Cup of Coffee: Groome fans 10 for Portland

5/1 Cup of Coffee: It was a very sluggish night offensively for the four Sox affiliates, as each team took a loss. Jay Groome (pictured) was the bright spot of the night, striking out 10 batters without a walk in his outing for the Sea Dogs. Worcester saw some good performances at the plate with home runs from Ronaldo Hernandez and Jeter Downs as well as big nights for Jaren Duran and Triston Casas. Joe Davis also went yard for Portland. 

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Buffalo Bisons (TOR) 9, Worcester Red Sox 7

Jaren Duran and Triston Casas led the Worcester offense to seven runs, but it wasn't enough. Duran roped a double, a triple, and drew a walk with three runs scored from the top of the order. Casas broke out of a little funk at the plate with three singles and two RBI. Ronaldo Hernandez and Jeter Downs each parked home runs. It was the fourth of the year for Downs. Brian Keller had a bit of a rocky outing, surrendering four runs (three earned) over 4 2/3 innings. The right-hander did strike out five and walked just one. In his first outing back with Worcester, Tyler Danish tossed an inning and a third of scoreless ball without allowing a hit. 

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Somerset Patriots (NYY) 3, Portland Sea Dogs 2

Jay Groome was the star of this one for Portland despite the loss. The lefty punched out 10 without issuing a walk in 5 2/3 innings. He also allowed just four hits and one earned run. Dylan Spacke was also solid, allowing just one hit and one run in three frames with two strikeouts. The offense mustered just two singles, off the bats of Christian Koss and Elih Marrero. Cameron Cannon drew a couple free passes and drove in a run. 

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Hickory Crawdads (TEX) 9, Greenville Drive 1

Like Portland, Greenville came up with just two hits on a long night for the Drive. Joe Davis was the highlight, providing the only run on his fourth home run of the season. Ceddanne Rafaela picked up a single and a walk, while Matthew Lugo swiped his third bag. Chih-Jung Liu and Casey Cobb each had a rough go of it, allowing four runs and five runs respectively in a combined 5 2/3 innings. Jordan DiValerio pitched well with a hitless inning and a third with two strikeouts, while Devon Roedahl pitched a clean eighth with one strikeout. 

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Lynchburg Hillcats (CLE) 9, Salem Red Sox 4

Salem was quiet with the bats as well, recording just four hits. Tyler Miller belted his third long ball of the season, while Eddinson Paulino ripped his third triple. Karson Simas also picked up a couple hits. Gabriel Jackson struggled on the mound, allowing seven runs (four earned) on five hits and four walks in just 2 2/3 innings. Jhonny Felix, Felix Cepeda, and Jacob Webb combined for 3 1/3 hitless innings to end the game, with Cepeda striking out the side in his lone inning. 

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Player of the Day: Jay Groome turned in his third solid outing of the season, but tonight was his breakout in the strikeout department. He struck out 10 batters for the second time in his career, the first coming in September of last season. Overall, the lefty lowered his ERA for the season to 3.60 to go along with a 1.07 WHIP.  He has 19 strikeouts in 15 innings and batters are hitting just .193 off him.

Photo Credit: Jay Groome by Kelly O'Connor

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