April 11, 2012 at 6:34 AM
Cup of Coffee: Ohlendorf, power display propel Pawtucket
4/11 Cup of Coffee: Pawtucket and Portland ran away with victories while Greenville held on for their fourth win of the season. Salem was the lone affiliate loss Tuesday, falling into an early hole they could not overcome.
 |
| Ross Ohlendorrf |
A combination of power hitting and impressive pitching vaulted Pawtucket to an 8-0 victory over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (PHI). Ross Ohlendorf picked up his first victory of the year, tossing 6.0 shutout innings as he allowed just 2 hits and a walk while striking out 3. Chorye Spoone added 2.0 flawless innings of relief and Garrett Mock pitched a scoreless ninth inning despite allowing 2 hits. The PawSox broke through for the game’s first run in the third inning, plating a run on an errant throw by Lehigh Valley’s catcher Tuffy Gosewisch. In the sixth, Mauro Gomez smacked a two run home run and Daniel Nava added a three run shot to expand the Pawtucket lead to 6-0. In the eighth inning, Will Middlebrooks laced his first home run of the year and Luis Exposito roped an RBI double to give the PawSox a very comfortable 8-0 advantage. Five members of the Pawtucket lineup had multi-hit games with Ryan Lavarnway and Nate Spears being the only players to go without a hit.
Portland used a five run eighth inning to strike down the Trenton Thunder for their first victory of the 2012 season, 7-1. Chris Balcom-Miller received the victory for his 6.0 innings of work, allowing 1 run on 3 hits and 3 walks, punching out 3. Aaron Kurcz added 2.0 scoreless innings out of the Sea Dogs bullpen, allowing 1 hit and striking out 2. Caleb Clay finished the contest with a scoreless inning of relief despite allowing 2 hits. Eager to break a five game losing streak, Portland wasted no time getting on the board, plating a run in the first on a Reynaldo Rodriguez sacrifice fly. The Sea Dogs doubled their lead in the fourth on a Jonathan Hee RBI ground out. Holding a slim 2-1 advantage in the eighth, Portland was aided by three Trenton errors as they brought home three runs as the result of throwing errors. The Sea Dogs also added runs on a Juan Carlos Linares bases loaded walk and a Heiker Meneses RBI single to jump out to a 7-1 lead. Linares had an impressive night at the plate, going 3 for 4 with 2 doubles, a run scored, an RBI and a walk.
Finding themselves in a quick 5-0 hole, the Salem Red Sox were unable to muster a comeback in their 6-2 loss to the Lynchburg Hillcats (ATL). Manuel Rivera had a nightmare outing, allowing 5 runs (4 earned) on 4 hits and 2 walks in just 0.2 innings. Marco Duarte followed Rivera with 3.1 innings of relief, allowing 1 run on 3 hits and a walk, striking out 3. Jeremiah Bayer added 3.0 scoreless innings of relief, allowing 2 hits while punching out 2. Ruben Flores tossed a scoreless eighth inning, striking out 1. The Hillcats pounced all over Salem early, plating 5 runs in the first and another run in third. Travis Shaw’s RBI triple in the sixth inning put the Red Sox on the board, 6-1. Shannon Wilkerson’s RBI single in the seventh provided Salem with their only other run of the contest. Shaw was 2 for 4 with a triple to lead the Red Sox offense.
A four run third inning proved to be just enough for Greenville to clip the Hickory Crawdads (TEX), 4-3. Rich Hill continued his rehab stint by allowing 1 run on 2 hits while striking out 2 in 1.0 inning of work to start the game. Miguel Pena received the victory for his 5.0 shutout innings, allowing 2 hits and punching out 2. Yepier Castillo recorded his first save since 2009 with 3.0 innings of relief, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits while striking out 4. Trailing 1-0 in the third, Greenville brought home four on a Cody Koback RBI double, Henry Ramos RBI double and a fielding miscue by Hickory shortstop Hanser Alberto. The Crawdads chipped away with runs in the seventh and the eighth but fell short as they left the tying run on third in the eighth. Greenville won despite being outhit by Hickory 9-3 as they benefited from 7 walks.
Player of the Day: Ross Ohlendorf, who picked up the victory in his PawSox debut, tossing 6.0 shutout innings, allowing 2 hits and a walk while striking out 3 in Pawtucket’s 8-0 victory over Lehigh Valley.