May 6, 2018 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Shepherd herds RailRiders, Campana comes up clutch
5/6 Cup of Coffee: The Sea Dogs tried all they could to make Saturday a clean sweep for the farm but ended up falling to the Yard Goats in the affiliates' only loss. Chandler Shepherd had his first impressive performance of the season in a shutout victory for the PawSox while both Salem and Greenville held on for narrow one-run victories.----
Chandler Shepherd tamed the RailRiders over seven innings of work, allowing just four hits and no runs in an economical 87-pitch performance. Shepherd threw 62 of those pitches for strikes and struck out five in his first win of the season. Tyler Thornburg and Robby Scott both pitched an inning of scoreless relief to preserve the shutout, with Scott picking up his first save of the year.
Mike Olt went 1 for 2 with two walks and got the scoring going in the bottom of the second inning with a solo home run off RailRiders starter Josh Rogers. Jordan Betts scored Ohlman on an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth for the other PawSox run.
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Austin Rei's one-out double in the top of eighth, scoring Josh Ockimey and Tate Matheny, tied the game at 6-6 but Trevor Kelley gave up three runs in the bottom half of the inning as the Sea Dogs lost to the Yard Goats.
Nick Lovullo blasted a game-tying two-run home run in the top of the sixth to tie things at four apiece, but like Rei earlier, the Sea Dogs bullpen couldn't hold the fort, with Daniel McGrath time giving up two runs in the bottom half of the sixth. Rei went 2 for 3 and was the only Portland player with two hits. Lovullo's home run was his first round-tripper of the season.
Dedgar Jimenez didn't fare much better than his two other teammates on the mound, allowing six hits and four runs in five innings of work.
Nick Lovullo blasted a game-tying two-run home run in the top of the sixth to tie things at four apiece, but like Rei earlier, the Sea Dogs bullpen couldn't hold the fort, with Daniel McGrath time giving up two runs in the bottom half of the sixth. Rei went 2 for 3 and was the only Portland player with two hits. Lovullo's home run was his first round-tripper of the season.
Dedgar Jimenez didn't fare much better than his two other teammates on the mound, allowing six hits and four runs in five innings of work.
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Despite giving up two runs in the bottom of the ninth, Algenis Martinez secured his second save of the season in a nail-biter at Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium.
The Red Sox jumped out to a 5-0 lead thanks to a run in each of the first two innings and a three-run third. A two-run single by Tyler Hill, scoring Brett Netzer and Jerry Downs, was the decisive hit in the third and proved to plate the game-winning run for the Red Sox. Santiago Espinal led off the game with a home run and despite being out-hit 11 to 4, the Red Sox managed to hold off the Nationals.
The Red Sox jumped out to a 5-0 lead thanks to a run in each of the first two innings and a three-run third. A two-run single by Tyler Hill, scoring Brett Netzer and Jerry Downs, was the decisive hit in the third and proved to plate the game-winning run for the Red Sox. Santiago Espinal led off the game with a home run and despite being out-hit 11 to 4, the Red Sox managed to hold off the Nationals.
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A night after failing to hold onto a six-run lead, the Drive mounted a comeback in the top of the eighth inning to pull off a much-needed, come-from-behind win. The Drive got a little help from the Grasshoppers as two wild pitches and a throwing error from their catcher resulted in both Frankie Rios and Lorenzo Cedrola scoring in the inning, with both players getting on base via one-out singles.
Kutter Crawford pitched well over six innings. He allowed three hits and three walks, while striking out four to lower his ERA to 1.80. After giving up the game's first run in the top of the seventh, Juan Florentino pitched a scoreless eight to pick up the victory while Marcos Lantigua notched his first save of the year with a heart-pounding ninth. Lantigua got a force out to finish the game an out after right fielder Marino Campana gunned down a runner at home with a throw to catcher Isaias Lucena who tagged out Greensboro's Marcos Rivera.
Kutter Crawford pitched well over six innings. He allowed three hits and three walks, while striking out four to lower his ERA to 1.80. After giving up the game's first run in the top of the seventh, Juan Florentino pitched a scoreless eight to pick up the victory while Marcos Lantigua notched his first save of the year with a heart-pounding ninth. Lantigua got a force out to finish the game an out after right fielder Marino Campana gunned down a runner at home with a throw to catcher Isaias Lucena who tagged out Greensboro's Marcos Rivera.
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Player of the Day: There's no sugar-coating it: 2018 hasn't been too kind to Chandler Shepherd. But the 6-foot-3 right-hander had his first start of the season where he didn't allow a run in the PawSox 2-0 victory over the RailRiders. In his five previous starts, Shepherd allowed 15 runs in 18.1 innings of work, with his last two outings resulting in losses. Shepherd was also very efficient, throwing 71 percent of his pitches for strikes in his first win since August 11 of last season.
Photo Credit: Chandler Shepherd by Kelly O'Connor