July 21, 2011 at 6:00 AM
Khoury leads the way as Portland walks off victorious
7/21 Cup of Coffee: Pawtucket and Portland walked off with victories as Salem, Lowell and the DSL Red Sox all added victories on Wednesday. The GCL Sox dropped a lengthy extra inning affair while Greenville’s offense was quieted in a decisive loss.A pitcher’s duel turned into a walk off victory for Pawtucket as they muzzled the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (PHI), 2-1. Kevin Millwood was stellar in the start, going 7.0 innings, allowing 1 run on 7 hits and a walk, striking out 5. Jeremy Kehrt picked up the victory for his 2.0 innings of relief, allowing 2 hits and a walk while striking out 2. Down 1-0 in the third, Che-Hsuan Lin lofted a sacrifice fly to knot the score, 1-1. The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the ninth, when Pawtucket, with two outs, received a walk off RBI single from Lin to win their third straight. Daniel Nava and Luis Exposito each had two hits to pace the PawSox offense.
In a back-and-forth battle of the offenses, Portland walked off with a 10-9 victory over the Binghamton Mets (NYM). Brock Huntzinger received the start for the Sea Dogs, tossing 5.0 innings, allowing 5 runs on 7 hits while striking out 6. Eammon Portice added 2.0 innings of relief, allowing 2 runs on 2 hits, striking out 1. Blake Maxwell earned a victory for his 2.0 innings out of the bullpen, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 6 hits while striking out 2. A run scoring error in the first and a Jeremy Hazelbaker RBI single in the second gave Portland a 2-0 advantage. After Binghamton took a 3-2 lead in the top of the third, Ryan Khoury lead off the bottom of the third with his second home run of the season, tying the game, 3-3. In the fourth, Chih-Hsien Chiang tied the game 4-4 with an RBI single. Down 6-4 in the sixth, Portland plated four runs on a Khoury RBI single and a three run home run by Will Middlebrooks. Hazelbaker’s RBI single in the seventh widened the Portland advantage to 9-7. After the Mets tied the game in the eighth, Mitch Dening cracked a walk off solo home run in the bottom of the ninth to give Portland a hard fought victory. The two teams combined for 29 hits in the game, with Khoury and Dening each having three to lead the Sea Dogs offense.
A four run fifth inning lifted Salem over the Frederick Keys (BAL), 5-3. Anthony Ranaudo received the victory for his 5.0 innings of work, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks, striking out 4. Tom Ebert added 2.2 innings of relief, allowing 1 run on 2 hits and a walk while striking out 4. Will Latimer picked up his fourth save for his 1.1 innings of scoreless relief, striking out 2. The Red Sox took a 1-0 lead in the first on a Jorge Padron RBI ground out. Down 2-1 in the fifth, Salem brought home four runs on RBI singles by Derrik Gibson and Bryce Brentz as well as an RBI double by Kolbrin Vitek. Vitek and Alex Valdez each had two hits to lead the Red Sox offense.
Greenville’s offense was held relatively quiet in an 8-2 loss to the Lakewood Blueclaws (PHI). Keith Couch dropped to 3-3 on the year after his 6.0 inning start, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits and a walk, striking out 4. Juan Rodriguez added 2.0 inning of relief, allowing 5 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 2. The Drive plated their only two runs of the contest in the seventh, on a Henry Ramos RBI triple and a Xander Bogaerts sacrifice fly. Greenville was held without a hit until Bogaerts single with one out in the fifth inning.
The suddenly hot Spinners won their third in a row as they downed the Vermont Lake Monsters (OAK), 6-2. Miguel Pena was outstanding in his 3.1 innings of work for Lowell, allowing just 3 hits and a walk while striking out 6. Tyler Wilson picked up the victory for his 5.1 innings out of the bullpen, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits while striking out 5. Michael McCarthy retired the only batter he faced. In the first, Lowell took a 3-0 lead on an RBI single by Garin Cecchini, an RBI double by Seth Schwindenhammer, and an RBI triple from Boss Moanaroa. Keury De La Cruz’s two run home run in the second gave the Spinners a comfortable 5-0 advantage. In the seventh, Joantoni Garcia laced his first home run of the year to put Lowell on top, 6-1. Schwindenhammer and Jason Thompson each had two hits to lead the Spinners offense.
In an extra inning thriller, the GCL Red Sox came up on the wrong end of a 6-5 loss to the GCL Orioles (BAL) in 16 innings. Sergio Gomez tossed 5.0 innings for the Red Sox, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks, striking out 2. Renny Parethmore added 2.0 scoreless innings of relief, allowing just 1 hit. Jadd Schmetlzer provided 0.2 innings out of the bullpen, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 1 hit and 2 walks. Yunior Ortega added 5.1 innings of relief, allowing just 2 hits and striking out 5. John Killen was next out of the bullpen, tossing 2.0 innings, allowing an unearned run on 2 walks, striking out 2. Jennell Hudson picked up the loss for his 1.0 inning of work, allowing the winning run on a hit and a walk. Down 2-0 in the fourth, the Red Sox tied the game on a run scoring error and a Jose Vinico RBI double. Matthew Gedman’s RBI single in the fifth gave the GCL squad a 3-2 advantage. After the Orioles took a 4-3 lead in the top of the eighth, the Red Sox tied the game a Jesus Loya RBI single. The game remained knotted until the 15th, when Baltimore plated a run in the top half of the inning and the Red Sox received an RBI single from Nick Robinson in the bottom half of the inning. The Orioles broke through for the winning run in the top of the 16th, holding the Red Sox scoreless in the bottom half of the inning.
In an offensive test of might, the DSL Red Sox walked all over the DSL Mets (NYM), 17-9. Jeffry Fernandez received the start for the Red Sox and hurled 3.0 innings, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks. Ricardo Betancourt moved to 6-0 thanks to his 4.0 innings out of the bullpen, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits and a walk, striking out 1. Jose Espitia added 2.0 innings of relief, allowing 2 unearned runs on 3 walks while striking out 3. The Red Sox scored a singular run in each of the first three innings on a David Sopilka sacrifice fly, wild pitch, and Cleuluis Rondon RBI single. Down 6-3 in the fifth, the Red Sox exploded for six runs on a Sopilka RBI single, Anthony Amaya RBI ground out, Andres Garcia RBI single, and a Deiner Lopez RBI double. In the sixth, an Aly Gonzalez sacrifice fly gave the Red Sox a 10-6 advantage. Bases loaded walks to Sopilka, Rondon and Jair Bogaerts as well as a Gonzalez RBI single and a Garcia RBI ground out extended the DSL squads lead to 15-7. In the eighth, a Rondon two run home run gave the Red Sox their final two runs of the contest. Rondon was 3 for 4 with a home run, 4 RBI, a walk and 4 runs scored to lead the DSL offense.
Player of the Night: Ryan Khoury, who was 3 for 4 with a home run, 2 RBI, a walk and 2 runs scored in Portland’s 10-9 victory over Binghamton.