span.

LF Jackson Castillo (1-for-4, BB) extended his team-leading hit streak to a career-high 12 games. It's the longest hit streak by a Patriot this season. Castillo's 12-game hit streak is the longest active streak in the Eastern League. It is tied for the fourth longest single-season hit streak in team history and the longest by a Patriot since Elijah Dunham had a franchise record 17-game hit streak 6/20/24 to 7/10/24. Through 12 games this season, Castillo is slashing .383/.473/.511 with 18 hits. Dating back to last season, Castillo has a hit in 14 straight games with Somerset.

2B Marco Luciano (1-for-4, 2B, RBI, BB, R) extended his hit streak to a season-high nine games. In that span, he is slashing .441/.525/1.059 with 6 HR, 15 RBI, 9 XBH and five multi-hit games. Among Eastern League leaders, Luciano is first in runs (30) and SLG (.713), while ranking second in OPS (1.123). Luciano leads the Yankees minor league system in SLG, OPS, runs, doubles (nine), TB (72) and XBH (19) and ranks second in hits (33).

1B Coby Morales (1-for-5, HR, 2 RBI, R) notched his eighth home run of the season, making Somerset the only team in Minor League Baseball with five hitters that have eight-plus homers. Morales' 26 RBI rank second in the Eastern League and third among Yankees minor leaguers. Morales' .976 OPS and 32 hits rank third among Yankees farmhands, while his eight homers and 15 XBH are tied for fourth.

3B Tyler Hardman (3-for-5, 2 R) collected his third consecutive multi-hit game and ninth multi-hit game this season. Hardman extended his hit streak to a season-high nine games, one-shy of a career-high 10 games (6/29/24-7/10/24). During his nine-game hit streak, he's slashing .514/.585/1.000 with five HR, 14 RBI and six multi-hit games. Hardman's 27 RBI lead the Eastern League, are tied for first in Double-A and rank second among Yankees farmhands. Over his last 11 games, he's raised his batting average from .200 to .313 and OPS from .727 to 1.024. Hardman's 240 career hits with Somerset are one shy of Max Burt and Elijah Dunham for the most all-time in Somerset franchise history.

SS Owen Cobb (2-for-3, 2 R, 2B, RBI, 2 BB) reached base a career-high tying four times. It was the first time he'd reached base four times in one game since 5/6/25 at Daytona. Cobb extended his hit streak to a season-high six games. In that span, he's 8-for-22 at the plate, slashing .364/.462/.500 with seven RBI.

Check out the Somerset Patriots Statistics

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Somerset Patriots right fielder Garrett Martin rounds the bases
Somerset Patriots right fielder Garrett Martin rounds the bases
   



Eastern League Stories from May 7, 2026


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