August 30, 2012 at 8:30 AM
Cup of Coffee: Hedman walks off; De La Cruz shines in debut
8/30 Cup of Coffee: Jeremy Hazelbaker got his first Triple-A RBI, the Salem Red Sox and the Greenville Drive were each part of extra-inning victories, and the Spinners shut out their opponent. The Sea Dogs were nearly shutout, and the GCL Red Sox lost their championship.
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Jeremy Hazelbaker got his first hit and a pair of RBI since being promoted to Triple-A and the PawSox defeated the Gwinnett Braves (ATL), 9-4. The PawSox recovered from their first deficit when Tony Thomas hit a RBI triple to tie the game in the third. But the Braves scored two more runs in the third and added another in the fourth to make the game 4-1. Thomas trimmed the deficit again in the fifth, belting a two-run homerun, and Hazelbaker hit his first RBI single to tie the game. The game remained tied going into the top of the ninth, and the PawSox managed to score four runs before recording an out. Danny Valencia, Andy LaRoche, and Jason Repko hit back-to-back-to-back RBI singles, and Jonathan Hee managed an infield single for a RBI after Dan Butler walked. After the pitching change, Hazelbaker added one more run by grounding into a force out. Steven Wright started the game allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits over 5.0 innings. Josh Fields, Rich Hill, and Alex Wilson combined for 4.0 innings of scoreless relief.
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The Sea Dogs managed a mere two hits and were shutout by the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, 7-0. Brandon Workman experienced his first obstacle since his promotion to Double-A, lasting only 2.0 innings. He allowed six runs (five earned) on eight hits. Two walks in the first inning foreshadowed a nightmarish second inning in which Workman allowed his first four batters to reach base before recording an out. Workman began the third inning, but was pulled in favor of Will Latimer before recording an out. Latimer scattered two hits over 4.0 scoreless innings and struck out five. Ryan Pressly pitched the last 2.0 innings, and yielded a run on three hits. The Sea Dogs struck out 13 times collectively, and Marquez Smith and Ronald Bermudez were responsible for their only two hits.
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Drew Hedman hit a two-run, walk-off homerun in the bottom of the tenth to defeat the Frederick Keys 8-6. In his first game since being promoted from the Greenville Drive, Keury De La Cruz went 3 for 5 with two RBI. De La Cruz’s first RBI single helped give the Red Sox their initial three-run lead in the third. Heiker Meneses and Drew Hedman also had RBI singles, and De La Cruz nearly scored but was thrown out at home. Keith Couch had pitched four scoreless innings before allowing his first run in the fifth. Couch’s throwing error in the fifth catalyzed his unfurling in which he allowed four runs, and then the Red Sox were the ones looking up. However, the Red Sox quickly tied the game in the bottom half of the inning when Hedman and David Renfroe scored on a throwing error. The Keys regained the lead in the top of the seventh when Michael Olmsted gave up a solo homerun. De La Cruz came through in the bottom of the ninth with a clutch, RBI single to tie the game. Andrew Jones kept the Keys at bay for 2.0 innings, not even allowing them a hit. Brandon Jacobs led off the bottom of the tenth with a single, and Hedman followed with a shot to right field to end the game.
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Blake Swihart hit a RBI single in the top of the tenth to lead the Drive to a 5-4 victory over the Kannapolis Intimidators. The Intimidators scored first, but Boss Moanaroa tied the game with a RBI single in the fourth. The Drive added three more runs in the fifth when Garin Cecchini smacked a two-run double followed immediately by a RBI single from Henry Ramos. The Intimidators slowly chipped away at the lead, scoring a run in both the fifth and sixth innings. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, it seemed as if the Red Sox would win the game, but Grant Buckner tied the game with a RBI single. The Red Sox spirit was not diminished, though. Cecchini hit a single, stole second, and advanced to third on a wild pitch to put himself in scoring position. Swihart hit a single to center field to give the Red Sox a one-run lead, capping a 3 for 4 day. Nathan Striz returned for the bottom of the tenth, despite having just blown the save, and recorded a 1-2-3 inning to get the victory as well. Jason Garcia started the game and allowed three runs on nine hits. Nefi Ogando followed, and pitched 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.
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Justin Haley, Francisco Taveras, and Gregory Larson held the Vermont Lake Monsters to three hits combined and shut them out 6-0. Haley started the game and allowed no hits and struck out four over his 3.0 innings of work. Taveras followed, and allowed only one hit over his 5.0 innings of work for the victory. Mookie Betts put the Spinners on the board first with a RBI triple in the fourth, and Dreily Guerrero followed with a sacrifice fly. The Spinners added two more runs in the seventh on RBI singles from Oscar Perez and Matthew Marquis. Matthew Gedman and Perez added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth with RBI singles.
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The GCL Red Sox managed only two runs and were swept by the Pirates in the GCL championship, falling 5-2 in the finale. 2012 second-round pick Jamie Callahan allowed two hits over 2.0 scoreless innings to begin the game. Fracellis Montas followed and allowed three runs on four hits over his 2.0 innings. Jonathan Aro followed and was pulled after having recorded only one out, allowing two runs on three hits. Jeffery Wendelken, Willie Ethington, and Stephen Williams combined for 3.2 scoreless innings, but the damage had been done. The Red Sox scored their only two runs in the sixth when Kevin Mager hit a RBI single and Jose Colorado scored on a wild pitch.
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Player of the Night: Keury De La Cruz went 3 for 5 with a double and 2 RBI in his Salem Red Sox debut. Keury De La Cruz had numbers worthy of a promotion after batting .308 with a .352 OBP over 474 at-bats with the Greenville Drive.