July 25, 2017 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Hart strikes out 10 in Salem debut
7/25 Cup of Coffee: There were several solid pitching performances on Monday, led by Kyle Hart (pictured), who was dominant in his debut with Salem. Hector Velazquez and Hildemaro Requena also had strong outings, while Tyler Hill, Bobby Dalbec, and Isaias Lucena all went deep for Greenville.
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The PawSox managed only five hits in a shutout loss to the Mud Hens. Matt Dominguez went 2 for 3 with a double and a walk, but the rest of the team went only 3 for 29. Rusney Castillo returned from a brief stint on the disabled list and went 1 for 3 with a walk, extending his hitting streak to six games. Hector Velazquez was the tough-luck loser as he allowed only two runs over seven innings. While he has struggled in Boston this year, Velazquez has been dominant with the PawSox, as his ERA now sits at 1.58 after 74 innings.
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Portland Sea Dogs 8, New Hampshire Fisher Cats (TOR) 4
A three-run home run from Jeremy Barfield was the big hit of the game as the Sea Dogs doubled up the Fisher Cats. Barfield also added a double but struck out in his other three at-bats. Michael Chavis added two singles, and Jake Romanski went 3 for 5 and drove in two runs. Trey Ball gave up 11 hits over five innings but was able to limit the damage to only four runs as he picked up his fourth win of the year. Williams Jerez and Bobby Poyner each struck out three over two shutout innings, and Poyner has now struck out 34 and allowed only one earned run over 25 1/3 innings with Portland.
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Portland Sea Dogs 8, New Hampshire Fisher Cats (TOR) 4
A three-run home run from Jeremy Barfield was the big hit of the game as the Sea Dogs doubled up the Fisher Cats. Barfield also added a double but struck out in his other three at-bats. Michael Chavis added two singles, and Jake Romanski went 3 for 5 and drove in two runs. Trey Ball gave up 11 hits over five innings but was able to limit the damage to only four runs as he picked up his fourth win of the year. Williams Jerez and Bobby Poyner each struck out three over two shutout innings, and Poyner has now struck out 34 and allowed only one earned run over 25 1/3 innings with Portland.
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Monday's game was suspended in the bottom of the sixth due to rain. Kyle Hart was pitching a gem before the rain delay, striking out 10 in 5 2/3 innings. The game will be completed on Tuesday.
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The Drive were able to hold off a late comeback from the Crawdads and escape with a win. Hildemaro Requena entered the game having allowed 10 runs over his last 8 1/3 innings, but he got back on track with five shutout innings. He struck out five and allowed two hits without walking a batter. Matthew Gorst entered the game with the tying run on third and one out in the eighth but he was able to escape the jam and pitch a scoreless ninth for his fourth save.
Tyler Hill was the star offensively, going 2 for 3 with a home run, walk, and a stolen base. It was his sixth home run and his 30th stolen base of the season. Bobby Dalbec and Isaias Lucena also homered, and Santiago Espinal went 2 for 4 with three stolen bases.
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Lowell Spinners 3, Staten Island Yankees (NYY) 2 (12 innings)
An RBI groundout from Nicholos Hamilton in the top of the 12th was the difference in this one as the Spinners beat the first-place Yankees. Yorvin Pantoja went the first five innings, striking out seven and walking two while allowing only one run. Dominic LoBrutto pitched around three walks to hold the Yankees scoreless over 2 1/3 innings, and Juan Florentino allowed one hit and struck out five over three innings. The offense was once again led by Michael Osinski, who went 3 for 5 to raise his average to .350. Marino Campana was the only other player with multiple hits, going 2 for 5.
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Lowell Spinners 3, Staten Island Yankees (NYY) 2 (12 innings)
An RBI groundout from Nicholos Hamilton in the top of the 12th was the difference in this one as the Spinners beat the first-place Yankees. Yorvin Pantoja went the first five innings, striking out seven and walking two while allowing only one run. Dominic LoBrutto pitched around three walks to hold the Yankees scoreless over 2 1/3 innings, and Juan Florentino allowed one hit and struck out five over three innings. The offense was once again led by Michael Osinski, who went 3 for 5 to raise his average to .350. Marino Campana was the only other player with multiple hits, going 2 for 5.
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It was a rough day on all fronts for the Red Sox as they were blown out by the Rays. Aside from Jerry Downs, who went 2 for 3 with two doubles, the team could not get anything going offensively. David Durden's double was the only other extra-base hit, and they managed only five hits on the day. Oddanier Mosqueda was hit hard, giving up four runs, three earned, in four innings, and Kory Behenna gave up four runs while recording only four outs.
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With the game remaining scoreless for the first 10 innings, the Red Sox exploded for seven runs in the top of the 11th. Marcos Martinez and Luis Hernandez each went 2 for 5, and Keibert Petit went 1 for 5 with a double. The pitching was outstanding, with the staff surrendering just three hits while striking out 11. Isaac Pinales was nearly perfect in his third appearance since signing on July 2, going four hitless innings with five strikeouts. Luis Colmenares struck out three and allowed two hits over two innings, and Shair Lacrus struck out three and walked three over three innings and earned his second victory.
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Player of the Night: While the game will not technically be official until Tuesday, Kyle Hart's performance was the highlight of the day. In his Salem debut, he struck out 10 over 5 2/3 innings while allowing only one run, although two men will be on base when the game resumes. Hart dominated the South Atlantic League, with an ERA of 1.90 over 66 1/3 innings and 57 strikeouts. The 24-year-old figures to be more challenged in the Carolina League, but that was not the case against the Blue Rocks, as he set a career-high in strikeouts.
Photo Credit: Kyle Hart by Kelly O'Connor