July 2, 2015 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Devers hits clutch homer, GCL Sox remain unbeaten
7/2 Cup of Coffee: It was a rough night on the farm, with the GCL Red Sox being the only team to come away with a victory. All seven of the remaining teams lost, but saw some good offensive performances from Rafael Devers, Rusney Castillo, and Kevin Heller (pictured). Reed Reilly also continued his nice season for Greenville.
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Steven Wright didn't have his best outing today as the PawSox dropped this one 8-4. Wright was knocked around for 10 hits and six runs (three earned), pushing his ERA with Pawtucket up to 3.00. Pawtucket briefly took the lead in the third inning when Travis Shaw singled in a pair of runs but the Red Wings were able to grab those runs right back, and held on for the remainder of the night. Jeff Bianchi had a nice night at the plate, going 2 for 3 with a walk and a triple. Rusney Castillo also had a pair of hits, raising his batting average with Pawtucket to .310. Noe Ramirez pitched a scoreless inning to lower his ERA to 2.42 on the year.
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Luck has not been on Luis' Diaz side in 2015, and it showed again against the Fisher Cats. Diaz pitched well, going six innings and giving up just two earned runs, but he took the loss and moved to 0-7 on the year. The Sea Dogs scattered seven hits, including two doubles, but went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position. Marco Hernandez, recently named to the Eastern League All-Star team, had an impressive night by going 2 for 4 with a double. His batting average now stands at .313. John Cornely and Miguel Celestino combined for three shutout innings in relief.
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Salem was able to pound out 15 hits and seven runs against the Pelicans, but came up short in the end. The Red Sox took a 4-0 lead in the third when Kevin Heller, who went 4 for 5, smacked a two-run single. Ty Buttrey was unable to hold the lead however, as he was tagged for seven hits and seven runs (five earned) in five innings. Jordan Betts and Jose Vinicio each went 3 for 4 at the plate, while Tzu-Wei Lin and Wendell Rijo each added two hits. Kyle Kraus worked three innings of solid relief, giving up zero earned runs.
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The Drive dropped a wild one in 10 innings that saw most of the scoring come in the late innings. Greenville went up 2-0 in the fourth on back-to-back RBI doubles from Javier Guerra and Joseph Monge. After the Crawdads posted single tallies in the eight and ninth innings, Rafael Devers stepped up big time in the 10th inning, blasting a go-ahead solo home run. However, Ryan Harris was unable to preserve the lead, blowing the save and giving up two runs. Despite the blown save, Harris still has a 1.90 ERA this year. Reed Reilly pitched very well though, going 6 2/3 innings and giving up just four hits and no runs. He walked none and struck out five.
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The Spinners were unable to get much offense going in this one. They scattered seven singles and were unable to score until the eighth inning. Luis Alexander Basabe had the only multi-hit game, going 2 for 4. Daniel Gonzalez took the loss, going four innings and giving up five runs (two earned). He was not helped by his defense, who made three errors. Recent draft pick Ben Taylor impressed in his relief appearance by striking out five in two scoreless innings. Randy Perez also had a pair of scoreless innings.
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The GCL Red Sox have yet to lose in 2015, running their winning streak to nine games. The game was pieced together on the pitching side, with Daniel McGrath, Pat Goetze, and Yankory Pimentel each going two innings, while Carlos Caceres went three innings. They combined to strike out 10 and not give up an earned run. Caceres had five of the 10 strikeouts, and Pimentel earned his third save of the season and has yet to give up an earned run. Rafael Oliveras provided most of the offense by going 2 for 3 with two singles, two RBI, and a sacrifice fly.
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The first DSL Red Sox team made a late push, but the deficit was too much. Junior Espinoza didn't have it today, going just three innings and allowing four earned runs. He was relieved by Edilson Batista, who pitched well and went five innings and allowed two earned runs. The number four and five hitters, Hemerson Serven and Marino Campana provided most of the offense, as each player went 2 for 3 with a walk. Campana added two RBI. Roberto Medino also added a scoreless inning.
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The second DSL team for the Red Sox received some good pitching, but did nothing offensively. Victor Garcia and Ryan Oduber each went four innings and combined to give up just three hits and one run. Rafael Toribio had a perfect day at the dish, going 2 for 2 with two walks.
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Player of the Night: Kevin Heller continued his good season with Salem by going 4 for 5 with four RBI. He is now batting .310/.397/.437 for Salem this year. Heller began the year in Portland after being promoted there from Salem last August. He was sent back down to Salem in early May and has produced for them ever since.
Photo Credit: Kevin Heller by Kelly O'Connor