August 1, 2019 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: 3 hits for Lugo, Chatham; McGrath shutout streak broken in strong start
Cup of Coffee 8/1: The Red Sox system had an uneven evening. Pawtucket seemed to have a win in hand with a three-run lead in the bottom of the eighth, but Syracuse came back to win. The two DSL squads struggled offensively and Greenville was shutout. However, Daniel McGrath and Ryan Weber (pictured) each turned in strong starts and C.J. Chatham was a triple short of the cycle. In addition, Matthew Lugo turned in a three-hit night and Jarren Duran extended his hitting streak to nine games. Danny Diaz drilled a three-run home run and Cameron Cannon went deep as well.
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Pawtucket seemed to have a stranglehold on the game with a 3-0 lead headed into the bottom of the eighth, but Hector Velazquez gave up a two-run home run and after a pitching change, a Travis Lakins wild pitch allowed the game-tying run to score. The Mets completed the comeback when a leadoff walk came around to score in the ninth. That erased a strong start from Ryan Weber, who pitched six innings of shutout, five-hit ball with seven strikeouts. Mike Shawaryn pitched a scoreless seventh. The Pawtucket offense came from Josh Ockimey, who was 2 for 3 with a three-run home run. Chris Owings and Cole Sturgeon each had two hits.
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C.J. Chatham was a home run short of the cycle and drove in a run, while Brett Netzer was able to drive the ball over the fence to drive home two. Meanwhile, Jarren Duran extended his hitting streak to nine games and the 22-year-old has raised his batting average from .213 and .255 during that span. Daniel McGrath's streak of not allowing an earned run ended at 46 1/3 innings with a third-inning home run, but the Australian allowed just the solo shot in six innings of work. Kevin Lenik earned his third save of 2019 with a clean ninth inning.
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Salem Red Sox vs. Potomac Nationals (WAS), Postponed (Rain)
The rain up and down the East Coast postponed the middle game of the series back to Thursday as part of a double-header, which will begin at 12:05 p.m.
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The Drive loaded the bases in the ninth with a trio of walks, but they were unable to score a run. Brayan Bello allowed five runs on nine hits in five innings, but five of those base knocks and all five runs came in a rough third inning. Yorvin Pentoja and Alex Demchak each pitched two frames of scoreless ball. Greenville notched only five hits, two of which came off the bat of Jordan Wren.
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Noah Song punched out four Cyclones across two innings of shutout ball to open the contest, allowing just one hit. Yusniel Padron-Artilles operated in a piggyback role, pitching six innings of one-run ball. He struck out eight batters. Jenrry Mejia closed out the contest, allowing only a single with two down. On the offensive side, Cameron Cannon hit a two-run home run and Jaxx Groshans was 2 for 3 with a double. Nicholas Northcut added an RBI as well.
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Danny Diaz set the tone early, as he drilled a three-run home run as part of a 2-for-5 performance. Matthew Lugo was 3 for 5 and extended his hitting streak to seven games, the last three of which were multi-hit efforts. Dean Miller and Oscar Rangel also added two-hit performances, with the latter knocking home three runs. Casey Sutherland pitched 2 1/3 innings in relief to earn the save and has yet to allow a run in his first 14 professional innings. Earning the start, Felix Cepeda allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits in 3 2/3 innings of work.
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Albert Feliz knocked an RBI double and that was about the only bright spot offensively, as the first DSL squad combined for just two hits. Wilkelman Gonzalez surrendered one run on three hits in five innings of work, while Robinson Montero did his best to out-do the starter, allowing just one runner to cross the plate on a pair of hits, but he struck out five hitters in four innings. The walk-off run scored on a throwing error by pitcher Isaac Pinales on a sacrifice bunt attempt.
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The Red Sox were able to stave off the shutout with a run in the ninth, but could not complete the comeback. The second DSL team committed three errors, though only one unearned run crossed the plate. Juan Daniel Encarnacion pitched the first three innings of the ballgame, giving up three runs on six hits. Irvin Villaroel was more successful through the middle innings, as just an unearned run crossed the plate on his three-inning watch. Moises Barajas knocked two hits.
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Player of the Day: Taking a tough-luck no-decision, Ryan Weber turned in arguably his best start of 2019 and now has not allowed a run in two consecutive outings. Weber tied his season-high for strikeouts with seven, a total he had reached twice before. When combined with his four shutout frames on July 26, the 28-year-old has lowered his ERA from 5.16 to 4.33. Weber has had two stints up with Boston after being signed as a minor league free agent this offseason.
Photo Credit: Ryan Weber by Kelly O'Connor