June 9, 2019 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Dalbec homers, De La Guerra stays hot
6/9 Cup of Coffee: It was another nice day for Chad De La Guerra (pictured) who continued to find his power stroke despite the Pawtucket loss. Portland fell in a tight game, though Bobby Dalbec launched his 13th home run of the year and Durbin Feltman tossed two scoreless innings. The Greenville bullpen was nearly flawless to earn the win and Bryan Gonzalez continued his power surge as the DSL affiliates swept their opponents.
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The heroics of Chad De La Guerra were not enough to lift Pawtucket over Rochester Saturday night. De La Guerra was a one-man wrecking crew as he walked, doubled and launched his fourth home run of the season (also his fourth of the week). On the mound, Matt Kent made his return to Pawtucket, but was roughed up to the tune of six runs in as many innings. Bobby Poyner struck out one in a scoreless seventh and Brian Ellington hurled two shut out frames to end the game.
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Bowie put up a crooked number in the third and never looked back as Portland fell at Hadlock. Darwinzon Hernandez got the start was pulled after just one scoreless inning in which he struck out a pair of Bowie batters. Konner Wade relieved him and was reached for six runs (five earned) in five innings pitched. Coming on in the seventh, Durbin Feltman hurled two shutout innings while Jordan Weems pitched a scoreless inning to give Portland a chance in the ninth.
At the plate, Bobby Dalbec smacked his 13th long ball of the year while Brett Netzer made a rare appearance in the home run column with his third of the year. Jeremy Rivera drove in a run and walked while Tate Matheny and Luke Tendler collected two singles apiece.
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Salem squandered an early lead and never recovered as they fell to Carolina. Victor Acosta led the way on offense with a single, a double and an RBI while Edgar Corcino also added a double. Marcus Wilson and Charlie Madden each collected a pair of hits apiece. Carolina hit starter Enmanuel De Jesus early and often as they reached him for five runs across six innings pitched. Eduard Bazardo allowed a run in his one inning pitched but struck out three. Andrew Schwaab added a scoreless inning in the eighth.
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The pitching staff came up huge for Greenville, with Chris Machamer setting the tone with a solid start. The right-hander surrendered just two runs in his five innings of work while striking out three. The bullpen took over from there and was immaculate as Oddanier Mosqueda, Yoan Aybar, and Logan Browning combining to surrender just a walk in four innings. Mosqueda and Browning were especially dominant, with Mosqueda striking out four batters in two innings and Browning striking out the side in a scorless ninth.
Batting leadoff, Cole Brannen had one of his best games of the season, lacing three singles and stealing a pair of bases, giving him 17 on the year. Kole Cottam and Grant Williams did some damage by notching two doubles each, while Tyler Esplin drove in two to break things open in the fifth.
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The pitching made the difference for the DSL Red Sox1 squad, as they won their fourth game of the season. Claudio Ochoa got the start and was excellent, allowing only one hit and striking out three in 3 2/3 scoreless innings. Coming on in relief, Johan Martinez allowed the only run of the game (though it was unearned) and Isaias Ozoria closed things out, striking out five in his three scoreless innings. Once again Brainer Bonaci was a catalyst for the Red Sox, collecting two hits and a walk from the leadoff spot and stealing his eighth bag of the season. Batting behind him Eduardo Lopez also had a productive day, smacking an RBI single, walking and stealing a base. Eddinson Paulino notched two hits including a triple, while Eduardo Vaughan and Nelfy Abreu each singled twice.
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It was a team effort at the plate as every starter save one notched a hit in the DSL 1 squad's matinee win. Bryan Gonzalez continued to terrorize Dominican Summer League pitching by launching his fourth home run of the young season. Also chipping in were Angeudis Santos who singled, walked twice, and stole a base, and Elio Prado who doubled and added a stolen base of his own. It was smooth sailing on the mound, with starter Andres Ortuna scattering four hits across four innings of one run baseball. Luis Talavera struck out four runners in his 2 2/3 innings out of the pen, but walked six and allowed an earned run as he earned the win. Felix Gomez hurled two scoreless innings in relief.
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Player of the Day: Ever since returning from the injured list Chad De La Guerra has hit the baseball with authority and Saturday night was no exception. The infielder has tapped into his power recently launching all four of his home runs in the past week, and is now the owner of a .320/.378/.520 batting line. De La guerra has steadily risen through the Red Sox system and is now in the midst of a breakout season at his highest level.
Photo Credit: Chad De La Guerra by Kelly O'Connor
Photo Credit: Chad De La Guerra by Kelly O'Connor