Salem falls to Kinston
Tyler Cannon’s three-run blast helped spoil Manny Rivera’s Carolina League debut, and the Kinston Indians won their third straight, downing the Salem Sox 6-2 to hand the Sox their third loss in a row. Rivera walked five Indians in four innings, surrendering eight hits and six runs in the process in his first Salem start. The Sox bullpen, highlighted by four spectacular frames from Chris Martin, dealt five scoreless innings, but Salem managed just five singles against a quartet of Kinston hurlers.
Rivera walked three of the first five batters in the ballgame, but escaped the first inning with just one run allowed thanks to a strikeout and a double play. In the second, Rivera walked the leadoff batter and yielded a single, but slithered out of the two-on, nobody-out predicament by retiring the next three. In the third, however, a leadoff single and a two-out walk set the table for Cannon, who crushed a mammoth three-run bomb to deep left-field, extending Kinston’s advantage to four. In Rivera’s final inning, he did not walk anybody, but the K-Tribe bashed four-hits off him, including a pair of doubles from Argenis Martinez and Tyler Holt and an RBI single for Jeremie Tice, surging the Indians to a 6-0 lead.
Salem’s offense contributed minimally through the first seven innings, connecting on just one hit and receiving three walks through seven, with no baserunner reaching second base in that time. In the last of the eighth, Shannon Wilkerson and Josue Peley both singled to put multiple runners aboard for the first time. A Derrik Gibson ground-out advanced the pair to second and third, and Heiker Meneses earned his first Carolina League RBI with a two-out single to center, trimming the deficit to 6-2.
Meneses led the Sox with two hits, while Wilkerson, Peley, and Miles Head each contributed singles as well. Kinston’s Tyler Holt and Roberto Perez each delivered two hits for the Indians, who out-hit the Sox 10-5 and won their sixth straight game at LewisGale Field.
Kinston starter Francisco Jimenez allowed just one hit and three walks in four and two-thirds innings but departed before recording the final out of the fifth. Hence, Chris Jones, who retired all seven men he faced over two and a third innings, earned the victory, improving to 6-1. Rivera fell to 0-1 in his first chance with Salem, while Martin dominated over four scoreless innings out of the Sox pen. Jeremiah Bayer retired the side 1-2-3 in his only frame on the bump.
Salem and Kinston continue their four-game weekend series on Saturday night at 6:05, with Chris Hernandez set to oppose Marty Popham. The famous San Diego Chicken will be in attendance at Salem Memorial Ballpark for his first appearance in the Roanoke Valley since 1993.
Sox rocked by Kinston
The Sox failed to capitalize on numerous opportunities throughout the ballgame, and the visiting Indians bombarded the Red Sox with a seven-run eighth-inning to break open an otherwise tight contest, surging Kinston to an 11-1 triumph on Thursday night at LewisGale Field. Clayton Cook pitched in and out of trouble through six and two-thirds innings, allowing just one run on nine hits to improve to 8-8 on the season, while Drake Britton’s early promise fizzled, walking five in four and a third after an efficient start to fall to 1-12 on the year.
Salem mustered baserunners in each of the first three innings, but the contest remained scoreless into the fourth. Kinston used a pair of walks and a single from Jesus Aguilar to load the bases against Britton, and Roberto Perez hammered a 1-2, two-out delivery into center to break the scoreless draw, vaulting the Tribe to a 2-0 lead. One inning later, Britton walked two of the first three batters and was given the hook. On a wild pitch tossed by reliever Pete Ruiz, Tyler Holt scurried home to give the Indians a 3-0 edge.
Salem scored its only tally in the last of the fifth, with Peter Hissey’s RBI single inching the Sox back within two. Kolbrin Vitek singled to load the bases with one out, but Bryce Brentz lined out and Jorge Padron grounded out softly to squander the opportunity.
The Indians added to their lead in the seventh with consecutive one-out doubles from Jeremie Tice and Aguilar making it 4-1. In the eighth, the Tribe broke it open, using seven hits and one hit-batter to score seven times. Jordan Casas and Adam Abraham each drove in two runs in the explosive inning, joining Aguilar and Perez with two RBI apiece on the night.
Salem managed ten hits, but left ten men on base, finishing 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Contrastingly, Kinston delivered 15 hits, received eight walks, left ten on base, but went 9-for-19 with runners in scoring position.
Down 4-1 in the last of the seventh, both Vitek and Brentz batted representing the tying run, but came up empty against the Cook and reliever Kyle Landis, who earned his second save of the year with two and a third scoreless out of the pen.
