September 1, 2014 at 8:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Rusney Castillo debuts, PawSox clinch wild card
9/1 Cup of Coffee: It was one of the busier days of the year, with playoff games, professional debuts, and strong performances across the board. Rusney Castillo went 1 for 2 in his first contest, though the GCL Red Sox fell in the second game of the finals, the PawSox clinched the wild card, and the DSL Red Sox won the first game of the championship series. Henry Owens and Simon Mercedes (pictured) each tallied nine strikeouts, while Eduardo Rodriguez continued his dominance.
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The PawSox are heading to the playoffs, as their win yesterday clinched the wild card. Henry Owens earned the victory, striking out nine over six innings of four-run ball. Dalier Hinojosa added a scoreless inning, and Drake Britton pitched two scoreless innings to end it.
The PawSox pounded out 13 hits, with Alex Hassan leading the way with three hits and a walk. Justin Henry, Ryan Lavarnway, and Corey Brown all had two hits, and Jackie Bradley, Jr. went 1 for 4 with a walk and a strikeout. The semi-finals begin on Wednesday, when the PawSox will host the Syracuse Chiefs (WAS).
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In what has become a common occurrence, Eduardo Rodriguez was outstanding, leading the Sea Dogs to victory. Rodriguez allowed one run on five hits, walking two and striking out four. His ERA in six starts for the Sea Dogs rose to 0.96 with this performance, while striking out 39 in 37 1/3 innings. Noe Ramirez picked up his 18th save of the season by getting the last two outs in the ninth.
Mike Miller continued his recent power surge, going 3 for 4 with a double and a home run, while driving in four of Portland's six runs. Jonathan Roof added a double and an RBI, and Stefan Welch hit a sacrifice fly. This was the Field of Dreams game in Portland, so be sure to check out Kelly O'Connor's terrific photographs from the game when they are posted on her website.
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Behind a dominant performance from Simon Mercedes, Salem cruised to a win over Wilmington. Mercedes struck out nine over seven innings, allowing only one run on four hits and two walks. Madison Younginer and Taylor Grover each threw a scoreless inning to finish off the victory. Jake Romanski had a ridiculous day, going 4 for 4 with four doubles. Reed Gragnani went 2 for 4 with a triple, and Kendrick Perkins added two hits and scored a run.
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Daniel McGrath picked up his sixth victory of the year, allowing two runs on five hits over six innings, walking one and striking out three. Jason Garcia threw the final three innings to earn the save, shutting down the Legends while striking out three.
It has been a tough year for Tzu-Wei Lin, but he is finishing it strong, and he went 2 for 3 with a double and a walk on Sunday. Jordan Procyshen also had two hits, and Danny Mars managed to steal two bases despite an 0 for 4 day at the plate.
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The Spinners left nine men on base, as they dropped the penultimate game of the season. Jeffry Fernandez fell to 0-3 on the year as he allowed four runs, three earned, over five innings. Williams Jerez was able to limit the damage, as the Tigers scored only one run despite collecting six hits in his three innings. Bryan Hudson set the table at the top of the order, going 3 for 4 with a walk and a stolen base. Raymel Flores added two hits, and Alixon Suarez went 1 for 4 with a double.
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The Yankees forced a winner-take-all final game later today, holding off a late Red Sox surge to take the second game of the series. Rusney Castillo lined a single in his first professional at-bat, but was subsequently caught stealing. He finished the game 1 for 2, and will play three to five innings in today's game. Tim Britton of the Providence Journal posted a video of Castillo's first professional hit.
Michael Chavis laced a two-run double, and Trenton Kemp added two hits to lead the offense. Gabe Speier was not sharp, walking three and allowing four runs in 4 2/3 innings, and Jalen Beeks surrendered two more runs in his 2 1/3 innings. Keivin Heras shut the Yankees down in his two innings, but the Red Sox were not able to complete the comeback.
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In the first game of the championship series, Emmanuel De Jesus led the Red Sox to victory. De Jesus tossed 4 2/3 shutout innings, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out three. Samir El Halaby struck out four in his four shutout innings, earning the win. The Red Sox only had five hits, but drew 10 walks, and two of their runs scored on bases loaded walks. Raiwinson Lameda drew two walks and smacked an RBI double, and Carlos Tovar added a walk and an RBI double as well.
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Player of the Day: It has been an up-and-down season for Simon Mercedes, but in what was possibly his last game of the year, he struck out nine over seven innings. After opening eyes in spring training with a fastball that touched triple digits, Mercedes saw his stuff regress during the season, and he was only touching 93 recently. He may get another start or two depending on how Salem fares in the playoffs, but as of now, the 22-year-old has a 4.41 ERA over 96 innings this season, striking out 79 and walking 41.
Photo Credit: Simon Mercedes by Kelly O'Connor