July 7, 2012 at 8:57 AM
Cup of Coffee: Rally "Springs" Portland to victory
7/7 Cup of Coffee: Pawtucket lost in Rochester, while the Sea Dogs rallied in the ninth inning, and Salem crushed Carolina. Greenville split a doubleheader, and Lowell dropped their eighth straight game. The GCL and DSL squads both came away with victories.
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Pawtucket dropped a road game 3-1 against the Rochester Red Wings (MIN). The game was scoreless, with great pitching performances from both teams, until the bottom of the sixth inning. PawSox starter Billy Buckner was still going in the bottom of the sixth when he allowed a run to the Red Wings. There were two on and two outs when Buckner was replaced by Garrett Mock later in that same inning. In total, Buckner pitched 5.2 innings with seven hits, one run, and two walks. Mock closed out the sixth effectively, but proceeded to give up two solo home runs, one in the seventh and another in the eighth.
In the top of the eighth, three consecutive singles from Che-Hsuan Lin, Lars Anderson, and Andy LaRoche loaded the bases. Alex Hassan then grounded into a force out, scoring Lin. Unfortunately, that would be the only run that Pawtucket was able to muster in the game. In total, the PawSox had nine hits on the night, with Lin boasting three of them.
In the top of the eighth, three consecutive singles from Che-Hsuan Lin, Lars Anderson, and Andy LaRoche loaded the bases. Alex Hassan then grounded into a force out, scoring Lin. Unfortunately, that would be the only run that Pawtucket was able to muster in the game. In total, the PawSox had nine hits on the night, with Lin boasting three of them.
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Britton was replaced in the seventh inning by Caleb Clay who pitched 2.0 innings with one hit, no runs, no walks, and was credited with the win. Down 2-1 to begin the ninth inning, Jeremy Hazelbaker and Marquez Smith both singled to reach base, followed by a clutch three-run blast from Matt Spring (pictured) to give the Sea Dogs the lead. Josh Fields took the mound for Portland in the bottom of the ninth to earn the save in a perfect inning that included two strikeouts. In total, Portland batters put up eight hits, three of them belonging to Smith.
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The Salem Red Sox were dominant in a 16-2 win over the Carolina Mudcats (CLE). Salem starter Manuel Rivera held down the fort for the Red Sox, pitching 5.0 scoreless innings while allowing three hits, no runs, and four walks. He was replaced in the sixth by Andrew Jones, who gave up a run in each of the two innings he appeared. Tyler Lockwood closed out the game with a scoreless inning.
On the offensive side, the Red Sox put themselves on the board in the top of the second inning. Xander Bogaerts doubled and was driven in when Lucas LeBlanc grounded out later in the inning. In the top of the fourth, Brandon Jacobs reached base on a single, stole second base, advanced to third on a Bogaerts single, and scored when Michael Almanzar grounded into a double play. In the top of the fifth, LeBlanc reached on a double and was drive in by a Matty Johnson double. Heiker Meneses then singled, scoring Johnson. Christian Vazquez and Bogaerts also produced RBI singles in the inning. Salem put up another run in the top of the sixth when Johnson walked, advanced to second on a Meneses single, and scored on a Shaw single.
The top of the seventh was another great inning for the Red Sox. Vazquez and LeBlanc both drew walks, followed by a Shannon Wilkerson single that drove in Vazquez. Meneses and Shaw each had RBI singles in the inning, but Jacobs had the big hit with a two-run dinger. The Red Sox put up two last runs in the top of the eighth as both Almanzar and Vazquez produced doubles. In total, Salem batters had 17 hits, with Meneses and Bogaerts each nabbing three.
On the offensive side, the Red Sox put themselves on the board in the top of the second inning. Xander Bogaerts doubled and was driven in when Lucas LeBlanc grounded out later in the inning. In the top of the fourth, Brandon Jacobs reached base on a single, stole second base, advanced to third on a Bogaerts single, and scored when Michael Almanzar grounded into a double play. In the top of the fifth, LeBlanc reached on a double and was drive in by a Matty Johnson double. Heiker Meneses then singled, scoring Johnson. Christian Vazquez and Bogaerts also produced RBI singles in the inning. Salem put up another run in the top of the sixth when Johnson walked, advanced to second on a Meneses single, and scored on a Shaw single.
The top of the seventh was another great inning for the Red Sox. Vazquez and LeBlanc both drew walks, followed by a Shannon Wilkerson single that drove in Vazquez. Meneses and Shaw each had RBI singles in the inning, but Jacobs had the big hit with a two-run dinger. The Red Sox put up two last runs in the top of the eighth as both Almanzar and Vazquez produced doubles. In total, Salem batters had 17 hits, with Meneses and Bogaerts each nabbing three.
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The Drive blanked the Rome Braves (ATL), 4-0, in game one of a doubleheader. Henry Owens got the start for Greenville and had a great outing, picking up his ninth win of the season. He pitched 5.0 shutout innings, giving up just two hits and no walks, striking out seven. Nefi Ogando followed Owens and pitched 2.0 more solid innings, allowing one hit and one walk. Greenville batters put up their first runs of the game in the bottom of the first on an RBI groundout by David Renfroe that drove in Jose Garcia and a Henry Ramos single that drove in Keury De La Cruz. In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Drive got two more, with Matt Marquis scoring on a wild pitch and Garin Cecchini doubling home De La Cruz. Greenville had seven hits in game one, Marquis leading the pack with two.
