Exposito helps power Portland to second straight

8/12 Cup of Coffee: Portland and Lowell won their second game in a row, while Pawtucket was quieted and Salem had the rain interrupt a pitcher's duel.

Despite scoring first, the PawSox were quieted by the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (PHI) 5-1. Kris Johnson picked up his eleventh loss of the year for his 6.0 inning effort in which he allowed 2 runs on 3 hits and 4 walks. Tommy Hottovy was roughed up in his lone inning of relief, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits and a walk. Santo Luis followed Hottovy and tossed a scoreless eighth inning. Lars Anderson's sacrifice fly put Pawtucket on the board in the first, giving them a 1-0 lead. The run would be their only one of the contest as Carlos Delgado went 2 for 4 to lead the offense.

In a battle of the offenses Portland muscled up to defeat the Bowie BaySox (BAL) 8-6. Alex Wilson took the hill for the Sea Dogs and went 4.2 innings, allowing 4 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks. Ryne Reynoso picked up the victory for his 3.0 innings of relief in which he allowed 2 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks. Bryce Cox collected his twelfth save for his 1.1 scoreless innings. Luis Exposito's two run home run in the first gave Portland a quick 2-0 lead. With the score tied 2-2 in the third, Ray Chang's RBI ground out and Anthony Rizzo's two run home run put Portland back on top 5-2. After the BaySox pulled within one during the bottom of the fifth, Portland brought home two in the top of the sixth on Ryan Khoury's RBI triple and Chih-Hsien Chiang's RBI double. Bowie again came within one during the bottom of the seventh but Rizzo added a sacrifice fly during the top of the ninth for an insurance run. Chang was 3 for 4 to lead the Portland offense.

Salem was mired in a pitcher's duel before the rains came and suspended Wednesday's game with the Kinston Indians (CLE). The game was stopped in the bottom of the fourth with Kinston leading 1-0 and Salem at the plate. The game will resume today at 5:30 with Alex Hassan batting with a runner on second and one out.

The Spinners bullpen had a shaky ninth inning but held on for a 6-5 victory over the State College Spikes (PIT). Tyler Wilson was stellar in his 6.0 innings of work, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits while striking out 4. Stephen Fox picked up his first save for his 3.0 innings of relief, including a shaky ninth inning where he allowed 3 runs on 3 hits. After State College took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second, Lowell answered with 3 runs on James Kang's RBI single and Felix Sanchez's RBI double. Neither team scored until the seventh when the Spinners added three more on RBI singles by Jose Iglesias and Brandon Jacobs in addition to an RBI triple by Kolbrin Vitek. Vitek was the only player to record a multi-hit game with his 2 for 4 performance.

A six run ninth inning allowed the DSL Rays to sting the DSL Sox 9-8. Jason Garcia hurled 4.0 innings as the starter, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits and a walk. Michael Gleason followed with 3.0 innings of relief, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits and a walk. Justin Erasmus was the loser as he was hit hard during his 1.2 inning stint, allowing 4 runs on 5 hits. Adalberto Ibarra's RBI ground out gave the Red Sox an early 1-0 lead after one. A wild pitch and a Roberto Ramos RBI ground out put the Red Sox up 3-0 in the second. Henry Ramos added an RBI double in the third to propel the Red Sox to a 5-1 lead. In the sixth, Keury De La Cruz laced an RBI triple that brought home two to open up a 7-2 lead. Luke Yoder's RBI single in the seventh gave the Red Sox a six run advantage that they were unable to hold on to. Yoder was 3 for 5 from the top of the order to lead the Red Sox offense.

Superb pitching and offense allowed the DSL Red Sox to stomp the DSL Mets2 8-1. Raul Alcantara moved to 5-3 with his dazzling 5.0 scoreless innings in which he struck out 7. Alexander Mateo allowed a singular run during his 4.0 innings of relief to pick up his second save. Dreily Guerrero's RBI double and Curtney Doran's RBI ground out gave the Red Sox a quick 2-0 lead after one. The game remained 2-0 until the eighth when the Red Sox tacked on four more on RBI doubles by Doran and Javier Gutierrez, a wild pitch and an RBI triple by Jesus Loya. Xander Bogaerts RBI single and another wild pitch allowed the Red Sox to plate their final two runs in the ninth. Guerrero and Gutierrez both collected 3 hits to lead the Red Sox offense.

Player of the Night: Luis Exposito, who was 1 for 2 with a two run home run, 2 runs scored and 3 walks to help Portland beat back Bowie 8-6.

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