August 9, 2015 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Moncada leads Greenville in win
8/9 Cup of Coffee: Yoan Moncada (pictured) was terrific again for the Greenville Drive, hitting a home run and stealing two more bases. Michael Chavis and Nick Longhi also had homers. On the pitching side, Kevin Steen and Ty Buttrey put together great starts. Luis Alexander Basabe walked it off for Lowell and the GCL and DSL Red Sox all received tremendous pitching performances.
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The PawSox attempted a comeback in the eighth inning, but fell just short. Sandy Leon, now hitting .367 for Pawtucket, went 2 for 4 with a double and two RBI. Marco Hernandez also went 2 for 4 and Allen Craig added an RBI with a sacrifice fly. Quintin Berry had a nice game as well, drawing two walks and throwing out a runner at second base from right field.
Shawn Haviland made his first start for Pawtucket and went five innings while allowing eight hits, two walks, and four earned runs. Tommy Layne, Jonathan Aro, and Ryan Cook combined for four shutout innings out of the bullpen.
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The Sea Dogs jumped out to a 2-0 lead after an inning, but were unable to finish it off. Luis Diaz started for Portland and allowed three runs (two earned) in 5 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out three. John Cornely pitched well out of the bullpen, striking out two in 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Jorge Marban has been solid for Portland all year, but took the loss, giving up two runs (one earned) in 1 1/3 innings.
Keury De La Cruz had a good game offensively, going 3 for 3 with three singles. Tim Roberson and Sam Travis each went 1 for 4 with an RBI and Carlos Asuaje went 1 for 4 with a run and his ninth stolen base.
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Salem dropped a 1-0 pitchers' duel, with the only tally coming in the first inning. Ty Buttrey started and pitched very well, allowing the one earned run in 6 1/3 innings. He punched out four and walked one. Chandler Sheperd also pitched well out of the bullpen, throwing 1 2/3 innings of shutout ball.
The offense was silent for the most part, collecting just three singles and two walks. Cole Sturgeon led the way with a 2-for-3 day.
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The Drive broke out offensively, led by the top two hitters in the their order, Yoan Moncada and Michael Chavis. Moncada did it all, as he went 3 for 5 with a double, a home run, two RBI, two runs, and two stolen bases. Chavis blasted his 12th homer as part of a 2 for 4 night. Nick Longhi also hit his sixth home run of the year, a three-run shot. Joseph Monge and Bryan Hudson each went 2 for 4.
Luis Ramos started and earned a win for his efforts. He went five innings and allowed just one run on four hits. He did not walk anybody and struck out two. Michael Gunn had a rough time in relief. He allowed four earned runs and was pulled after 1 1/3 innings. Kuehl McEachern relieved Gunn and gave up a double to allow an inherited runner to score, but he was great after that and earned his ninth save after going 2 2/3 innings while allowing no earned runs.
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The Spinners entered the bottom of the ninth trailing by a run, but mounted a rally and won on a walk-off two-run single from Luis Alexander Basabe. The offense loaded up the bases to start the ninth after Josh Ockimey led off with a single. Mitchell Gunsolus then reached on an error and Austin Rei walked before Basabe's big hit. Basabe also added a double earlier in the game.
Kevin Steen pitched well, starting and going six innings while surrendering just one run and only two hits. He walked three and struck out five. Check out SoxProspects.com's Matt Huegel's Twitter feed for more information on Steen's outing. Taylor Nunez also pitched well in relief, striking out two in two scoreless innings. He lowered his ERA to 2.01. Bobby Poyner was credited with the win despite giving up the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth.
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The GCL Red Sox beat the GCL Twins in Game One behind another solid performance from Yankory Pimentel. He threw four shutout innings, striking out five and walking nobody. Algenis Martinez struggled and took his first loss, allowing three earned runs in two innings. Adam Lau picked up the save with a scoreless ninth.
Andy Perez reached all four times, going 3 for 3 with a walk. Yoan Aybar smacked a double, Chris Madera went 2 for 3, and Tyler Spoon singled and knocked in a pair of runs.
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The GCL Red Sox shutout the GCL Twins in a seven-inning affair in game two. Jalen Williams pitched very well again, going five scoreless innings. He gave up five hits, a walk, and struck out four. He is now 3-0 with a 0.74 ERA in 24 1/3 innings this year. Nick Duron picked up his second save with two shutout frames. He also punched out four.
Roldani Baldwin led the offense by going 2 for 4 with a double. Andy Perez also had a double and Tyler Hill went 1 for 3 with an RBI.
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The DSL Red Sox pitching staff gave up just two singles, but still lost, as the offense was unable to generate much. Alejandro Rodriguez started and went 3 2/3 innings without allowing a run. He gave up the only two hits of the game for the Yankees, walked four and struck out one. Hildemaro Requena pitched 4 1/3 hitless innings, but was still charged with an earned run and a loss. He walked two and struck out four. Francisco Tena tossed a scoreless ninth.
The Red Sox had just five hits, with number nine hitter Eduard Conde going 2 for 3 with a double, which was the only extra-base hit in the entire game.
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The second DSL Red Sox team also got some great pitching and lost. Yorvin Pantoja started and went five innings, giving up just one run. He struck out eight and walked two. Angel Padron then pitched two shutout innings. Luis Rivero was charged with the loss, giving up one run in 1 1/3 innings. The run was unearned however, so his ERA was lowered to 1.02.
Stanley Espinal was the entire offense, providing the only two Red Sox hits, both of which were singles.
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Player of the Night: Yoan Moncada stood out again for Greenville. He has been scorching hot since the All-Star break and he is showing no signs of slowing down. It's seems to be only a matter of time before he is called up to Salem. He showed off all his tools last night, collecting three hits, including a home run and a double. He also showcased his speed with two more stolen bases, giving him 31 on the season while being caught just twice. His batting average is up to .290 on the year.
Photo Credit: Yoan Moncada by Kelly O'Connor