July 17, 2019 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Wade throws seven scoreless innings, Casas hits 16th home run
7/17 Cup of Coffee: Konner Wade (pictured) and Eduard Bazardo combined to throw a four-hit shutout for the Sea Dogs, Triston Casas hit his 16th home run of the year, and Logan Browning continued a dominant stretch for the Drive.
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Home runs from Chad De La Guerra and Rusney Castillo provided more than enough support for Matthew Kent. De La Guerra launched a three-run shot in the seventh, and Castillo had a solo home run in the fourth. Castillo's home run was his 10th of the year as he has already doubled last year's total. Chris Owings went 2 for 4 with a stolen base to round out the offense.
Kent picked up his first win with the PawSox as he allowed one run over six innings, allowing only three hits. Mike Shawaryn and Travis Lakins combined to toss three scoreless innings, with Shawaryn notching two strikeouts.
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It was a dominant game from Konner Wade, as he allowed only three hits and struck out six without walking a batter over seven innings. Eduard Bazardo followed with two scoreless innings, striking out two. Bazardo has thrown multiple innings in six of his seven appearances with the Sea Dogs. C.J. Chatham and Joey Curletta each had two hits, with Curletta also adding a walk. Chatham had seen his average drop 18 points since July 4, but with the two hits on Tuesday he moved back up to .309.
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A two-run home run from Triston Casas gave Greenville some insurance in the eighth inning, and Logan Browning converted his eighth save to close out the win. It was a three-hit night for Casas as he went 3 for 4 with a home run and three RBI. Everlouis Lozada also added a home run, his third in 31 games, and Tyler Esplin went 2 for 4 with a run scored. While he is not hitting for much power, Esplin is now hitting .329 over his last 70 at-bats.
Hunter Haworth worked into the sixth inning, allowing one run over 5 2/3 innings, striking out four without walking a batter. After giving up five runs without getting an out on June 13, Haworth has responded by allowing only four runs over his next 21 1/3 innings. Alex Demchak followed with 2 1/3 shutout innings, and Browning tossed a scoreless ninth. Browning has been on fire, with an ERA of 0.90 and 29 strikeouts over his last 20 innings.
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The Red Sox could not get anything going offensively as they wasted a strong performance from Jorge Rodriguez. Rodriguez struck out five over five shutout innings as he lowered his ERA to 3.48. The 18-year-old was a top performer in the DSL last season and he has carried that forward to the GCL. Ceddanne Rafaela led the offense with two hits, and the only other hit was a double from Danny Diaz.
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The game was suspended with two outs in the top of the fourth, with Albert Feliz and Eduardo Lopez each doubling for the Red Sox.
The second Red Sox squad struggled all around on Tuesday as they were shutout by the Rangers. Carlos Reyes allowed two runs over three innings, and Luis Talavera followed with five innings of three-run ball. Both pitchers now have ERA's just south of 7.00 on the season. Gregori Custodio had the only offensive performance of note, going 2 for 4.
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Player of the Night: Konner Wade was signed out of the Independent League in May, and he is pitching better in the Red Sox system than he was for the Sugar Land Skeeters. With seven shutout innings on Tuesday he lowered his ERA to an even 3.00 in 51 innings with the Red Sox. While he does not miss many bats, he has shown the ability to keep hitters off balance, and he is shaping up to be a good organizational arm for the Red Sox.
Photo Credit: Konner Wade by Kelly O'Connor
Photo Credit: Konner Wade by Kelly O'Connor