June 6, 2019 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Stankiewicz goes six strong; Brentz, Witte homer
Cup of Coffee 6/6: Red Sox affiliates were 1-4 on the day as both DSL squads lost and the Sea Dogs were shut out while Greenville lost in a close contest. Most of the bright performances came from Pawtucket, as five batters, including Bryce Brentz and Jantzen Witte, each of whom delivered a home run and three RBI. Teddy Stankiewicz (pictured) allowed just one run for the PawSox in what was a close game throughout the first half of the contest. Jarren Duran also grabbed a pair of base knocks in his second game in Portland.
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Pawtucket held a narrow 2-1 advantage after five innings but the PawSox scored five runs in the sixth and earned a dominant victory. Five batters recorded a pair of hits, while Bryce Brentz hit a three-run home run, his eighth of the year. Jantzen Witte also had three RBI, two of which came on a deep fly of his own. Teddy Stankiewicz spun six one-run innings, allowing seven hits. Domingo Tapia and Dan Runzler each added a shutout frame.
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Richmond scored four runs in the top of the first inning and rode the momentum to a shutout victory. Denyi Reyes rebounded after a rough start, allowing four runs across six innings of work. He struck out two and walked one. Brian Ellington closed the game with a shutout ninth. There was not much happening offensively as the Sea Dogs recorded only six hits. Two of those base knocks belonged to Jarren Duran, who has not missed a beat since his promotion to Double-A.
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Lexington Legends (KC) 5, Greenville Drive 4
The Drive got the tying run to second base with two outs but they could not push the run across to extend the game. Tyler Esplin was 2 for 4 with a home run and a double while Triston Casas added two hits as well. On the mound, it was a rough start for Alex Scherff, who allowed all five Lexington runs on eight hits across four innings of work. Yoan Aybar and Yusniel Padron-Artilles followed with five combined shutout innings of one-hit relief.
The Drive got the tying run to second base with two outs but they could not push the run across to extend the game. Tyler Esplin was 2 for 4 with a home run and a double while Triston Casas added two hits as well. On the mound, it was a rough start for Alex Scherff, who allowed all five Lexington runs on eight hits across four innings of work. Yoan Aybar and Yusniel Padron-Artilles followed with five combined shutout innings of one-hit relief.
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Darel Belen led the way with three hits and crossed the plate three times but the Royals took the game in extra innings. It was back-and-forth in the early stages but the Royals scored five runs in the fourth and the Red Sox had to work all the way back to force extra innings. Beiker Pineda earned the start and allowed six runs in his 3 2/3 innings of work, though only two of them were earned. Despite walking two batters, Johan Martinez delivered 1 1/3 no-hit innings in relief. Albert Feliz and Alex Zapete each recorded a pair of base knocks.
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The Red Sox scored all six of their runs in the final two frames but it was not enough to overcome a 9-0 deficit. Reidis Sena allowed three runs in his three-inning start, walking three against four strikeouts. Felix Gomez allowed one hit in 1 1/3 innings of relief to close out the contest. Elio Prado and Noelberth Romero each had three hits.
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Player of the Day: Pawtucket recorded a dominant performance with a balanced offensive attack that broke out later in the game. Teddy Stankiewicz kept his team in the game until they were able to put the IronPigs away. The 25-year-old rebounded from his last start, in which he allowed seven runs in less than three innings. Stankiewicz has had a few strong performances but he has not been able to turn in consistent results.
Photo Credit: Teddy Stankiewicz by Kelly O'Connor