August 5, 2015 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Cecchini and Rijo perform well in losses
8/5 Cup of Coffee: There were some impressive individual performances last night, led by Garin Cecchini (pictured) and Wendell Rijo who each reached base four times. Mike McCarthy had a strong showing in Portland's loss, but that was overshadowed by Manuel Margot leaving the game after being hit by a pitch. Trey Ball was roughed up again in Salem, while both Basabe brothers had strong showings in the lower levels of the system.
-----
Cecchini tried to single-handedly carry the offense, but the team fell short in a 3-1 loss. Zeke Spruill turned in a quality start, allowing three runs over six innings, but it was not enough to avoid his eighth loss of the season. Jonathan Aro struck out three over two shutout innings, as he continues to put up good strikeout numbers out of the Pawtucket bullpen.
Aside from Cecchini and Marco Hernandez, there was not much going on offensively for the PawSox. Cecchini went 3 for 3 with a double and a walk, and Hernandez added two hits. Sandy Leon and Allen Craig each went 1 for 4, and they were the only other batters to record a hit.
-----
After being acquired at the deadline for Yoenis Cespedes, Michael Fulmer shut down the Sea Dogs in his debut with the SeaWolves. Mike McCarthy did his best to keep Portland in the game, as he allowed only two runs, one earned, over seven innings. After struggling mightily in the beginning of the year, McCarthy has been great since the middle of May, pitching to a 1.96 ERA over his last 64 1/3 innings.
The biggest story from this game is Manuel Margot, who had to leave the game after being hit by a pitch in the arm. There is no word yet on the status of his injury. Sam Travis and Carlos Asuaje had two of Portland's four hits, with Travis's double extending his hitting streak to 11 games.
-----
The wheels fell off for Trey Ball in the fourth, as he dropped to 8-9 on the season. Ball faced the minimum over the first three innings, but then gave up three hits and two walks in the fourth as the Keys scored four times. In all, he allowed five runs over 5 1/3 innings, walking five and striking out three.
Wendell Rijo led the way going 3 for 4 with a walk, and Kevin Heller and Jordan Procyshen each went 2 for 4 in the losing effort.
-----
Behind the arms of Ben Taylor and Kuehl McEachern, the Drive snuck away with a win. Taylor went the first five innings, giving up two runs on five hits while striking out four. For those of you who are not familiar with Taylor, SoxProspects.com Assistant Director of Scouting Chaz Fiorino wrote about him in the most recent edition of The Write-Up. McEachern followed with four shutout innings, adding four strikeouts of his own.
Yoan Moncada and Michael Chavis each had one hit and an RBI, and David Sopilka hit a solo home run to break a tie in the seventh.
-----
After being unexpectedly called upon, the Spinners bullpen was outstanding the whole night. Jake Cosart struck out the side in the first inning, but was pulled from the game before the start of the second for unknown reasons. Enfember Martinez came on and allowed only one run in his 4 2/3 innings, and Edwar Garcia tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Spinners only managed four hits, but scored five times thanks to four walks and three errors. Luis Alexander Basabe went 2 for 3 with a double and a walk, and Andrew Benintendi added a sacrifice fly and an outfield assist at home.
-----
In the completion of a suspended game, the Red Sox were able to easily defeat the Rays. Jalen Williams allowed one hit over the first two innings, as he lowered his ERA to 0.93. Pat Goetze and Algenis Martinez combined to go the final seven innings, with each pitcher allowing one run as they tallied nine strikeouts.
All but one starter had at least one hit, led by Tyler Hill who went 3 for 4 with a double. Luis Alejandro Basabe, Trent Kemp, and Yoan Aybar each went 2 for 4, and Jerry Downs went 2 for 3 with a double and two walks. In his second start of his rehab assignment, Sean Coyle had one hit and struck out twice in his five at-bats.
The second game of the day was much tighter, with the Red Sox using a dominant relief effort to come away with the win. The Rays got a first inning run off of Josh Pennington after a pair of walks and a throwing error, but that was all they would get. Pennington went the first four innings giving up only one hit, and Yankory Pimentel tossed the final three innings, striking out six while surrendering only one hit without issuing a walk. He struck out six of the last seven batters he faced.
In his first appearance since July 21, Jagger Rusconi went 1 for 2 with a triple and a walk. Yomar Valentin also went 1 for 2 with a walk, and Chris Madera knocked in the go-ahead run with a third inning single that proved to be the difference.
-----
A three-run seventh inning helped the Red Sox overcome a two-run deficit to beat the Mariners. Christopher Acosta gave up two runs in the first four innings, then Nicolo Clemente and Francisco Tena went the next five innings, allowing one run while striking out five.
Of the team's five hits, three came from Eddy Reynoso, who had two singles and launched his third home run of the year. Down by one with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh, an error by the Mariners second baseman allowed two runs to score to give the Red Sox the lead.
Everything went right for the second Red Sox squad, as they pummeled the Brewers. Darwinzon Hernandez improved to 4-0, tossing six shutout innings as his ERA dropped to 1.46. Hernandez has now gone 18 2/3 innings since allowing his last earned run, walking four and striking out 13 over that span. It was more of the same from Jervis Torrealba, who went three scoreless innings to pick up his third save.
Lorenzo Cedrola's four hits led the offensive attack, and Freiberg Marin went 2 for 3 with a double and a walk out of the nine-spot in the lineup. Juan Barriento had two hits and drove in two runs, and Rafael Toribio raised his average over .300 with a 3 for 5 performance.
-----
Player of the Night: Garin Cecchini was on base four times as he continues to swing a hot bat for the PawSox, Over his last 80 at-bats, Cecchini is now batting .342, with nine walks and 17 strikeouts. Though he has only four extra-base hits, the high batting average and on-base percentage are good signs as the 24-year-old continues to make strides in Triple A.
Photo Credit: Garin Cecchini by Kelly O'Connor