August 13, 2011 at 11:55 AM
Lowell, DSL Red Sox both win in ninth
8/13 Cup of Coffee: Plenty of games went down to the wire on Friday as Red Sox affiliates played to a 4-4 record
Three runs in the ninth gave Pawtucket a 5-3 victory over the Gwinnett Braves (ATL). Trailing 3-2, Che-Hsuan Lin singled in a pair of runs to give the PawSox the lead. The fifth run came across on a passed ball. Tony Pena, Jr. allowed 1 run and 6 hits over 5.0 innings in his start while Jason Rice earned the win with his 2.1-inning effort. Scott Atchison pitched a scoreless ninth for his fourth save of the season with Pawtucket. Lars Anderson and Jose Iglesias both had RBIs, as well.
Two-hit games from both Alex Hassan and Jeremy Hazelbaker were not enough for Portland, as they fell to the Erie SeaWolves (DET), 6-2. The big inning for Erie came in the fifth when, already leading 1-0, the SeaWolves put up four more, three of them charged to starter Miguel Gonzalez. Gonzalez finished with 4.0+ innings pitched, allowing 4 runs on 6 hits with 4 strikeouts. The Sea Dogs got one run back in the sixth on an RBI groundout from Will Middlebrooks and another in the seventh on a double from Ryan Khoury. But the Portland offense couldn't muster much else and the SeaWolves came away with the win.
Salem also went down, losing to the Kinston Indians (CLE) by an identical score of 6-2. The Indians struck early, with all six runs charged to starting pitcher Manny Rivera, who went 4.0 innings and allowed 8 hits and 5 walks. The Red Sox didn't pick up their runs until the eighth inning, when Heiker Meneses knocked in two with an RBI single. Meneses was the lone Salem player with multiple hits in the game, while Miles Head, Shannon Wilkerson, and Josue Peley all collected one.
Greenville's late comeback was for naught, as the Drive ended up losing to the Savannah Sand Gnats (NYY) in walk-off fashion, 5-4. After a first inning wild pitch gave the Drive an early lead, the Sand Gnats responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning. In the third, Felix Sanchez stole his 48th and 49th bases of the season, the latter being home plate, and cut the lead to one. Greenville tied it later in the inning on an RBI double from Christian Vazquez. Keith Couch rebounded well after the three-run first and didn't allow another run the rest of his outing. He gave up 5 hits and 1 walk with 8 strikeouts in 6.0 innings pitched. Savannah regained the lead in the seventh, however, with a run off of Charle Rosario. But Xander Bogaerts came to the rescue in the ninth with a leadoff home run and tied the game once more. It didn't last long, though, as Justin Erasmus walked in a run with the bases loaded to give Savannah the win.
Lowell pounded out 15 hits to beat the Jamestown Jammers (FLA), 6-5. Jamestown actually led most of the way, holding on to a 5-1 advantage in the top of the eighth. Luis Diaz gave up 1 run (0 earned) and 3 hits in his 5.0 innings of work, but the bullpen was shaky with both Kevin Brahney and Michael McCarthy giving up two runs. An RBI single by Joantoni Garcia gave the Spinners their first run. Down 5-1 in the right, Lowell exploded for four runs to tie the game. Garcia doubled in a run, Kuery De La Cruz hit an RBI triple, and Moko Moanaroa knocked in two with a single. Then in the ninth, Matthew Marquis went deep to give the Spinners the lead and the eventual win.
In the Gulf Coast League, the GCL Red Sox were tripped up by the GCL Twins (MIN), 4-1. The Red Sox outhit the Twins 4-3, but could not push the runs across. Mario Alcantara was a tough-luck loser, giving up just 1 run on 3 hits in 5.0 innings. But the Red Sox did not score their one run until the eighth, when the game was relatively out of reach. That run came on an RBI groundout from Williams Jerez.
The DSL Red Sox and DSL Royals (KC) played a doubleheader, with the Red Sox taking game one, 5-2. Jonathan Aro earned the win after pitching 5.0 innings, allowing 2 runs (0 earned) on 5 hits with 5 strikeouts. Deiner Lopez opened the scoring in the first with an RBI single and David Sopilka made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly in the third. After the Royals tied it with two in the bottom of the third, an RBi single from Aly Gonzalez in the fifth gave the Red Sox the lead back. Two insurance runs came in the seventh thanks to an RBI single by Jeremias Pineda. The Red Sox made it a sweep with a 3-2 win in game two. Trailing 2-0 in the fifth, back-to-back RBI hits from Ynoel Aguero and Lopez made it a tie game. It stayed tied all the way into the ninth, when Gonzalez was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in the winning run.
Player of the Night: Joantoni Garcia, who went 3 for 5 with 2 RBI in Lowell's 6-5 win over Jamestown.