RED SOX CAPTURE FOURTH STRAIGHT WIN AND PLAYOFF BIRTH WITH 9-2 VICTORY
A slumping Brewster Whitecaps (18-17-4) team that has lost three straight games could not put out the fire on a red hot YD Red Sox (18-17-4) team that scorched Whitecaps pitching for nine runs on twelve hits to move just three points out of first place in the Eastern Division. A week ago, Red Sox fans would have thought it unfathomable to be just a game and a half out of first place with their team playing mediocre baseball and their record sub-.500 through much of July, but low and behold, here we are with five games left to play and a very good chance at taking the league title.
It all seems to be coming together for YD in the late stages of the season; hitting numbers for the team have skyrocketed and the pitching has quietly developed to become very efficient.
Before Brewster’s recent skid they sat atop of the Eastern Division but now find themselves in a tie for third place with the Red Sox as their playoff seeding is in peril and the Red Sox look to improve theirs. The Orleans Firebirds won their seventh straight game yesterday and grabbed the top spot in the East with 43 points along with the Harwich Mariners.
Tuesday’s game at Red Wilson field featured Jack Armstrong on the mound for YD, yet an injury forced him out of the game after just one inning. Recent go to long reliever Joey Denato came in to pitch four solid innings allowing two runs (1 ER) on five hits. Andrew Thurman also looked impressive throwing three innings of shut out ball while allowing just one hit and striking out four. Red Sox pitching was able to baffle the Brewster bats that saw more than four hitters in an inning only twice.
Sox hitters jumped on Brewster pitching early in the first inning. Shortstop Chris Taylor lined the first pitch of the game he saw up the middle for a single and was followed by a hard triple by Cody Keefer (2-4, RBI) down the right field line on the first pitch he saw to drive in Taylor and give YD the lead.
After Brewster took the lead 2-1 in the top of the third with the help of three Denato errors in the inning, YD regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth and never lost it from there. After a two out walk to second baseman Matt Wessinger who moved to second on a wild pitch, catcher Derrick Chung drove him in with a single to the left side. Chung moved to second on the throw home and was driven in by a Taylor double off the center field wall for the third YD run, 3-2. Keefer reached on an infield single to put runners on the corners but James Ramsey was robbed of a gap shot and more Red Sox runs by a diving catch by Brewster left fielder Jason Monda.
Brewster outfielders stole a couple hits away from Red Sox hitters early in the game that would have given YD an even larger lead. However, two out walks in the fourth through seventh innings that initiated rallies proved deadly for the Whitecaps.
YD broke the game open in the bottom of the sixth inning. After the first two batters of the inning struck out swinging, three straight two-out walks to Keefer, Ramsey, and Stephen Piscotty loaded the bases for recent RBI machine Matt Reynolds. Reynolds (3-5, 2 2Bs, 3 RBIs) ripped a double off the center field fence to drive in all three runners and give the Red Sox the 6-2 lead. That hit pulled Reynolds into the team lead for RBIs with 19.
The Red Sox scored twice more in the seventh inning thanks to a Jacob Lamb double, a Wessinger single, and a throwing error by the Brewster pitcher on a Chung bunt.
The ninth and final run for YD came on an extraordinary display by three straight pinch hitters, Connor Harrel, Mike O’Neill, and Anthony Melchionda who singled, doubled, and singled much to the delight of Coach Pickler.
With a fourth straight win in the bag, the YD Red Sox will look to continue their successful play away against the Bourne Braves (20-17-2) on Wednesday. First pitch is at 5 PM.
--Ben Stepansky
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