Holmes perfect evening drives GCL rout

6/29 Cup of Coffee: While Portland was nearly no-hit at home, Salem and the GCL Red Sox put on offensive displays by scoring double digit runs in impressive victories. Greenville completed a rare five game sweep of Charleston, and a pair of top prospects in Lowell hit their first professional home runs.

Looking to even up the series, the PawSox were overpowered by the Syracuse Chiefs (WAS) 9-4. Robert Coello had a mediocre start, going the first 3.2 innings while allowing 6 runs (3 earned) on 5 hits and 3 walks. Chad Paronto followed Coello out of the bullpen, pitching 2.1 innings, allowing a run on 3 hits. Robert Manuel pitched a shaky seventh inning, allowing two runs on 3 hits. Kason Gabbard tossed a scoreless eighth inning, allowing just one hit. Pawtucket scored all four of their runs in the fourth inning on a Niuman Romero RBI double and an Aaron Bates three-run home run. Bates and first baseman Lars Anderson collected two hits each to lead the Pawtucket offense.

In Portland, a masterful pitching performance helped the Harrisburg Senators (WAS) shut out the Sea Dogs 3-0. Jeremy Kehrt was the tough luck loser for Portland, going 5.0 innings, allowing just one unearned run on 5 hits while walking 2 and striking out 5. Ryne Miller followed Kehrt by hurling 2.0 innings, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 2 hits and a walk. Mitch Herold threw the final two innings, allowing just three hits and a walk. The Sea Dogs were no-hit for 8.1 innings until Anthony Rizzo collected a double for the only hit of the night for Portland. Four Harrisburg pitchers combined on the gem, striking out 12 Sea Dog hitters.

While offense was scare in Portland, Salem obliterated the Winston-Salem Dash (CHW) 12-1. Mike Lee got the start for the Red Sox, going the first 3.0 innings, allowing the lone Winston-Salem run on 4 hits while striking out 3. Blake Maxwell picked up the victory with his 5.0 shutout innings in which he collected 3 strikeouts. Kyle Fernandes tossed a scoreless ninth inning and collected a pair of strikeouts. The Red Sox drew first blood in the top of the first on Oscar Tejeda's RBI triple. In the second, Salem plated four runs on a pair of RBI doubles by Mitch Dening and Ryan Lavarnway. Dening lashed his second RBI double in the third to give the Red Sox a 6-1 lead. The lead expanded to 9-1 after four as Jorge Padron knocked in a pair on his RBI double and Tejeda scampered home on a wild pitch. Salem capped its scoring in the fifth, as Lavarnway drilled an RBI single, Tejeda smoked an RBI double and Tim Federowicz lofted a sacrifice fly. The Red Sox offense was clicking on all cylinders as every member of the starting lineup had at least one hit in the 15 hit drubbing.

Continuing to stay hot, the Greenville Drive completed a five game sweep of the Charleston RiverDogs (NYY) 5-4. Drake Britton pitched the first 1.1 innings, allowing 1 run on 2 hits and a walk while striking out 2. Tom Ebert piggybacked Britton, picking up his sixth victory of the season thanks to tossing 5.2 innings in which he allowed 2 runs on 4 hits while striking out 5. Jordan Flasher finished the final 2.0 innings of the contest, allowing just one hit and striking out 4 to pick up his second save. Derrik Gibson manufactured a run in the first for the Drive, picking up a single and then promptly stealing second base before scampering home on a ball botched by the RiverDogs second baseman. Down 2-1 heading into the fourth, Vladimir Frias notched an RBI single and Zach Gentile looped a sacrifice fly to give the Drive a 3-2 advantage. Shannon Wilkerson's sacrifice fly in the fifth gave Greenville a 4-2 lead that they relinquished in the bottom half of the inning as Charleston tied the game. Chris McGuiness plated the winning run in the seventh, as his RBI double brought home Gibson to give the Drive the 5-4 advantage. McGuiness was 2 for 5 to lead the Greenville offense.

After Sunday's easy victory, the Lowell Spinners could not build momentum and fell to the Connecticut Tigers (DET) 6-3. Roman Mendez made his third start for Lowell, going 3.0 innings, allowing 5 runs (4 earned) on 8 hits and 3 walks while striking out 4. Jay Broughton, who has yet to allow a run this season, spun 4.0 scoreless innings of relief as he allowed just one hit while striking out 4. Kyle Rutter threw a scoreless eighth inning as he picked up a pair of strikeouts. All three Spinner runs came in the sixth, as Bryce Brentz hit a two-run home run and the next batter Brandon Jacobs followed with a solo home run of his own as each picked up their first round tripper of the season. Brentz was 2 for 3 to have the only multi-hit evening for Lowell.

Like their counterparts in Salem, the GCL Red Sox put on an offensive display as they clubbed the GCL Rays (TB) 13-2. Juan Rodriguez threw 5.0 innings, allowing just 2 hits and a walk while striking out 5 to pick up the victory. Raynel Velette finished the game by tossing 4.0 innings, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits while striking out 5 to pick up the save. The Red Sox were quiet until the fourth, when they scored five runs on a Willie Holmes RBI double, a Jose Vinicio RBI double, a Trygg Danforth RBI single, a Leonel Escobar RBI single and a wild pitch. The sixth inning saw the Red Sox duplicate their output from the fourth, as they collected another five runs on a Jason Thompson RBI single, Heiker Meneses RBI groundout, another Holmes RBI double, a Boss Moanaroa RBI single and a wild pitch. Not satisfied with a 10-2 lead heading into the ninth, the Red Sox plated three more runs on a wild pitch, Meneses RBI single and a Holmes RBI single. The 19 hit affair saw every member of the Red Sox lineup collect at least one hit as five hitters put together multiple hit games. Holmes was a perfect 5 for 5 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI to bump his average up to .474.

Rounding out Monday's action, the DSL Red Sox collected only four hits as they fell to the DSL Pirates (PIT) 5-3. Raul Alcantara hurled the first 6.0 innings, allowing 3 runs (1 earned) on 6 hits while striking out 2. Ellis Jimenez tossed the final 3.0 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits. The Red Sox got on the board in the fourth on Jair Bogaerts sacrifice fly. The last two Red Sox runs came in the eighth, as Roberto Duncan laced an RBI single and Jesus Loya trotted home on an error by the Pirates third baseman.

Player of the Night: Willie Holmes, who went 5 for 5, with 2 doubles, 2 runs scored and 3 RBI in the GCL Red Sox 13-2 victory.

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