May 17, 2011 at 7:26 AM
Greenville Drew from an unlikely source in its victory
5/17 Cup of Coffee: On a shortened slate of games, the 2 affiliates in action earned a split.
Pawtucket’s game against Scranton Wilkes-Barre (NYY) was postponed, with no makeup date immediately announced.
Salem carved out 10 hits, but managed just 3 runs in a 7-3 loss to Wilmington (KC). Salem was just 2-11 as a team with runners in scoring position. Making his 2011 debut was Mark Wagner, and he took advantage of the opportunity. Wagner went 2-2 with 2 walks and a solo home run. Wagner’s .1000 batting average is, to my knowledge, pretty good. Zach Gentile went 3-4 with an RBI. Ryan Pressly got the start for the Salem Sox and got rocked. Pressly lasted just 3.2 innings and gave up 9 hits and 6 runs. He walked 3 and struck out 2. Will Latimer relieved Pressly and threw 3.1 scoreless innings. He allowed just 1 hit, walked 2 and struck out 3. Anatanaer Batista pitched the final 2 innings. He allowed 1 hit and 1 run (of the unearned variety). He did not walk a batter and struck out 3. Batista has a sparkling 0.81 ERA on the season, and has not allowed an earned run since April 20.
Greenville got solid offensive contributions in an 8-4 win over Charleston (NYY), though one usual masher was unusually absent from the hit column. Unfortunately, Bryce Brentz’ 26-game hitting streak and 35-game on base streak were snapped. He went 0-5 with 3 strikeouts. Picking up some of the slack was Drew Hedman. Hedman went 2-2 with 2 walks, a double, a home run and 4 RBI. Felix Sanchez and David Renfroe each went 1-4 with an RBI. Anthony Ranaudo started and earned the victory for the Drive. Ranaudo did not allow a hit through 3 innings, but the RiverDogs touched him up a bit in the 4th and 5th innings. Ranaudo ultimately lasted 5 innings and allowed 3 hits and 3 runs. He walked 2 and struck out 4. Juan Rodriguez came on in the 6th and pitched 2 scoreless innings. He allowed 2 hits, no walks and struck out 3 batters. Rodriguez’ 2.59 ERA is pretty impressive. But more impressively, he has struck out a ridiculous 43 batters in 24.1 innings. That equates to 15.9 strikeouts per 9 innings.
Player of the Day: Drew Hedman, who went 2-2 with 2 walks, a double, a home run and 4 RBI in Greenville's win over Charleston.