August 8, 2011 at 6:00 AM
Khoury, Sea Dogs soar past Flying Squirrels in victory
8/8 Cup of Coffee: Rain and off-days made for a light Sunday in the organization, though affiliates managed to go 3-1, with the only loss coming in a split of a doubleheader by Salem.
Pawtucket's series-ending game with the Buffalo Bisons (NYM) was washed out. The game will not be made up, but the PawSox head out on an eight-game road trip starting today.
Ryan Khoury continued his hot hitting of late as Portland cruised to a 7-2 victory over the Richmond Flying Squirrels (SF). Khoury's first hit came in the top of the first inning, a solo home run to give the Sea Dogs the early lead. After Alex Wilson gave up a run in the second, the game remained deadlocked into the fifth, when Portland untied it with three runs. Khoury knocked in another with a single and Will Middlebrooks collected two RBIs with a single of his own. Wilson's day was done after 6.0 innings, yielding 1 run on 6 hits with 5 punchouts. The Sea Dogs padded their lead in the ninth with three more runs on RBIs from Mark Wagner and Middlebrooks to go along with a wild pitch. Blake Maxwell allowed a relatively meaningless run in the bottom of the ninth with the game already in hand.
In game one of Salem's doubleheader with the Kinston Indians, the Sox scored four in the first and never looked back en route to a 5-1 victory. A first-inning sacrifice bunt attempt by Peter Hissey turned into the first run of the game after a wild throw. Another throwing error-- this time on a pickoff attempt-- allowed Salem's second run to score. The Red Sox also picked up RBIs from Miles Head and Jorge Padron in the first. This was plenty of support for Anthony Ranaudo, who moved to 3-5 after a 5.0-inning outing in which he allowed 1 run on 5 hits with 5 strikeouts, though he did walk 4 batters. With the score 4-1 in the fifth, Salem tacked on a run thanks to a bases-loaded walk issued to Vladimir Frias. William Latimer tossed the final two innings to close the door.
Game two was not as kind to Salem, as they fell by a score of 2-1. Control issues plagued starter Pete Ruiz, who, despite not allowing a hit in his 2.1-inning outing, walked 6 batters. He did manage to keep Kinston off the scoreboard, however, and the game remained scoreless through four innings. The Red Sox took the lead in the top of the fifth on an RBI single from Head. But Tom Ebert, who came on for the final out of the bottom of the fifth, allowed two runs in the sixth and was saddled with the loss. Salem outhit the Indians 7-3 but hit just 1-9 with runners in scoring position.
Greenville pounded 13 hits in its 9-4 win over the Lexington Legends (HOU). David Renfroe's two-run homer in the third opened the scoring, but Manny Rivera allowed three runs in the fourth to give the Legends the lead. The left hander's day was done after 3.2 innings, and though he allowed 3 runs on 6 hits, he did strike out 8 Legends hitters. Sean Coyle tied the score in the fifth with an RBI single to get Rivera off the hook. A seventh-inning leadoff home run by Carson Blair gave the Drive the lead, but it wasn't the only run they picked up in the frame. Henry Ramos singled home a run while Michael Almanzar knocked in two with a base hit of his own to give the Drive a 7-3 advantage. Ramos collected two more RBIs in the eighth on a two-run single to further extend the Greenville lead. Charle Rosario picked up the win in relief and improved his record to 6-1 after tossing 3.1 innings of scoreless relief.
Like its Triple-A counterpart, rain also postponed Lowell's contest. The Spinners and Connecticut Tigers (DET) will make it up as part of a doubleheader later in the season and will play their scheduled game tonight at 7:05 p.m. EDT.
Neither Rookie League team took the field yesterday either, though that was due to scheduled off-days for both squads. The GCL Red Sox will be in action against the GCL Orioles (BAL) today while the DSL Red Sox will take on the DSL Mariners (SEA).
Player of the Night: Ryan Khoury, who went 3 for 4 with a home run, 2 RBI and 3 runs scored in Portland's 7-2 victory over Richmond. The 27 year old is hitting .395/.465/.500 over his last 10 games with 1 home run and 8 RBI.