Cup of Coffee: Greenville rides bats to convincing victory

5/21 Cup of Coffee: Pitching was solid across all of the affiliates on Tuesday, but only Portland and Greenville were able to walk away with wins. Pawtucket and Salem's did not put up much fight at the plate, as the PawSox were shutout and the Red Sox were only able to push across a single run. 

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Despite a solid start from Anthony Ranaudo, Pawtucket was shut down by the Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (NYY), falling 3-0. Ranaudo hurled 5 2/3 innings, allowing just one run on four hits and four walks, punching out seven. Rich Hill allowed two runs on three hits and a walk in 1 1/3 innings of relief. Alex Wilson continued to pitch well in relief, tossing two scoreless innings. 

The PawSox collected just six hits, two of which came from Brandon Snyder, who was 2 for 4 with two doubles. Pawtucket was 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base in the loss. 

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Solid pitching and clutch hitting allowed the Sea Dogs to slide by the Binghamton Mets (NYM), 2-1.  Brian Johnson moved to 3-0 as he pitched six innings, allowing a run on four hits and a walk, striking out six. Matty Ott added two scoreless innings of relief and Noe Ramirez picked up his fourth save of the season for a scoreless ninth inning.

Down 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth, Blake Swihart tied the game with a solo home run. With two outs in the inning, a botched pickoff attempt allowed Henry Ramos to come around to score the eventual winning run. 

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In another close contest, Salem's offense could not get into gear as they fell to the Winston-Salem Dash (CHW), 3-1. Cody Kukuk fell to 1-2 on the season despite a solid day on the mound, tossing six innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits and a walk, punching out five. Kyle Stroup allowed a run on four hits during his two innings of relief.

The Red Sox scored their only run of the contest in the ninth on a Carson Blair RBI double. Salem did have the tying runs on base with only one out, but were unable to come through. The two teams will wrap up the series tomorrow with a doubleheader. 

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Greenville's offensive came to life in a convincing 11-1 victory over the Asheville Tourists (COL). Daniel McGrath picked up his first win of the season, tossing six innings, allowing a run on one hit, striking out five. Jacob Dahlstrand and Mike Adams combined to hurl three scoreless innings of relief.

The bottom of the Drive's order drove the offensive outburst, with Jimmy Rider (pictured, above) going 3 for 4 with a home run and two RBI, Bo Greenwell going 3 for 5 with a double, and Zach Kapstein finishing 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI. Tzu-Wei Lin went 2 for 5 with a double and three RBI while Jantzen Witte made the most of his one hit, bringing home two runs on an RBI double and adding a sacrifice fly. 

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Player of the Day: Jimmy Rider, who was 3 for 4 with a home run and two RBI in Greenville's 11-1 victory over Asheville. The 24-year-old third baseman was acquired in October from the Pittsburgh Pirates for future considerations. His first season in the Red Sox organization has been a success thus far, as he has hit .301/.416/.437 with a home run and 18 RBI.  

Photo Credit: Jimmy Rider by Kelly O'Connor

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