Taveras' superb outing carries the GCL Red Sox to win

7/20 Cup of Coffee: Red Sox affiliates split the 6 games that were played yesterday, with a familiar face doing damage for Pawtucket and a superb outing from a lefty for the GCL Red Sox.

Pawtucket had little trouble defeating Lehigh Valley (PIT), 7-2. The Paw Sox were down 1-0 until 2 RBI doubles in the bottom of the 4th by Ryan Lavarnway and Lars Anderson put them on top for good. Lavarnway added a 2-run shot in the 6th inning for good measure. He was 2-3 in the game with a walk, a double, a home run and 3 RBI. Over his last 7 games, the Yale product is hitting a stupendous .615 (16-26) with 6 home runs and 12 RBI. Anderson went 2-4 with a double and 2 RBI. Felix Doubront started for Pawtucket and went the first 4.1 innings, allowing 3 hits and 1 run. He walked 2 and struck out 3. Scott Atchison picked up the win, by going 1.2 innings and allowing 2 hits and a run. He did not walk a batter and recorded a strikeout. Jason Rice later came on and pitched 2 perfect innings with 3 strikeouts to earn the save.

Portland had the exact opposite outcome as their friends in Pawtucket, losing to Binghamton (NYM), 7-2. The Mets scored 1 run in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th innings to take a lead that they did not give up. Leading the way offensively for the Sea Dogs were Tim Federowicz and Oscar Tejeda, who each went 2-4 with a double and an RBI. Mike Lee started and took the loss for Portland. He went 3 innings and allowed 3 hits and 2 runs (1 earned). He walked 2 and struck out 3. One positive item from the loss was the outing of Junichi Tazawa. Tazawa went 4 innings in relief of Lee, and allowed just 3 hits and a run. He walked none and struck out 2. Over his last 4 outings, Tazawa has a 3.86 ERA and a 13:2 K:BB ratio, as he tries to climb his way back up the ladder from Tommy John surgery.

Salem came up short against Frederick (BAL), 7-1. The Sox plated 1 run in the bottom of the first on a Bryce Brentz sacrifice fly to take a short-lived 1-0 lead. The Keys scored 3 in the 3rd and never looked back. Contributing offensively were Jorge Padron (3-4, 2 doubles) and Kolbrin Vitek (2-4). Drake Britton started for Salem and took the loss, dropping to 1-9 on the year. He allowed 7 hits and 5 runs over 3.2 innings, walking 2 and striking out 6.

Lowell overpowered Vermont (OAK), 10-4. The Spinners had a solid 4-0 lead until the Lake Monsters scored 3 in the 5th to cut their deficit to 1. Lowell then scored 6 runs between the 6th and 7th innings, only 2 of which were earned runs, to take a commanding 10-3 lead. Garin Cecchini led the way for Lowell, going 4-5 with a steal, a double and an RBI. After a slow start to his first pro season, Cecchini is hitting .400 (12-30) over his last 6 games, with 2 home runs and 5 RBI. Keury De La Cruz and Boss Moanaroa also had strong games, as each went 2-5 with a double and 2 RBI. Jason Garcia started for Lowell and earned the win. He actually had a 2 hit shutout going before giving up 3 runs in the 5th. His final line was 5 innings pitched, 5 hits and 3 runs allowed. He walked 2 and struck out 5. Hunter Cervenka came on in relief of Garcia and earned the save, as he gave up just 1 hit and 1 run over 4 innings of work. He walked 1 and struck out 5.

The GCL Red Sox took care of business against the GCL Rays, 4-1. Matt Gedman led the way offensively, going 2-4 with a double and 3 RBI, while Kendrick Perkins went 2-3 with a walk. The GCL Red Sox’ starting pitcher, Francisco Taveras, did not need very much help. He pitched 6 innings of shutout baseball, allowing just 4 hits. He walked 1 and struck out 7. Brenden Shepard came on in relief and allowed 2 hits and a run over 3 innings. He did not walk a batter and struck out 2, earning his 1st professional save in the process.

The DSL Red Sox lost a close one to the DSL Indians, 4-3. The Indians were up 4-2 after 6 innings, and the Red Sox plated 1 in the 7th to halve the deficit. Unfortunately, that was as close as they’d get, squandering men on 2nd and 3rd in the 7th, and leaving the bases loaded in the 8th. Offensively, there was not much to take from this one. Andres Garcia went 1-4 with a walk and an RBI, while Ynoel Aguero went 1-5 with 2 RBI. Pedro Reyes started for the GCL Sox and took the loss. Reyes allowed 5 hits and 3 runs (2 earned) over 5 innings. He walked 2 and struck out 1.

Player of the Day: Francisco Taveras, who twirled 6 shutout innings in the GCL Red Sox’ 4-1 victory over the GCL Rays. He scattered 4 hits, walked 1 and struck out 7.

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