Cup of Coffee: A tale of two DSL games

7/11 Cup of Coffee: Each of the five stateside affiliates had Monday off, which left just the two DSL squads to carry the minor league day. Blue, which scored 12 runs on 13 hits, scored enough runs for both teams, as Red had just one tally on five hits. Yoeilin Cespedes (pictured) had three hits for Blue to push his batting average to .340. He now has a hit in 10 of his last 11 games and 17 of his last 19. Wuilliams Rodriguez pitched five shutout innings for Red in that contest's standout performance and has pitched to a 1.29 ERA in his first six professional outings.

Blue was held in check for most of the afternoon. The Pirates led 2-0 after four-and-a-half innings and the home side trailed 2-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth, but a three-run frame, followed by an eight-run eighth, sealed the deal for the Red Sox. They did it with walks and singles, as Kleyver Salazar had the only extra-base hit. Blue combined for nine free passes and 12 singles, including three from Yoeilin Cespedes, who also paced the team with four RBIs. Cristofher Paniagua, Yoiber Ruiz, and Frederik Jimenez also had multiple hits.

Both Pirate runs went on Yeferson Vargas' tab, as he gave them up on four hits and two walks, with just one strikeout. The bullpen was strong, however, as Hanssel De Los Santos, Enrique Carta, Ruben De La Cruz, and Emmanuel Polo combined to scatter a pair of hits over five innings of shutout ball. 

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It was a pitchers' duel on Monday between the Tigers and Red Sox, as Wuilliams Rodriguez scattered a pair of hits over five shutout innings, with zero walks and four strikeouts. Yoelvin Chirino gave up all three runs over 1 1/3 innings of work and was served the loss, while Cristofer Soriano didn't permit a run over the game's final 1 2/3 frames.

Red worked just four walks and had five hits, all of which were singles. Jancel Santana had two of them out of the leadoff spot. In the seventh, Red loaded the bases with nobody out in the seventh and Natanael Eusebio worked a bases-loaded walk to take a 1-0, but they were unable to extend the lead and the Tigers scored all three in the bottom half of the frame.

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Player of the Day: Even in a loss, Wuilliams Rodriguez had a pitching performance that doesn't come that often in the Dominican Summer League, as most pitchers don't throw five innings or more. He did so and didn't permit a run in the process, holding up his end of the bargain in a rare pitcher's duel between him and Frank Moreno of the Tigers. The Venezuela native has had a great start to his professional career, with a WHIP below 1.00, after signing with a $50,000 bonus in January 2023.