July 23, 2019 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Diaz sharp, Draftees power GCL Sox
7/22 Cup of Coffee: It was a relatively quiet night on the farm as both Pawtucket and Greenville had the night off, while Portland and Lowell were both rained out. Salem fell in the completion of a suspended game, a strong outing from Jhonathan Diaz (pictured) helped right the ship as Salem eased to victory in game two. In the GCL, Jorge Rodriguez's strong start was backed by strong performances from 2019 draftees Dominic D'Alessandro, Daniel Bakst, and Matthew Lugo.
-----
Portland Sea Dogs vs. Hartford Yard Goats (COL) PPD (inclement weather)
Monday night's contest between the Sea Dogs and Yard Goats was postponed due to rain. The game will be made up on Tuesday, July 23rd as part of a doubleheader.
-----
Salem continued it's suspended game from Sunday night, but was unable to make a difference in the final score. The Red Sox were trailing the Pelicans 6-1 following the suspension of Sunday night's game due to lightning and were shutout across the final two frames of the game. Algenis Martinez was the lone pitcher to appear for Salem and fired a scoreless inning, striking out one.
In the second leg of the impromptu doubleheader, Jhonathan Diaz was sharp, hurling five scoreless innings and striking out four to lead Salem to victory. From there Hunter Smith took over and was solid, allowing one unearned run in two innings pitched. The Red Sox didn't need to do much at the plate, but Charlie Madden did more than enough. The designated hitter notched a pair of singles and drove in four. Not to be outdone, Pedro Castellanos laced a single and a triple as he scored twice and walked. Garrett Benge and Keith Curcio each smacked a double to aid in the effort.
-----
Lowell Spinners vs. Hudson Valley Renegades (TBR)
The final game of the Spinners series with Hudson Valley was rained out Monday night. The Spinners will make up their game with the Renegades in a doubleheader on August 11th.
-----
A lone unearned run was all that kept the GCL Red Sox pitching staff from a nearly flawless day at the park, highlighted by five innings of one-hit ball from starter Jorge Rodriguez. He was relieved by Yoelvis Guedez who went two scoreless and was followed by Mason Duke and Zach Schneider, who combined to close out the game with a shutout inning apiece.
A home run off the bat of Dominic D'Alessandro highlighted a trio of solid performances from 2019 draftees. The first baseman also singled, while Daniel Bakst and Matthew Lugo each had perfect days at the plate. Bakst collected two hits, including an RBI triple, while Lugo singled and walked twice. Bramdon Perez also chipped in with a single and a double while driving in a pair of runs.
-----
Darel Belen tripled twice to highlight a trio of strong performances in the heart of the Red Sox order that helped lift the team to victory Monday afternoon. Batting second Wilker Vargas notched three hits including a double and stole a base, while Eduardo Lopez singled twice. Leadoff hitter Brainer Bonaci chipped in with a solo shot, his second of the year. On the mound Nixson Munoz got the start and was solid, surrendering two runs in five innings and striking out three. Robinson Munoz surrendered just one run on one hit in what was an otherwise stellar outing. Munoz went four innings and struck out four while holding the Marlins to just a double.
-----
Barring one unearned run, starter Luis Talavera was excellent, scattering two hits across five innings and striking out two. Relieving him was Carlos Reyes who allowed one run in his three innings of work, but struck out four. Felix Gomez struck out two in a scoreless inning to earn the save. Despite striking out 13 times the Red Sox were able to make the most of their five hits in order to outlast the Indians. Giancarlos Santana singled, walked, drove in a run, and scored twice as part of a productive day at the dish. Frank Astacio and Naysbel Marcano each singled and stole a base.
-----
Player of the Day: Following a breakout season in 2018, things did not go according to plan for Jhonathan Diaz as the 2019 season began. However as the weather turned things started looking up for the Venezuelan lefty, and since July began Diaz has been positively dominant. Diaz sports a sizzling 0.31 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 29 1/3 innings pitched and has lowered his season ERA to 4.25 from a season-high 8.22 on May 14. With his performance on Monday, Diaz has now allowed just two earned runs in his last seven starts, a total of 40 2/3 innings.
Photo Credit: Jhonathan Diaz by Kelly O'Connor