Couch spins a beauty, gets Lowell back on track

7/13 Cup of Coffee: Rain from the weekend made for a busy schedule Monday as Salem, Greenville and the GCL each played two contests. The Spinners looked to right the ship after going 3-14 in their last 17 contests and the DSL Red Sox obliterated the first place Mets squad to move up in the standings.

Portland could not win a close game despite pounding out 10 hits as they fell to the New Britain Rock Cats (MIN) 4-3. Alex Wilson received the starting nod and went 5.2 innings, allowing 3 runs on 8 hits and striking out 3. Ryne Lawson followed Wilson with 2.1 innings of relief, allowing the decisive Rock Cat run on a hit and a walk. Jason Rice pitched a scoreless ninth inning and struck out two. After New Britain scored twice in the top of the third, the Sea Dogs retaliated with a run of their own as William Vazquez poked an RBI single to right. Down 3-1 after four, Nate Spears delivered an RBI ground out to bring Portland within one. Spears tied the game in the seventh on his RBI double, his 18th double of the season. The Rock Cats brought home the eventual winning run in the top of the eighth while the Sea Dogs struggled with men in scoring position, going just 2 for 12. Vazquez was 3 for 4 with an RBI to lead the Portland offense.

Salem returned to action after being rained out of Fenway on Saturday as they squashed the Potomac Nationals (WAS) 4-1 in game one of a twin bill. Brock Huntzinger went the distance for the Red Sox, tossing 7.0 innings while allowing just one run on 4 hits, striking out three. Salem conducted all of its scoring in the fourth, plating four on three RBI singles from Will Middlebrooks, Ryan Dent and Jonathan Hee. Oscar Tejeda was 2 for 3 with a run scored as he raised his average to .324.

Game two was a different story for Salem as their pitching could not contain Potomac, leading to a 8-5 defeat. Starter Miguel Gonzalez was roughed up in his 3.0 innings of work, allowing 7 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks. Cesar Cabral relieved Gonzalez and tossed 2.0 innings, allowing a run on a hit and a walk. Kyle Fernandes pitched a scoreless sixth and seventh inning to finish off the contest. The Red Sox got on the board early, scoring two in the first on a costly error by the Nationals shortstop and a Middlebrooks RBI single. Down 7-2 in the third, Salem brought home their final three runs on a Middlebrooks RBI single and a costly missed catch on a force play by the Potomac catcher. Middlebrooks was 2 for 3 in the contest to lead the Salem offense.

Picking up on their suspended game from Sunday, Greenville blanked the Hagerstown Suns (WAS) 4-0. The game was resumed with the teams scoreless in the top of the fourth. Greenville drew first blood in the bottom half of the fourth as Michael Almanzar hit his 20th double of the season to drive home Reymond Fuentes, who collected his 28th stolen base during the at-bat. In the seventh, the Drive scampered home three more times as Jeremy Hazelbaker lined an RBI single and a throwing error by the Suns allowed two more runs to come home. Hazelbaker stole his 37th base of the season ahead of the error, leaving him one behind the league leader. Pete Ruiz hurled the first 3.0 innings for Greenville, allowing only 3 hits and striking out 5. Chris Court pitched the next 4.0 innings and picked up the victory, allowing just 3 hits. Dennis Neuman took care of the final 2.0 innings, allowing one hit and a walk.

A late rally would not be enough for Greenville to bring home a victory in the second game of the day, as Hagerstown dropped them 5-4. Kendal Volz had a tough outing, going the first 5.0 innings, allowing 5 runs on 8 hits while striking out 4. Armando Zerpa hurled the final 2.0 innings of the contest allowing just one base-runner on a walk. Down 3-0 in the second, Daniel Butler led-off the inning with a triple and was brought home on Almanzar's sacrifice fly. In the fifth, Vladimir Frias and Hazelbaker each roped an RBI single to bring the Drive within two. Frias added a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh but the rally died there as Hagerstown retired the next two batters to squash Greenville's comeback hopes. Hazelbaker and Frias both collected two hits to lead the Drive's offense.

A slumping Lowell squad received a sparkling pitching performance to bring home an exciting 3-2 victory over the Brooklyn Cyclones (NYM). Keith Couch threw the first 5.0 innings, allowing just six hits and striking out 5. Stephen Fox picked up the victory for his 3.0 innings of work, allowing one run on 2 hits and a walk, striking out 4. Tyler Lockwood, who nearly gave away the game, picked up his first save as he allowed one run on 3 hits in the ninth inning. The Spinners jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the sixth as Bryce Brentz slashed an RBI single that plated Nick Robinson and Kolbrin Vitek. Robinson added an RBI single of his own in the seventh, giving Lowell a 3-1 advantage. After easily getting the first two outs of the ninth, the Cyclones smacked three straight singles and had the tying run on third base before Lockwood induced a groundout to escape the jam.

In game one of the third affiliate doubleheader of the day, the GCL Red Sox smoked the GCL Orioles (BAL) 9-1. Miguel Celestino was solid in his 5.0 innings, allowing just one run on 4 hits and a walk while striking out 5. Scott Swinson pitched the final 2.0 innings, allowing just one hit to collect his second save. Willie Holmes solo home run in the second gave the Red Sox an early 1-0 lead. With the game tied in the fourth, Leonel Escobar lofted a sacrifice fly to give the Red Sox a lead they would not relinquish. Keury De La Cruz's RBI single and Jose Vinicio's sacrifice fly plated two more in the fifth inning. The Red Sox opened the game up in the seventh, scoring five times on an error by the shortstop, a Vinicio RBI double and an Escobar RBI single. Vinicio was a perfect 3 for 3 with a double and 3 RBI to lead the Red Sox offense.

After putting on an offensive display in game one, the GCL Red Sox managed just one hit and fell to the GCL Orioles 5-1 in game two. Jason Garcia got the starting nod for the Red Sox, allowing 2 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks in his 2.0 innings of work. Francisco Taveras did not fare any better, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks during his 3.0 inning stint. Luis Bastardo finished the game for the Red Sox, allowing a walk in his lone inning of work. The Red Sox lone run and hit of the contest came in the third, as Henry Ramos led off with a single, moved to second on a walk, advanced to third on a ground out and stole home to get the Red Sox on the board.

The DSL Red Sox used a seven run eighth inning to pound the DSL Mets2 (NYM) 10-1. Luis Diaz was dazzling in his 6.0 innings of work, allowing just 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 2. Carlos Pinales picked up his first save of the season by tossing 3.0 innings of relief, allowing one run on one hit and striking out 2. The Red Sox jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the second as Jesus Loya's RBI triple plated two. In the fourth, Curtney Doran led off the inning with a triple and scored on Dreily Guerrero's sacrifice fly. The game turned into a laugher in the eighth as the Red Sox scored seven times on Lewis Urena's bases-clearing triple, Xander Bogaerts RBI single and Javier Gutierrez's three-run home run. Bogaerts and Loya both had three hits to lead the Red Sox offense.

Player of the Night: Keith Couch, as he got Lowell back on track with his 5.0 inning performance in which he allowed six hits and no walks while striking out 5 in the Spinners 3-2 victory over Brooklyn.

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