Sox rock Dash
The Salem Sox followed their two-day hiatus by erupting for a season-high 19 hits in a 16-10 victory over Winston-Salem on Wednesday evening to begin the final road trip of 2011 with a bang. At one point, the Red Sox rolled off 14 consecutive runs, erasing a 7-1 second-inning deficit with a five-run third, a three-run fifth, and a four-run sixth. Salem added two more runs in the seventh and one more in the eighth to match their season high in runs scored. Four different Red Sox registered three-hit nights, led by the #9 hitter Zach Gentile, who went 3-4 with a season-high five RBI from the bottom of the lineup. Matt Spring, just back with Salem after spending time with Triple-A Pawtucket, delivered two doubles and a solo homer, driving in three runs in the ballgame.
A 1-1 draw after one inning was abruptly broken by Winston’s six-run bottom of the second. Both Mike Blanke and Ian Gac belted homers against Salem starter Stolmy Pimentel, and the Dash appeared en route to the rout. But Pimentel settled down and retired 11 of the next 12 he faced to give the Sox sticks a chance to respond. His shutdown performance in the middle innings was the unsung hero for Salem’s offensive onslaught.
In the top of the third, six of the first seven batters mustered base hits against Winston starter Jake Petricka, who was chased from the contest with two outs in the third. Four different Red Sox drove in runs in the five-run frame that inched Salem back within a run at 7-6.
With the bases loaded in the top of the fifth, Gentile slammed a hard ground ball inside the first base bag and into the left field corner, clearing the bases to surge Salem into the lead at 9-7. In the sixth, Spring and Miles Head each launched solo homers off Dash reliever Santos Rodriguez to make it 11-7. Later in the inning, two walks and a hit-batter loaded the bases, and Heiker Meneses singled home two more to give Salem a 13-7 edge. Peter Hissey contributed an RBI single in the eighth, and Gentile drove in his fifth run two batters later, surging Salem to its largest lead of 15-7.
Blanke belted his second homer of the night for the Dash in the ninth, a two-run bomb off reliever Manny Rivera, but Salem’s 16-10 advantage stood when the final out was recorded two batters later. Rivera dealt the final three and a third innings to earn his second save, while Pimentel picked up the victory, improving to 5-4 with five and two-thirds innings, allowing seven runs on ten hits.
Offensively, Gentile, Spring, Padron, and Head each connected for three hits, while Meneses, Hissey and Bryce Brentz added two apiece. Salem finished 9-for-20 with runners in scoring position, while Winston went 3-for-11.
Salem hopes to build upon their scintillating offensive performance as the series continues on Thursday night. Ryan Pressly will square off again Ryan Buch, with the first pitch slated for 7 PM.
Jenks scheduled to rehab in Salem Saturday night
Boston’s Bobby Jenks is scheduled to make a rehab appearance for the Salem Red Sox at LewisGale Field on Saturday night. Jenks will likely start and throw one inning in Salem’s contest against the Wilmington Blue Rocks, a Kansas City Royals affiliate.
Jenks, 30, possesses 173 major league saves and a career ERA of 3.53 in seven major league seasons. A member of the Chicago White Sox from 2005-2010, Jenks signed with Boston as a free agent on December 21, 2010. The hard-throwing righthander won a World Series ring with the White Sox in 2005, saving two World Series victories over the Astros. He was named to the American League All-Star team in 2006 and 2007, finishing second in the AL in saves in both of those seasons.
With Boston in 2011, Jenks has gone 2-2 with a 6.32 ERA in 19 appearances. He has been on the disabled list since July 16 with back tightness.
Saturday night will be Jenks’ second appearance in the Carolina League. He made one rehab start for the Winston-Salem Warthogs in 2008, allowing one run on three hits in one inning for the White Sox affiliate on July 14, 2008.
Jenks will be the third major-league rehabber that Salem has had since 2009. Daisuke Matsuzaka and Junichi Tazawa are the other Boston hurlers who have spent some time with the Salem Sox.
Dash demolish SalemSox
The Dash offense erupted for runs in each of the first five innings, bombarding the Sox by two touchdowns in a 14-0 rout on Thursday night at LewisGale Field. Andy Wilkins smashed solo shots in the first and the ninth, while Nick Ciolli also clobbered two homers, a leadoff jack in the second and a two-run bomb in the fifth. Winston scored six times in the third to open an eight-run lead, took a 12-zip lead after five, and put the cherry on top of the blowout sundae with a two-run ninth recorded off Salem second-baseman Zach Gentile, who took the mound for the first time in his professional career to absorb the Dash’s final punches.
