July 28, 2012 at 8:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Lowell's Justin Haley and William Cuevas combine for a shutout
7/28 Cup of Coffee: The night was highlighted by quality starts nearly across the affiliates, but the offense was not always able to support a solid performance on the mound. Chris Hernandez continues to impress in Pawtucket, and Justin Haley and William Cuevas continue to dominate the New York-Penn League.
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Chris Hernandez, who piggybacked Scott Atchison’s inning of rehab work, pitched five solid frames of shutout baseball, giving up four hits and striking out three on the way to a 5-3 PawSox victory over the Indianapolis Indians (PIT). The PawSox jumped out to an early, two-run lead in the first inning on RBI singles from Lars Anderson and Juan Carlos Linares, but Atchison gave up three runs on three hits in his inning of work. The PawSox were able to recover, however, in the top of the fifth inning, scoring three more runs by virtue of two fielding errors to seal the deal. Daniel Bard also pitched a scoreless inning of relief, walking two batters and striking out one. Chris Hernandez, Clayton Mortensen, Daniel Bard, and Jose De La Torre combined for eight scoreless innings of relief.
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Portland dropped both games of their doubleheader with the Binghamton Mets (NYM), scoring only a run in each game.
In the first game, the Portland offense couldn’t match Drake Britton’s five-inning effort and lost to Binghamton 2-1. Britton gave up two runs on seven hits, striking out an impressive seven and walking three. Portland’s sole run came in the top of the fifth inning when Ronald Bermudez scored on a single from Zach Gentile single.
In their second game, Portland lost 3-1, even though they jumped out to an early one-run lead in the top of the second inning on a solo shot from Bryce Brentz. But Portland starter Mike MacDonald (5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 K) lost control in the bottom of the sixth inning, walking the first two batters he faced, and Chris Balcom-Miller couldn’t stop the bleeding, giving up a three-run homer. Jackie Bradley Jr. went 2-for-3 with two doubles; he leads the minor leagues with 39 doubles.
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Sean Coyle and Xander Bogaerts each had a two-hit night to complement a quality start from Miguel Celestino to lead the Salem Red Sox to a 6-3 victory over the Lynchburg Hillcats (ATL). Celestino threw 6.0 innings, giving up three runs on six hits, walking three and striking out five. Salem struck first, when Bogaerts singled in Heiker Meneses. Brandon Jacobs’ solo shot was responsible for Salem’s run in the third inning. The Hilllcats tied the game up in the fourth inning and briefly took the lead in the sixth inning, but the Salem Red Sox responded with two runs in the bottom frame thanks to some shrewd baserunning from James Kang and an RBI double from Coyle. Coyle added two insurances runs in the eighth inning on an RBI single.
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Henry Owens recovered from a rough first inning, and notched the win as Greenville defeated Greensboro 8-4. Owens threw 6.0 innings, giving up three runs on five hits, walking four and striking out three. The Greenville offense was not shy, and Jose Vinicio led the charge, going two-for-four with a home run. Greenville took the lead in the third inning on back-to-back hits from Garin Cecchini (a double) and David Renfroe. Greenville never looked back, padding their lead the following inning and again in both the seventh and eighth innings.
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The Spinners routed Williamsport 7-0, doing most of their damage in the seventh inning when they scored six runs. The Spinners strung four hits together, including doubles from Matt Marquis and Kendrick Perkins. 2012 sixth-round pick Justin Haley threw three scoreless innings to begin the game, giving up only one hit and striking out an impressive six. William Cuevas followed Haley with an impressive performance of his own, tossing 6.0 scoreless innings, giving up three hits, walking one, and striking out six.
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The GCL Twins (MIN) embarrassed the GCL Red Sox, routing them 12-3. Mario Alcantara could not find his command from the beginning, giving up seven runs on six hits in only 1.2 innings. Alcantara actually recovered nicely from giving up a leadoff home run, but his second inning was a nightmare. The first two Red Sox runs were aided by, if not a result of, passed balls. The GCL began a rally in the top of the ninth when Nick Moore and Nathan Minnich led off the inning with back-to-back hits, but Keaton Briscoe’s sacrifice fly only made the deficit less humiliating.
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DSL: Luis Ortega threw an impressive 6.0 innings to help the DSL Red Sox defeat the DSL Pirates 3-1 (PIT). Oretega struck out three and only gave up one run. The sole Pirates run came when Ortega gave up back-to-back hits to lead off the fourth inning, but he recovered nicely, striking out the next batter he faced, and then eliciting a double play immediately after giving up a single. Robert Del Rosario doubled in the first Red Sox run in the third inning. Pablo Urena broke the tie in the fifth inning with an RBI single, and added an insurance run in the eighth when Andres Garcia scored on a wild pitch.
Players of the Night: Justin Haley and William Cuevas' performances weren't anomalies; they have both been excelling at the Short Season-A level this season. Haley’s sole earned run this season came in his debut. In his 14.1 innings of work this year, he has given up four hits, one earned run, walked eight, and struck out 17. Cuevas has a 1.64 ERA in 44 innings of work this season, and he has not given up more than three earned runs in a start.