July 4, 2019 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffe: Dalbec goes yard again, Ward shines
7/4 Cup of Coffee: Bobby Dalbec and the Portland Sea Dogs brought some early fireworks as Portland overcame the Thunder. Elsewhere in the Sox system runs were hard to come by, but the pitching came through as four affiliates were involved in pitcher's duels with varying results. Thaddeus Ward (pictured) dominated for Salem, and Yasel Santana was excellent as Lowell walked off the Lake Monsters.
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A late inning rally came up short as the PawSox fell to their Yankee rivals. Teddy Stankiewicz was solid on the mound, allowing four earned runs in seven innings and only walking one. Returning to the PawSox Mike Shawaryn came on in relief and surrendered an earned run in two innings out of the pen. At the plate Chris Owings, Gorkys Hernandez, and Cole Sturgeon each singled and smacked solo home runs as the only offense the PawSox could muster.
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The power surge continued for Bobby Dalbec who launched his fourth home run in five games as part of a two-hit night. Batting in front of him CJ Chatham continued his stellar form as he doubled, singled and walked. Brett Netzer provided the third multi-hit effort for the Sea Dogs, while Luke Tendler and Jeremy Rivera doubled and tripled respectively. Also chipping in was Jarren Duran who singled and walked.
It was a stellar night for starter Denyi Reyes who scattered six hits across seven two run innings. The bullpen was equally impressive with Durbin Feltman striking out two in a scoreless eighth and Matthew Gorst shutting the door with a scoreless ninth.
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Thaddeus Ward had it going on for Salem as they outlasted the Woodpeckers in a low scoring affair. Ward hasn't skipped a beat since promotion to Salem and tonight was no different, going six innings of one run ball and striking out ten. Andrew Politi took over where Ward left off, going the final three innings and striking out four. Newly minted Carolina League Player of the Month Marcus Wilson provided a double, but it was Pedro Castellanos and Tanner Nishioka who drove in the winning runs for Salem.
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It was an ugly day at the balpark for the Drive as starter Alex Scherff did not escape the first inning, surrendering seven runs in just 2/3 of an inning. Hunter Haworth managed to settle things down in relief, striking out six and allowing just one run in 3 1/3 innings out of the pen, but the damage had been done. Devlin Granberg was the one bright spot at the plate for Greenville as he notched three hits. Cole Brannen also contributed with a triple and a walk.
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A single off the bat of Xavier LeGrant was the difference for the Spinners as they outlasted the Lake Monsters Wednesday night. IT was a pitcher's duel before then with LeGrant the only Spinner to collect multiple hits. Yasel Santana was on the mound for Lowell and allowed just three hits in his six innings of work while striking out seven. Hildemaro Requena saw the game out from there as he hurled three scoreless innings to close out the game.
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Despite allowing just one earned run and receiving some excellent performances at the plate from Daniel Bakst and Dominic D'Alessandro, the Red Sox bats fell quiet as they fell to the Pirates. Bakst and D'Alessandro each collected three hits, with Bakst adding a triple and D'Alessdandro launching the first home run of his professional career. Gregorio reyes got the nod Wednesday afternoon and was solid, allowing two runs (one earned) in four innings pitched, striking out four. He was relieved by Reed Harrington who tossed a scoreless frame in his professional debut. Mason Duke allowed an unearned run in his two innings pitched, while Dylan Spacke and Zach Schneider each contributed a scoreless inning.
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It was a dominant performance on both sides of the ball as the Red Sox beat the Dodgers squad. Nelfy Abreu was the standout at the plate with a five hit performance, including a double, a triple, and a stolen base. The Red Sox only home run came off the bat of Albert Feliz, who also doubled. Also chipping in were Alixandri Alvarez and Eduardo Lopez who each added a double, as well as Wilker Vargas who singled twice.
On the mound Gabriel Jackson got the start and surrendered three runs (all of which were unearned) in his four innings pitched. He was relieved by Nixson Munoz who shredded the Dodgers lineup with ten strikeouts in four innings out of the pen. Johan Martinez closed things out for the Red Sox with a scoreless ninth in which he struck out two batters.
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It was a pitcher's duel in the Dominican as the Red Sox fell despite a strong start from Carlos Reyes. Reyes went five no-hit innings and struck out seven, but it was not enough for the Red Sox offense to come away with a win. At the plate the DSL Red Sox2 could only muster six hits compared to 13 striekouts. Noelberth Romero and Moises Barajas each came away with a pair of singles, but they were the only stand out performances in an otherwise bleak showing that included a pair of pick-offs.
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Player of the Day: Since joining Salem Thaddeus Ward picked up where he left off in Greenville as he continued his strong 2019 campaign. Three starts into his Carolina League career Ward has put up a sizzling 1.65 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings pitched. With his stellar performance thus far in the season, Ward has been steadily turning heads and recently debuted in the SoxProspects.com Top 20 in the most recent update to the rankings.
Photo Credit: Thaddeus Ward by Kelly O'Connor
Photo Credit: Thaddeus Ward by Kelly O'Connor