August 27, 2019 at 8:40 AM
Cup of Coffee: Dalbec and Ockimey go yard, Jimenez homers in Lowell
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A home run each from Bobby Dalbec and Josh Ockimey was not enough for the Red Sox, as they fell at home Monday night. Outside of the two long balls, only Jantzen Witte was able to do much of anything for Pawtucket, finishing with two singles and an RBI, though CJ Chatham chipped in with a pair of walks. After surrendering an early run, Kyle Hart cruised through the RailRiders lineup to finish with four strikeouts in six innings pitched. However, the bullpen struggled to close out the game, with Bobby Poyner and Travis Lakins allowed five runs in two innings. Sandwiched between them, Tanner Houck was excellent as he struck out four batters in two innings out of the 'pen.
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A strong pitching performance and the herculean efforts of Charlie Madden were able to lift Portland in their contest with the Rumble Ponies. Madden almost single-handedly willed Portland to victory, as the catcher finished with a home run, two doubles, and a pair of RBI in his four-hit performance. Marcus Wilson drove in the other Portland run and also stole a base. Bryan Mata got the start for Portland and was solid, allowing two-run sin six innings and striking out a pair. Robinson Leyer relieved him and looked sharp as he struck out three in two shutout frames. Jordan Weems nabbed the save with a perfect ninth while striking out a pair.
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The Salem pitching staff was firing on all cylinders Monday night as the Red Sox shut out the Dash. Bouncing back from an ugly outing Jhonathan Diaz was dominant, striking out more batters (five) than he allowed on base (four). He was followed by Zach Schellenger who allowed struck out two in as many frames, and Rio Gomez who closed things out with a perfect ninth. Victor Acosta led the way for the Red Sox at the plate, homering as part of a two-hit night. Acosta also drove in two runs and scored a pair to cap off a productive evening at the dish. Tanner Nishioka got in on the action with an RBI double, while Devlin Granberg chipped in with a pair of singles.
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Greenville's bats were silenced as they struck out 14 times in an ugly loss to the GreenJackets. Jordan Wren notched the lone extra-base hit of the evening with a double, while Triston Casas also reached base with a single. Angel Padron was on the bump for Greenville and was woefully unlucky. The lefty allowed six runs in his 3 2/3 innings pitched, of which five were unearned. Alex Demchak was first out of the 'pen and allowed one run in his 2 1/3 innings pitched. Brendan Nail followed with two strikeouts in two scoreless frames, and Robbie Baker capped off the night by striking out the side in the ninth.
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On a night when the Lowell bats were mostly quiet, Gilberto Jimenez remained true to form. The young outfielder launched his third home run of the year to score the Spinners lone run and added a single and a walk. Wil Dalton had a successful, if unproductive night, singling twice and walking. It was an uneven start for Aldo Ramirez, who allowed four runs in six innings despite allowing just five hits and no walks and fanning six batters. Yusniel Padron-Artiles was the lone relief pitcher used, and he struck out four in his three innings of one-run ball.
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A seventh-inning surge as not enough for the Red Sox as they fell to the playoff-bound Orioles. Dean Miller smacked the lone extra-base hit of the evening for the Red Sox with a double, while adding a walk and a run scored. Lower in the order Bramdon Perez was responsible for driving in both of the Red Sox runs with an RBI single. Jay Groome was on the mound for the Red Sox and for the second straight appearance kept a clean inning. He was followed by Bradley Blalock who was hit hard to the tune of four runs in just 1 2/3 frames. Taking over in the fourth, Mason Duke struck out two batters in as many scoreless frames, while Jose Larez followed him with a shutout seventh.
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Player of the Day: It's been (quite literally) an up and down season for Charlie Madden, who has found himself on the shuttle between Salem and Portland quite a bit in 2019. Interestingly, Madden has had more success in Double-A, where he increased his home run total to five Monday evening and tripled his doubles total.
Photo Credit: Charlie Madden by Kelly O'Connor