Joey Denato earned his first win of the summer Wednesday as Y-D beat Orleans 7-4.
By: Andrew Constant / @andrew_constant
The Y-D Red Sox put a difficult game in their rear view mirror and knocked around the Orleans Firebirds, winning 7-4 at Eldredge Park Wednesday evening. Zak Blair went 3-4 to up his average to .380 while Sam Travis, Mason Katz and Wayne Taylor each knocked in two runs as Y-D collected 11 hits to back Ben Lively?s strong outing on the mound.
Lively, a sophomore at Central Florida, tossed five solid innings, striking out six while allowing just three hits. Joey Denato, who earned his first win of the summer, and AJ Vanegas, who earned the save, teamed to pitch the final four innings for the Red Sox, yielding three hits and teaming for six punch outs of their own. Vanegas struck out four in two innings, lowering his ERA to an even 6.00, while Denato was hit a little harder, giving up three runs and walking three in his two innings, but the offense built a big enough lead that Y-D was able to remain in front.
Blair, hitting in the fifth spot in the order for Y-D, was intentionally walked in the first before singling in his final three at-bats, raising his batting average to the fourth-highest total in the league. Teammate Robert Pehl, who?s been mired in a bit of a slump as of late, went 1-2 and his average stands at .391, good for second best in the Cape League.
With his two RBI, Travis became the first Red Sox to reach 20 runs batted in for the summer, as he stands just two off the league-lead in that category. He knocked in a run with a double in the first inning and another with a single in the seventh, the latter serving as the game-winning RBI.
Katz chased two runs home without registering a hit, while Taylor gave the Red Sox a 5-2 lead in the sixth with a two-run single to center. Seven different Red Sox batters had at least one hit off each of the six Firebirds pitchers that entered the game. Orleans starter James Farris didn?t get out of the fifth inning and Brandon McNitt gave up two runs while only getting one out.
The two teams have Thursday off, before returning to action on Friday night. The Red Sox host the Bourne Braves, with ace Aaron Blair scheduled to take the hill. Blair, a two-time recipient of the Cape League?s pitcher of the week award, enters play with a 4-0 record and a league-best 0.37 ERA. First pitch at Red Wilson Field is set for 5 p.m.
