August 18, 2012 at 7:30 AM
Cup of Coffee: Spinners and PawSox prepare for Futures at Fenway
8/18 Cup of Coffee: The PawSox and Spinners had mixed results before they traveled to Boston for today's Futures at Fenway, and the PawSox could not come through in the clutch against the Yankees.
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The PawSox left 11 men on-base, as they fell to the Yankees (NYY), 8-5. The PawSox had 13 base runners in five innings against Yankee starter Adam Warren, but only managed to push across two runs. The Yankees had eight base runners in five innings against Zach Stewart, but scored five times. Jon Hee (pictured) had one of his best games of the season, going 3 for 3 with a home run and two walks, and Juan Carlos Linares went 3 for 5 with a double and a home run. Linares has seen his numbers drop since his promotion to Triple-A, as he is walking less and striking out more, but his power is still there. Jose Iglesias stayed hot, going 2 for 4 with a walk, and he is now batting .317 with a .394 on-base percentage in August.
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The Portland game was suspended due to rain. The game will resume tomorrow in the bottom of the fourth, with the score tied at zero. Stolmy Pimentel had thrown 4.0 hitless innings with four strikeouts.
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Every Salem player collected at least one hit as they doubled up Potomac (WAS), 12-6. Salem has struggled to find offense in recent weeks, but they had more than enough last night. Michael Almanzar and Carson Blair each hit a home run as part of a six-run first inning against former Red Sox draftee Alex Meyer. The Nationals fought back against Michael McCarthy and Will Latimer, but Salem pulled away. Drew Hedman went 3 for 4 with two triples and a double, Blair went 2 for 3 with a home run, and Zach Gentile went 2 for 4 with a double and a walk.
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It was a rough night for Greenville, as they were clobbered by the Tourists (COL), 14-1. You know it was a bad night for the pitching staff when the most effective pitcher by a good margin was second baseman Bryan Johns. In addition to going 1 for 4 with a double, Johns allowed one run on two hits in his 1.0 inning of work. David Renfroe drove in the sole Greenville run with a solo home run, and Cody Koback went 2 for 4 with an outfield assist.
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The Lowell game was called with one out in the eighth inning, with the Spinners defeating the IronBirds (BAL), 6-2. Mike Miller scored on a Dreily Guerrero RBI double in the first to put the Spinners ahead, but the IronBirds got the run back against Madison Younginer in the second. Younginer allowed two runs in his 3.2 innings as he works his way back from a strained right lat muscle. William Cuevas threw the final 3.2 innings, allowing three hits while striking out five. Lowell scored four runs on six hits in the fifth, with Miller, Tim Roberson, and Deven Marrero all collecting RBI. Marrero and Miller each went 2 for 4 with a walk.
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Thanks to strong pitching performances from a pair of 2012 draftees, the GCL Red Sox beat the GCL Twins (MIN), 5-1. Jamie Callahan went the first 2.0 innings, allowing only one walk while striking out two. Willie Ethington followed him with 2.0 shutout innings of his own, allowing two hits. The Red Sox bats were silent until the seventh, when they erupted for five runs. Beau Bishop laced an RBI single to tie the game, and came around to score on a Tzu-Wei Lin sacrifice fly. Bishop, who was signed out of a New Zealand fast-pitch softball league in February of 2011, is only batting .156 over his first 14 games, but he was expected to struggle as he has limited baseball experience. Mike Meyers put the game out of reach with a pinch-hit RBI double, and he scored on a Jose Colorado single.
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It was a rare poor start for Keivin Heras, but the offense and the bullpen bailed him out, beating the DSL Rangers (TEX), 5-3. Heras allowed three runs in 3.0 innings to balloon his ERA to 2.03. The 17-year-old was untouchable before the All-Star break, but has been much more hittable since. Enfember Martinez was solid once again in relief, throwing 3.0 shutout innings, though he did walk three. The Red Sox put three runs on the board in the second thanks to an Anthony Amaya RBI single and a two-run double from Aneudis Peralta, and then took the lead for good in the third on a Robert Del Rosario two-run single. Peralta and Manuel Margot each went 2 for 4, while Andres Garcia went 1 for 1 with three walks.
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Player of the Night: Jon Hee went 3 for 3 with a home run and two walks in the PawSox loss on Friday. Hee, who is known for being a strong defensive player, has had a history of putting up mediocre offensive stats, but he has been getting on-base at a decent clip the past couple years, with on-base percentages of .362 and .348 in 2011 and 2012 respectively.
Photo Credit: Jon Hee by Bob Brown