July 26, 2019 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Song debuts; McGrath scoreless streak continues
7/26 Cup of Coffee: The professional debut of Noah Song was the big story, but his fellow starters were not to be upstaged. All four full-season affiliates featured quality starts, highlighted by the continued dominance of Daniel McGrath (pictured). Despite extending his scoreless streak, McGrath's Sea Dogs fell in an extra-innings shutout. Pawtucket and Greenville both had all their scoring come on a home run to lead them in their respective pitchers' duels. Lowell also got some timely power to support Bryan Lucas in a piggyback role. The DSL teams split, with the Red Sox1 squad winning their ninth straight.
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It was a tall order for the PawSox with two-way phenom Brandon McKay on the mound for Durham. Kyle Hart went toe-to-toe with him, as they matched zeroes for four innings. The Rays finally reached Hart for a run in the sixth, but a Chris Owings three-run homer off the Bull 'pen proved decisive. The lefty gave up just two hits in six innings, walking three and striking out eight. Tanner Houck took the ball for the eighth inning and walked two of the five batters he faced and hit another. Trevor Kelley escaped the jam, preserving Houck's run of being unscored upon since his promotion.
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Daniel McGrath has been a revelation in 2019, but he got no support on Thursday from his offense or the extra-innings rules. The Australian lefty extended his streak without surrendering an earned run to 46 innings with eight dominant frames. McGrath gave up two singles and one walk, striking out six, allowing only one batter beyond first base. Durbin Feltman followed with a perfect ninth inning, striking out one. Matthew Gorst was also perfect in the 10th, but was saddled with the loss as the automatic runner advanced to third on a ground out and then scored on a fly ball.
At the plate, Jarren Duran extended his hitting streak to five games with a double, his first extra-base hit of the second half. The 2018 seventh-round pick seems to have broken out of the first prolonged slump of his professional career as he is now 11 for 21 during his streak. Luke Tendler had the only multi-hit game, going 2 for 3 with a walk.
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The Sox were shut out in the rubber match of the three-game set at Haley Toyota Field. Enmanuel De Jesus continues to be a workhorse in the Salem rotation as he worked at least six innings for the seventh time in his last nine outings. He gave up three runs on five hits in 6 1/3, striking out six and walking three. Garrett Benge and Keith Curcio had two hits apiece.
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Brayan Bello has turned his season around as he submitted another strong July performance. Bello gave up just one run on four hits in six innings, striking out six and walking one. Entering the month with an unsightly 7.82 ERA, Bello has given up just four runs in 23 innings in four July starts. He has 29 strikeouts, six walks, and a 1.04 WHIP during that stretch. He got an assist from a pair of the Drive's most reliable relievers. Alex Demchak fired a scoreless seventh, followed by Logan Browning going two innings for the save. Browning was particularly dominant, striking out five of the six batters he faced and throwing 19 of 24 pitches for strikes.
The Drive managed only five hits, but a two-run homer in the sixth inning by Devlin Granberg was all the offense they needed. Everlouis Lozada was 2 for 4 with a double and a walk out of the leadoff spot. Triston Casas did not record a hit but walked twice and scored a run.
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The first-place Lowell Spinners got even stronger on Thursday, as fourth-round pick Noah Song made his professional debut. The right-hander out of the Naval Academy threw a hitless first inning, striking out two and walking one. SoxProspects.com Executive Editor Chris Hatfield made the trip to Ripken Stadium and reported that Song mixed in all four pitches and reached 97 with the fastball.
Right-hander Bryan Lucas yielded his spot in the Lowell rotation to Song but joined his organization-mates in submitted the equivalent of a quality start. Lucas went six innings, giving up three runs on four hits, striking out four and walking three. Joe Davis provided the offensive spark with a three-run homer in the seventh. Antoni Flores tallied a double, while Gilberto Jimenez had a single and a walk.
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GCL Red Sox vs. GCL Braves , postponed
The rain keeps falling in Florida and has begun swallowing baseball games two by two. For the second straight day the Red Sox and Braves had an attempt at a doubleheader washed out entirely. The teams will try again next month with doubleheaders on August 21 and 22.
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The Red Sox1 club keeps rolling with a ninth consecutive victory, passing the Royals1 to move into first place in the Northwest Division. Wilkelman Gonzalez turned in another solid effort, allowing one unearned run on two hits in four innings, striking out four and walking just one. Royman Blanco got the win in relief with three shutout innings. Eduardo Lopez led the way at the plate, going 2 for 4 with a double, stolen base, and two runs scored. Eduardo Vaughan also had two hits.
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The Sox hopped out to a 3-0 lead, but it evaporated quickly as the Dodgers plated three in the third and two more in the fifth. Naysbel Marcano recorded two of his team's four hits, including a triple. Bryan Gonzalez doubled and walked in the loss.
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Player of the Day: Daniel McGrath put an exclamation point on his recent run of incredible pitching, giving up just two hits in eight shutout innings. The last time the Melbourne native gave up an earned run was on June 16th in a one-appearance stint in Pawtucket. His scoreless streak in Double-A runs back even further, covering 46 innings since Hartford reached him on May 28. Perhaps even more impressive than the scoreless innings streak is how he's reached the mark by completely powering down Eastern League hitters: he has faced 156 batters and given up zero extra-base hits for an opposing slugging percentage of .110.
Photo Credit: Daniel McGrath by Kelly O'Connor