The Sox and Tribe meet again on Friday night, and Salem will send lefthander Manny Rivera to the mound for his Carolina League debut. The Indians will counter with Francisco Jimenez, with the first pitch slated for 7:05.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Due to a conflict with Washington Redskins preseason football, Friday’s Salem Sox action will be heard exclusively on the web, streaming live for free at www.salemsox.com.
Lynchburg loses to walkoff
For the first time in nearly two months, the Hillcats had to go to extra innings to decide a game. Extra were unkind, as a solo home run in the bottom of the tenth sent Lynchburg to a 4-3 loss Wednesday night.
For the second straight night, the Hillcats jumped out in front over the Indians. Christian Bethancourt hit a one-out single. After a popout, Marcus Lemon dropped a bunt down the third base line. Lemon beat out the bunt to first, and Bethancourt advanced to second. On a 3-2 pitch and the runners going, L.V. Ware laced a single to left field that scored Bethancourt to put the Hillcats up 1-0.
The Indians took the lead in the top of the fourth. Jesus Aguilar led off with a single, and Jeremie Tice was hit by a breaking pitch that got away from David Hale. Tyler Cannon dropped a bunt straight back to David Hale. Hale wheeled towards third to try to get the lead runner, but threw the ball over third baseman Joe Leonard’s head. Aguilar scored, Tice reached third and Cannon got to second on the play. Tice scored on a sacrifice fly by Casey Frawley, and later in the inning Cannon scored on a wild pitch by Hale to make it 3-1.
Geraldo Rodriguez tied the game in the bottom of the inning. With one out and Joe Leonard on first, Rodriguez launched a fastball over the right-center field wall for his eighth home run of the season with Lynchburg to tie the game at three.
Both teams squandered chances over the next several innings. The Hillcats had a chance to win in the bottom of the ninth, with Marcus Lemon on second and one out. Todd Cunningham hit a grounder to the hole between third and short, but third baseman Justin Toole stretched out, stopped the ball, and threw a strike to first to retire Cunningham. The Indians intentionally walked Andrelton Simmons, and Phil Gosselin grounded out to third to end the inning.
One extra inning was all Kinston needed to win the game. With one out, Jesus Aguilar hit a fly ball to dead center field that hit the batter’s eye for his first home run with Kinston. Preston Guilmet came into the game in the bottom of the tenth and held the Hillcats scoreless to preserve the 4-3 Indians win.
Jose Flores (4-3) pitched the ninth inning to earn the win for Kinston. Ryan Buchter (1-5) pitched the tenth and gave up the game-winning home run to take the loss.
The Hillcats failed to win their fourth straight game to fall to 19-26, but did win their fourth straight series. Kinston improved to 23-21.
The Hillcats start a seven-day road trip on Thursday. Their first stop will be to Wilmington, where they play four games against the Blue Rocks. The first game will have lefty Dimasther Delgado (7-6) pitch against righty Elisaul Pimentel (5-6). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 pm.
The Hillcats On-Deck Show presented by Honda/Suzuki of Lynchburg will go on the air at 6:40 pm. Tune in to 105.5 KD Country or go to lynchburg-hillcats.com to listen live to all the action.
Moran pitches eight shutout innings in Lynchburg win
The Hillcats offense exploded for nine runs against the Kinston Indians Tuesday night. However, the story of the night was Gary Moran, who pitched eight shutout innings and only allowed one hit in the 9-0 win.
For the first time in the homestand, the Hillcats scored first. Todd Cunningham led off with a walk. After Andrelton Simmons flew out to center, Cunningham stole second with Phil Gosselin at the plate. Gosselin rewarded the steal with a single, scoring Cunningham from second. Joey Terdoslavich followed with his 46th double of the season, scoring Gosselin. The hit gave him the record for most doubles in a season by a Lynchburg baseball player, topping Scott Cooper in 1988. Terdoslavich scored as well when Joe Leonard followed with a single, putting the Hillcats up 3-0.
They tacked on two more in the bottom of the second. With two outs and Cunningham on second base, Gosselin lifted a long fly ball that cleared the wall in left-center for his sixth home run of the year, and extended the lead to 5-0.
Gosselin picked up his fourth RBI of the game in the fourth inning. With runners on the corners and one out, Gosselin hit a slow grounder to first. Jesus Aguilar at first made the play, but L.V. Ware came in to score, and the Hillcats led 6-0.
The final blow for the Hillcats came from Ware. With two outs and two on, Ware hit a bomb to left field that for a three-run home run, his seventh of the season. It was his first home run that scored more than two runs this season, and gave the Hillcats a 9-0 lead.
While the offense was lighting up the board, Gary Moran was having a fantastic start in his second game with the Hillcats. Moran pitched eight shutout innings, striking out eight batters, including seven of nine at one point. He carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, when a two out single by Jeremie Tice just bounced off the glove of a diving Andrelton Simmons at short. Moran (1-0) earned his first win in the Carolina League after being called up from Low-A Rome last week.