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In game two, the Braves put up five runs in the first inning and the Drive just could not answer in a 6-3 loss. Drive starter Mickey Pena pitched to just three batters before leaving with tightness in his right hamstring, giving up two hits before being replaced by Matty Ott. Pressed into emergency relief duty, Ott let in both of Pena's runners as well as three of his own before getting out of the inning. Ott gave up another run in the second inning, but settled down after his sudden entry into the game to eat up 3.2 innings. In the bottom of the third, Ramos led off with a triple, followed by a Jordan Weems double that scored Ramos. De La Cruz singled to drive in Weems. In the bottom of the fourth, Drew Turocy doubled and Weems singled to drive Turocy in. Every batter in the Drive lineup had a hit in game two except for Renfroe. Weems led the team with two.
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The Spinners lost their eighth straight game, falling to the Auburn Doubledays (WAS), 7-6. In the top of the first, Deven Marrero scored on a throwing error during a pickoff attempt to give the Spinners a short-lived lead, as Auburn answered with a run against Lowell starter Raynel Velette in the bottom of the first. Marrero later doubled in the top of the fifth, his second of the night, and scored on a Mike Miller single, but again the Doubledays answered. Velette cruised into the fifth, giving way to Tyler Wilson with two out and one on following a walk, but Wilson immediately allowed a triple, a walk, and a double as the Doubledays went up 4-2. Again, the Spinners answered, with Jason Thompson driving in Mookie Betts on a sixth-inning single to cut the lead in half. Kendrick Perkins later led off the eighth with a double, and after a walk to Betts, J.T. Watkins homered to left to put Lowell up 6-4. Unfortunately, in the ninth, the Doubledays benefitted from two Betts throwing errors to score three unearned runs and take the victory.
Velette pitched 4.2 innings, getting charged with two runs on three hits and five walks. Dylan Chavez took the loss, giving up the three unearned in the ninth after a clean eighth. The Spinners had eight total hits, Marrero and Miller led the team with two each.
Velette pitched 4.2 innings, getting charged with two runs on three hits and five walks. Dylan Chavez took the loss, giving up the three unearned in the ninth after a clean eighth. The Spinners had eight total hits, Marrero and Miller led the team with two each.
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In an abbreviated game, the GCL Red Sox beat the GCL Twins, 9-4. With the game tied 2-2 in the third, the Red Sox picked up a pair of runs to go ahed for good, as Jake Davies put the team up with the first of his two RBI doubles, followed three batters later by a Jesus Loya RBI single. The Twins got one back in the fourth, but the Sox added a pair in the fifth on another Loya single and an Iseha Conklin sacrifice fly, and three in the sixth.
Jimenez earned the win, allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk over 5.0 innings. Gerardo Olivares picked up a save by pitching the sixth, allowing a run on three hits and a walk. The Red Sox put up three more in the bottom of the sixth. Green-Thompson drew a walk, followed by a Rondon triple that drove him in. Lin reached base on a fielder's choice, scoring Rondon and advancing to second on a missed catch error. After a pitching change, Davies doubled, scoring Lin. The game was called in the top of the seventh. The Red Sox had ten hits in the game, Davies and Loya each with three.
Jimenez earned the win, allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk over 5.0 innings. Gerardo Olivares picked up a save by pitching the sixth, allowing a run on three hits and a walk. The Red Sox put up three more in the bottom of the sixth. Green-Thompson drew a walk, followed by a Rondon triple that drove him in. Lin reached base on a fielder's choice, scoring Rondon and advancing to second on a missed catch error. After a pitching change, Davies doubled, scoring Lin. The game was called in the top of the seventh. The Red Sox had ten hits in the game, Davies and Loya each with three.
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The DSL Red Sox took advantage of five errors, nine walks, and five hit batters en route to beating the DSL Yankees2, 9-3, at home. After the Yankees pushed one run across in the first, the Sox went ahead in the bottom of the second. First, an error brought home Aneudis Peralta and Roberto Duncan to give the Sox the lead. Andres Garcia followed with a single, scoring Gregori Titts and Raymel Flores, and Garcia later scored on a Manuel Margot single. Margot drove in another run the hard way in the third, getting hit by a pitch, scoring Duncan. Duncan finished the Sox scoring in the sixth, driving a three-run homer to left for the final margin. Sox starter Luis Ortega pitched 5.0 innings allowing two runs on four hits and a walk, striking out one. Carlos Garcia followed with 3.0 strong innings, allowing only an unearned run on a hit and a walk. Luis Ramos closed out the game for the Red Sox with a perfect inning, striking out a pair. The Red Sox needed just six hits to push the nine runs across thanks to the Yankees' sloppy play.
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Player of the Night: Matt Spring, whose three-run homer in the ninth inning rallied the Sea Dogs to victory.
Photo credit: Matt Spring by Kelly O'Connor
Photo credit: Matt Spring by Kelly O'Connor