Place homers twice in rout

7/24 Cup of Coffee: Portland saw their winning streak snapped at 6 Friday night, but Lowell wasn't lucky enough to have their streak broken as the Spinners fell for the eleventh straight game.

In the completion of a suspended game, Columbus (CLE) scored 4 in the sixth to top Pawtucket 6-3. TJ Large allowed 4 runs in two-thirds of an inning, but Chad Paronto and Fernando Cabrera joined up to toss 3.1 scoreless frames of relief. The PawSox scored all of their runs before the suspension of the original game, with Bubba Bell and Ryan Sheely homering.

The regularly-scheduled game saw Pawtucket fall victim to a stellar pitching performance in a 5-3 loss to Columbus. Robert Coello gave up 5 runs on 6 hits, including 2 home runs, in 5.0 innings, while Rich Hill and Dustin Richardson combined for 3.0 scoreless innings of relief. Aaron Bates and Gil Velazquez each had 2 hits, while Velazquez, Lars Anderson, and Argenis Reyes drove in a run in the loss.

Portland saw their winning streak snapped at 6 in a 7-5 loss to Harrisburg (WAS). Luis Exposito was 2 for 5 with 3 RBI, while Ray Chang also had a pair of hits and 1 driven in. Stephen Fife was chargeed with 5 runs, 4 earned on 8 hits in 6.0 innings. Ryne Lawson alowed a pair of runs in 2.0 innings of relief, and Ryne Miller pitched a perfect. ninth in the loss.

Salem used a pair of four-run innings to give themselves a comfortable lead in an 11-2 romp over Lynchburg (CIN). Will Middlebrooks, Dan Butler, and Jason Place each had 3 hits, while Place homered twice to finish with 3 RBI. Oscar Tejeda and Alex Hassan added 2 hits in the win, with Hassan collecting a home run and 4 RBI for the second straight night. Miguel Gonzalez pitched the first 5.0 innings, scattering 5 hits and allowing just 1 run before Will Latimer allowed another run in 2.0 innings of relief. Kyle Fernandes struck out 2 in 2.0 scoreless frames to close out the win.

Michael Almanzar smacked his fifth home run of the season for Greenville, but it wasn't enough to prevent a 4-3 loss to Kannapolis (CWS). Roman Mendez allowed 3 runs, 4 earned on 10 hits in the first 4.1 innings, but Pedro Perez and Dennis Neuman combined to allow just 1 hit in 4.1 shutout frames of relief. Almanzar's two-run shot and Ronald Bermudez' solo home run provided all of the Drive's offense, with Bermudez collecting the only multi-hit game for the losing side.

Lowell saw their losing streak fall to 11 games on another late-inning loss, this one of the 6-5 variety to Vermont (WAS). David Renfroe and Josue Peley provided the Spinners with a 2-0 lead in the second, a lead they'd relinquish in the next inning before Kolbrin Vitek, Bryce Brentz, and James Kang brought them back ahead to 5-4 with runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth. But Vermont pulled ahead for good with a pair of runs of Cesare Angeloni, who struck out 6 in 4.0 innings of relief. Hunter Cervenka tossed the first 3.0 innings, allowing 2 runs, 4 earned on 3 hits, and Tyler Lockwood allowed a hit in a scoreless eighth.

Yunior Ortega, Sully Bonnelly, and Alexander Mateo combined on a five-hit shutout in the DSL squad's 3-0 win over DSL Mets 2. Ortega lowered his ERA to 1.24 with 5.0 innings of three-hit ball, while Bonnelly added a pair of hits in 3.0 innings of his own. Mateo recorded the save by striking out 2 in a perfect ninth. Eddie Loya was 3 for 4 with a double and a run batted in, while Xander Bogaerts also added an RBI in the win.

Player of the Night: Jason Place, who hit a pair of home runs in Salem's rout over Lynchburg. He finished the night with 3 hits and 3 RBI.

Tweet