May 18, 2018 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Tendler's 10th-inning homer caps wild Portland comeback
5/18 Cup of Coffee: With the relentless rain in Virginia and the PawSox getting a day off of the scheduled variety, only two affiliates were in action Thursday. Fortunately, the Portland contest contained enough action for a full system worth of games. The Sea Dogs capped an epic comeback after trailing by seven runs with a three-run tenth-inning home run off the bat of Luke Tendler (pictured).
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The Sea Dogs pulled off an improbable comeback on Thursday, coming out on top in a contest that they were trailing 7-0 headed into the seventh inning. It was a frustrating start, as the Sea Dogs squandered several opportunities, stranding at least one batter in each of the first six innings. The floodgates then opened, with Portland plating two, three, four, and three runs over the final four innings. Altoona actually had a comeback of its own, evening the score at nine with a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth, but Luke Tendler blasted a three-run homer in the tenth to give Portland the series-opening win.
The decisive homer was Tendler's third hit of the night. Jantzen Witte was 3 for 6, bringing him to 14 for 26 (.538) since rejoining Portland. Nick Lovullo scored three times as part of his three-hit effort. Following a tough start by Kevin McAvoy, Trey Ball kept Portland close, giving up just one run in 2 2/3 innings, striking out three without walking a batter. Jake Cosart tossed a scoreless eighth, and Trevor Kelley picked up the win despite getting saddled with a blown save for allowing a pair in the ninth.
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Salem Red Sox at Potomac Nationals (WAS), PPD rain
For the third straight day, rain interrupted the Sox and Nats. With Salem not returning to Woodbridge again in the first half, the teams will attempt to make up the contests when the Sox host Potomac. The release did not indicate whether the makeups have been scheduled for the series in late May or the one in mid-June.
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Another solid performance by Denyi Reyes went for naught, as the Greenville offense mustered just one run and failed to tally an extra-base hit. Reyes scattered eight hits across six innings, surrendering both runs on a second-inning homer. Reyes struck out five and walked one, giving the 6-foot-4 righty 50 punchouts against just five walks on the season. Samuel Miranda picked up two hits, and Lorenzo Cedrola singled, stole a base, and scored the lone Greenville run.
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Player of the Day: After a slow start to his Sea Dogs tenure, Luke Tendler has started to heat up. His game-winning home run Thursday marked his fifth multi-hit game in his last 11 contests. During that span, the minor league Rule 5 pickup is hitting .378/.455/.622 with five extra-base hits
Photo Credit: Luke Tendler by Kelly O'Connor
Photo Credit: Luke Tendler by Kelly O'Connor