September 7, 2021 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: De La Rosa impresses, Diaz homers
9/7 Cup of Coffee: Another day, another doubleheader. This time, it was the FCL Red Sox playing two, while the Dominican Summer squads had a game apiece. Most of the starting pitchers were effective, but shaky bullpens proved costly. Offenses were inconsistent with the lone home run out of any Red Sox affiliate hitter coming off the bat of Kelvin Diaz in the final inning for the DSL Red Sox Red, although the FCL squad put together five doubles in their first game.
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Luis De La Rosa pitched effectively, allowing just one run on three hits and a walk over five innings. He also struck out two. Jhonny Felix was unable to hold things down in relief, however, surrendering five runs without retiring a single batter. Marcelo Mayer went 1 for 4 and scored a run. Eddinson Paulino provided an RBI double and stole a base out of the leadoff spot, while Tyler Miller doubled and drove in three. Miguel Ugueto, Bryan Gonzalez, and Phillip Sikes all doubled as well in the loss.
It was a strong outing for Ryan Zeferjahn, who pitched four shutout innings on two hits with four strikeouts. Blake Loubier also stuck out four but gave up a run in his two innings of relief, which ultimately resulted in a loss for him. The offense, meanwhile, couldn't get anything going with only Eddinson Paulino, Darel Belen, and Eduardo Vaughan managing so much as singles.
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The offense managed to score four runs on a bases-loaded Alex Zapete walk, two run-scoring wild pitches, and a Rivaldo Avila RBI ground-out to the shortstop. Ronny Ramirez scored one of those runs and contributed three singles on the day. Jedixson Paez earned a gritty win as he pitched around seven hits over five innings, surrendering three runs (two earned) without issuing any walks and striking out three. Railin Perez picked up his seventh save of the season with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
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It was a rough outing for Francis Hernandez who only lasted one out into the fourth inning, surrendering five runs (three earned) along the way. Luis Talavera, and Frailyn Sanchez combined for 2.2 scoreless innings in relief allowing the Red team to nearly rally back. The comeback was primarily thanks to a three-run homer in the top of the seventh off the bat of Kelvin Diaz. But the team came up just short. The only other extra base hit for the Red team was a Frank Astacio double.
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Player of the Day: Of the five players received in the Andrew Benintendi trade, Luis De La Rosa has received perhaps the least attention, but it might be time to start giving the guy some attention. For the month of August, he had a 1.29 ERA and 0.79 WHIP over 14 innings. He also had 12 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .149 OBA. The 19-year-old righty's arsenal includes four pitches (fastball, curveball, changeup, slider). He's shown good control and a strong feel for his secondary pitches, although he could stand to add some velocity to his fastball which currently tops out in the low 90s.