August 25, 2010 at 9:09 AM
Reddick's perfect night fuels Pawtucket win
8/25 Cup of Coffee: With a couple of games cancelled due to rain, it took a pair of perfect performances at the plate to salvage a pair of wins on Tuesday.
Josh Reddick had a perfect night at the plate and Pawtucket staved off a late Buffalo rally to top the Bisons (NYM) 7-3. Tied at 0 heading into the fourth, Reddick led off with a single and was singled home two batters later by Bubba Bell. Aaron Bates followed with a two-run double, and just like that it was 3-0 PawSox. An inning later, Reddick was both instigator and finisher, as he laced his fourteenth home rum of the year out to right to make it 4-0. Meanwhile, Adam Mills was in control on the mound, using laser accuracy to mow down the Bisons inning after inning. In all, Mills finished the first 6.0 innings, yielding just 5 hits and no runs while striking out 5, all without walking a batter. Dustin Richardson closed out the seventh without incident, but Chad Paronto ran into some trouble in the eighth, when he allowed 3 runs to close the Buffalo deficit to 1. But 3 Pawtucket runs in the top of the ninth, the last of which was driven in by Reddick, reestablished the lead at four, and Fernando Cabrera closed things down from there. Reddick ended the game 5 for 5, with a home run and 2 RBI. He was joined in the multi-hit club by Bates and Lars Anderson, who were both 2 for 4.
In a game of nearly equal chances, Portland was just 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position and dropped a 6-3 decision to Harrisburg (WAS). The Sea Dogs actually scored first in this one, as Ray Chang grounded out to bring in a run in the first, but Harrisburg then countered with 3 unanswered runs. A Chih-Hsien Chiang RBI single made it 3-2 heading to the bottom of the fifth, but Harrisburg answered back in that half to make it 4-2. Portland got within one again when Ryan Lavarnway homered in the top of the seventh, but two more Harrisburg runs made the lead three after seven. Portland managed to load the bases with one out in the ninth, but Jorge Padron and Jose Iglesias both struck out to end the game. Kyle Weiland took the brunt of the damage on the mound, allowing 4 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks in 5.0 innings, while Ryne Miller allowed 2 runs on 4 hits the rest of the way. Chiang had the best night at the dish, going 2 for 3 with a walk, while Luis Exposito was 2 for 4 with 2 doubles.
Salem took an early lead on Myrtle Beach (ATL), but the Pelicans ultimately walked off with a 3-2 win. Those runs came in the fourth, when Tim Federowicz doubled home Adalberto Ibarra and was later doubled home himself by Drew Hedman, with the final out coming at the plate on the play after the run had scored. Caleb Clay, meanwhile, had been cruising, shutting Myrtle Beach out through the first 5.0 innings before giving up a single run in the sixth. The righthander ended up allowing just 3 hits and 2 walks in his 6.0-inning outing, striking out 6. Seth Garrison, however, couldn’t hold the lead in relief, giving up the tying run in the seventh, and Will Latimer got two outs in the ninth before allowing a double and a single to end the game. Headman was the only multi-hit performer for the Red Sox, going 2 for 3 with 2 doubles.
Despite allowing 2 early runs, Greenville clamped down and came back to beat Charleston (NYY) 4-2. Those Riverdogs runs came in the second off Ryan Pressly, who then settled down and wound up going 5.0 innings allowing 3 hits, walking and striking out 4. Jeremiah Bayer went the rest of the way, allowing 6 hits but no walks and also striking out 4 to earn the win. The comeback began right away for the Drive, as Wilfred Pichardo singled in a run in the bottom of the second and the tying run scored in the bottom of the third on a Michael Almanzar ground out. The winning run came in the fifth, when Reynaldo Rodriguez singled home Jeremy Hazelbaker, and Shannon Wilkerson singled in an insurance run an inning later to make it 4-2. Rodriguez had himself a nice little game, going 3 for 3 with a walk, while Wilkerson was 2 for 4.
Lowell’s game at home against Vermont (WAS) was cancelled due to rain.
In game one on the day against the GCL Orioles (BAL), the GCL Red Sox scored early but then got blanked the rest of the way en route to a 3-1 loss in seven innings. That early run came courtesy of a Jason Thompson RBI double in the first, but the team would manage just 1 hit from there on out. Raynel Vellete made the lead stick as long as he could, but eventually gave up 3 runs in the fifth. He wound up completing 5.0, allowing 4 hits and a walk. Scott Swinson kept things scoreless from there, but the punchless Sox couldn’t mount the comeback. Game two was cancelled due to rain.