Portland pitchers combine for shutout

6/11 Cup of Coffee: Other than our starlets in the Dominican, Thursday's action was largely void of offense. Luckily for Portland, a trio of pitchers led by Jeremy Kehrt tossed a shutout to notch the win.

Fabio Castro allowed a costly pair of runs in the eighth and Pawtucket couldn't recover, dropping a 4-2 decision to Indianapolis (PIT). Starter Michael Bowden struck out 5 but allowed 2 runs on 6 hits in 4.2 innings. Scott Atchison threw 1.1 shutout innings before Castro gave up a pair. Chad Paronto didn't allow a run in 0.2 innings of relief. Niuman Romero had a pair of hits, while Ryan Kalish and Jorge Jimenez drove in a run each for the PawSox.

Having already clinched their first series win over a Western Division opponent since 2008, Kehrt, Eammon Portice, and Jason Rice combined to give Portland a five-hit shutout in a 1-0 win over Erie (DET). Kehrt allowed 3 hits in 6.0 scoreless frames, and Portice added 2.0 innings of his own before Rice fanned the side in the ninth. Yamaico Navarro and Chih-Hsien Chiang had 2 hits apiece, while Luis Exposito drove in the game's only run as the Sea Dogs notched the sweep.

Drew Hedman tripled to put the tying run on third in the ninth, but Salem couldn't push him across, falling 4-3 to Frederick (BAL). Hedman also hit his first home run of the season en route to a 2 for 4 night with 2 RBI. Mitch Dening had a double and an RBI, while Oscar Tejeda was 3 for 4 with a double. Stolmy Pimentel got the start and allowed 4 runs, 2 earned in on 7 hits in 5.0 innings of work. Kyle Fernandes struck out 5 in 3.0 innings of scoreless relief, and Tim Federowicz added 2 hits in the loss.

After a day off Wednesday, Greenville returned to action but managed just 4 hits in a 5-0 loss to Rome (ATL). After skipping his last start, Yeiper Castillo returned to the rotation and allowed 3 runs, 2 earned on 9 hits, striking out 1 in 5.0 innings. Reymond Fuentes was caught stealing for the first time this season and had one of the Drive's four singles, while Anatanaer Batista allowed 2 earned on 4 hits in 3.0 innings of relief.

In DSL action, the first-place Red Sox improved to 9-3 with a 7-2 win over the DSL Pirates. Raul Alcantara fanned 2 and gave up just 1 hit in 5.0 innings of shutout ball, and Ellis Jimenez allowed 2 runs on 4 hits in 3.0 innings of relief. Derward Ruiz, Juan Ugas, and Aly Gonzalez each drove in a pair. Ruiz had 2 hits and Curtney Duran also had an RBI in the win.

Player of the Night: Jeremy Kehrt allowed just 3 hits in 6.0 innings, combining with two relievers for a shutout in Portland's 1-0 win over Erie. Kehrt, who hasn't allowed a run in his last 3 starts, lowered his ERA to 1.71 since his promotion in late May.

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