Sam Travis went 1-4 and knocked in a run as the Red Sox beat Chatham 10-3 Sunday night.
By: Andrew Constant / @andrew_constant
The Red Sox used an eight-run third inning to put the game out of hand Sunday night in Chatham en route to a 10-3 victory over the Anglers, snapping a two-game losing streak.
Josh Tobias, a freshman at the University of Florida, had struggled in his first week with Y-D, managing just one hit in his first 10 at-bats, but broke out Sunday. He collected two hits in the third inning, knocking in a run with the latter of the two. Tobias finished the night 2-5 with two runs scored and three RBI.
Catcher Wayne Taylor also broke out with a big night for the Red Sox, collecting two hits in four at-bats, scoring three runs and knocking in a pair. Tobias and Taylor, hitting seventh and eighth in the Y-D order, combined for those four hits and five RBI, giving a boost to a lineup that has been relying on the middle of its starting nine in recent games.
Those players in the middle of the order, Zak Blair, Robert Pehl, Sam Travis and Alex Blandino, teamed for just three hits Sunday, but the Red Sox didn?t skip a beat. With his 1-4 night, Pehl?s average stands at .402, just two points behind Patrick Biondi of Cotuit for the Cape League-lead. Blair and Blandino rank fifth and sixth in the league with their .365 and .361 averages respectively.
Only Carlos Asuaje and Justin Shafer didn?t collect a hit for Y-D, who totaled nine.
Chatham didn?t help itself in the game, committing four errors and leaving 11 runners on base against Y-D pitching. Starter Spencer Linney only lasted three innings for the Red Sox, allowing only two hits and one run, before giving way to Rick Knapp. The Y-D bullpen combined to go six innings, giving up just five hits and one earned run. Knapp tossed four solid frames to pick up the victory, lowering his ERA to 2.95.
AJ Vanegas and Bryan Verbitsky, who blew the save on Saturday against Orleans, each tossed scoreless frames in relief.
Chatham pitching had a rough night, walking six Red Sox and giving up nine hits and the ten runs. Starting pitcher Eric Stevens only got eight outs, giving up seven hits and eight runs, raising his ERA to 8.44. After Aaron Brown came in to get the final out of the eight-run third inning, Michael Fagan worked three hitless innings, but surrendered three walks. Fagan?s ERA for the summer was lowered to 17.18 with the three scoreless innings, but the Anglers? hitters couldn?t get back in the game while he put up zeroes. Tate Parrish gave up a long home run to Tobias in the seventh inning before Alex Powers cleaned up with two clean frames.
All 10 teams are off on Monday, returning to action on Tuesday evening. The Red Sox will entertain Cotuit at 5 p.m. with Chris Anderson scheduled to take the hill against Jordan Ramsey. The two teams have met just once this summer, with the Kettleers winning 7-4 at Lowell Park last Friday.
