Pawtucket storms back for walk off victory, Lavarnway helps Sea Dogs rock New Britain

6/2 Cup of Coffee: While twisters touched down in parts of New England, affiliates bats inflicted their own damage on Wednesday. Pawtucket stormed back for a come from behind victory while Portland rocked New Britain. Salem fell in extras and Greenville smacked 17 hits on their way to victory. In early season DSL action, the Red Sox fell to the rival Rays in extra frames.

Putting on a show for their home crowd, Pawtucket used a 5 run ninth inning to walk off with an 8-7 victory over the Norfolk Tides (BAL). Veteran Kevin Millwood made his organizational debut, allowing 4 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks, striking out 3 in his 2.2 innings of work. Reliever Jason Rice allowed 3 runs on 2 hits and 3 walks, punching out 2 in his 1.1 innings. Matt Fox was stellar in his 3.0 inning stint out of the bullpen, allowing just 2 hits and a walk as he picked up 5 strikeouts. Clevelan Santeliz picked up his second victory of the year for his 2.0 scoreless innings of relief. Down 4-0 in the third, Pawtucket received a three run home run from Darnell McDonald to cut the Norfolk lead to one. The PawSox entered their final at-bat down 7-3, and proceeded to have a wild ninth inning. After a fielding error brought home the first Pawtucket run of the inning, the team laced five consecutive singles, the last being Che-Hsuan Lin’s game winner, to walk off victorious. The PawSox were aided by four Norfolk errors and eight walks to win their second straight.

Despite facing an 8-0 hole, the Portland Sea Dogs clobbered the New Britain Rock Cats (MIN) 18-9. Sea Dog starter Stolmy Pimentel only lasted 1.1 innings as he was hammered to the tune of 8 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks in the short outing. Seth Garrison added 2.2 innings of relief, allowing 1 run on 4 hits and 2 walks, striking out 3. Cesar Cabral picked up his first victory, tossing 3.0 scoreless innings, allowing 1 hit and notching 2 strikeouts. Kyle Fernandes recorded his first save of 2011 by spinning 2.0 scoreless innings. Down 8-0 in the third, Portland began to chip away as Will Middlebrooks lined an RBI single to put the Sea Dogs on the board. Down 9-1 in the fifth, the Sea Dogs brought home six runs on RBI singles by Ryan Lavarnway and Tim Federowicz, RBI doubles by Jorge Padron and Vladimir Frias, as well as an RBI ground out by Oscar Tejeda. In the sixth, Middlebrooks added another RBI single to pull Portland to within one at 9-8. The Sea Dogs poured it on in the final two frames, scoring 10 times, highlighted by a two run home run by Lavarnway and a three run blast by Padron. Every member of the Sea Dogs lineup reached base at least twice and Lavarnway and Federowicz each had 4 hits to lead the offensive charge.

An extra inning thriller went the wrong way for Salem as they fell 9-7 to the Lynchburg Hillcats (ATL). Junichi Tazawa made his third rehab start for the Red Sox, tossing 2.0 scoreless innings, allowing 1 walk and striking out 2. Will Latimer relieved Tazawa and hurled 3.1 innings, allowing 5 runs (3 earned) on 7 hits, striking out 1. Mitch Herold contributed 2.2 innings of scoreless relief as he struck out 3. Kendal Volz allowed 1 run on 2 hits while striking out 4 in his 2.0 innings of relief. Dennis Neuman picked up the loss, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits in his lone inning of relief. After Lynchburg took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third, the Red Sox plated three runs in the bottom half of the inning on a Reynaldo Rodriguez RBI double and Mark Wagner RBI single. Down 5-3 in the sixth, Salem was gifted a run as the Lynchburg centerfielder misplayed a ball to allow a run to score, cutting the Red Sox deficit to one. Dan Butler’s two out RBI double in the bottom of the seventh gave Salem its first lead of the contest, 6-5. The Hillcats tied the game in the ninth to send the game to extra innings. In the eleventh, Lynchburg brought home three in the top half of the inning, while Salem received another RBI double from Butler to bring home a run of its own. The Red Sox rally fizzled out with runners on second and third as Wagner struck out to end the contest. Butler, Wagner and Peter Hissey each had two hits to lead the Salem offense.

Being held scoreless until the fifth did not hurt Greenville’s offensive production as they outshone the Hagerstown Suns (WAS) 14-12. Drive starter Miguel Celestino tossed the first 3.2 innings of the game, allowing 6 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks, striking out 2. Scott Swinson relieved Celestino and allowed 3 runs on 6 hits and a walk during his 2.2 innings. Charle Rosario moved to 2-0 on the year as he added 3.0 innings of relief, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks. Down 7-0 in the fifth, Greenville cut the deficit to four as Heiker Meneses roped an RBI double and Felix Sanchez laced an RBI single. Miles Head struck his twelfth home run of the season in the sixth to make it a 9-4 contest in favor of the Suns. The Drive tied the game in the seventh, plating runs on an RBI double by Josue Peley, sacrifice fly by Lucas LeBlanc, and a three RBI triple by Sean Coyle. In the eighth, Greenville took the lead for good as they scored four on RBI singles by LeBlanc and Head as well as a Coyle RBI ground out. Meneses smacked an RBI single in the ninth to give the Drive an extra insurance run. Meneses was the star of the game for Greenville, going 4 for 5 with a double, 2 runs scored and 3 RBI.

The DSL Red Sox faltered in extra innings as they lost to the rival DSL Rays (TB) 4-3. Edwar Garcia hurled 3.2 innings, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits and a walk while striking out 5 in the start. William Cuevas followed Garcia with 4.1 innings of relief, allowing an unearned run on 3 hits while striking out 5. Carlos Pinales picked up the loss, hurling 2.0 innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits while striking out 3. Down 2-0 in the third, the Red Sox tied the game on a Alixon Suarez bases loaded hit by pitch and a Deiner Lopez RBI ground out. A passed ball in the fifth allowed the Red Sox to add a third run and take a 3-2 lead. The advantage held until the eighth, when the Rays tied the contest, holding the Red Sox scoreless the rest of the way to force extra innings. The Rays scored a run in the top of the tenth and the Red Sox went 1-2-3 in the bottom half of the inning to settle the affair.

Player of the Night: Ryan Lavarnway, who went 4 for 5 with 3 runs scored, a home run and 3 RBI in Portland’s 18-9 victory over New Britain.

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