July 6, 2019 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Shugart leads Drive, Casas homers
7/6 Cup of Coffee: Chase Shugart (pictured) continued his strong campaign for Greenville with a scoreless outing. Daniel Gonzalez pitched well for Salem and Darwinzon Hernandez threw his first inning of relief for Pawtucket. Jarren Duran had four hits for the Sea Dogs and Triston Casas hit his 15th home run of the season.
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After taking the lead in the 11th, Bobby Poyner let it slip away by allowing two runs in the bottom half of the frame. Darwinzon Hernandez made his first Triple-A relief appearance, tossing a perfect inning with one strikeout. Konner Wade started and was solid, allowing just a run in five innings. Trevor Kelley and Travis Lakins added scoreless innings. The PawSox had just four hits, but Gorkys Hernandez reached three times with a double, two walks, and two runs.
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The bats came to life in New Hampshire, led by Jarren Duran, who went 4 for 5 with a double. Joey Curletta also had a big game, going 2 for 3 with a walks, a double, a home run, three runs, and three RBI. C.J. Chatham went 2 for 4 with a double to raise his average to .327. Jerry Downs and Tate Matheny added home runs as well. Matthew Kent turned in a quality start, surrendering three runs in six innings with six strikeouts and just one walk. Adam Lau picked up the save with 1 2/3 innings.
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Daniel Gonzalez grabbed his third win of the year by allowing just one run in six innings. He gave up four hits, two walks, and struck out five. Zach Schellenger finished it off with a scoreless seventh. Nick Lovullo went 2 for 2 with a double and two RBI. Dylan Hardy added a pair of hits and Tanner Nishioka drove in a run with a two-bagger.
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Greenville shutout Charleston as Chase Shugart continued his tremendous year for the Drive. The right-hander threw 6 1/3 shutout innings with five strikeouts and three walks. He has now thrown 11 consecutive scoreless innings and has his season ERA down to 1.76. Alex Demchak recorded the save with 2 2/3 hitless innings. Triston Casas belted his 15th home run of the year as part of a 1-for-3 game that also included a walk. Devlin Granberg also homered and Everlouis Lozada picked up two hits.
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Ryan Zeferjahn made his second professional start and threw two shutout frames with three strikeouts and no walks. He now has six strikeouts and no walks in three innings with Lowell. Kelvin Sanchez was very good in relief, striking out eight in four innings while allowing just one run. Brendan Nail saved his fourth game of the year with a scoreless ninth and lowered his ERA to 0.71. Elih Marrero led the offense by going 2 for 4 with a double and two RBI. Nick Northcut and Nick Decker also added doubles.
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The game was suspended after eight innings of play, tied at one. Jorge Rodriguez started for the Sox and did not allow a run over three innings with three strikeouts and no walks. Undrafted free agent Casey Sutherland made his professional debut and was impressive with two scoreless innings. He struck out one and did not walk a batter. At the plate, Dominic D'Alessandro was 1 for 3 with a double, a walk, and a run scored.
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Brainer Bonaci, Albert Feliz, and Yorberto Mejicano each had three hits, as the trio was a combined 9 for 13 with nine singles. Alex Zapete added a double and scored a run. Angel Bastardo allowed three runs in three innings to start it off, but Adrian Hernandez was terrific in relief with four shutout innings with three strikeouts and no walks.
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The Sox dropped a slugfest, as Luis Mota and Andres Gari each went 3 for 4, with Mota scoring three times and Gari driving in two and scoring twice. Denny Daza and Elio Prado both went 2 for 4 as well. Juan Daniel Encarnacion took the loss after giving up five runs (three earned) in three innings. Gregori Segovia was solid, as he did not allow a run in three innings of work out of the bullpen.
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Player of the Night: Chase Shugart, a 12th round pick in 2018, has dominated so far for Greenville. The 22-year old has a 1.76 ERA in 46 innings with 39 strikeouts and just 10 walks. Last year, he only threw eight innings between the GCL Red Sox and Lowell, but had a 1.13 ERA and nine strikeouts.
Photo Credit: Chase Shugart by Kelly O'Connor