July 13, 2013 at 9:41 AM
Cup of Coffee: Affiliates prevail in close games
7/12 Cup of Coffee: Of the six Red Sox affiliates in action Friday, five took home victories. Pawtucket, the GCL Red Sox and Salem all edged their opponents by just one run, while Portland won by three in extra innings. Lowell fought hard in its contest, losing on a late-inning run, while the DSL Red Sox scored six in the ninth to take home the win.
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The Pawtucket Red Sox were able to snap their nine-game losing streak Friday in an 8-7 win over the Rochester Red Wings (Min). The PawSox bats powered them to victory, as the team collected eight hits and eight walks in the game. Leading the charge for the PawSox was Alex Hassan (pictured), whose three-run home run in the seventh inning secured the lead for Pawtucket. Third basemen Will Middlebrooks, who hit third in the lineup, went 2 for 4 in the game with a walk and a run scored.
Starter Rubby De La Rosa pitched effectively despite allowing a lot of baserunners, giving up seven hits and walking three in five innings. De La Rosa surrendered only three runs and struck out three. Reliever Chris Martin, who pitched the eighth and ninth innings, picked up the win after giving up the lead in the eighth.
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In what turned out to be a marathon 15-inning contest Friday, the Portland Sea Dogs topped the Binghamton Mets (NYM) by a score of 8-5. The deciding blow came in the top of the 15th when Portland's Heiker Meneses scored on a throwing error off a grounder from Garin Cecchini. Although the Sea Dogs amassed eight runs in the end, the story of the game was more about missed opportunities, as they left a total of 16 men on base. Four Sea Dogs players notched three-hit games, including Kolbrin Vitek, who replaced outfielder Brandon Jacobs after the Red Sox traded him to Chicago for reliever Matt Thornton.
In a strange twist, position player Ryan Dent picked up the win for the Sea Dogs by pitching two innings in relief. Dent gave up only two hits and two walks, and even struck out a batter.
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The Salem Red Sox edged out the Potomac Nationals (WAS) Friday by a score of 4-3. Despite being a tight game throughout, all of the scoring in the game came early, including the game-winning run, which came on a home run from Stefan Welch in the third inning. Welch and Matty Johnson had multi-hit games for the Red Sox. Matthew Gedman also homered in the game, blasting a three-run shot in the second inning. Salem starter Kyle Kraus, who picked up the win, threw six innings, striking out two and surrendering three runs.
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The Greenville Drive's game was postponed due to rain.
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The Lowell Spinners were on the losing end of a one-run affair, falling 6-5 to the Staten Island Yankees (NYY). The game was decided late, as the Yankees were able to scratch across a run in the top of the ninth inning off reliever Taylor Grover. Spinners starter Corey Littrell hurled only two innings and was relieved by Simon Mercedes, who gave up the remaining five runs in five innings of work.
The Spinners were able to muster only six hits on the day, which came off the bats of three individual players: Manuel Margot, Kevin Mager and Cleuluis Rondon. Each player collected two hits, with Mager and Margot responsible for two of the team's three RBI.
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The GCL Red Sox topped the GCL Twins in a tight game, 8-7. Shortstop Raymel Flores and third baseman Deiner Lopez collected three hits each, with Flores also contributing three RBI and two runs scored in the game. GCL starting pitcher Keivin Heras was not sharp, giving up five runs and six hits in four innings pitched. He was relieved by German Taveras, who pitched three innings of strong relief to pick up the win.
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The DSL Red Sox topped the DSL Mariners by a score of 8-3. Leading 2-1 going into the ninth inning, the Red Sox exploded for six runs thanks in large part to a Luis Alejandro Basabe run-scoring double, a Franklin Guzman run-scoring triple and a home run off the bat of Darwin Pena. DSL starter Yankory Pimentel went five strong innings, giving up one run and four hits. The lone blemish on Pimentel, who lowered his ERA to 2.40 on the season, was a second-inning home run.
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Player of the Day: The day's honors for top player were split, as two Red Sox minor leaguers put in remarkable performances on Friday. While Alex Hassan's seventh inning three-run blast helped power Pawtucket to a win, Portland second baseman Ryan Dent's two scoreless innings of relief propelled the Sea Dogs in their 15-inning marathon victory.
Photo Credit: Alex Hassan and Ryan Dent by Kelly O'Connor.
Luke Lavoie is a Staff Writer for SoxProspects.com.