Rivera's dominance not enough for Greenville on a forgettable Monday for the affiliates

8/2 Cup of Coffee: Only Pawtucket’s bizarre victory kept the Red Sox affiliates from being swept on Monday.

Pawtucket used some unconventional 9th inning heroics to beat Louisville (CIN), 4-3. The Paw Sox were down 3-2 entering the 9th inning. After Che-Hsuan Lin was hit by a pitch, the bases were loaded with 2 outs for Jose Iglesias. Iglesias walked, which forced in the tying run. The next batter, Ryan Lavarnway, walked as well, which plated the winning run in a most unique fashion. Offensively, Pawtucket was led by Luis Exposito (2-4, solo home run) and Hector Luna (1-4, solo home run). Kyle Weiland got the nod on the mound and pitched another solid game. Weiland scattered 7 hits and 3 runs over 7 innings of work. He walked 1 and struck out 5. Tommy Hottovy pitched a scoreless 8th, surrendering 1 hit and striking out 1. Michael Bowden pitched a perfect 9th inning with 1 strikeout to earn his 3rd victory of the year.

Greenville had just 4 hits in a 3-2 loss to Rome (ATL). The Drive scored 1 run on a Wilfred Pichardo RBI double in the 8th to take a 2-1 lead, and had runners on first and second with 1 out after Brandon Jacobs was intentionally walked. Unfortunately, Drew Hedman and Xander Bogaerts both struck out to end the inning, and the best chance to get some insurance runs. Rome then scored 2 runs in the bottom of the frame to take a 3-2 lead, and held on to earn the victory. Offensively, Greenville was led by Pichardo and Carson Blair, who each went 1-4 with an RBI. The lack of offense ruined a stellar outing by starting pitcher Manny Rivera. Rivera pitched 5 shutout innings and allowed just 1 hit. He did not walk a batter and struck out 2.

Lowell lost a slugfest to State College (PIT), 11-8. After the top of the 3rd inning, the Spinners held a 5-2 lead. The Spikes then put up a 5 spot in the bottom of the 3rd, and did not look back. Offensively, the Spinners were led by Seth Schwindenhammer, who went 2-5 with a home run and 4 RBI. Other noteworthy performers included Jose Garcia, 3-4, 3 steals, RBI), and Keury De La Cruz (3-5, double). Raynel Velette started for Lowell and took the loss. Velette gave up 3 hits and 6 runs (4 earned) over 2.2 innings. He walked 5 and struck out 2.

The GCL Red Sox were throttled by the GCL Orioles in a 9-1 loss. The Red Sox scored the first run of the game in the 1st inning on a Williams Jerez RBI groundout, but the Orioles plated the next and final 9 runs of the game. Offensively, the team was led by Jose Vinicio, who went 2-4 with a double, and Jerez, who went 1-4 with a double and an RBI. Cody Koback, a 10th round pick of the Red Sox in June’s draft, was added to the active roster earlier in the day and went 1-3 in his debut. Sergio Gomez started for the GCL Red Sox and took the loss, dropping him to 0-2 on the season, despite having a very solid 2.72 ERA in 7 starts. Gomez allowed 4 hits and 2 runs over 3.1 innings. He walked 2 and struck out 4.

The DSL Red Sox did not fare much better than their GCL counterpart, getting 4-hit and losing to the DSL Yankees, 4-1. Like the GCL Sox, the DSL team scored their run in the bottom of the 1st, when Andres Garcia scored on a throwing error. The DSL Yankees kept the Sox off the scoreboard from that point on, allowing just 2 hits in the process. The only offense came from Garcia, Ynoel Aguero, Jair Bogaerts and Robero Duncan, who each went 1-3. Jeffry Fernandez started for the DSL Sox and took the loss. Fernandez allowed 6 hits and 2 runs over 5.1 innings. He walked 3 and struck out 1.

Player of the Day: Manny Rivera, whose 5 scoreless innings of 1-hit ball was not enough to get a win for Greenville.

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