May 21, 2017 at 8:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Chavis homers twice for Salem
5/21 Cup of Coffee: It was another great night for Michael Chavis as he continues to battle with teammate Trenton Kemp to see who can put up more impressive offensive numbers. Brian Johnson pitched well for the PawSox, and Rusney Castillo went deep again.
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A double from Brian Bogusevic in the top of the ninth proved to be the difference as the PawSox outlasted the Bisons. Brian Johnson notched his fourth straight quality start, allowing three runs, two earned, over 7 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out five while surrendering seven hits. His WHIP now sits at 1.34 and batters are hitting just .253 against him. Austin Maddox picked up his first Triple-A victory, throwing 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Rusney Castillo put the PawSox on the board with a two-run home run, his third in his last four games. He is 8 for 21 over that stretch, and his OPS for the season is up to .779. Pablo Sandoval went 1 for 3 in his second rehab appearance, while Brock Holt went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts.
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A dominant performance from the Portland bullpen highlighted the extra-inning victory. Kevin McAvoy allowed two runs and struck out six over six innings, while the bullpen combined to throw eight innings of two-hit ball. Jacob Dahlstrand and Luis Ysla each threw two innings, and Josh Smith picked up the win with three scoreless innings.
Six players recorded multiple hits for the Sea Dogs, led by Danny Mars who went 2 for 5 with a triple and two walks. Josh Tobias and Mike Olt each went 2 for 5 with a double and a walk, and Heiker Meneses drove in the winning run with a bases-loaded walk.
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Seven strong innings from Matthew Kent and more offensive fireworks from Michael Chavis were enough for the Red Sox to beat the Pelicans. Chavis went 3 for 4 with a double and two home runs, his system-best ninth and 10th of the season. Trenton Kemp went 4 for 5 with a stolen base as he raised his batting line to .404/.460/.632, and Mike Meyers went 2 for 5 with two singles. Kemp now has multiple hits in each of his last four starts.
Kent improved to 3-2 with seven innings of two-run ball, and Adam Lau closed it out with two shutout innings. Kent continued to generate a lot of ground balls, with 13 of his outs coming from groundouts and four coming from flyouts.
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Greenville took an early lead and never looked back as they tripled up the Tourists. The 15-hit attack was led by Isaias Lucena, who went 3 for 4 with a double and drove in four runs. The four RBI set a career-high, and three of them came in on a bases-clearing double. Chris Madera also had three hits, Tyler Hill went 2 for 5 with a stolen base and two runs scored, and Mitchell Gunsolus went 2 for 3 with a walk and a stolen base.
Darwinzon Hernandez, Matthew Gorst, and Algenis Martinez threw three innings apiece, with Martinez finding the most success. He picked up the save and allowed only two hits without giving up a run.
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Player of the Night: Michael Chavis has taken his game to a new level this season, as he is currently batting .347/.432/.719 with 10 home runs and 34 RBI. The former first-round pick has dealt with inconsistency in the past, but in 32 games this season he has been one of the best hitters in the Carolina League. This was the second multi-homer game of the year for Chavis as he fell one short of the three he hit on April 19 against Wilmington.
Photo Credit: Michael Chavis by Kelly O'Connor