July 30, 2011 at 6:00 AM
Jerez, Perkins combine for 7 RBI in GCL Red Sox victory
7/30 Cup of Coffee: Red Sox affiliates went 5-2 in a successful day around the organization as the non-waiver trade deadline draws closer and closer.Pawtucket closed the gap to 2.0 games in the in the IL North with a 4-3 victory over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (PHI). Lars Anderson opened the scoring in the first with an RBI single to make it 1-0 early. After the IronPigs tied it in the second, the PawSox got two runs in the fourth thanks to back-to back RBI doubles from Nate Spears and Luis Exposito. Once again, Lehigh Valley tied the score with two runs of its own in the bottom half of the inning. With the score once still tied 3-3 in the sixth, Jose Iglesias singled home a run for what would turn out to be the game-winning run. Starter Brandon Duckworth got the win and went 5.0 innings, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts. A combination of Royce Ring, Jason Rice, Tommy Hottovy, and Scott Atchison pitched the final 4.0 innings without giving up a run, and Pawtucket came away with the victory over the division-leading IronPigs.
Portland was also victorious last night, taking down the Altoona Curve (PIT) by a score of 6-2 in a rain-shortened affair. A Will Middlebrooks double scored two in the bottom of the first and gave the Sea Dogs the early lead. Portland tacked on another run after Mark Wagner led off the fourth with a solo home run. After the Curve got one back in the top of the fifth, the Sea Dogs broke it open with three more runs in the bottom half on RBIs from Chih-Hsien Chiang, Wagner, and Tim Federowicz. Altoona scored another run in the sixth, but the weather intervened after the inning and the game was called. Newly-signed knuckleballer Charlie Haeger made his first start for Portland and went the distance (albeit only 6.0 innings), allowing 2 runs on 7 hits with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts.
A six-run inning was not enough for Salem as they were defeated by the Lynchburg Hillcats (ATL), 8-7. Salem got on the board with a run in the first after Daniel Butler singled home a run. Stolmy Pimentel held the Hillcats scoreless over the first 4.0 innings but was removed after the fourth, giving up just 3 hits and 1 walk. He was replaced by Anatanaer Batista, who struggled in his 1.0 inning of work, giving up 5 runs (4 earned). But the Red Sox came right back in the sixth inning, plating six runs of their own. Shannon Wilkerson and Bryce Brentz both had RBI singles, and the big blow came off the bat of Butler, who smacked a three-run homer to left. With Salem now leading 7-5, Lynchburg came back to tie it in the bottom of the sixth with two runs off of Tom Ebert. Ebert was still on the mound in the eighth, when he allowed the decisive run in his third inning of work.
Greenville extended its winning streak to four games with a 4-1 victory over the Charleston RiverDogs. Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the third, Greenville tied the game on an RBI single from Brandon Jacobs. In the sixth, Sean Coyle's 11th home run of the season gave the Drive a 2-1 lead. The insurance runs came in the eighth on RBIs from both Henry Ramos and Xander Bogaerts. Kyle Stroup got the start for Greenville, exiting after 4.2 innings pitched. He allowed 1 run on 3 hits, walking 1 batter and fanning 7. Tyler Lockwood earned the win with 2.1 innings of scoreless relief, while Michael Gleason his third save of the season with 2.0 shutout innings.
Lowell gave up runs in bunches against the Mahoning Valley Scrappers (CLE), dropping its game by a score of 8-4. The contest was scoreless into the bottom of the fifth when the Scrappers got to Luis Diaz for four runs in the inning. Diaz left after 5.0 innings, yielding 4 runs on 4 hits with 1 strikeout. A two-run home run by Keury De La Cruz in the sixth cut the lead in half and the Spinners drew closer in the eighth after De La Cruz singled home another run. But Mahoning Valley scored four more times off of Kevin Brahney in the bottom half of the inning to put the game out of reach. Roberto Ramos knocked in a run with a single in the ninth to make it a four-run game, but that was as close as Lowell would get.
A slugfest broke out in the Gulf Coast League, with the GCL Red Sox getting the win over the GCL Twins (MIN), 15-9. Zachary Good did not make it out of the second, going just 1.2 innings and allowing 4 runs on 4 hits. Jacob Dahlstrand didn't fare much better, giving up 4 more runs in his 2.2 innings of work. The Twins were leading 7-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth, but the Red Sox came back to score seven of their own in the inning to tie the score. The first five batters of the inning reached base for the Red Sox for the first two runs. After a strikeout for the first out of the inning, back-to-back bases loaded walks gave them two more runs. David Chester hit a sacrifice fly for run number five, Kendrick Perkins hit his second single of the inning for the six run, and an error allowed Williams Jerez to score and tied the score 7-7. The Twins regained the lead in the fifth with a run, but the Red Sox took it right back, scoring four times in the bottom half. The big blow was a two-run triple by Jerez, with the other two runs coming on a wild pitch and an RBI single from Chester. The Red Sox also scored a pair of runs in both the seventh and eighth, and when the dust finally settled, they came away with the win. Jerez finished with 4 RBI, while Chester and Perkins both knocked in two on the game. Perkins also had a perfect 4-for-4 day at the plate.
In a marathon contest, the DSL Red Sox outlasted the DSL Brewers (MIL) 2-1 in 14 innings. David Sopilka knocked in a run in the bottom of the first with a sacrifice fly. From there the game remained scoreless all the way until the top of the ninth, when the Brewers tied the score. Starter Jonathan Aro pitched 6.0 scoreless innings, allowing 4 hits while striking out 3. After Jose Espitia allowed the game-tying run in the ninth, Ellis Jimenez came on for the last out of the inning. He went on to pitch brilliantly in extras, not allowing a hit in 4.1 innings of work. The game remained tied in the 14th, Leonel Vasquez pitched a scoreless inning, and Sopilka picked up his second RBI on a groundout to first, which allowed Ynoel Aguero to score the game-winning run.
Player of the Night: Williams Jerez, who fell a home run short of the cycle in a 3-for-4 game with 4 RBI and 3 runs scored in a 15-9 win for the GCL Red Sox.