July 8, 2018 at 11:13 AM
Cup of Coffee: Chavis whiffs four times; Dalbec's bat on fire
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Pawtucket Red Sox 4, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (NYY) 2,
Drew Pomeranz performed a little better in his second rehab start with the PawSox as he followed up his four-home run clunker that lasted only 2 2/3 innings on July 2 by tossing three innings of one-run ball on Saturday. The left-hander still wasn't too sharp, though, as he walked two and gave up five hits, throwing 37 of his 60 pitches for strikes. Josh D. Smith picked up the win in relief, tossing three innings of his own, allowing one run on three hits and striking out four. Ryan Brasier picked up his 13th save of the season with a scoreless ninth.
Rusney Castillo went 3 for 3 with an RBI and a run while Sam Travis lofted his six home run of the season with Pawtucket with a solo shot in the fourth inning.
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Hartford Yard Goats (COL) 5, Portland Sea Dogs 0
In his season debut with Portland, top Sox prospect Michael Chavis went 0 for 4 with four strikeouts as the Sea Dogs were held to just three hits, with Josh Ockimey collecting the lone extra-base hit. Jeremy Rivera and Tony Renda were the two other Sea Dogs to pick up hits in the loss.
Matthew Kent was the tough-luck loser, giving up eight hits and four runs in six innings of work. He struck out four while throwing 101 pitches.
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Salem Red Sox 9, Potomac Nationals (WAS) 4
Bobby Dalbec continued his torrid pace at the plate of late, as the 23-year-old hit a home run for the third-straight game. Dalbec blasted a two-run shot in the third inning, making it 19 dingers on the season for the powerful right-handed hitter. Overall, Dalbec went 3 for 5 with his two other hits being a double and a triple, as he accumulated four total RBIs.
Almost equally as impressive was the stat line of Tanner Houck. The tall right-hander pitched seven innings, allowing one run on four hits and striking out five. Although his command wasn't top-notch (59 of 93 pitches were for strikes), Houck was effective enough to pick up his fourth positive decision of the season.
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Asheville Tourists (COL) 10, Greenville Drive 6
Greenville allowed the Tourists to drive the ball all over McCormick Field as Asheville staked itself an early lead while accumulating 16 total hits against the Drive. Enmanuel De Jesus surrendered 13 hits and nine runs (six earned) over 5 1/3 innings.
A solo shot from Kervin Suarez in the second and a three-run jack from Ryan Fitzgerald in the top of the ninth were the offensive highlights for Greenville.
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Eduard Bazardo turned in his third straight solid performance from the mound but it wasn't enough as the Spinners' bats went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position and left 10 runners on base. Bazardo's final line was six innings, four hits, one run and zero walks or strikeouts. It was a no-decision for Bazardo. Hudson Valley plated two runs in the top of the eighth off of 2018 15th round draft pick Andrew Politi. Politi did strike out the last six batters he faced, as the right-hander had all but one of his seven outs come via a strikeout. Kole Cottam blasted his second home run of his minor league career, a solo shot in second inning.
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Despite out-hitting the twins 11 to 10, and a comeback effort in the final three innings, the Red Sox fell short against the Twins. Lane Milligan went 4 for 5 with two RBIs while Yusniel Padron-Artiles picked up the loss after allowing just one run and four hits in two innings.
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Gilberto Jimenez (2 for 4) and Fabian Andrade (2 for 4) both recorded multi-hit games but the Red Sox went 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position in a loss to the Royals. After taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the second on an RBI double by Erick Flores and a Denny Daza fielder's choice, the Red Sox surrendered five unanswered runs.
Jose Ramirez faced just two over the minimum number of batters across five frames, allowing two hits (one run) and one walk while striking out one to pick up his first win of the season. Johan Martinez tossed 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to pick up his first save of the year. Kleiber Rodriguez went 2 for 4 with two runs and an RBI.
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Player of the Day: In four of his last five games, Bobby Dalbec has homered for Salem, giving him four homers in July so far, his latest damage coming in a 9-4 win over Potomac on Saturday. Dalbec also added a double and a triple, with his two-run home run in the third giving the Red Sox a 3-0 lead. Although his average is still a bit low at .245, Dalbec now has 19 home runs, 68 hits and 70 RBIs on the season.