May 29, 2015 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Buttrey stays unbeaten; Longhi's bat paces Drive
5/29 Cup of Coffee: Ty Buttrey (pictured) remained unbeaten in 2015 with another solid outing for Salem while Nick Longhi had a big night at the plate for Greenville in a slugfest. Portland's bats could not support a solid outing from Justin Haley in a hard-luck loss. Pawtucket had the night off.
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The Sea Dogs were held to five hits in Thursday's loss. Jantzen Witte was the only bright spot at the plate, going 2 for 4 with a double and raised his batting average to .329. Carlos Asuaje had a rough game, going 0 for 4 with three strikeouts. Portland wasted a decent outing by Justin Haley who earned his sixth loss of the season. He scattered nine hits over five innings, allowed two runs, struck out a pair and walked one.
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Ty Buttrey picked up his fourth win at the High A level and fifth win overall in six solid innings. The 22-year-old righty did not allow a hit until the fourth inning and four straight singles and a wild pitch in the sixth was his only rough patch of the night. He did not walk a batter and struck out four, including the final two batters he faced to escape a jam. Mike Adams picked up his fourth save of the season with three innings of one-hit ball. He struck out three.
Sam Travis got the Salem offense started early with an RBI single. He finished the night 1 for 5 with two RBI. The next batter, right fielder Kevin Heller, provided the big blow with a two-run home run, his second of the year. Heller went 2 for 3 with a walk, two runs scored and three RBI. Left fielder Deiner Lopez also had a hot night at the plate, going 3 for 4 with two doubles and two runs scored.
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The Drive pounded out 14 hits and Nick Longhi drove in four runs in Greenville's victory. Longhi was also at the plate for Greenville's fifth run when Cisco Tellez scored on a wild pitch. Javier Guerra went 3 for 4 with two doubles and a walk. Rafael Devers extended his hitting streak to nine games, going 3 for 5 with a run scored. Yoan Moncada went 1 for 5 at the plate, but committed his fourth error in the field in just his seventh game.
Reed Riley picked up the victory, despite allowing seven hits and a pair of home runs, albeit of the solo variety. Riley allowed three runs, two of which were earned, struck out four and walked one. Michael Gunn struck out three in two innings of relief, while Carlos Pinales earned his second save of the year with two scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
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Player of the Night: Ty Buttrey is now 4-0 with a 2.40 ERA since being promoted to Salem. It was Buttrey's fourth outing of the season between Greenville and Salem in which he did not allow a walk. SoxProspects.com columnist Jon Meoli tweeted that Buttrey's outing was "impressive" and a "big step forward for him."
Photo Credit: Ty Buttrey by Kelly O'Connor
Photo Credit: Ty Buttrey by Kelly O'Connor