May 30, 2019 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Duran homers; Brentz delivers grand slam
Cup of Coffee 5/30: It was a light night on the farm, with just two affiliates in action, as Greenville had the day off and Portland's contest with the Yard Goats in Hartford was postponed due to rain throughout the tri-state area. Pawtucket split a doubleheader with Lehigh Valley, and despite out-hitting Down East, the Wood Ducks kept Salem at arm's length. During Game 1 of Pawtucket's doubleheader, Bryce Brentz (pictured, left) delivered a game-winning grand slam, while Jarren Duran added a homer of his own in Salem's loss.
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Despite notching just three hits, the PawSox emerged victorious on the back of six walks, a Bryce Brentz grand slam and a throwing error in the sixth that allowed three additional runs to score. Rusney Castillo and Juan Centeno had the other two Pawtucket hits. On the mound, Josh Smith allowed each of the three runs on seven hits across 5 1/3 innings. Trevor Kelley earned his first save of 2019 with 1 2/3 one-hit, shutout frames.
The hit totals were almost identical during the second half of the twin bill, but there were no costly errors or grand slams to speak of, and the IronPigs took the victory. Chad De La Guerra, Gorkys Hernandez and Mike Miller each notched doubles. It was a bullpen game for the Red Sox and Jeremy Bleich allowed three runs on five hits during his two innings. Dan Runzler and Bobby Poyner gave their squad two frames of shutout ball, while Jenrry Mejia added a clean inning of his own in the seventh.
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Portland Sea Dogs vs. Hartford Yard Goats (COL), Postponed (Rain)
The rain was torrential throughout the afternoon and the game was postponed shortly after it was scheduled to begin. The contest will be made up as part of a single-admission doubleheader beginning at 10:35 a.m. on Thursday.
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The Red Sox were 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position, which contributed to a wide margin, despite outhitting their opponents 11-to-9. Kutter Crawford walked four batters in five innings of work, but he allowed just two runs on five hits and departed with his team in position to make it a game. However, the Wood Ducks struck for five runs on Kris Jackson, four of which came in the seventh, after Salem had made it 3-2 in the half inning prior on a Jarren Duran home run. Edgar Corcino went 3 for 5 and was one of four Red Sox with multi-hit evenings, including Jagger Rusconi, Pedro Castellanos and Marcus Wilson.
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Player of the Night: There were only three games across two affiliates on Wednesday night, leaving few options, but Bryce Brentz was clutch in Game 1 of the doubleheader. In addition to his grand slam that would clinch the victory, he worked a walk, one of six free passes issued to Pawtucket batters. Brentz was able to again show his power for his seventh home run of the year, which is fourth in the system. However, a low batting average and walk total has led his OPS to remain below .800.
Photo Credit: Bryce Brentz by Kelly O'Connor