April 30, 2018 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Crawford steers Drive to shutout, series win
4/30 Cup of Coffee: Things appear to be turning around for the Greenville Drive, who took their series against Charleston with another top-notch outing from Kutter Crawford (pictured). The PawSox were two-hit on a bitter day in Buffalo, while the Sea Dogs were again victims of the weather.
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A solid start from William Cuevas went for naught, as a trio of Bison hurlers held the PawSox to just two hits. Cuevas allowed two runs on six hits in 5 1/3, striking out six and walking only one. Brandon Workman worked 1 2/3 scoreless in his first appearance in six days, and Josh Smith threw a scoreless ninth to drop his ERA to 0.79. Unsurprisingly, Rusney Castillo picked up one of the two Pawtucket knocks. The veteran outfielder continues to pace the squad in several offensive categories, including an organization-leading 28 hits.
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Portland Sea Dogs vs. Reading Fightin' Phils (PHI), postponed
The rough weather continues at Hadlock Field, which saw its fifth postponement out of 11 scheduled home dates so far this year. No makeup date has been announced.
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A late rally fell short as Salem dropped the rubber match of its three-game set. In his third game since rejoining the Sox, Roldani Baldwin drove in his first two runs of the season as part of a two-hit afternoon. Kyri Washington and Jerry Downs chipped in with three hits apiece. Hidemaro Requena took the loss, giving up five runs (four earned) on eight hits in 4 1/3. Jordan Weems struck out five of the nine batters he faced in 2 2/3 on his way to a fourth consecutive scoreless appearance.
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Entering the series on a 13-game skid, Kutter Crawford led the Drive to the victory, clinching the three-game set against their cross-state rivals. Crawford continues to be one of the big early-season successes, scattering five hits across five scoreless innings, lowering his ERA to 2.25. He struck out six against three walks, giving him 36 punchouts and six free passes in 24 innings of work. The decision actually went to reliever Angel Padron, who fired three scoreless innings, surrendering just two hits. Marino Campana keyed the rally with an RBI triple that broke a 0-0 tie in the eighth inning.
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Player of the Day: It has been a great start to 2018 for Kutter Crawford, so much so that his excellent start on Sunday afternoon looks relatively pedestrian by his standards. His three walks doubled his total for the season, while the six strikeouts were the fewest since he whiffed five in his first start of the year. Of course, he did this while delivering five innings of scoreless ball, cutting his ERA to 2.25.
Photo Credit: Kutter Crawford by Kelly O'Connor