September 1, 2012 at 9:30 AM
Cup of Coffee: Owens pitches 5.0 scoreless innings in Drive victory
9/1 Cup of Coffee: The Sea Dogs erupted for 13 runs, and Henry Owens pitched 5.0 scoreless innings for Greenville. A couple of late-inning meltdowns plagued the PawSox and the Salem Red Sox, and the Spinners' pitching was just barely out-dueled.
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A rocky start to his seventh inning disrupted an otherwise solid start from Chris Hernandez, and the PawSox fell to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, 4-3. Hernandez allowed only one run over his first six frames, but he yielded back-to-back homeruns to lead off the seventh inning. Hernandez was unable to record an out in the seventh inning, and departed in favor of Pedro Beato, who allowed an unearned run in his inning of work. In total, Hernandez allowed three runs on seven hits over his 6.0 innings of work. Brock Huntzinger also pitched 2.0 scoreless innings. Danny Valencia gave the PawSox an initial two-run lead with his two-run homerun in the first, but the Yankees cut that lead in half in the second. A pivotal three-run seventh inning gave the Yankees just enough to put the game out-of-reach for the PawSox, who managed only a run as a response on a RBI triple from Jason Repko in the bottom of the seventh. Jeremy Hazelbaker was 3 for 4 on the day, and has at least a hit in four consecutive games after going 0 for 4 in his Triple-A debut. Despite the loss, the PawSox still maintained their three-game lead in the International League wildcard.
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The Sea Dogs scored four runs in each their first and last frames, with a few runs in between, to defeat the Reading Phillies, 13-6. Xander Bogaerts hit a base-clearing double with the bases loaded to get things started. Drew Hedman walked and Matt Spring singled to re-load the bases, and Shannon Wilkerson was hit by a pitch to add another run. The Phillies tied the game in the third inning, but Wilkerson hit a RBI double, and Zach Gentile hit a two-run single to reclaim the lead the Sea Dogs would hold the rest of the game. Travis Shaw added two more runs with a single in the fourth. The Sea Dogs erupted for four more runs in the bottom of the eighth when Jackie Bradley, Jr. hit a RBI double, Gentile scored on a wild pitch, and Peter Hissey and Bogaerts each had RBI singles. Jeremy Kehrt started the game, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits over 6.0 innings. Clayton Mortensen followed, allowing two runs on three hits in his inning of work. Jason Urquidez and Michael Olmsted combined for two scoreless innings of relief. Olmsted has yet to allow an earned run in his 19.0 innings with the Sea Dogs since his promotion.
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The Salem Red Sox bullpen could not hold the lead, and the Red Sox fell to the Frederick Keys (BAL), 5-4. The Red Sox were down before they even had the chance to bat, but Brandon Jacobs hit a two-run homerun to give the Red Sox their temporary lead. Matty Johnson grounded into a force out for a run in the fourth, and David Chester produced a run with a single in the sixth, and the Red Sox seemed to be in good shape, up 4-1. However, neither Scott Swinson nor Marco Duarte could keep the Keys at bay, who scored four runs in the top of the seventh to take back the lead. The Red Sox offense had nothing left to contribute. Miguel Celestino started the game, allowing a run on four hits over 5.0 innings.
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Henry Owens pitched 5.0 scoreless innings, and the Drive defeated the Hickory Crawdads (TEX), 7-2. The Crawdads did not score a run until their last two frames, but the Drive already had a comfortable seven-run lead. Garin Cecchini hit a two-run double, and Blake Swihart drove him in to score the Drive’s first three runs. The Drive added two more runs on a fielder’s choice and a groundout in the fifth. Nick Natoli and Drew Turocy hit RBI doubles in the sixth and eighth innings, respectively, for some insurance runs. Owens scattered five hits over his 5.0 innings and struck out four batters. Tyler Lockwood followed with 2.0 scoreless innings of his own, and Dylan Chavez and Kevin Brahney each gave up a run in their respective innings of work.
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The Spinners managed only one run, and fell to Connecticut Tigers (DET), 2-1. Tigers pitching may have been better, but the Spinners’ pitching was still good. Pat Light yielded only one hit over his 3.0 scoreless innings of work. Raynel Velette followed, allowing two runs on five hits over his 5.0 innings. The sole Spinners run came in the second inning on a sacrifice fly from Matthew Gedman. The Spinners managed only three hits in total.
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Player of the Night: Henry Owens looked good in his third consecutive quality start. His record improved to 12-5 and the young pitcher is tied for third place in both wins and strikeouts in the South Atlantic league. Despite a rather high ERA (4.67), it's been a promising first year for the 2011 supplemental first-round pick.