Courtesy Vermont Lake Monsters
LOWELL, MA — Grant Williams and Tyler Dearden went a combined 7-for-10 with four runs and five RBI to lead the Lowelll Spinners to an 11-3 victory over the Vermont Lake Monsters in New York-Penn League action Monday night at LeLecheur Park.
Williams was 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBI, while Dearden 4-for-5 with a pair of runs, a double and three RBI.
Dylan Hardy chipped in with a triple and two-run double as Lowell collected 15 hits in the victory. Vermont (25-25) has now allowed nine or more runs in 10 of its 50 games this season, including 10 or more six times.
Vermont starter Jose Mora came into the game Monday with the third-best ERA (1.77) in the NYPL, but also led the league in walks (27). The Spinners knocked him out of the game after retiring just one of eight batters in the bottom of the first inning, allowing three hits and walking three.
A Williams single, stolen base and Jonathan Ortega double gave Lowell a 1-0 lead two batters into the game. Ortega then stole third base and scored on an RBI groundout by Boston Red Sox infielder Rafael Devers, playing in his first game with the Spinners on a rehab assignment.
Mora walked the next two batters before giving up a two-run Dearden double for a 4-0 Lowell advantage and raising his ERA to 2.63 overall. A fielding error by second baseman Marcos Brito and another walk on his 37th pitch of the inning ended the night for Mora. Chris Kohler came on to get a bases loaded pop up for the second out, but Grant Williams made it 5-0 with a two-out RBI single for his second hit of the inning.
Vermont got a run back in the fourth on three straight hits to open the fourth as Alfonso Rivas led off with a single, moved to third on a Jermey Eierman double and scored on a Jonah Bride RBI single. But a pop up and double play kept it to just one run in the inning.
Lowell added two more runs on four hits off Kohler in the bottom of fourth on a Williams RBI single and Devlin Granberg RBI double, but Kohler also got Devers to ground into a double play. The Lake Monsters added a pair of unearned runs in the fifth on a two-out fielding error by Tyler Deardenn in left to cut the deficit to 7-3, but Spinners got the two runs back in bottom of fifth on Dylan Hardy two-run double off Josh Reagan.
After going 0-for-3 in his first three at bats, Devers (1-for-4) drilled a solo homer to rightcenter off Reagan with one out in the sixth for a 10-3 Spinners advantage. Starter Chris Machamer one run on five hits over four innings, while reliever Logan Browning (1-0) two unearned runs over three innings to pick up win for Lowell (26-24). Eierman and J.J. Schwarz both had two hits for Vermont.
The Lake Monsters and Spinners will play the third-and-final game of the series 6:35 pm on Tuesday before Vermont heads to Aberdeen for another three-game series Wednesday-Friday against the Ironbirds.