August 11, 2017 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Tubbs gets the win as Dalbec walks off
8/11 Cup of Coffee: It was a relatively uneventful day on the farm until the 14th inning of Greemville's marathon contest. That's when first baseman Tucker Tubbs (pictured) took the mound for the fourth time this season. Tubbs fired three scoreless innings and earned the win when third baseman Bobby Dalbec blasted a walk-off home run. Elsewhere, Dedgar Jimenez and a pair of relievers combined on a shutout for Portland, Brian Johnson continues to work his way back for Pawtucket, and the DSL Sox had three last-at-bat comebacks in their own 13-inning walk-off win.
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Bryce Brentz powered the PawSox to a lead it would not relinquish with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning. Starter Brian Johnson allowed only one run in his four innings of work, but he struggled some with his control, issuing four walks. He struck out six batters and threw 76 pitches. Marcus Walden also struck out six while throwing three innings of scoreless relief. Rusney Castillo added a double and a walk.
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A trio of hurlers combined to scatter eight hits for the shutout. Starter Dedgar Jimenez was outstanding, giving up six hits and striking out five against just one walk in his six innings. Taylor Grover followed with 1 2/3 of scoreless relief, and Ty Buttrey fanned three of the four batters he faced to close out the win. Josh Ockimey doubled for his fifth extra-base hit in eight games since his promotion, while Michael Chavis and Jeremy Barfield continued their hot hitting with a double apiece.
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Despite a 12-hit effort, Salem fell in the 10th. Matt Kent drew the start allowing five runs on 10 hits in five innings of work. Jose Sermo paced the offense, going 3 for 5 with two doubles and an RBI. Tate Matheny notched his sixth triple of the year as part of a two-hit night, while Chris Madera and Tyler Spoon also had two hits each.
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Now with 13 1/3 scoreless innings of work, Tucker Tubbs got his first professional win. Tubbs struck out two batters while holding onto a 2-2 tie, giving up just two hits in his three innings of work. Before making his way to the mound, Tubbs played the first 13 innings of the game at first base. In the third inning, he walked and came around to score Greenville's first run of the game. The following inning, he singled to plate Jerry Downs to put the Drive up 2-0. So Tubbs not only got the win, he was directly responsible for all of this team's run scoring before he was called on to pitch.
Several hours before Tubbs took the mound, 18-year-old Bryan Mata turned in another solid outing. Mata had gone through five scoreless before Rome reached him for two in the sixth. He struck out six, walked two, and allowed six hits. In the interim, between Mata and Tubbs, Juan Florentino and Jared Oliver combined for 7 1/3 scoreless innings of work. Florentino, making his third appearance since a late-July promotion from Lowell, struck out three, scattered four hits, and didn't issue a walk in 3 1/3. Oliver then punched out six, walked one, and gave up just two hits in his four innings of work. The 10 1/3 innings of shutout work by the pen set the stage for Bobby Dalbec, whose eighth homer of the season sent the Drive home winners.
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It was a tough matchup for the Spinners, as Tri-City called on 15th-overall pick J.B. Bukauskas to make his New York-Penn League debut. They managed a run off of the former UNC ace and four more against the Valley Cat bullpen, but it was not enough on Thursday night. Yorvin Pantoja allowed four runs in 3 1/3 to take the loss. Marino Campana blasted his second home run of the season to extend his hitting streak to 13 games.
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It was a tough loss in the Gulf Coast League, as the Sox led the entire way until the Rays scored a pair in the bottom of the ninth to walk off with the win. Oddanier Mosqueda cruised through four no-hit innings before finally surrendering his first base hit with one out in the fifth. That baserunner came around to score off of Ritzi Mendoza, but Mendoza shut the Rays down for the next 3 2/3. He struck out five and walked only one. The Sox managed only two hits on the day, but one was a second-inning, two-run homer off the bat of Tyler Dearden. It was the first professional home run for Dearden, Boston's 29th round pick in June.
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The Sox prevailed in a wild, back-and-forth contest in which they tied the game in the ninth and 12th innings. They surrendered a run again in the top of the 13th, but tied the game on an Ivan Houellemont single and won when Freiberg Marin scored on the rare walk-off balk. Houellemont and Marin led the charge throughout for the Sox lineup, with both players registering three hits and a walk. Starter Rafael Gomez allowed a run in five innings of work, and Antonio Police got credit for the win after allowing the one (unearned) run in the 13th.
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Player of the Day: In 10 2/3 innings, Tucker Tubbs has a 0.00 ERA, eight strikeouts against just one walk, and a WHIP of 0.656. Those statistics would be fantastic for an actual pitcher, but Tubbs is a first baseman who didn't even pitch in college. Before he came in to pitch, Tubbs had scored one of Greenville's two runs and driven in the other one.
Photo Credit: Tucker Tubbs by Kelly O'Connor
Photo Credit: Tucker Tubbs by Kelly O'Connor