July 5, 2018 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Tendler, Castillo deliver off the bench; Reyes deals
Cup of Coffee 7/5: Pinch-hitting dramatics were afoot as Luke Tendler (pictured) and Rusney Castillo each drove in two off the bench to help Portland and Pawtucket to victory on a successful day for the Red Sox system. Denyi Reyes delivered eight innings, allowing only two runs as Greenville was victorious as well. One DSL team delivered a shutout, while the other was held to only three hits.
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Rusney Castillo stepped to the plate with two outs in the ninth and the bases loaded. He came through with a single to right field to bring the PawSox within one. Tzu-Wei Lin would follow it up with another single to right to give the PawSox the win. Ryan Brasier pitched a perfect ninth to complete the game with two strikeouts. Jalen Beeks had an uneven start, giving up three runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings, though he did strike out eight Red Wings against zero walks. Mike Miller smacked a two-run home run in the eighth as part of a 2-for-4 night.
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The score sat at 5-5 with two down in the top of the ninth and Luke Tendler brought the Sea Dogs to victory over the Yard Goats with a two-run, pinch-hit blast. Austin Rei hit 3 for 4 with a double to pace the team, while eight of the nine starters recorded at least one hit. Teddy Stankiewicz delivered 5 2/3 of four-run ball on six hits. He struck out four and walked one, while Jordan Weems threw 1 2/3 shutout innings for the save, striking out three with two hits.
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Bobby Dalbec drilled an RBI double to bring home his 61st run of the year, but the Red Sox would record only one more hit, off the bat of Brett Netzer. Daniel Gonzalez pitched five innings, surrendering four runs on six hits. He walked two and struck out three. Harrison Cooney struck out five in two innings of perfect relief, while Hunter Smith gave up three runs in the eighth.
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Ryan Fitzgerald was a triple short of the cycle with a 3-for-5 afternoon, while Garret Benge matched his teammate's hit total and raised him two RBI in the team's series opener. Victor Acosta drove in a pair as well on a 1-for-4 evening. Denyi Reyes dazzled, pitching eight innings of five-hit ball. He allowed a pair of runs and struck out five. Dominic LoBrutto grabbed one punch out in a perfect ninth inning.
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The Spinners allowed a pair of runs in the ninth to send the game to extras, but Devlin Granberg (pictured, right) was the one to bring home the game-winning run with a single as part of a three-run 10th. Jarren Duran was 3 for 4 with a triple to go along with three runs scored and Thad Ward made his debut, pitching 1 2/3 innings. He allowed one run on two hits, walked one and struck out three batters. Rio Gomez followed that up with 3 1/3 frames of shutout ball, allowing just one hit and a walk to go along with six strikeouts.
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The Red Sox added a run in the eighth, but it was not enough as the Rays snapped a three-game winning streak. Diego Infante had a 2-for-2 day with a pair of RBI to go along with two walks, the only bright spot in an offensive day where the No. 1-4 hitters were 0 for 14 with a walk and six strikeouts. Robbie Baker pitched 1 2/3 innings of perfect relief with two strikeouts and Kris Jackson pitched a scoreless ninth, despite allowing a pair of hits, balanced out by two strikeouts.
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Three pitchers combined for a shutout as only seven hits and a pair of runs in the first were enough for the Red Sox to scrape across a win. Emerson Ortiz pitched five frames, allowing five hits against three strikeouts, while Felix Gomez added a trio of punchouts in two innings of one-hit relief. Manuel Ramirez earned his first career save with one hit and one walk allowed across the eighth and ninth. Carlos Sanchez recorded the game's only RBI.
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The other DSL squad were able to only knock three hits and fell on Wednesday. Jorge Rodriguez pitched five innings, allowing two runs, only one of which was earned. He gave up six hits, walked one and struck out four. Cristofe Tineo completed the contest with three runs of one-run ball on two hits. He struck out six.
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Player of the Night: Luke Tendler only had one at-bat on Wednesday afternoon, but he made it count as his home run eliminated the deadlock between Portland and Hartford and gave the Sea Dogs the victory. The 26-year-old was SoxProspects.com's player of the week last week and has continued his hot streak despite his six-game hitting streak, five of which came with multiple hits, was snapped on Tuesday. Tendler now has 12 hits in his last eight games and he is up to a .270/.333/.455 slash line on the year.
Photo Credit: Luke Tendler and Devlin Granberg by Kelly O'Connor
Photo Credit: Luke Tendler and Devlin Granberg by Kelly O'Connor