Wilson and Hissey a dynamic duo in Salem victory

5/27 Cup of Coffee: Casey Kelly looked for his first victory of the season while Salem looked to gain ground against their first-place rival and Greenville tried to continue its late-inning magic.

Portland carried a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth but lost on a walk off home run to fall 5-3 to the Reading Phillies. Kelly was mediocre in his quest for his first victory of the year, going 5.0 innings, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits while striking out 4 and walking 3. The Sea Dogs jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third on back-to-back RBI singles by Luis Exposito and Anthony Rizzo. With the score knotted at 2-2 in the eighth, Portland reclaimed the lead on Chih-Hsien Chiang's bases-loaded walk. Eammon Portice, who followed Kelly out of the bullpen, pitched a scoreless sixth and seventh, allowing only two hits to keep the Phillies' bats quiet. Bryce Cox pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning and looked to close out the game in the ninth when he ran into trouble. Cox quickly got the first out of the inning but allowed back-to-back walks before letting up a three-run home run to end the game. The loss leaves the Sea Dogs at 3-7 in their last 10 games as they slipped to 4.5 back of the first-place New Hampshire Fisher Cats (TOR). Exposito and Matt Sheely were both 2 for 4 to lead the Portland offense.

Salem received impressive performances from its starting pitcher and center fielder to outpace the Winston-Salem Dash (CHW), 3-1. Red Sox starter Alex Wilson was spectacular, going 6.0 innings, allowing just 2 hits while walking 2 and striking out 5. The contest was a pitcher's duel until the fifth, when Salem got on the board on Mitch Dening's RBI double to take a 1-0 lead. Winston-Salem tied the game in the seventh, but Salem plated two in the eighth on Peter Hissey's RBI triple and Oscar Tejeda's sacrifice fly to pull ahead 3-1. Mike Lee pitched the final 3.0 innings of the game, allowing 1 run on 2 hits while striking out 4 to earn his third victory of the season. Hissey was 2 for 4 to have the lone multi-hit game for the Red Sox.

Greenville looked to continue its walk-off magic against Charleston, but was shut down by the RiverDogs (NYY), 5-0. Drive starter Ryan Pressly had a decent outing, going 3.1 innings, allowing 2 hits, 2 walks and striking out 3. Anatanaer Batista followed Pressly and was smacked around in his 2.1 innings of work, allowing 4 runs on 6 hits. Jordan Flasher pitched 2.1 innings in relief of Batista, allowing 1 run on 2 hits, striking out 2. Dennis Neuman pitched a perfect ninth inning while collecting 2 strikeouts. Greenville was only able to collect four singles from Derrik Gibson, Dan Butler, Reynaldo Rodriguez and Vladimir Frias the entire game. The Drive had a few chances to score despite the meager offensive output, but were 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position.

Player of the Night: Alex Wilson, who went 6.0 scoreless innings while striking out 5 in Salem's 3-1 victory.

Tweet