Jake Petricka dealt six scoreless innings for Winston, but the onslaught of offense overshadowed the superb pitching performance. The Dash capitalized on a shaky outing from Chris Hernandez, who departed after just two and a third innings in what was by far his shortest and poorest outing of his All-Star season. Out of the bullpen, Pete Ruiz also got drilled for six runs, although only two were charged as earned.
Hernandez retired the first two batters of the game before allowing the first Wilkins round-tripper of the night, a solo shot that gave that Dash a modest 1-0 lead. Following Petricka’s seven-pitch, perfect first, Nick Ciolli smashed an opposite-field jack to make it 2-0 to lead off the second. Winston loaded the bases on two walks and a single, but Hernandez induced a pop-up from Juan Silverio to avoid further damage in the second. It turns out he only delayed the inevitable.
After Wilkins’ screaming line-out to right field to begin the third, seven straight Dash batters reached, with six of them scoring. Four of the runs were charged to Hernandez, who was responsible for six runs (five earned) in his two and a third innings on the mound, while the others were accumulated off Ruiz. The Dash matched a season-high for hits in an inning with six, with Luis Sierra driving in two of his three RBI on the night in the frame.
The Dash added two more on a trio of doubles against Ruiz in the fourth, then received Ciolli’s two-run bomb in the fifth, surging the visitors to a dozen-run advantage. Petricka and Leroy Hunt, who went the final three innings to earn the save, ensured that the football score would stand as a shutout. Salem managed just five hits, with two coming from Jorge Padron.
In the top of the ninth, Gentile made his first appearance in a game since August 5. He walked Silverio on four pitches and fell behind Wilkins 2-0 before he finally threw a strike. Unfortunately, his first pitch in the zone landed approximately 400 foot away after Wilkins launched it deep beyond the right-field fence. After the homer, however, Gentile recorded three consecutive outs, inducing ground-outs from Ian Gac and Ciolli before Kevin Dubler popped to center.
The final homestand of the season continues on Friday with a quasi-doubleheader against Wilmington. The Red Sox and Blue Rocks will resume the suspended game from July 8, with the Rocks leading 2-0 in the second inning. Thirty minutes after its conclusion, another seven-inning tilt will commence.
Salem nips Winston Salem
Three early runs proved to be enough for a trio of Sox hurlers, who held the visitors from Winston to one hit in eight at-bats with runners in scoring position in Salem’s 3-2 Tuesday triumph at LewisGale Field. Heiker Meneses accumulated half of Salem’s six hits all by himself, while Anthony Ranaudo, T.J. Hose, and Will Latimer combined to hold the explosive Dash offense to just two runs.
The Sox struck in the first inning against Winston starter Cameron Bayne, with Meneses drilling a one-out single and Kolbrin Vitek drawing a walk to set the table for Bryce Brentz. Salem’s cleanup hitter smashed a hard liner into left-center for an RBI single that moved Vitek to third, and Jorge Padron’s chopper to short plated Vitek, giving Salem the 2-0 lead.
Salem starter Anthony Ranaudo escaped a bases-loaded, two-out threat in the top of the second, and the Sox manufactured a two-out tally in the bottom of the frame. Josue Peley worked a walk, stole second with Derrik Gibson in an 0-2 hole, and came around to score as Gibson completed his gritty at-bat with a line-drive single to center. Up 3-0, the Sox had an advantage that would not be relinquished.
Winston chipped away at the Salem lead with one run off Ranaudo in the top of the third. Tyler Saladino led off with a double and scored two batters later on Juan Silverio’s single. Ranaudo held the Dash down during the remainder of his four-inning stint, allowing one run on three hits and four walks while striking out six.
Reliever T.J. Hose earned the victory, allowing just a two-out, solo homer to Nick Ciolli in his three-inning stint. Will Latimer earned the save, retiring six of the seven men he faced in the eighth and ninth innings to preserve the triumph. Hose improved to 1-1, picking up his first Carolina League win, while Latimer grabbed his eighth save.
