July 10, 2018 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Chavis finds his groove; Reyes rolls in win for Drive
7/10 Cup of Coffee: With both Pawtucket and Portland on an All-Star break, Salem was the highest-level team in action on Monday. Daniel Gonzalez couldn't quite match the performance of teammate Darwinzon Hernandez from Sunday for Salem. Denyi Reyes was efficient and effective, powering the Drive to a win. But the story of the night was Michael Chavis(pictured), who finally broke through with a home run and a pair of doubles in his seventh game back since returning from a suspension.
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Daniel Gonzalez couldn't match Darwinzon Hernandez' performance from a day earlier when Hernandez didn't allow a hit in 5 2/3 innings of work in Salem's win over Potomac on Sunday, as Gonzalez surrendered for runs on seven hits in six innings of work to take his third loss of the season.
Bobby Dalbec extended his hitting streak to seventh games with a single while adding a walk. CJ Chatham continues to swing a hot bat, going 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI, his third straight contest with multiple hits, raising his average to .322 with Salem.
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Every Greenville batter recorded a hit, with Marino Campana and Kevin Suarez leading the charge, as the Drive powered past the Tourists. Suarez doubled to open the game and scored two batters later on a Campana groundout. Suarez finished 3 for 5 with two runs and a double while Campana hit a two-run home run in his next at-bat (in the third inning) and finished 2 for 5 with a run and three RBI.
Denyi Reyes took advantage of pitching with the lead, making quick work of Asheville, allowing seven hits and one run in six innings. He struck out eight and threw 65 of his 93 pitches for a strike.
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Trailing 6-1 heading into the bottom of the third, the Spinners put up five runs to tie it at six apiece and proceeded to score three more runs to make it eight unanswered in a comeback win over the Renegades. Michael Chavis was the story of the night, going 3 for 4 with a home run and a pair of doubles to give him three runs and two RBI. His performance earned him the Lowell Spinners' prestigious Right Key Mortgage Key Player of the Game award. SoxProspects.com Director of Scouting Ian Cundall was in attendance for a second straight night and noted Chavis' plus bat speed and easy all fields power.
Coming in relief of Thad Ward, who started the game and was knocked around, Yorvin Pantoja picked up his first win of the season by tossing four innings of two-run ball, allowing four hits and striking out two. Devlin Granberg, Tyler Esplin, and Jarren Duran all collected two hits apiece, with the latter raising his average to .350.
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An RBI double from Lane Milligan scored Juan Hernandez to give the Red Sox a 4-2 lead in the top of the seventh, but the Orioles came back to tie it at four apiece in the bottom half of the ninth before walking off with the win in the bottom of the 10th. Eddy Reynoso blew the save in the ninth and then took the loss an inning later, giving up two hits and three runs (one earned) in 1 1/3 innings.
It wasted a fine outing from Jose Gonzalez (5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 K) and a 2-for-5 day from Ricardo Cubillan.
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Brandon Rincones singled in Wilker Vargas with the game-winning run as the Red Sox won in 11 innings. Rincones went 2 for 4 with two runs while Ceddanne Rafaela and Fabian Andrade both collected three hits. Luis Colmenares garnered his fourth win of the season by hurling two innings of scoreless relief.
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An Oscar Rangel double was the lone hit for the Red Sox in a shutout loss to the Cubs. Bryan Bello picked up the loss despite pitching pretty well, tossing five innings of two-run ball, allowing four hits and striking out four.
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Player of the Night: Michael Chavis didn't find his power surge in his first six games back from an 80-game suspension. But on Monday, the top prospect found it in a big way, doubling twice and blasting a solo home run in the eighth inning of Lowell's comeback win over Hudson Valley. He drove in two runs and also scored a pair, getting more hits on Monday than he did in his previous six games.
Photo Credit: Michael Chavis by Kelly O'Connor
Tommy Cassell is a Contributing Editor for SoxProspects.com. Follow him on Twitter at @tommycassell44.