June 18, 2015 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Travis, Wilkerson lead Salem to win, Craig homers
6/18 Cup of Coffee: It was a rough night on the farm, as the Salem Red Sox and the DSL Red Sox2 were the only victorious teams. Sam Travis (pictured) had a good night and blasted his fifth home run. Aaron Wilkerson also put together another strong outing, tossing six shutout innings. Allen Craig homered for the second time in four games for Pawtucket. Rafael Devers also hit a pinch-hit home run in a Greenville loss.
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Pawtucket's bats were alive in this one, but the bullpen let a late lead slip away in a tough loss. Jess Todd started the back-and-forth affair and went just four innings while allowing two earned runs. The PawSox got down 2-0 but answered right back when Luke Montz hit a two-run homer to tie things up. A Bryce Brentz sacrifice fly gave the PawSox the lead, but Charlotte went right back ahead 4-3. Allen Craig knotted things up with his third home run for Pawtucket. The PawSox took a 5-4 lead in the seventh when Brentz drove in Jackie Bradley Jr. with a single. Bradley Jr. roped his 17th double of the year to begin the frame.
Zeke Spruill took the loss after going 3 1/3 innings and giving up four earned runs. Noe Ramirez also blew the save chance after surrendering a three-run homer to the first batter he faced in the eighth. Travis Shaw, Humberto Quintero, and Mike Miller each added two hits.
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The Sea Dogs and starting pitcher Heri Quevedo got down 2-0 in the first inning, and that would prove to be enough for the Mets. Quevedo finished the game going just three innings and giving up all three runs. The Portland bullpen was nails, as Mike McCarthy, Miguel Celestino, and Jorge Marban combined to go the final six innings, giving up just two hits and zero walks. The Portland offense could never get going, managing just five hits and one run. Aneury Tavarez went 2 for 3 and scored a run, while Carlos Asuaje went 1 for 3 with a walk and the lone RBI. David Chester also added a two-bagger.
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This was a great night all the way around for Salem. Pitchers did not allow a run and the offense put up 12 hits and seven runs. Aaron Wilkerson continued his dominance with Salem, giving up just two hits and one walk in a six-inning, scoreless effort. He lowered his ERA with Salem to 1.55 and has now allowed one or fewer earned runs in eight of his nine appearances with Salem.
Sam Travis led the way offensively, going 2 for 4 with two runs, two RBI, and his fifth home run of the season. Yoilan Cerse went 3 for 4 with a double and Kevin Heller added a pair of hits and two walks in five plate appearances. Jordan Weems also blasted his first long-ball of the campaign.
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The Drive lost a tight one late, as the bullpen couldn't preserve a tie game after Rafael Devers came up big. With the Drive down 2-1 in the top of the eighth, Rafael Devers was sent up as a pinch-hitter and promptly tied the game with a blast to right field. Mario Alcantara, who has been having a terrific season, saw a bump in the road as he gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in the bottom half of the eighth. Mauricio Dubon had two hits and swiped his 18th bag of the season while Derek Miller had a three hit night. Yoan Moncada also stole his fourth base of the season.
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DSL Rojos (CIN) 8, DSL Red Sox 0
It was a rough night all the way around for the DSL Red Sox. Starting pitcher Christopher Acosta took his third loss of the year, going four innings and allowing 10 hits and four earned runs. Edilson Batista pitched well in relief, as he went three innings and gave up just one unearned run. Hildemaro Requena allowed two unearned runs in his lone innings of work. The unearned runs came on three errors committed by the Red Sox. Jose Zacarias had a solid inning, striking out the side while walking one. Offensively, the Red Sox managed just five singles and were unable push anybody across. They went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position.
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DSL Red Sox2 4, DSL Braves (ATL) 0
The DSL Red Sox2 didn't fare much better. Denyi Reyes continued his dominance on the mound and went six shutout innings. He struck out six and walked none, moving his record to 3-0. His ERA was lowered to 0.90 for the season. Jose Gonzalez came on for a three-inning save, allowing zero runs. Lorenzo Cedroia went 3 for 5 with an RBI, moving his batting average up to .319 on the year. Juan Hernandez also had three hits and an RBI. His average is now .342. Rafael Toribio also added a triple. The DSL Red Sox2 were aggressive on the bases again, swiping four bags. Hernandez had two, pushing his season total to six, and Toribio and Cedroia each had one as well. They now have nine and eight steals, respectively.
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DSL Rojos (CIN) 8, DSL Red Sox 0
It was a rough night all the way around for the DSL Red Sox. Starting pitcher Christopher Acosta took his third loss of the year, going four innings and allowing 10 hits and four earned runs. Edilson Batista pitched well in relief, as he went three innings and gave up just one unearned run. Hildemaro Requena allowed two unearned runs in his lone innings of work. The unearned runs came on three errors committed by the Red Sox. Jose Zacarias had a solid inning, striking out the side while walking one. Offensively, the Red Sox managed just five singles and were unable push anybody across. They went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position.
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DSL Red Sox2 4, DSL Braves (ATL) 0
The DSL Red Sox2 didn't fare much better. Denyi Reyes continued his dominance on the mound and went six shutout innings. He struck out six and walked none, moving his record to 3-0. His ERA was lowered to 0.90 for the season. Jose Gonzalez came on for a three-inning save, allowing zero runs. Lorenzo Cedroia went 3 for 5 with an RBI, moving his batting average up to .319 on the year. Juan Hernandez also had three hits and an RBI. His average is now .342. Rafael Toribio also added a triple. The DSL Red Sox2 were aggressive on the bases again, swiping four bags. Hernandez had two, pushing his season total to six, and Toribio and Cedroia each had one as well. They now have nine and eight steals, respectively.
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Player of the Night: Aaron Wilkerson was recently named the SoxProspects.com Player of the Month for May, and he is showing now that it wasn't a fluke. Wilkerson worked six innings of shutout baseball to move to 3-0 with Salem.
Photo Credit: Sam Travis by Kelly O'Connor