Wild finshes yield mixed results for Sox affiliates

7/3 Cup of Coffee: Saturday's action featured a doubleheader, extra innings, and walk-off wins, with affiliates going 5-3 on the day.

Pawtucket played two against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (NYY), and dropped the first game, 7-0. Brandon Duckworth pitched into the fifth but did not record and out in the inning, finishing with 4.0 innings pitched and 3 runs allowed on 7 hits. He also walked 3 and struck out 3. The Yankee offense exploded for four runs in the seventh off a combination of Scott Atchison and Tommy Hottovy. Meanwhile, the PawSox mustered just one hit off of Yankee starter D.J. Mitchell in game one, a fifth-inning single by Tony Thomas.

In game two, Pawtucket's bats fared no better, and were shut out for a second time on the day, this time by a score of 3-0. The PawSox actually doubled their hit total from game one-- to two-- but were unable to push a run across. Tony Pena, Jr. made the spot start, his third start of the season, but fell to 6-4 after allowing 2 runs on 7 hits in 5.0 innings of work. Like Duckworth in game one, Pena also walked and struck out 3 batters. Thomas picked up another single while Pawtucket's other hit came off the bat of Ryan Lavarnway. The PawSox have now dropped three straight games.

Portland has struggled all season, but picked up an 8-4 win against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (TOR). After Stolmy Pimentel gave up two in the third, Oscar Tejeda's two-run blast in the bottom half of the inning tied the score once again. Pimentel, still in search of his first win of the season, was removed after the third, allowing 2 runs and 4 hits with 2 walks and 1 strikeout. The Sea Dogs took the lead in the fourth on an RBI double from Reynaldo Rodriguez and extended the margin in the fifth thanks to a three-run homer by Chih-Hsien Chiang, his 14th of the season. After replacing Pimentel in the fourth, Junichi Tazawa bounced back from a rough outing on Monday to earn his first win since undergoing Tommy John surgery.

There were plenty of runs to be had in this one (and an extra frame to score them in), but in the end Salem fell to the Winston-Salem Dash (CWS), 12-10 in 10 innings. Both teams combined to use eight pitchers on the game, and all allowed at least one run. Anthony Ranaudo was the starter for Salem and went 4.2 innings, allowing 4 runs on 9 hits with 3 strikeouts. Trailing 2-0 in the second, the Red Sox got a run on a wild pitch and a single by Derrik Gibson to tie the score. After the Dash scored twice more, a sixth-inning solo home run by Bryce Brentz cut the lead to 4-3. Then, the bats exploded. From the seventh inning on, both teams scored in every inning. Salem started it off with a four-run seventh, capped by a two RBIs from both Miles Head and Alex Valdez. The Dash answered back with two of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Salem scored single runs in the eighth and ninth, but the Dash scored once in the eighth and twice in the ninth to tie it. After a Kolbrin Vitek sacrifice fly in the 10th gave the Red Sox the lead, Andy Wilkins ended the game unceremoniously for Salem fans, with a three-run walk-off home run.

Similarly, Greenville's game also went to extras and ended in a walk-off, but this time it was the Drive who got the victory, triumphing over the Hickory Crawdads (TEX), 4-3 in 11 innings. Sean Coyle really made things happen on the bases for the win in the 11th. After being hit by a pitch with one out, he stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and then came across on yet another wild pitch to end it. Brandon Workman pitched very well in his 5.0 innings of work, allowing 1 run on just 1 hit with 2 walks and 9 strikeouts. Greenville actually needed a run in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game, and got it thanks to an error which allowed Lucas LeBlanc to score. The Drive's other runs came on RBIs from Michael Almanzar and Xander Bogaerts.

Lowell's bats positively exploded yesterday, pounding out 24 hits in a 16-8 drubbing of the Connecticut Tigers (DET). Every Spinner in the starting lineup collected at least one hit, with Drew Turocy and Travis Shaw leading the way with five and four, respectively. Lowell also scored in all but two innings of the contest. Both Shaw and Seth Schwindenhammer went deep for the Spinners, who moved to 8-7 on the year with the victory. Jason Garcia earned the win for Lowell, tossing 5.0 innings and allowing 2 runs on 3 hits with 2 walks. Braden Kapteyn struggled mightily in his first professional appearance, however. He came on to pitch the ninth and gave up five runs without recording an out, in an outing which also included six wild pitches. Andrew Jones, another 2011 draft pick, came on to put out the fire and end the game.

In a game very similar to the one the two teams played on Friday, the GCL Red Sox took down the GCL Twins (MIN), 3-1. Scoreless through six, an error allowed Jose Colorado to score. The Red Sox picked up two more runs in the inning on singles from David Chester and Jeremias Pineda. That was all the support the Red Sox pitching staff needed, though the Twins did score a run in the bottom of the ninth. Starter Sergio Gomez threw 5.0 shutout innings but had nothing to show for it but a no-decision. He gave up just 2 hits and 1 walk while striking out 5. Reynolds Parthemore got the win in relief while Jadd Schmeltzer earned his first save of the season.

The DSL Red Sox were also victorious, using 12 hits to knock off the DSL Mets2 (NYM), 7-3. The Red Sox had their big inning in the bottom of the seventh when, with the score tied 3-3, they got two RBI from both Cleuluis Rondon and Andres Garcia to take a decisive 7-3 lead. After starter Edwar Garcia tossed 5.0 innings of 1-run, 2-hit ball, Leonel Vazquez came on in relief to eventually earn the win in his 2.0 innings of work.

Player of the Night: Travis Shaw, who had a perfect 4 for 4 day at the plate, including 3 doubles, a home run, and 5 RBI in Lowell's 16-8 victory over Connecticut.

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