June 16, 2018 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Bazardo strikes out 10 in Lowell's opener
6/16 Cup of Coffee: The Spinners season started with an impressive yet inefficient start from Eduard Bazardo (pictured), while Josh D. Smith and Dedgar Jimenez turned in good starts for Pawtucket and Portland, respectively. Rusney Castillo and Josh Ockimey kept their hot streaks going with home runs and Antoni Flores hit a walk-off single in the DSL.
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Three pitchers combined on a three-hitter for the PawSox as they took down the IronPigs. It was the longest outing of Josh D. Smith's professional career as he fired six innings while allowing only one run on three hits. He walked two and struck out four. Williams Jerez and Ryan Brasier combined to strike out five while not allowing a hit over the final three innings. Since moving back to the PawSox on June 5, Smith has allowed only two runs over 13 1/3 innings.
The offense was led once again by Rusney Castillo as he launched a two-run home run in the third inning that proved to be the difference. It was his fourth home run of the season and he is now batting .400 over his last 10 games. Sam Travis went 0 for 4 for the second straight night as his average dipped to .209.
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After entering the game with a 6.68 ERA over his last six starts, Dedgar Jimenez rebounded with seven innings of one-run ball while allowing only five hits. Trey Ball followed with a scoreless eighth with two strikeouts, and Josh Taylor earned his second save with a shutout ninth. Josh Ockimey picked up two of Portland's four hits, slugging a solo home run and a double, and Danny Mars was also on base twice with a single and a walk. Over his last 21 games, Ockimey has an OPS over 1.100.
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Darwinzon Hernandez was able to limit his walks but he was finding too much of the plate as he gave up five runs on eight hits over five innings. After walking four in only one inning his last time out he walked one and struck out six on Friday. Matthew Gorst struck out the side in the eighth and he has not allowed a run in his last eight innings. A double from Santiago Espinal was the only one of Salem's five hits to go for extra bases and Chris Madera added two hits.
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Kutter Crawford earned his first win of the year in a start in which he was not as sharp as usual. He allowed three runs on five hits over five innings and he did not strike out a batter. Michael Osinski continued to hit the ball well, going 3 for 4 with a double and two RBI, and he now has four multi-hit games in his last nine starts. Ryan Fitzgerald went 3 for 4 with a walk in his best game since being signed as a minor-league free agent a few weeks ago.
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Eduard Bazardo got the opening day start for the Spinners and he did not disappoint, striking out 10 in only four innings, though he did give up two runs on four hits and two walks. Oddanier Mosqueda struggled in the Gulf Coast League last season but he got off to a good start with the Spinners as he tossed two shutout innings with three strikeouts. The most intriguing offensive prospect for Lowell is Cole Brannen, and he went 1 for 3 with a walk and a stolen base in his first game action since being sent down from Greenville one month ago. Tyler Esplin went 1 for 3 with a walk and Garrett Benge hit a double but also committed two errors.
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It was another high-scoring affair in the DSL as the Red Sox had 16 hits and the Braves had five errors. Gilberto Jimenez led the way with a double, triple, and a walk and Lewis Baez went 1 for 2 and he is now 15 for his first 31 after hitting .127 in the DSL last season. Luis Colmenares improved to 2-0 after he struck out six and allowed a run in two innings of relief and Jose Larez followed with two shutout innings.
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It was a different story in the second DSL game, as the second Red Sox squad walked off with a 1-0 victory. Jorge Rodriguez started the game with five scoreless innings, striking out five and allowing five hits. Cristofe Tineo added two scoreless innings to drop his ERA to 1.04. Nelfy Abreu went 3 for 4 and he scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth after lacing a triple to lead off the inning. Antoni Flores drove him in with a single as he continues to impress at the plate.
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Player of the Night: Things could not have been going much worse for Dedgar Jimenez as opponents were hitting .326/.366/.620 off of him over his last six starts and he was 0-3 in that span. Something clicked last night as he tied a season-high with seven innings and allowed only one run while striking out two. The 22-year-old is the 47th ranked prospect in the SoxProspects.com rankings, and while he has had some good starts this season, his current ERA of 5.32 will not be good enough to keep him in the top 50 once the new draft picks are added in.
Photo Credit: Dedgar Jimenez by Kelly O'Connor