Cup of Coffee: Beeks reels in Stripers to continue scoreless stretch

4/22 Cup of Coffee: By helping the PawSox to a 6-0 victory over the Stripers, Jalen Beeks (pictured, left) picked up his first win of the season while extending his streak of not allowing an earned run to 13-consecutive innings. Rusney Castillo scored two runs in the win as the PawSox climbed over the .500 mark with a 7-6 overall record. The other three teams in the system all lost as both the Sea Dogs and Red Sox squandered solid starting pitching performances while Alex Scherff  and the Drive continued their struggles.

Pawtucket Red Sox 6, Gwinnett Stripers (ATL) 0

Jalen Beeks continued his impressive start to the season by striking out 10 in six innings of work to lead the PawSox to a shutout win over the Stripers. The left-hander, a 12th round draft pick out of the University of Arkansas in 2014, lowered his ERA to 0.64 after allowing just two hits on 98 pitches. Bobby Poyner, Brandon Workman, and Williams Jerez tossed an inning apiece of scoreless relief to preserve the shutout.  

The PawSox made good use of their six hits as Rusney Castillo was the lone player with multiple base hits, going 2 for 4 with a double and two runs scored. Dan Butler added a double and three walks to the offensive tally. The PawSox were up 2-0 after the first inning before pouring on four runs in the bottom half of the eighth.

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Trenton Thunder (NYY) 3, Portland Sea Dogs 1

Seven different Sea Dogs recorded a hit but the Sea Dogs left 11 runners on base and were just 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position, wasting a fine outing from Dedger Jiminez, who picked up his second loss of the season.

The Sea Dogs took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second on RBI single by Luke Tendler, his sixth of the season, but Jimenez coughed up three runs in the fourth, two earned, in what proved to be the difference as the Sea Dogs couldn't capitalize on offense. Jimenez' final line was 5 1/3 innings of five-hit ball while striking out five.

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Winston-Salem Dash (CWS) 4, Salem Red Sox 3

The Red Sox held a 3-1 lead going into the bottom of the ninth but Joan Martinez blew the save, allowing three runs on four hits and two free passes without recording an out in the walk-off defeat. Martinez squandered Roneil Raudes' solid start after the 20-year-old right-hander pitched six innings and allowed only one run on five hits. 

Shortstop Santiago Espinal went 3 for 3 with a home run, RBI and two runs while catcher Jhon Nunez went 2 for 3 with an RBI and a double. It was the fifth RBI this season for both Espinal and Nunez.

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Kannapolis Intimidators (CWS) 7, Greenville Drive 0
Alex Scherff continued to struggle, as the 2017 fifth-round draft pick gave up five runs on seven hits in just three innings of work to take his third loss of the year. Scherff threw just 40 of his 71 pitches for strikes as the Intimidators took a 5-0 lead after two innings and never looked back.

The Drive did receive a pair of two-hit performances from first baseman Pedro Castellanos and right fielder Victor Acosta but went 1 for 6 as a team with runners in scoring position and failed to plate a run. It marks the 13th loss of the season so far for the Drive.

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Player of the Day: After allowing a run in the first inning of work in his season debut on April 9, Jalen Beeks hasn't surrendered an earned run in the 13 innings he's pitched since. The 24-year-old is currently the No. 13 ranked prospect on our list and is the third-ranked left-hander behind Jason Groome (Greenville) and Darwinzon Hernandez (Salem).

Photo Credit: Jalen Beeks by Kelly O'Connor

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