T.J. House took the loss for the Indians. House (6-10) pitched five innings, giving up nine runs on nine hits, and walking six batters.
The Hillcats won their sixth game out of the last seven, and are now 19-25 in the second half. Kinston fell to 22-21.
Lynchburg wraps up their six-game homestand Wednesday night against Kinston. Righty David Hale (3-4) will pitch for the Hillcats and he’ll face Indians lefty Mike Rayl (0-1). First pitch is at 7:05 pm and the gates will open at 6.
The Hillcats On-Deck Show presented by Honda/Suzuki of Lynchburg will go on the air at 6:40 pm. Tune in to 105.5 KD Country or go to lynchburg-hillcats.com to listen live to all the action.
Simmons knocks in seven to lead Lynchburg to victory
Andrelton Simmons had a career night, driving in seven RBIs, and led the Hillcats to an 11-6 win over the Kinston Indians Monday night. Lynchburg has now won five of their last six games as they begin the final month of the season.
The Indians scored first in the top of the second. Tyler Cannon and Casey Frawley singled to lead off the inning. Justin Toole dropped a bunt down the third base line. Pitcher Chris Masters fielded it and fired it to third, where Barrett Kleinknecht was scrambling over to the base to cover. Kleinknecht misplayed the ball as it hit his glove and it rolled into shallow left field. Cannon came around to score on the play. Later in the inning, Toole scored on an RBI single by Tyler Holt to make it 2-0 Kinston.
Lynchburg tied it in the bottom of the third. L.V. Ware led off the inning with a walk. Todd Cunningham followed with a double and Ware advanced to third on the hit. Andrelton Simmons hit a roller to short that was mishandled by the shortstop Casey Frawley. Ware scored and Cunningham advanced to third. Two batters later, Joey Terdoslavich hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Cunningham, and the game was tied at two.
Tyler Holt picked up another RBI in the fourth inning. With runners on first and second and two outs, Holt singled and Toole came in to score to give the Indians a 3-2 lead.
The Hillcats finally took the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Christian Bethancourt dropped a bunt down the third baseline and beat it out for a single. Marcus Lemon popped the ball up into shallow right-center. There was some miscommunication between the Indians fielders, and it dropped in for a single. Keenan Wiley dropped down a bunt of his own. The third baseman Cannon charged in, but slipped as he planted to grab the ball. Wiley was able to sprint down to first and the bases were loaded. L.V. Ware struck out looking for the first out of the inning.
Cunningham then grounded the ball to second and a wild play ensued. The second baseman, Argenis Martinez, picked the ball up and tried to tag Wiley as he ran from first to second. Wiley sidestepped to avoid the tag. Martinez, thinking that Wiley had been called out for leaving the baseline, threw to first to complete what he thought was a double play. Cunningham was out at first, but the base umpire, Kiff Kinkead, said that Wiley never left the base path. After the throw to first, he got up and made his way to second, and Bethancourt scored from third. Despite the protests of the fielders and Kinston manager Aaron Holbert, Kinkead stood by his call. Wiley and Lemon scored as Simmons came to the plate and singled for his second and third RBIs of the night to give the Hillcats a 5-3 lead.
Despite the disappointing play in the bottom of the fourth, the Indians came out strong in the fifth. The first three batters all reached base against starter Chris Masters. After the third batter of the inning singled, Masters left the game and Andrew Wilson came in. Despite retiring the first two batters he faced, all three inherited runners ended up coming in to score, and Kinston retook the lead, 6-5.
The Hillcats retook the lead, for good this time, in the sixth. Wiley hit a one-out single. On a hit-and-run, Ware grounded out to second, and Wiley advanced to second base. Todd Cunningham walked, and Simmons came to the plate. He laced a pitch out to left-center that rolled all the way to the wall. Wiley and Cunningham scored easily and Simmons dug for third. He slid in safely, and the relay throw from shortstop Casey Frawley got past Cannon at third. Simmons scrambled up and sprinted home, and the Hillcats went up 8-6.
The Hillcats scored three more runs in the seventh. Kleinknecht led off the inning with a bunt single, and the throw from Cannon went over the first baseman’s head, allowing him to reach second. Bethancourt followed with a single to score Kleinknecht. Lemon sacrificed Bethancourt to second, and Wiley walked. Ware struck out, but Cunningham walked as well, loading the bases for Simmons. Simmons knocked a single to left, scoring two runners, and picking up his sixth and seventh RBIs of the night. It put the Hillcats up 11-6, which held up for the rest of the game.
