June 21, 2018 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Smith fires six scoreless; Cottom doubles twice
6/21 Cup of Coffee: Pawtucket had a blowout win, while Portland was served a lopsided defeat in a 3-4 day for the system, as Salem and Greenville are still in the midst of their All-Star break. Josh D. Smith (pictured) gave Pawtucket six scoreless innings, while Tzu-Wei Lin and Adam Lind each had three hits for the PawSox. Kole Cottam roped a pair of doubles for Lowell, while the DSL Red Sox1 surrendered 11 walks in their game.
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Buffalo scored a pair in the ninth, but it wasn't nearly enough as Pawtucket had already gotten out to a 10-0 lead to hold on for the victory. Each of the starting nine had a base knock, with Tzu-Wei Lin and Adam Lind leading the way, as each had three hits. Anuery Tavarez drilled a solo home run, while Lind and Ramon Flores each had a pair of RBI.
On the mound, it was the Josh Smith's that got the PawSox through all nine innings. Left-hander Josh D. Smith pitched six shutout frames, surrendering only a single and three walks. He struck out six. Josh A. Smith, the right-hander, had only one blemish, a two-run home run in the ninth. He walked a pair and struck out four in three innings.
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Dedgar Jimenez had another rough outing, as seven runs came across the plate on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings and the Sea Dogs could never recover. Trey Ball did not help, as under his 3 1/3-inning long watch, five more runs scored on six hits. Josh Ockimey had a two-run home run and Jantzen Witte drilled an RBI double, all in the third, for Portland's only offense.
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Lowell owned a 4-2 lead after three innings, but two runs in each of the fourth, fifth and ninth gave the Yankees the win. Cole Brannen, Kole Cottam, and Devlin Granberg each notched two hits, with each of Cottom's hits being a double. Eduard Bazardo finished his five innings of work with six runs allowed, five of which were earned, on five hits. He struck out eight and walked two batters. Andrew Politi, Harrison Cooney, and Francisco Lopez-Soto each turned in a shutout inning in relief.
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Juan Carlos Abreu had three hits, and Jecorrah Arnold equaled the effort with a 3-for-4 day but added the only two RBI his squad had with a first-inning homer as the GCL team is off to a hot 3-0 start. The pair also accounted for six of their seven hits. Edilson Batista allowed a run on two hits in three innings in his start, but the bullpen combined to surrender just four hits in the remaining six frames. Luis Rivero struck out a pair in a perfect ninth inning for his first save, while Rafael Gomez notched two punchouts as well, in the eighth. Andres Jiminez and Juan Morillo each added two scoreless innings.
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The Dodgers had two at-bats scoring five runs or more as they shellacked Red Sox pitching to the tune of 13 hits in addition to the 11 walks they worked, though eight came from reliever Angel Sosa, who allowed seven runs on three hits in 1 2/3 innings. Starter Jeison Pena did not fare much better, giving up three home runs to help him surrender seven runs on seven hits in his 3 1/3-inning stint. He walked three and struck out four. Fabian Andrade notched two of the Red Sox' five hits.
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Luis Hernandez had an RBI double in the sixth, but that was the only time the Red Sox could push through on the Dodgers in the first of two. Irvin Villarroel allowed three runs- each via the home run ball- on four hits in four innings of work with a walk combined with four strikeouts. Robinson Montero surrendered three runs, only one of which was earned, on three hits in the final three frames of the ballgame. He struck out five and walked a pair and allowed a solo home run.
The Red Sox came back and were able to split the doubleheader in a similar affair. Ronaldo Pulgar and Andres Gari each punched through with two hits and Danny Diaz added two RBI with his fifth home run of the year. Brayan Bello threw five innings of one-hit ball with five strikeouts against zero walks to begin the game, and Isaias Ozaria finished it off with two uneven frames, as a run came across on four hits. He walked two and struck out four.
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Player of the Day: On what was a confusing day for those covering the PawSox, one of the Josh Smith's delivered a strong performance. Josh D. Smith was the first of the pair to come to Pawtucket, as he was selected in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft before the 2017 season. He was promoted to Pawtucket on June 5 and after a short two-game stint in Portland and resumed his strong season. Smith has a 2.51 ERA with a 1.09 WHIP and .206 BAA with the PawSox this year. He also has 48 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings.
Photo credit: Josh Smith by Kelly O'Connor