The win kept Salem within five and a half games of first-place Kinston, who beat Frederick 3-1 in Maryland on Tuesday night. The victory was also Salem’s eighth straight triumph over Winston-Salem, as the Dash have not beaten the Sox since July 2 in North Carolina.
The four-game set continues with the penultimate contest on Wednesday, as Manny Rivera makes his second Carolina League start for the Sox. Southpaw Joe Serafin will deal opposite Rivera, with the first pitch slated for 7:05.
Salem opens series at Winston-Salem with W
Two Tyler Saladino errors proved costly for the Dash, helping the Sox score three unearned runs in a 6-3 series-opening victory on Monday night at LewisGale Field. Salem trailed 3-1 after five, but rallied for three to take to the lead in the last of the sixth and added two more unearned insurance tallies in the last of the eighth. The triumph snapped Salem’s four-game losing skid and moved the Red Sox back within five and a half games of the division lead with 13 games to play in the regular season.
In the pivotal sixth inning, Dash starter Matt Wickswat walked Heiker Meneses and yielded back-to-back singles to Kolbrin Vitek and Bryce Brentz, with the latter driving in a run to slice a two-run deficit in half. Wickswat departed after striking out Jorge Padron for the first out, but both of Justin Cassel’s inherited runners scored on Peter Hissey’s two-out grounder up the middle. With the baserunners at second and third, Saladino scooped up Hissey’s roller but tossed errantly to first, allowing both Vitek and Brentz to score. Hissey was credited with a single and one RBI, with Brentz plated as a result of the throwing error.
In the eighth, Salem had runners at first and second when Saladino once again misplayed a Hissey grounder, bobbling a perfect double-play ball that could have ended the inning. Instead, the bases were loaded, and Salem added two crucial insurance runs on Shannon Wilkerson’s sac fly and Josue Peley’s RBI single off Cassel.
The eighth-inning pair helped Salem avoid a tense ninth inning with Jeremiah Bayer on the mound. Having retired 11 of the first 12 he faced in relief of Drake Britton, Bayer yielded a two-out triple to Saladino on a deep-drive that ticked off Hissey’s mitt near the warning track in straight-away center. Thanks to the insurance runs, Saladino’s presence at third was rendered significantly less important, and Bayer whiffed Jared Mitchell to finish the contest, improving to 7-2 with four scoreless frames out of the bullpen.
Salem’s early 1-0 lead, assumed when Vitek singled to drive in Wilkerson in the third, was quickly erased when Winston rallied for two runs in the fourth. Britton walked Juan Silverio to begin the frame and Ian Gac hammered a double down the left-field line, moving Silverio to third. The tying run scored on Mike Blanke’s RBI single, while the go-ahead run crossed on Kyle Colligan’s two-out, RBI single. The Dash added another against Britton with Gac driving in Saladino in the fifth to take a 3-1 lead, but Winston’s offense would go quiet the rest of the way.
Britton left with Salem trailing 3-1, but dodged his league-leading 14th loss because of Salem’s mighty comeback. Britton surrendered three runs on seven hits in five frames, striking out two and walking five.
Vitek and Peley each collected multiple hits for the Salem Sox, with Vitek collecting his 41st multi-hit night of the season. Brentz, Hissey, and Wilkerson joined the aforementioned multi-hit duo with one RBI apiece in the Red Sox win, Salem’s seventh straight over Winston-Salem dating back to July 3.
The Red Sox will go for their eighth in a row over the Dash on Tuesday evening at 7:05, with Anthony Ranaudo scheduled to tangle with Cameron Bayne.
Lynchburg pounds Dash
The Hillcats scored four runs in the first inning Tuesday night, and led the whole way. Racking up 14 hits and 11 runs in an 11-5 victory, the ‘Cats snapped a seven-game drought at BB&T Ballpark in Winston-Salem where they had not won since May 5.The win also snapped a current three-game losing streak overall.
After retiring two batters to start the night, LHP Joe Serafin for the Dash found himself in trouble very quickly. Phil Gosselin dropped a bases empty, two-out bunt for a base hit down the third base line to start the first inning rally. A walk and a fielder’s choice that did not find an out loaded the bases for Lynchburg. Christian Bethancourt, Geraldo Rodriguez, and Keenan Wiley followed RBi singles, scoring four runs in the frame. The Hillcats led 4-0.