The seven RBIs were a career high for Simmons, shattering his previous high of two. It was the most for a Hillcat since June 13, 2009, when Pedro Alvarez drove home seven against Kinston.
Wilson (2-3) earned the win for the Hillcats. He pitched three innings and didn’t give up any runs after letting the inherited runners score in the fifth. Trey Haley (1-2) took the loss for Kinston.
The Hillcats won to improve to 18-25 in the second half, while the Indians fell to 22-20.
The teams meet up again on Tuesday night. Righty Gary Moran (0-0) will take the mound for the Hillcats, and will face southpaw T.J. House (6-9). First pitch is at 7:05 pm, and the gates will open at 6.
The Hillcats On-Deck Show presented by Honda/Suzuki of Lynchburg will go on the air at 6:40 pm. Tune in to 105.5 KD Country or go to lynchburg-hillcats.com to listen live to all the action.
Indians rock Salem
Red Sox pitchers issued nine walks and tossed five wild pitches, Salem’s defense made three errors, and the K-Tribe broke it open with five runs in the last of the sixth, routing the Sox 10-2 on Friday night at Grainger Stadium. After falling behind 4-0 early, Kolbrin Vitek’s solo home run in the top of the sixth brought Salem within two, but the Indians batted around in the bottom of the frame and rolled to the series opening victory.
Salem starter Drake Britton lasted just two and a third innings, throwing 67 pitches to 15 batters and obtaining only seven outs. The Indians scored an unearned run in the last of the first and then rallied for three more in the bottom of the third, with Tyler Cannon’s RBI double driving in two, chasing Britton from the ballgame in the process.
Down 4-0, the Red Sox loaded the bases with one out in the fifth against Indians starter Clayton Cook, who held Salem to just one run, scoring on Shannon Wilkerson’s fielder’s choice ground-out. In the top of the sixth, Vitek’s second homer of the season cut the deficit to two, and Miles Head drew a two-out walk that ended Cook’s day. But Jose Flores induced a Jorge Padron ground-out to end the threat.
A tight game became a laugher via Kinston’s five-run sixth, utilizing four walks, one hit-batter, three wild pitches, and two singles to score five times. Anatanaer Batista, who had thrown three scoreless innings until the sixth, was charged with three of the runs, while Jeremiah Bayer was assessed two. The Indians scored one more time off Bayer in the seventh, giving Kinston a 10-2 lead.
Delvi Cid led the K-Tribe with three hits, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch, reaching base in all five plate appearances. Adam Abraham and Tyler Cannon each drove in two runs as Cook picked up the win, improving to 7-8. Britton fell to 1-11 with the loss.
The setback snapped Salem’s three-game winning streak and dropped the Sox five and half games behind the first-place Winston-Salem Dash in the Southern Division.
The Red Sox are counting on Anthony Ranaudo to help them rebound on Saturday night, a 6:30 start against Kinston righthander Brett Brach.
P-Nats take series opener with Myrtle Beach
Adam Olbrychowski allowed just one run over a career-high eight innings and led the Potomac Nationals to a 6-1 series-opening victory in Myrtle Beach on Friday night. The Nationals used a three-run second inning to set the tone early and rode an efficient Olbrychowski to a victory that snapped a three-game slide.
With one out in the second, Steven Souza sparked a rally with his 55th walk – which set a new career high. Zach Walters then doubled to right field to put two men in scoring positon. After Brian Peacock (who was promoted to AA Harrisburg after the ballgame) struck out, Cutter Dykstra hit a slow ground ball to short. Pelicans shortstop Leury Garcia triple clutch and threw late to first, and Dykstra’s single put the Nats on the board. Eury Perez then hit another grounder Garcia’s way, and another errant throw plated the first of two unearned runs and moved Potomac (51-58) ahead 2-0. Francisco Soriano made it 3-0 with a line drive to center field.
After allowing a leadoff double and a walk in the bottom of the second, Olbrychowski then settled in and dominated, retiring the next ten Pelicans (59-50). That streak ended with one out in the fifth when he walked Jared Hoying. David Paisano’s two-out double scored the Pelicans’ only run of the night and trimmed Potomac’s lead to two.
Kasey Kiker relieved Myrtle starter Kennil Gomez in the sixth and immediately ran into trouble. Three straight singles by Justin Bloxom, Steven Souza and Walters set the table for a two-run inning. Peacock and Dykstra plated the runs with consecutive sacrifice flies.
In the seventh, Soriano led off with a single and stole second base. Consecutive wild pitchers by Kiker with one out scored Soriano, pushed Potomac in front 6-1 and closed the scoring.
Mitchell Clegg pitched a perfect ninth to close out the win.
The ballclubs continue the series Saturday night at 7:05; Erik Davis makes his first start for Potomac.
