July 9, 2016 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Workman shelled in first rehab outing, Moncada homers
Cup of Coffee 7/9: The DSL Red Sox teams were the only affiliates to pick up wins Friday, each continuing to beat up on Dominican League competition. Portland’s Yoan Moncada (pictured) and Lowell’s Tyler Hill kept up their hot streaks at the plate in losing efforts. MLB reliever Brandon Workman had an ugly first rehab outing for Lowell.
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Rain cut short Eduardo Rodriguez’s second start since returning to Triple-A after three innings. Rodriguez surrendered a pair of two-out RBI hits in the first inning but had retired seven of the last eight batters he faced before the rain came. Singles from Chris Marrero and Dan Butler were Pawtucket’s only offense. The game will be resumed as the front end of a doubleheader Saturday.
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For the second night in a row, Yoan Moncada provided the crowd with a souvenir, hitting a sixth-inning shot to right-center. The home run briefly tied the game at one, but Hartford scored a pair off of Taylor Grover in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead for good. The Sea Dogs only other run came in the seventh when Rainel Rosario grounded out to bring home Jake Romanski, who had doubled. Starter Jalen Beeks was strong through five innings, allowing just one run on three hits. Grover pitched the final three innings and picked up the loss. Moncada finished the night 2 for 4, as did Andrew Benintendi. Romanski, Cole Sturgeon, and Mauricio Dubon each contributed a hit and accounted for the rest of Portland’s offensive output.
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The Hillcats scored three runs in the first and eventually hung seven runs on starter Matt Kent. Lynchburg added one unearned run off Mario Alcantara, who pitched the next two innings before Jorge Marban tossed a clean frame. The Red Sox offense mustered only two runs in response, losing their fifth game in a row. A bases-loaded walk by Jordan Betts and a single by David Sopilka pushed across the Salem runs in the seventh inning. Shortstop Jose Sermo was the only Red Sox to pick up multiple hits, going 2 for 4 with two singles. Reed Gragnani and Rafael Devers each went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts out of two and three spots in the lineup.
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Greenville rallied with three runs in the eighth inning to tie the game at four, but Lexington responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to sink the Drive. Dedgar Jimenez overcame a rocky start to complete five innings of three-run ball. Austin Glorius allowed one run over the next two innings of work to keep the game close, but Victor Diaz surrendered three runs in his only inning to take the loss. The Drive offense managed only five hits (all singles) in the game but drew six walks and bunched their hits into their eighth inning rally. A walk and three singles opened the inning, including an RBI hit by Luis Alejandro Basabe. Michael Chavis finished his 1-for-2 night with two walks, and Derek Miller chipped in a single, RBI and run scored.
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Lowell held a 1-0 lead after five innings thanks to an RBI groundout from Ryan Scott and five shutout innings from starter Daniel Gonzalez. But the wheels fell off when rehabbing reliever Brandon Workman entered the game in the sixth. Workman allowed four runs on a double, single and two walks without retiring a batter in the inning. Gonzalez’s outing was his second scoreless start in a row, and the 20-year-old owns a 1.88 ERA since joining Lowell after struggling in Greenville to start the year. Tyler Hill improved on his .343 average with a 1-for-2 day that included a triple, a hit-by-pitch, and a run scored. Scott accounted for both of Lowell’s RBI with a single and a groundout while Matt McLean was the only Spinner to register multiple hits, going 2 for 4.
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Early errors doomed the GCL Red Sox, as the team surrendered six unearned runs in the first three innings to allow the Twins to run away with the game. Starter Max Watt did not help the cause, walking four in his 1+ inning of work. Relievers Ryan Oduber, Jordan Weems and Hunter Smith each pitched multiple innings without allowing an earned run. Shortstop Imeldo Diaz was the offensive star for the Red Sox, finishing 4 for 5 with a double and two RBI. His middle infield partner Yomar Valentin also had a big night, going 2 for 3 with a walk and run scored.
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The Red Sox used a huge ninth inning to pick up their 24th win in the season’s first 30 games. Trailing 2-1 entering the final inning, the Red Sox plated seven runs in the top half to run away with the victory. Three Red Sox finished with 3-for-5 nights: Kervin Suarez, Eddy Reynoso, and Ramfis Berroa. They each drove home a run, and Reynoso’s rally-starting, ninth-inning double was the team’s only extra-base hit of the night. Alejandro Rodriguez continued his impressive start to the year, tossing five innings of one-run ball and actually raising his ERA to 1.59. Junior Figueroa allowed one run in two innings of relief, and Juan Florentino got the final three outs without allowing a run.
The second Red Sox team has been just as dominant as the first, winning Friday to improve their record to 23-6. Great pitching keyed the victory as three Red Sox combined to allow just seven hits and one walk while striking out nine batters. Jose Gonzalez improved to 4-0 with five strong innings, allowing one run on four hits. Victor Familia tossed the next three frames without surrendering a run and Joan Martinez nailed down the save with a clean ninth. Offensively, consecutive doubles from Everlouis Lozada and Pedro Castellanos, followed by a single from Kleiber Rodriguez, pushed across two runs in the first inning. The runs were the difference in the game, but a Fabian Andrade RBI single added an insurance run in the sixth.
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Player of the Night: The pickings were slim on a rough night for the Red Sox farm system, but Yoan Moncada showed why he was recently named MLB’s top prospect by Baseball America. After Moncada’s first bid for an RBI, a third-inning single, was thwarted when Rainel Rosario was thrown out at the plate, he didn’t take any chances later in the game, blasting one over the wall in right-center. Moncada now has hits in his last eight games and home runs in the last two. His line with Portland is up to .328/.366/.657, but he has shown some vulnerability batting from the right side, where he has hit a more modest .253/.376/.338.
Photo Credit: Yoan Moncada by Kelly O'Connor