Exposito's big night leads Sea Dogs

5/7 Cup of Coffee: Three of the affiliates won one-run affairs Thursday as a pair of top-ten prospects carried their teams offensively.

Well-rested from yesterday's off day, Pawtucket took an early lead but Adam Mills imploded in the sixth in a 6-3 loss to Charlotte (CWS). The PawSox jumped out to a 2-0 lead after Josh Reddick scored in the first and Daniel Nava had an RBI double in the third. Reddick went deep in the fifth to make it 3-0, but Mills allowed a run in the fifth and 4 runs on 4 extra-base hits in the sixth as Charlotte took the lead for good. Dustin Richardson went 1.1 innings without allowing a run and Fernando Cabrera allowed a run in his inning of work for Pawtucket.

In the Thursday's lone afternoon game, Che-Hsuan Lin's bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the eighth put the Sea Dogs ahead as they rallied to beat Redding (PHI) 7-6. Luis Exposito started his scorching-hot afternoon with a two-run double in the top of the first, but Reading tagged Portland starter Stephen Fife for 5 runs in his 4.0 innings. Fife struck out 5 and allowed 8 hits, the first time this year he has allowed more than 2 earned runs, but his teammates bailed him out. Ryan Kalish hit a two-run single in the sixth to make it 6-5. Chih-Hsien Chiang doubled to tie the game in the following inning, before Lin's walk won it for Portland. Exposito was 3 for 3 with a double and 2 walks, and Tommy Hottovy, Santo Luis, and Jason Rice combined for 5.0 one-run innings of relief.

Salem moved to 5-0 in the month of May on the back of another solid performance by Brock Huntzinger, who got the victory in their 4-3 win over Wilmington (KC). Huntzinger allowed 3 runs, 2 earned in 6.0 innings and didn't issue a walk while striking out 4. Pete Hissey and Ryan Lavarnway knocked in runs in the fifth as Salem pulled ahead 3-1, but the Blue Rocks pulled even in the bottom half of the frame. However, Will Middlebrooks scored on an Oscar Tejeda sacrifice fly to give Salem the lead for good in the sixth. Mitch Herold struck out 4 in 3.0 innings of scoreless, one-hit relief, extending his shutout streak to 13.1 innings. Tim Federowicz was 1 for 2 with a double and a pair of walks in the win.

After losing the first three games of the series, Chris McGuinness's RBI triple in the eleventh was enough for Greenville to avoid the sweep as they topped Augusta (SF) 6-5. The Drive charged out to a 2-0 lead on a two-run Ronald Bermudez triple in the first, and after scoring a pair in the second, went up 5-0 when Bermudez doubled to score Michael Almanzar. Greenville starter Manny Rivera gave up 4 runs, all unearned in the fifth inning after Almanzar botched a double play attempt early in the frame. Rivera finished with 3 strikeouts and a walk in his 5.0 innings of work. Reliever Anatanaer Batista ran into more bad luck, allowing 2 unearned runs on a pair of errors in the seventh to level the game at 6. Cesar Cabral got the win, tossing 3.0 innings of shutout ball, extending his own streak to 8.0 innings. Christian Vazquez was 3 for 5 with a double and a run scored.

Player of the Night: Luis Exposito was 3 for 3 with a double and 2 RBI in Portland's 7-6 win over Reading. He also walked twice.

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