August 25, 2009 at 6:25 AM
Matsuzaka makes stong rehab start in GCL
8/25 Cup of Coffee: Jeff Bailey hit a 1-out sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 9th inning to give Pawtucket a 3-2 win over Lehigh Valley. Jed Lowrie homered in the 6th to tie the score and Mark Wagner had a RBI single in the 6th to give the PawSox a 1-run lead. Hunter Jones then allowed a home run in the top of the 9th to tie the score before Bailey's game-winning RBI in the bottom of the frame. Paul Byrd started and threw 7 strong innings allowing 1 run on 3 hits. He did not walk a hitter and fanned 4.Harrisburg took the lead in the 1st inning and never looked book on their wa y to a 6-4 win over the Sea Dogs. Kris Johnson (0-1) started and gave up 5 runs, 4 of them earned, on 9 hits and 2 walks over 5.2 innings. He struck out 3. Daniel Nava went 3 for 5 and raised his batting average to .379. Luis Exposito continued his hot streak, going 2 for 4. He is now hitting .361. Jason Place went 2 for 3 with a home run and 3 RBI. The Sea Dogs were 2 for 10 with RISP and left 10 runners on base.
Salem scored twice in the bottom of the 4th inning when Mike Jones doubled and Brad Correll homered. They added 5 more in the 7th on 3 walks, 3 hits, 2 errors and 2 wild pitches. The final result was a Salem 7-0 win over Winston-Salem. Kyle Weiland pitched 6 scoreless innings, allowing 2 hits and 3 walks. He struck out 10. Armando Zerpa and Robert Coello held the Dash hitless for the final 3 innings.
West Virginia jumped out to a 9-0 lead after 3 innings and coasted to a 12-6 win over Greenville. Stolmy Pimentel (9-7) lasted only 2 innings, giving up 8 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks. He had 2 strikeouts. The Drive scored 3 times in the 9th with 2 out to make the result more respectable. Will Middlebrooks went 2 for 4 with a run scored and an RBI. Alex Hassan went 2 for 5 with an RBI. Ryan Dent went 2 for 4 and scored a run. Greenville were 2 for 12 last night with RISP and left 12 runners on base.
Aberdeen scored 7 times in the 1st inning and went on to an 11-0 hammering of Lowell. Starter Pedro Perez went 1.1 frames, giving up 9 runs, only 4 of which were earned. The Spinner defense committed 2 errors in the first inning, which accounted for the unearned runs. The offense had 6 hits in the game, with Tom Di Benedetto going 2 for 2.
In the Gulf Coast League, the Red Sox shut out the Rays 2-0. Daisuke Matsuzaka made his first rehab start and threw 3 scoreless innings, giving up 1 hit. He did not allow a walk and had 4 strikeouts. Roman Mendez (2-2) pitched 5 scoreless innings to earn the win. With 2 on and 2 out in the 2nd inning, Felix Sanchez drove in a run with a single, and Juan Bonifacio scored on a wild pickoff attempt to provide the margin of victory.
Player of the Night: Kyle Weiland, who threw 6 scoreless innings, allowing just 2 hits and striking out 10 batters.