April 25, 2018 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Bogaerts homers in rehab; Crawford Ks nine
4/25 Cup of Coffee: It was a tough night on the farm, as the three affiliates who weather permitted to play were swept. Fortunately, some noteworthy individual performances shone through. Most pertinently to the major league squad, Xander Bogaerts homered in his first rehab appearance as he ramps back up after suffering an ankle injury two weeks ago. Kutter Crawford (pictured) was outstanding on the mound for Greenville once again, and Travis Lakins was solid in his 2018 debut for the Sea Dogs.
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Xander Bogaerts showed no signs of rust in his return to competition. Bogaerts blasted a solo home run in the fourth and a leadoff double in the sixth, and also started a 6-4-3 double play. He was removed for Ivan DeJesus in the seventh, but it appears to have been a scheduled substitution rather than injury related, as Bogaerts' ankle showed no ill effects while he ran the bases. Justin Haley surrendered five runs in six innings to take the loss. Ty Buttrey allowed a pair of runs (one earned) in his two innings, but he did strikeout five without issuing a walk. The big right-hander now has struck out 21 of the 47 batters he has faced this season, and has walked only three batters.
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The Sea Dogs welcomed back Travis Lakins, who made his first appearance since last July 3. There seemed to be no lingering effects of the right elbow stress fracture that sidelined Lakins for nine months as he threw three scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one unearned run. He struck out three without walking a batter, and threw 24 of his 39 pitches for strikes. Teddy Stankiewicz was pushed back into a piggyback role to accommodate the return of Lakins. The 2013 second-round pick took the loss, surrendering three runs in five innings.
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Salem Red Sox vs. Frederick Keys (BAL), PPD Rain
They wasted little time deciding that the heavy rain made Haley Toyota Field unplayable, announcing at 10:30am that the game would be postponed and made up on Wednesday as part of a doubleheader.
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The Drive dropped their tenth straight, despite the strong effort of Kutter Crawford. Crawford tossed five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits. Most importantly, he struck out nine without issuing a walk, giving him 30 strikeouts against only three free passes in 19 innings on the year. At the plate, Victor Acosta singled and scored a run, extending his hitting streak to nine games.
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Player of the Day: Kutter Crawford. The 2017 16th-round pick out of Florida Gulf Coast University has been one of the notable performers in the Sox system in the early going, and he continued to impress on Tuesday, with his third straight outing of at least eight strikeouts. Through four starts, Crawford has struck out more than 35% of the batters he has faced and opponents are hitting just .213 against him.
Photo Credit: Kutter Crawford by Kelly O'Connor