Cup of Coffee: Cuevas dazzles as PawSox walk off against Mud Hens

6/9 Cup of Coffee: The lone affiliate victory on Wednesday came in walk-off fashion as the PawSox ended up on the right end of a pitcher's duel. Elsewhere, it was a light night offensively in Portland and Greenville as both teams dropped relatively close contests. The DSL RedSox2 took their first loss of the young season, as their offense couldn't mount a comeback. 

Pawtucket Red Sox 2, Toledo Mud Hens 1 (DET)

A pitcher's duel broke the PawSox way as they walked off victorious after an adventurous ninth inning. William Cuevas (pictured, right), in the longest outing of his professional career (eight innings), allowed just one run on four hits and two walks, striking out five. Noe Ramirez pitched a scoreless inning of relief, and ended up picking up his first victory of the season.

The game was scoreless until the bottom of the fifth, when Henry Ramos brought home Chris Dominguez with a sacrifice fly. Toledo quickly knotted the game, 1-1, in the top half of the sixth. Things remained quiet until the bottom of the ninth. Ryan LaMarre led off with a walk, moved to second on a balk, and advanced to third on a fly out. After Chris Marrero was intentionally walked, Dominguez hit a grounder to third that was muffed, allowing LaMarre to scamper home with the winning run. The PawSox will look to take the series as they wrap up the four-game set with Toledo at 11:05 a.m. today.

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Bowie Baysox (BAL) 4, Portland Sea Dogs 1

Portland couldn't get much going at the plate, as it fell for the seventh time in eight games. Teddy Stankiewicz dropped to 1-6, allowing four runs on a season-high eleven hits in 5 1/3 innings. Luis Ysla pitched well in relief, submitting a perfect 2 2/3 innings, striking out five. Chandler Shepherd tossed a scoreless ninth inning. The lone run of the game for the Sea Dogs came on a solo shot from Nate Freiman in the seventh.

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Kannapolis Intimidators (CHW) 3, Greenville Drive 2

An early back-and-forth contest ended in favor of the Intimidators as the Drive managed just three hits. Jose Almonte drew the start, hurling five innings. He allowed two runs on five hits and three walks in a no decision. Jake Cosart took the loss, allowing the game's winning run while striking out four in two innings of relief. Down, 1-0, in the second, Greenville knotted the score on an Austin Rei RBI ground out. After Kannapolis took a 2-1 lead in the fourth, Jeremy Rivera scurried home on a wild pitch in the fifth to tie the score, 2-2. The Intimidators grabbed the lead in the sixth, and held the Drive without a base runner the rest of the way.

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DSL Rangers2 (TEX) 4, DSL Red Sox2 1

The Rangers captured their first victory of the young season thanks to a three-run fifth inning. Bryan Mata received the start for the Red Sox, allowing three runs on five hits while striking out five in 4 2/3 innings. Victor Familia and Francisco Tena each added 1 1/3 innings of relief. The Red Sox took a 1-0 lead in the third on a Pedro Castellanos RBI single. The lead held until the fifth, when the Rangers plated three on a two-run home run and an RBI single. The Red Sox never really threatened after that, as they had just two hits after the third inning. 

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Player of the Night: William Cuevas, who was magnificent in Pawtucket's 2-1 victory, gets the nod. He tossed eight innings, allowing just one run on four hits and two walks while striking out five in a no decision. The 25-year-old right-hander has been stellar since returning after a brief call-up to Boston, compiling a 1.95 ERA in his last eight starts. 

Photo Credit: William Cuevas by Kelly O'Connor

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