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August 23, 2014 at 8:25 AM

Cup of Coffee: Keith Couch strong for Portland; Salem walk off


8/23 Cup of Coffee: Pawtucket was unable to sweep their series against the IronPigs while the Spinners fell to the IronBirds.  The Sea Dogs finished off the Fisher Cats and Salem walked off with the win in extra innings thanks to a Jantzen Witte, bases-loaded single.  Greenville defeated the Sand Gnats with the help of a hot bat from Cole Sturgeon.  The GCL Red Sox lost in extras to the GCL Twins while the DSL Red Sox were postponed. 

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Pawtucket failed to finish the four-game sweep of the IronPigs.  Steven Wright took the loss for Pawtucket as he went 4 1/3 innings giving up seven runs (five earned) on eight hits while striking out four.  The game was tied after three innings until the IronPigs broke things open with a run in the fourth and four more in the fifth.

The Pawtucket offense didn't muster much of an attack.  Pawtucket got most of their offense in a two-run third.  Bryce Brentz smacked a triple and then was driven in on a Carlos Rivero single. Rivero went 2 for 4 on the night with two runs batted in.  One of those runs came via a long-ball,  Rivero's fifth of the season.  Dan Butler chipped in on offense for Pawtucket going 3 for 4.  Pawtucket was 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position and left 12 men on base.

Pawtucket sits three games back in the division behind the Syracuse Chiefs (WSH). They head out on a six game road trip starting with a four-game series at Buffalo tonight.  Then they return home for a critical two-game series next weekend against Syracuse before they finish the regular season with a two-game set against Rochester (MIN).  

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Keith Couch (pictured) was on the mound for Portland and fired seven strong innings to earn his eighth win of the season.  Couch worked out of a jam in the seventh inning; with the tying and go-ahead runs on second and third he struck out the final two batters to escape with the lead intact.  Robby Scott struck out the side in the eighth inning and then Noe Ramirez came on in the ninth to close the door and earn his 15th save of the season. 

Stefan Welch provided a bulk of the offense for Portland with a 2-for-4 night and two runs batted in.  Welch hit a home run in the second, his seventh of the season.  Keury De La Cruz chipped in with a 2-for-4 night and an RBI of his own.  De La Cruz broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning with a single. 

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The Red Sox walked off with an extra inning victory thanks to a Jantzen Witte bases loaded RBI single in the 10th inning that scored Matty Johnson from third.  Heri Quevedo was on the mound for Salem and give up three runs on five hits in his six innings of work.  He also struck out seven batters.  He left with a no-decision for his efforts.  William Cuevas and Jonathan Aro came on to pitch four scoreless innings of relief.  Aro struck out the side in the ninth and then set the side down in order in the 10th to earn his second win of the season. The Salem offense scattered six hits.  
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Jamie Callahan struggled on the mound for Greenville.  He lasted only three innings and threw 71 pitches, only 31 for strikes.  Raynell Velette and Mike Adams came on in relief to help settle things down and combined to pitch six scoreless innings of relief.  Velette got the win while Adams earned the save. 

Cole Sturgeon led the way for Greenville at the plate going 3 for 4 with two runs scored and two more batted in.  Sturgeon did most of his damage in a four-run fourth inning when he delivered a bases-loaded single to center that tied the game.  Tzu-Wei Lin then brought Sturgeon home with a single of his own.  Lin was 2 for 3 on the night with two runs batted in.  

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Lowell's three-game winning streak was snapped in Aberdeen last night.  Kevin McAvoy got the start for the Spinners and gave up two hits and struck out five in his three innings of work.  Things fell apart for Lowell in fourth as Williams Jerez gave up three runs (two earned) in the frame. Edwar Garcia came on in the fifth inning and gave up two more runs (one earned). The defense didn't provide much support for the men on the mound with three errors. 

Jordan Betts provided a little offense for the Spinners as he hit his team-leading ninth home run of the season with a man on in the sixth inning.  Joseph Monge had a double in his 2-for-4 night.  

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The Red Sox had their four game winning streak snapped in the 11th inning by the Twins.  Things didn't fair well early on for starting pitcher Jose Almonte who gave up three runs in the first inning but then settled down and didn't give up a run in his next four innings while striking out six.  Pat Goetze followed Almonte with four scoreless innings of his own and five strikeouts.  Carlos Garcia suffered the loss giving up a line-drive single in the eleventh inning.

The Red Sox scattered 16 hits on the night but was 4 for 17 with runners in scoring position and left 14 men on base.  All nine starters had hits while five players had multi-hit games.  Leading the way was Michael Chavis who was 3 for 6 with a triple.  Victor Acosta also chipped in with a 3-for-4 night.  Derek Miller, Rafael Devers and Jhon Nunez each chipped in with two hits apiece. 

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GCL Red Sox, GCL Twins, postponed

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DSL Red Sox, DSL Yankees1,  postponed

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Player of the Day: Keith Couch was stellar on the mound for Portland as he moved to 8-1 on the season.  The right-hander was a 13th round draft pick in 2010 and is poised to have one of his best seasons in the minors.  He was 11-3 last year with Portland with a 3.47 ERA and is almost a full run better this season with a 2.69 ERA. 

Photo credit: Keith Couch by Kelly O'Connor