August 13, 2019 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Murphy, Cannon, and Jimenez stay hot in Lowell win
8/13 Cup of Coffee: It was a successful, if quiet, day in the Red Sox system as three of four affiliates emerged victorious. A group effort at the plate saw Greenville narrowly defeat the GreenJackets, while a pitching staff led by Chris Murphy (pictured) helped Lowell win their 32nd game of the season.
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Tyler Esplin led an offensive attack that just managed to hold off Augusta for the victory Monday night. Esplin notched three hits, including a triple, while Tyler Dearden added a double and three hits of his own. Korby Batesole had a productive night at the plate, as he doubled, singled and drove in a trip of runs. Not to be outdone, Alan Marrero launched a solo home run and walked, good for an RBI and two runs scored.
Alex Scherff had an up-and-down night on the mound for Greenville; striking out seven but allowing four runs (one earned) in as many innings pitched. Coming out of the bullpen, Angel Padron was excellent, tossing three shutout innings and striking out four. Brendan Nail attempted to close out the game for the Drive but was pulled in favor of Devon Fisher after loading the bases in the ninth. Fisher got the final out of the contest to earn his first save of 2019.
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The top of the order continued to be a catalyst for the Spinners as they toppled the Renegades. Gilberto Jimenez and Cameron Cannon both doubled as part of two-hit nights, driving in one and two runs respectively. Nick Northcut tripled and scored a pair of runs, but it was Jaxx Groshans' home run that broke open the game for Lowell. Chris Murphy got the start and continued his domination of the New York-Penn League with four frames of one-run baseball and striking out five. Cody Scroggins struck out two in a perfect inning out of the bullpen, and Miguel Suero finished the job by delivering four innings of one-run ball and striking out five.
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GCL Red Sox vs. GCL Orioles, PPD (Inclement Weather)
The GCL Red Sox had their contest with the Orioles postponed Monday afternoon due to inclement weather. The game will be made up on Tuesday, August 13th as part of a doubleheader.
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The pitching staff came up big for the Red sox as they shut out the Rays on Monday afternoon, thanks to the continued success of Nixson Munoz. Munoz went four innings to start the game, surrendering just one hit and striking out two. Royman Blanco relieved him and earned his fourth win of the season with two scoreless, and he was in turn followed by Isaac Pinales and Cristofe Tineo who combined to toss three scoreless innings. The Red Sox offense did not need to do much, and Carlos Sanchez more than obliged with a pinch-hit home run. Eduardo Lopez and Nelfy Abreu chipped in with two hits apiece, and Eduardo Vaughan added his ninth double of the season.
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The DSL Red Sox2 squad saw their bats fall silent as they fell to the Rays despite a pair of solid pitching performances. Bryan Gonzalez drove in the lone run of the day with a triple; his third of the season. The only other Red Sox batter to collect an extra-base hit was Moises Barajas who doubled. Juan Daniel Encarnacion allowed just one hit in his start but walked three as he allowed a run in four innings of work. Working in a piggyback role, Jose Ramirez was solid, striking out five and allowing two runs (one earned) in four innings pitched.
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Player of the Day: Since being selected by the Red Sox in the sixth round of the 2019 draft, Chris Murphy has only allowed three runs (two earned). Although one of those runs was given up in the contest with the Renegades, Murphy lowered his ERA to a crisp 0.82. The San Diego product also added five strikeouts to his tally, now giving him 28 in 22 innings pitched, good for an 11.5 K/9.
Photo Credit: Chris Murphy by Kelly O'Connor