June 30, 2019 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: De Jesus punches out 8; 3 RBI for Hernandez
6/30 Cup of Coffee: It was a tough night for the Red Sox full-season affiliates as only Salem emerged victorious on the back of a strong Enmanuel De Jesus (pictured) start. The summer affiliates were much more fortunate, with the GCL and DSL teams triumphing in their games. Recent draftee Leon Paulino recorded his first major league hit, and Bryan Gonzalez continued his reign of terror in the DSL.
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The PawSox fell short of Rochester despite loading the bases in the top of the ninth. Gorkys Hernandez was the big performer at the dish for the PawSox, as he launched a home run and singled as part of a three-RBI night. Joining Hernandez in the home run column was Chris Owings, who smacked a solo home run in the fifth. Juan Centeno chipped in with a pair of singles, while Tzu-Wei Lin reached base twice on a pair of walks.
On the mound, Ryan Weber got the start and walked the tight rope, allowing a pair of runs and striking out seven. Tyler Thornburg pitched out of the bullpen and fired a scoreless inning, but things fell apart as Dan Runzler was roughed up to the tunes of six earned runs.
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The Red Sox were unable to get anything going at the plate, as no batter recorded multiple hits. Tate Matheny and Jhon Nunez each recorded a double, while Jarren Duran singled and Bobby Dalbec walked twice and stole a base. Starter Kutter Crawford struggled, allowing four runs in 2 2/3 innings pitched. Konner Wade fired 4 1/3 scoreless innings in relief, and Eduard Bazardo added a scoreless eighth as the Sea Dogs came up short.
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For the third straight week, Enmanuel De Jesus allowed a run or less as he struck out eight in 5 2/3 innings of one-run baseball. Rio Gomez relieved him and went two scoreless innings, striking out two. Andrew Schwaab shut the door and struck out four en route to securing his fourth save of the year. The strongest performance of the day at the plate came from Pedro Castellanos who doubled and drove in a run as part of a two-hit night. Jagger Rusconi chipped in with two singles, while Victor Acosta doubled and scored a run.
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The defense let the Drive down as they allowed three unearned runs in their loss to Rome. Brayan Bello got the nod and surrendered seven runs (four earned) in his 4 1/3 innings pitched. The bullpen was excellent, with Yorvin Pantoja and Logan Browning combining to hurl 4 2/3 scoreless innings, while striking out five. Greenville jumped out to a lead in the fourth thanks to a grand slam off the bat of Dylan Hardy who also singled. Devlin Granberg reached base four times with two singles and two walks, while Jonathan Ortega also contributed with a pair of singles. Tyler Dearden and Kole Cottam also chipped in with a double apiece.
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Lowell Spinners @ Brooklyn Cyclones PPD (inclement weather)
The Lowell Spinners had the first game of their doubleheader postponed due to inclement weather. The game will be made up on July 20 during the Spinners next contest with Brooklyn.
A huge sixth inning from Brooklyn saw the Spinners defeated by the Cyclones. Xavier LeGrant's three-run home run gave Lowell a commanding lead in the second, but the offense was let down by the Spinner bullpen. Jonathan Diaz also had an excellent night at the plate as he tripled, singled, and scored a run. Also contributing was Marino Campana, who launched a solo home run and Nick Northcut, who singled in a pair of runners.
Aldo Ramirez started the game for Lowell and was solid, allowing two runs in five innings pitched and struck out five. Brooklyn reached Robinson Leyer for six runs out of the bullpen, but Brendan Nail settled things down with four strikeouts in four scoreless innings.
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The Red Sox pushed two runners across the plate in the first inning and never looked back as the pitching staff dominated. The winning runs came off the bats of Fabian Andrade and Trey Ball, who also added a pair of walks, while Leon Paulino added a double for the first hit of his professional career. It took three pitchers to get through the first four innings of the game, including starter Alexander Montero who went two scoreless. Jorge Rodriguez took over in the fifth and was excellent, hurling the final four frames of the game and striking out three.
-----DSL Red Sox1 10, DSL Braves (ATL) 1
The DSL Red Sox1 squad allowed just a single unearned run as they routed the Braves. Leading off Nelfy Abreu and Eddinson Paulino each notched a pair of hits and were joined in that regard by Eduardo Vaughan and Albert Feliz. Carlos Sanchez put a cherry on top of an already dominant performance with a pinch-hit home run in the ninth, and Wilker Vargas chipped in with a double. Getting the start was Adrian Hernandez who delivered four one hit innings of shut out ball. The bullpen was equally dominant as Johan Martinez and Cristofe Tineo each fired two scoreless frames and struck out four.
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DSL Red Sox2 6, DSL Pirates1 (PIT) 3
A strong outing from Juan Daniel Encarnacion set the table for the Red Sox as they overcame the Pirates on Saturday. The righty went four innings and allowed just one earned run. Jose Ramirez earned the win despite allowing a run in his inning out of the pen, while Robinson Parra went 2 2/3 innings and allowed just an unearned run. Emerson Ortiz secured the save with a scoreless ninth.
Axel James lead the Red Sox in the hit column with three singles, and was joined by Bryan Gonzalez and Elio Prado who notched two hits apiece. Despite only notching a single hit Angeudis Santos had a productive day by walking three times and stealing a base.
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Player of the Day: Despite giving up nine hits Enmanuel De Jesus struck out eight batters and allowed just a single run Saturday night. De Jesus has come into his own in his last three starts, allowing just two earned runs in 18 2/3 innings and striking out 21. De Jesus has had an up and down 2019 but has now lowered his ERA to 3.81 on the season with 70 strikeouts.
Photo Credit: Enmanuel De Jesus by Kelly O'Connor