September 6, 2016 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Regular season comes to an end
9/6 Cup of Coffee: The 2016 season came to an end for Pawtucket, Portland, and Greenville, while Salem and Lowell will move on to the playoffs. The DSL Red Sox1 held on to beat the DSL Rangers1 and take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series for the DSL title. Henry Owens (pictured) and Bryce Brentz helped Pawtucket go out with a victory, while Mauricio Dubon ended the season on hot streak for Portland.
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Henry Owens ended the minor league season on the right foot, leading the PawSox as they doubled up the Bisons. Owens allowed two runs, one earned, over 6 2/3 innings, striking out five while walking three. He ends the season with a 10-7 record and a 3.53 ERA, though his 81 walks in 137 2/3 innings will be a key development point as he looks ahead to 2017. Kyle Martin finished the game with 2 1/3 scoreless innings as he picked up his sixth save.
A three-run home run from Bryce Brentz in the first inning was all the pitching staff would need. Brentz finished the day 1 for 4 with two strikeouts. Jose Vinicio went 2 for 3 with a double and a run scored, Allen Craig went 1 for 2 with a triple and a walk, and Rusney Castillo added a single and scored a run.
Pawtucket finished the season 74-68, which was good for fourth place in the North division.
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A long season for the Sea Dogs came to an end as they finish the year 55-84. Mike McCarthy started the game with four shutout innings, but New Hampshire got to Taylor Grover for two runs over his two innings as he dropped to 2-5 on the season. Ty Buttrey added a scoreless inning of relief with two strikeouts.
Mauricio Dubon continued his hot streak, going 2 for 4 to raise his average with Portland to .339. Cody Decker went 1 for 4 with a double and three strikeouts, and Danny Bethea went 1 for 2 with a double and an RBI.
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Salem's offense could not get anything going as they fell to the Hillcats. Jeffry Fernandez surrendered four runs in the first inning, and he lasted only through the second as his ERA with Salem rose to 5.79. Mario Alcantara struck out five over his two shutout innings, and Trevor Kelley struck out three over two scoreless innings.
Salem managed only three hits with Rafael Devers going 1 for 3 with a walk, and Jose Sermo and Deiner Lopez each adding singles. Salem will now take on Myrtle Beach (CHC) in the first round of the playoffs, with the series starting Wednesday night.
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Enmanuel De Jesus had a rough end to his season, allowing four runs on five hits over four innings. Kuehl McEachern kept West Virginia off the board with two scoreless innings, but Adam Lau allowed two more runs over two innings.
After being held scoreless over the first eight innings, the Drive erupted to score four runs in the ninth, but it still was not enough. Jeremy Rivera's two-run double was the big hit of the inning, and he finished the day 2 for 4. Derek Miller went 2 for 5 out of the leadoff spot, and Josh Ockimey went 1 for 4 with a run scored.
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Lowell's bullpen blew a late lead, as the Lake Monsters stormed back to beat the Spinners. Darwinzon Hernandez was let down by his defense and control, as he allowed three runs, one earned, over three innings, while walking three and allowing two hits. Jared Oliver, Dioscar Romero, and Algenis Martinez combined to throw four innings of one-run ball, but Brad Stone was tagged for five runs over only 2/3 of an inning. He only allowed one hit, but walked four and was hurt by an error.
The Spinners jumped out to an early lead, as Carlos Tovar launched a three-run home run in the second inning. They took the lead again in the seventh on an RBI single from Matt McLean, but it quickly evaporated in the next inning. C.J. Chatham went 1 for 4 with a double, Victor Acosta went 2 for 4 with a double, while Bobby Dalbec went 1 for 4 with two strikeouts and two errors.
Lowell will open the playoffs as the third seed, hosting the Hudson Valley Renegades (TBR) in Lowell on Wednesday night.
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The DSL Red Sox1 are now one step away from the DSL title, holding on to beat the DSL Rangers1. Juan Perez picked up the win by allowing only an unearned run over five innings, striking out three while allowing only two hits. Oddanier Mosqueda finished it off with four scoreless innings, striking out six without allowing a walk.
Both of the Red Sox runs came in the fifth inning, with Ramfis Berroa and Willis Figueroa hitting back-to-back doubles, and Luis Hernandez following with an RBI single. Ricardo Cubillan and Marino Campana also added singles.
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Player of the Night: With few standout performances stateside, Oddanier Mosqueda holding a one-run lead in the DSL Championship Series was enough to earn him the Player of the Night honors. The 17-year-old left-hander from Venezuela was dominant out of the bullpen as he followed up his strong regular season. He struck out 54 in only 42 innings while walking 19 and allowing 26 hits for a WHIP of 1.07.
Photo Credit: Henry Owens by Kelly O'Connor