August 28, 2017 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Velazquez allows one hit over seven innings
8/28 Cup of Coffee: The Red Sox affiliates received some strong pitching throughout the system. Hector Velazquez (pictured) tossed seven shutout innings in a win for the PawSox. Portland and Salem were unable to pick up wins despite a solid start from Trey Ball and a dominant one by Mike Shawaryn. Enmanuel De Jesus pitched a good game for Greenville, who won in the eleventh inning. Nick Duron and Duran O'Linger allowed only one run in a win for Lowell.
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Hector Velazquez was masterful on Sunday afternoon, tossing seven shutout frames and allowing just a hit and a walk. Edgar Olmos was just as dominant in relief, throwing two no-hit innings with five strikeouts. All three of Pawtucket's runs came via a three-run homer by Tzu-Wei Lin in the seventh inning. Mike Miller was 2 for 3 with a double and a run.
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Lefty Trey Ball pitched well, allowing three runs (one earned) in six innings with four strikeouts and two walks. However, the bullpen was unable to keep Portland in the game as Ty Buttrey allowed four runs without even recording an out. Josh Smith was perfect through two innings of relief, striking out three. Henry Urrutia was the only Sea Dog with multiple hits, going 2 for 4.
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Sunday afternoon's contest went into extra innings but Salem was unable to emerge with the win. Mike Shawaryn was fantastic, allowing a run on five hits and one walk in eight innings while fanning nine. Matthew Gorst took the loss after giving up one run in two innings, walking three and allowing three hits. Salem's only run came on an RBI single by Jhon Nunez in the eighth inning. Tate Matheny was 2 for 4 with a double and a run.
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The Drive pulled out an exciting win courtesy of Brett Netzer's RBI single in the 11th inning. Netzer was 2 for 5 with a walk and an RBI. Tyler Hill went 2 for 5 from the top of the lineup, recording a double, walk, and run. Granger Studdard went 3 for 4 with an RBI. Enmanuel De Jesus turned in a great start, allowing two runs in 6 2/3 innings and striking out seven. Robby Sexton, Joan Martinez, and Lukas Young combined for 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.
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The pitching was the story of the day for Lowell as Nick Duron started for the Spinners, tossing five shutout innings. Duran O'Linger followed him in relief, allowing a run in four innings while fanning four. The Spinners hitters only collected four hits, two of which came off the bat of Marino Campana. Third baseman Garrett Benge was 1 for 4 and drove in a run.
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Player of the Day: Hector Velazquez has emerged as one of Boston's primary options for pitching depth with an excellent season in Pawtucket. On Sunday, Velazquez threw seven innings and allowed only one hit and one walk while striking out three. In 101 innings with the PawSox, he has a 2.23 ERA with 78 strikeouts and 24 walks. Velazquez signed from Campeche in the Mexican League this February.
Photo Credit: Hector Velazquez by Kelly O'Connor