De La Cruz leads GCL to 2 wins

7/2 Cup Of Coffee: After getting rained out yesterday, Keury De La Cruz helped the GCL squad to a pair of wins over the Orioles while Casey Kelly pitched well but was left still searching for his second win of the season.

Niuman Romero homered to cut the deficit to 2 in the last of the ninth, but Pawtucket fell 8-6 to Scranton/Wilkes Barre (NYY). Kris Johnson went 4.1 innings, striking out 5 and allowing 2 runs before exiting after being hit in the knee with a line drive. Rich Hill made his debut in relief, striking out 3 in 2.2 scoreless frames. Kason Gabbard retired just 1 batter and was charged with 5 runs, 3 earned. Tommy Hottovy allowed a run in 1.2 frames. Bubba Bell was 2 for 4 with a three-run home run, while Romero and Gil Velazquez had 2 hits in the loss.

Casey Kelly held Binghamton (NYM) to 3 runs on 7 hits in 5.1 innings as Portland won 5-3. Kelly gave up a pair of home runs, and Mitch Herold got the win with 1.2 innings of shutout relief. Che-Hsuan Lin was 2 for 4 with a triple and 2 RBI, and Luis Exposito had 2 hits and a run scored in the win. Bryce Cox struck out 3 in earning the six-out save.

Salem led heading into the final frame, but Kyle Fernandes and Blake Maxwell couldn't hang on in a 6-4 loss to Frederick (BAL). Fernandes struck out 3 in 3.2 innings in relief of Stolmy Pimentel, but couldn't get the final out. Pimentel went 5.0 innings, holding the Keys to 3 runs on 5 hits. He struck out 2 and walked 3. Drew Hedman was 2 for 4 with a three-run home run. Jon Hee added 2 hits and Tim Federowicz had an RBI. Maxwell allowed 2 inhereted runners to score, plus one of his own, and retired just one batter.

Winners of six of their last seven, Greenville stumbled in a 7-4 loss to Savannah (NYM). Shannon Wilkerson was 2 for 4 with a pair of RBI, and Ronald Bermudez had 2 hits and an RBI. Pete Ruiz surrendered 4 runs on 7 hits in 6.0 innings to take the loss, and Jeremiah Bayer allowed 2 runs in as many innings before Armando Zerpa yielded an unearned run in his first appearance this year with the Drive. Christian Vazquez had 3 hits in the loss.

In the first of a pair of seven-inning games, Miguel Celestino and Justin Erasmus combined for a five-hit shutout to give the GCL boys a 3-0 win over the Orioles. Each struck out 4 and walked 1, with Celestino going the first five and Erasmus tossing the last two. Keury De La Cruz was 2 for 3 with a triple and an RBI, and Boss Moanaroa was 2 for 3 with an RBI double. Heiker Meneses had 2 hits, including a double, and Willie Holmes also drove in a run in the win.

In the second game, Boss Moanaroa singled to score Henry Ramos in the seventh inning for a 7-6 come-from-behind win over the O's. De La Cruz was 3 for 4 with a double, triple, and a pair of RBI. Moko Moanaroa was also 3 for 4 with an RBI, and Meneses added 2 more hits. Scott Swinson gave up 6 runs, 2 earned in 4.0 innings, yielding 6 hits and striking out 2, and Matt Phillips allowed just 1 hit in 3.0 inning to get the win. Jason Place returned after a lengthy absence, going 1 for 4 with a two-run double.

After five straight losses, the DSL squad finally got over the hump in a 7-5 win over the Astros. Jair Bogaerts, Xander Bogaerts and Javier Gutierrez paced the offense with 2 hits each. Luis Diaz gave up 3 runs on 8 hits in 5.0 innings, while Nefi Ogando and Alexander Mateo each yielded a run before Ricardo Betancourt retired the final batter for the save.

Player of the Night: Keury De La Cruz, who in two games went 5 for 8 with a double, 2 triples, and 3 RBI. He's hitting .366 this season in the GCL.

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