August 16, 2012 at 8:30 AM
Cup of Coffee: Deven Marrero swings three, swipes three, and scores three in Spinners victory
Cup of Coffee 8/16: Deven Marrero and Mookie Betts had big contributions in the Spinners victory; Drake Britton had a solid outing despite scarce run support, and Randy Perez struck out nine in four innings to pave the way for a DSL Red Sox victory. The rest of the affiliates had mixed results with the PawSox splitting their doubleheader with the Yankees and the Salem Red Sox, Greenville Drive, and GCL Red Sox all suffering losses.
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The PawSox fell to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (NYY), 5-1, after starter Daisuke Matsuzaka fell apart in the fifth inning. Matsuzaka had yielded only a second-inning single before allowing the first six batters he faced to reach base in the fifth inning, resulting in five runs (four earned). Matsuzaka pitched 5.2 innings, allowing five hits, striking out five and walking two in his 10th rehab start with Pawtucket. He is 0-3 with a 3.68 ERA in 44.0 innings with 34 strikeouts and 13 walks. The sole PawSox run came in the second inning when Jason Repko brought Mauro Gomez home on a sacrifice fly.
The PawSox defeated the Yankees, 5-2, in the rain-shortened second half of their doubleheader. Ironically, this was the makeup for a game that had originally gotten rained out. Nelson Figueroa allowed two runs on five hits over 5.0 innings for the win. Jose Iglesias scored on a throwing error that also allowed Juan Carlos Linares to advance to third, and Gomez was able to bring him in with a single. The PawSox added three more runs in the third on a three-run shot from Andy LaRoche.
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The Sea Dogs only needed one run to defeat the Altoona Curve (PIT), 1-0. Drake Britton pitched 5.1 scoreless innings, allowing only three hits, striking out five and walking two. Brock Huntzinger and Michael Olmsted combined for 3.2 scoreless innings for the hold and the save, respectively. Bryce Brentz knocked in the sole run with a RBI single in the first. Xander Bogaerts extended his Double-A hitting streak to five games since his promotion, going 1 for 4. Jeremy Hazelbaker and Brentz have at least a hit in each of their last 10 games, and are batting .385 and .436 in that span, respectively.
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The Salem Red Sox were hammered for 11 runs by the Winston-Salem Dash (CWS) and lost, 11-3. Yeiper Castillo lasted only 3.0 innings, allowing four earned runs in the third inning. Manuel Rivera followed and fared worse, allowing six earned runs on seven hits in his 3.0 innings of work. Charle Rosario allowed the least damage, allowing one run on two hits in his 2.0 innings of work. The Red Sox had a two-run lead initially when Felix Sanchez scored on a throwing error in the first inning, and Shannon Wilkerson hit a RBI single. After the Dash’s four-run third inning, the Red Sox came within a run in the top of the fourth on a RBI double from Jayson Hernandez, but Dan Black hit a grand slam as a part of the Dash’s six-run fifth inning charge to put the game out-of-reach.
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The Greenville Drive managed only one run in their 6-1 loss to the Rome Braves (ATL). Noe Ramirez started the game, allowing six runs (five earned) on eight hits over 4.2 innings of work, while striking out seven. Nefi Ogando and Dylan Chavez combined for 4.1 scoreless relief innings, each allowing only a hit. Ogando struck out five batters in his 3.1 innings. The Drive scored their role run of the game when Nick Natoli hit a RBI single. Henry Ramos, Blake Swihart, and Jordan Weems each had a pair of hits, with Weems adding two walks as he reached in all four of his plate appearances.
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Mookie Betts had four RBI to lead the way to the Spinners’ 8-3 victory over the Aberdeen IronBirds (BAL). The Spinners wasted no time, jumping out to a two-run lead in the first inning when Deven Marrero (pictured) scored on a wild pitch and David Chester hit an RBI groundout. The Spinners added three more runs in the third when Betts hit a two-run single and then scored on a triple from Aneury Tavarez. Betts drew a bases-loaded walk in the fourth to add another run, and hit another RBI single in the sixth. Marrero added one more insurance run in the seventh with a RBI single. Mike Augilera started the game, allowing one run on two hits in his 3.0 innings of work. Tyler Wilson followed with 4.0 innings, allowing one run on two hits and striking out four. Gregory Larson yielded a solo home run in the ninth inning, but it was the only run he allowed in his 2.0 innings of work. Marrero scored three runs, stole three bases, and was 3 for 4 on the day with a double.
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The GCL Orioles shut out the GCL Red Sox, 2-0, and held them to only two hits. Austin Maddox received the loss, allowing one run on four hits over 2.0 innings in his second professional start. Rich Hill made his second rehab appearance with the GCL team, striking out two in his scoreless inning of relief. Matt Spalding allowed a run in his 3.0 innings of work, and Robby Scott pitched 2.0 perfect innings. Cleuluis Rondon and Kevin Heller were responsible for the only two Red Sox hits.
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Randy Perez pitched five scoreless innings and the DSL Red Sox defeated the DSL Marlins, 6-2. Perez struckout an impressive nine batters on his way to a victory, and Victor Ramirez followed, allowing two runs on four hits over 4.0 innings of work. Andres Garcia hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the third, and Osvaldo Almengo and Ricardo Andujar were able to score later in the frame on a fielding error. Almengo hit a RBI single the following inning to extend the lead to four runs. The Red Sox added two insurance runs in the top of the ninth on a two-run single from Margot.
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Player of the Night: Deven Marrero was in an 0 for 20 slump before having three-multi hit games in a row. The 2012 Red Sox first-round pick is turning things around quickly, batting .500 over his last 14 at-bats. In his first professional season, he is batting .244 in 46 games with 21 stolen bases, three of which came Wednesday night.
Photo Credit: Deven Marrero by David Letizi