July 21, 2005 at 10:17 AM
7/21 Cup of Coffee
With no Cup of Coffee at 10am, I was beginning to experience twitching due to withdrawal. With that being said, I'll take the lead. It was a mixed bag of success for the Sox affiliates yesterday. The PawSox dropped a 6-5 loss to Louisville last night. Behind 5-1 in the bottom of the 8th, Kelly Shoppach's grand slam gave the PawSox new life, but lost in extra innings. Lefty Juan Perez took the loss after giving up the go-ahead run to Louisville in the top frame of the 10th. The Sea Dogs pitching was apparently MIA as Reading pounded out 12 runs to defeat Portland, 12-7. Randy Beam took the loss, as Portland now drops to 48-46, 1.5 games behind New Hampshire for first place in the Northern Division of the EL. Brandon Moss hit his 12th home run of the season. Chris Durbin went 2-3 with a double and a ribbie. Wilmington beat up on Myrtle Beach to the tune of a 9-4 win. East Providence native Barry Hertzler (Go Townies!) picked up his 3rd win of the season, allowing just 1 ER in four innings of long relief. Scott White went 3-4 with a double and an RBI. Greenville put up a valiant fight in the bottom of the 9th by scoring 4 runs, but fell just short 6-5 to Hickory. Claudio Arias went 4-5 with a HR and 4 RBis while boosting his average to .321. Brantley Jordan pitched 3 solid innings of relief, striking out 4 and lowering his already miniscule ERA to 1.04. Lowell won in impressive fashion, beating Batavia 7-1 at LaLachleur Park. Luis Soto had a big night, going 2-4 with a double. Adam Blackley got the win, striking out 6 in 5IPs, while allowing no earned runs. Everyone's favorite rookie league team, the GCL Red Sox, won yesterday 7-5 over the GCL Reds. Jesus Garcia went 2-4 with 2 doubles, while Manny Rafael went 3-5 with 2 ribbies. Jose Ortiz got the win, while striking out five in three innings of relief.
Player of the Night: Claudio Arias of Greenville, who went 4-5, HR, with 4 RBIs.