Coello dazzles as Portland falters late

6/3 Cup of Coffee: One-run games were a common theme on Wednesday, with a pair of 1-0 affairs in Pawtucket and Portland, and a tough loss for Salem. Greenville pitching was hit early and often and the DSL Red Sox remained perfect.

Finding themselves in a classic pitcher's duel, Pawtucket got just enough to slide by the Charlotte Knights (CHW), 1-0. The lone run of the ballgame came in the bottom of the fifth as Jorge Jimenez roped an RBI single to bring home Ryan Kalish. PawSox starter Felix Doubront earned his first Triple-A victory, going 5.2 innings, allowing just 2 hits and 1 walk while striking out 3. Dustin Richardson, Ramon A. Ramirez, Fabio Castro and Robert Manuel combined for 3.1 perfect innings of relief to lock down the victory.

Scoreless until the bottom of the ninth, Portland lost a heartbreaker to the Trenton Thunder (NYY), 1-0. Portland starter Robert Coello pitched brilliantly in only his third start of the season, going 5.2 innings, allowing just 3 hits and 1 walk while striking out 11. The Sea Dogs only mustered four hits, and had just two runners in scoring position the entire evening. Bryce Cox, who came on in relief in the ninth, was the loser as he allowed the winning run when Trenton beat out a potential inning-ending double play. Mitch Herold preceded Cox by pitching 2.1 innings, allowing just 1 hit while striking out 2.

Overcoming an early 3-1 deficit was not enough to propel Salem to victory, as they were swept by the Lynchburg Hillcats (CIN), 4-3. Red Sox starter Brock Huntzinger went 5.0 innings, allowing 4 runs, 3 earned, on 7 hits while walking 1 and striking out 3. Salem took an early 1-0 lead when Tim Federowicz laced an RBI single in the top of the first. Lynchburg took a 3-1 lead to the fifth, when Salem knotted the score on a Peter Hissey RBI double and a Federowicz sacrifice fly. The positive momentum was short-lived however, as the Hillcats scored the eventual winning run in the bottom of the inning. Blake Maxwell pitched 3.0 scoreless innings in relief of Huntzinger to close out the game. Federowicz was 2 for 3 to lead a Red Sox offense that only collected just five hits on the night.

The Kannapolis Intimidators (CHW) used 16 hits to wallop Greenville, 12-3. Drive starter Manny Rivera was torched for 7 runs on 9 hits in his 3.2-inning outing, as he fell to 2-5 on the season. Reliever Pedro Perez did not fare much better, going 2.1 innings, allowing 5 runs, 4 earned, on 6 hits. Greenville scored its lone runs of the contest in the sixth, getting a three-run home run from Reynaldo Rodriguez. Rodriguez and Zach Gentile were both 2 for 3 to lead the Drive offense. Dennis Neuman pitched the final two innings of the contest, allowing just 1 hit and striking out 4.

The DSL Red Sox remained perfect, as they topped the DSL Rays (TB), 7-3. The Red Sox got off to a quick start, scoring four in the first on RBI singles by Dreily Guerrero and Roberto Duncan and a bases-loaded walk to Raoell Kortstam. Duncan's RBI single in the second expanded the Red Sox lead to 5-2. Two more runs crossed home in the third for the Red Sox on an RBI single by Guerrero and a successful steal of home by Kortstam. Pedro Reyes picked up the victory, going 3.0 innings of relief as he allowed just one hit. Luis Bastardo notched the save thanks to his 2.1 scoreless innings of relief in which he struck out 5.

Player of the Night: Robert Coello, who went 5.2 innings and allowed just 3 hits while striking out 11 batters in Portland's 1-0 loss.

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