August 13, 2015 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Anderson Espinoza dominates again for GCL Red Sox
8/13 Cup of Coffee: There was some great pitching all throughout the system last night. Anderson Espinoza stood out again, tossing four more scoreless innings. Jalen Beeks also was tremendous in Greenville's tough loss. Edwin Escobar stood out for Pawtucket. The bullpens for Portland, Salem, the DSL Red Sox, and the GCL Red Sox also showed very well. Manuel Margot (pictured) showed off his tools again for the Sea Dogs.
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The PawSox dropped a heartbreaker to Scranton in 12 innings. Edwin Escobar made his second start with the PawSox and went five innings for the first time this season. He pitched well, allowing just one earned run on three hits during his five innings. He walked two and struck out two. Jonathan Aro was charged with a blown save, as he gave up two earned runs in his 2 2/3 innings pitched. Pat Light tossed 2 1/3 shutout innings despite walking three batters and not striking anybody out. Heath Hembree took the loss, as he gave up the winning run in the 12th.
Quintin Berry smashed his third home run of the year, a two-run shot in the first inning to put Pawtucket on top. Allen Craig went 2 for 5 with a double and Mike Miller added a two-bagger. Humberto Quintero also had a pair of hits.
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With Portland leading 3-0 after four innings, the SeaWolves came back with a four-run fifth inning, which proved to be the knockout blow in the seven-inning game. Aaron Wilkerson made his second start for Portland and was solid until that fourth inning. He ended up going six innings, allowing four earned runs on six hits. He walked just one and struck out six. Kyle Martin tossed a perfect seventh inning.
Manuel Margot had a solid night, going 1 for 3 with a walk, two stolen bases, and two runs scored. Tim Roberson also had a good night at the dish, as he went 1 for 2 with a walk and a two-run home run.
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The Sea Dogs were able to gain a doubleheader split with a win in game two behind a pair of three-run innings. Aneury Tavarez got the Sea Dogs on the board with a two-run single in the second. Jordan Weems followed with an RBI single of his own. Dustin Lawley added a three-run blast in the third as part of his 2 for 2 night. He also drew a walk. Keury De La Cruz went 2 for 3 with a run scored as well.
Heri Quevedo started and threw two solid innings before running into trouble in the third. He only lasted three innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits, two walks, and two strikeouts. Madison Younginer earned the win in relief by throwing two innings and allowing one earned run. John Cornely picked up the two-inning save without allowing a run.
Make sure to check out SoxProspects.com's Director of Scouting Ian Cundall's Twitter feed for some more notes, as he was at both games. He liked what he saw from Margot, Wilkerson, Martin, and Tzu-Wei Lin's defensive abilities at shortstop.
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The Red Sox were able to hold off the Pelicans behind a solid effort from the bullpen. Kevin McAvoy grabbed his eighth win of the season by going the first five innings and allowing three earned runs on six hits and three walks. He did not strike anybody out. German Taveras went the next two innings and gave up a run. Chandler Shepherd picked up his fourth save by pitching a scoreless two innings to close out the game.
Salem jumped out to an early lead in the second inning when Yoilan Cerse belted a two-run homer, his third of the year. Deiner Lopez and Wendell Rijo each added an RBI single later in the frame. Rijo had another RBI single in the sixth and finished 2 for 4. Lopez finished 3 for 3 out of the nine hole. Forrestt Allday also added a two-bagger.
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The Drive tied the score at two in the bottom of the eighth, but gave the run right back in the ninth and dropped a rough one. Jalen Beeks started and pitched very well for the Drive, going 6 2/3 innings while allowing two runs (one earned) on just three hits. He also walked just one and punched out seven. His ERA is now down to 3.85. Kuehl McEachern has been solid for Greenville this year but took the loss. He gave up the go-ahead run in the ninth, and pitched the final 2 1/3 innings.
It was a tough night offensively for the Drive, picking up just five hits (all singles) and three walks. Michael Chavis went 2 for 4 with a run. Danny Mars went 1 for 4 with an RBI, David Sopilka went 1 for 3 with a walk, and Rafael Devers drew a pair of walks.
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The Spinners came back from a 3-0 deficit to take a 4-3 lead, but were unable to hang on in a sloppy game that featured eight errors, four for each team. Javier Rodriguez started and gave up two runs, but non of them were earned. He went three innings and allowed two hits, four walks, and punched out three. Daniel Gonzalez pitched very well in relief, going four innings and allowing two runs (one earned). He allowed three hits, did not walk anybody, and struck out seven. Trevor Kelley had a tough night, blowing the save and allowing two earned runs and an additional inherited run in the eighth inning.
Chad De La Guerra had a great night offensively, with a two-run triple and an RBI single as part of a 2-for 5-night. Jeremy Rivera went 1 for 3 with a walk, an RBI, and two runs. Austin Rei also went 2 for 4 with a double to push his average over the Mendoza line.
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Anderson Espinoza dominated again. It's starting to become the norm, as the 17-year old flamethrower went four innings, allowing just one hit. He did not walk a batter or give up an earned run. He struck out five. His ERA with the GCL Red Sox is now 0.84 and opposing GCL hitters have a batting average of .184 against him. SoxProspects.com's Chris Hatfield has you covered on the 15 batters Espinoza faced. Nick Duron also continued to dominate, allowing just three hits and a run in four innings of work. He struck out three and did not walk a batter. Algenis Martinez gave up a run in the ninth.
Roldani Baldwin led the offense by going 2 for 3 with a pair of doubles and two RBI. Sean Coyle also went 1 for 3 with a double, a walk, two RBI, and three runs. Jerry Downs went 2 for 4 with two RBI as well.
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The DSL Sox used a three-run sixth inning to pull away from the Orioles. Willis Figueroa did not have a hit, but still managed to be productive, drawing two walks and driving in a pair of runs. Marino Campana and Luis Benoit each had triples. Eddy Reynoso added two hits. The Red Sox drew nine walks in this game, with Eduard Conde also drawing two of them. He added a hit and an RBI as well.
Junior Espinoza got the win and pitched well. He went five innings, allowing two earned runs. He gave up four hits, walked just one, and struck out six. Roberto Medina was terrific out of the bullpen. He went the final four innings and did not allow a run. He walked one batter and gave up just one hit.
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It was a rough game for the second DSL Red Sox team, as the pitching staff allowed eight runs and 17 hits. Ryan Oduber started and allowed eight hits and five earned runs in 3 2/3 innings pitched. Ramses Rosario came in and did not do much better, surrendering seven hits and three runs (two earned) in 2 1/3 innings. Marcos Lantigua put out the fire, going the final three innings without allowing a run. He struck out three and walked one.
Stanley Espinal stood out on offense, going 3 for 4 with an RBI. Lorenzo Cedrola, Juan Hernandez, and Samuel Miranda all reached twice with a hit and a walk each. Marcos Martinez had a pinch-hit single as well.
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Player of the Night: Anderson Espinoza was tremendous again. He pitched four shutout innings for the second consecutive outing. He has now allowed zero earned runs in four innings six times in his eight starts with the GCL Red Sox. He also struck out five batters yesterday or the second consecutive outing, giving him 10 strikeouts and one walk over his last eight innings.
Photo Credit: Manuel Margot by Kelly O'Connor