June 7, 2011 at 6:30 AM
Exposito bullies Durham in convincing win
6/7 Cup of Coffee: Only a walk-off loss keeps the affiliates from sweeping the board on Draft Monday.
Pawtucket’s game was shown on MLB Network, and they made good use of the exposure, pummeling Durham (TB), 11-3. Luis Exposito went 2-3 with a walk, a home run and 2 RBI. Darnell McDonald went 2-4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI. Lars Anderson and Jose Iglesias each went 1-5 with 2 RBI. Kevin Millwood started for Pawtucket and made solid progress towards a big league appearance. Millwood threw 6.2 innings, scattering just 5 hits and a run. He did not walk a batter and struck out 4.
Salem’s attempt at a late inning comeback was for naught, as they lost to Lynchburg (ATL), 5-4. Salem was down 4-1 entering the top of the 9th inning, when they scored 3 runs to tie the game on a Matt Spring pinch-hit 3-run homer. But Lynchburg immediately bounced back to plate the winning run in the bottom of the frame. Other than Spring’s timely shot, there was not much offense from the Salem bats. Pete Hissey went 3-4 with a walk and an RBI, and David Mailman went 2-3 with a walk. Junichi Tazawa started for Salem and threw 3 scoreless innings. He allowed 3 hits, did not walk a batter, and struck out 3. It was Tazawa’s best outing to date in his road to recovery from Tommy John surgery, on his 25th birthday, no less.
Greenville clubbed 13 hits, and needed every one of them as they beat Lexington (HOU), 6-5. Heiker Meneses went 3-4 with 2 RBI. Meneses has been quite a menace for opponents to deal with lately. He is hitting .419 over his last 8 games. Miles Head continued to mash the ball, as he went 2-5 with 2 doubles and an RBI. Miguel Celestino got the start for the Drive and battled through 6 tough innings to earn the win. Celestino allowed 5 hits and 4 runs (3 earned). He walked 2 and struck out 3.
The DSL Red Sox had just hung a 5-spot on the DSL Yankees in the 3rd inning before play was suspended. Aneudis Peralta went 1-1 with a walk and an RBI. Despite the 5 runs, Peralta was the only member of the team to collect a hit before play was halted. Pedro Reyes started the game for the DSL Sox. He went 2 innings and allowed 4 hits and 3 runs. Reyes did not walk a batter and struck out 2.
Player of the Day: Luis Exposito, who went 2-3 with a home run and 2 RBI in Pawtucket's 11-3 win over Durham.