Serafin would only last three and two-thirds innings. He gave up two eight runs on nine hits, while walking two and striking out three. He left the game in the fourth inning after Joe Leonard drove in a pair with a two-out single. RHP Jimmy Ballinger entered the game and struck out Bethancourt to end the inning. Lynchburg went ahead 8-2 at that point.
Bethancourt called it a night after the strike out. He had taken a wild pitch off his left shoulder the inning and bent over in pain. Play stopped for a minute or two before he decided to stay in the game, but not for long. Shawn McGill came in behind the plate in the bottom of the fourth.
RHP Caleb Brewer started for the HIllcats in his Advanced-A debut. He went four and two-thirds innings. He allowed two runs in the second on a two-run single to Tyler Saladino and two more in the fourth. Mike Blanke hit a solo shot, and Saladino added another RBI single.
Brewer loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth inning, walking the last two batters he faced. RHP Eliecer Cardenas was then brought in from the bullpen.
Cardenas popped up Daniel Wagner to end the threat. After five innings the ‘Cats led 8-4.
Lynchburg capped off their offensive night with three runs in the sixth. Joey Terdoslavich hit his 47th double of the season, driving in two runs. He later scored on an RBI single for McGill, which put the Hillcats up 11-4.
Cardenas would go on to finish the game for Lynchburg. He tossed a season-high four and one-third innings. He held the Dash scoreless up until the ninth inning. Juan Silverio singled in Jared Mitchell with two outs. It was the first earned run Cardenas had allowed since June 23. He made 15 consecutive scoreless appearances, pitching 19.2 innings in that span.
Since Brewer didn’t finsish five innings, Cardenas (4-2) earned the win and Serafin (4-10) took the loss.
The Hillcats are now 21-30 in the second half, still six games back of the Potomac Nationals for a playoff spot.
Lynchburg wraps up their road trip tomorrow night at 7:00 pm against the Dash. LHP Dimasther Delgado (8-6) will start for the ‘Cats. Winston-Salem will counter with LHP Matt Wickswat (5-3). Listen live to all the action starting with the Hillcats On-Deck Show powered by Honda/Suzuki of Lynchburg on 105.5 KD Country and online at Lynchburg-hillcats.com
P-Nats salvage finale
The Potomac Nationals supported a solid start from Cameron Selik with six runs on eleven hits on Sunday night in Winston-Salem to salvage the series finale 6-3. Jeff Kobernus and Destin Hood contributed three hits apiece, Steven Souza drove in a pair of runs and a pair of bullpen arms shut down the Dash to close down the victory.
For the first time in the series, the Nationals took a lead in the first inning. Francisco Soriano doubled to left field to open the game; Kobernus then singled before Hood walked to load the bases. After Dash starter Santos Rodriguez struck out Brian Peacock, Souza hit a sacrifice fly to center to put Potomac ahead 1-0. Rodriguez escaped further damage and the Nats stranded a pair.
Seilik allowed two-out doubles in each of the first two innings, but worked around them both to set an early tone. Rodriguez, meanwhile, had to leave the ballgame in the second inning with an apparent arm injury. Stephen Sauer held Potomac off the scoreboard for an inning and two thirds.
Potomac doubled their lead in the fourth when Jose Lozada hit a home run to right field – it was his second homer of the season and welcomed J.R. Ballinger, the third Dash pitcher, to the game.
Dash catcher Kevin Dubler shone throughout the middle innings to keep Winston-Salem within striking distance. In the third, he threw behind Souza at first base to pick him off and end the inning – and he did it again to end the fourth, nailing Soriano.
In the fifth the Nats doubled their lead, and Kobernus and Hood were the spark plugs. After Kobernus singled, he stole second and scored on Hood’s single to left. Souza then doubled to left field to score Hood and push Potomac ahead 4-0.
Dubler’s one-out walk in the bottom of the fifth sparked the only offense of the evening for Winston. Austin Yount then singled to left before Dan Wagner grounded out. With two outs, Tyler Saladino continued his mastery of Potomac with a two-run single that made it 4-2. Saladino has five of his 14 home runs in 2011 against the Nationals and 14 of his 35 RBI against Potomac.
Splendid defense kept it a 4-2 game. In the seventh inning, Potomac put runners at the corners with one out. Souza hit a fly ball to right field, and Kobernus tagged from third. Juan Silverio fired a bullet home and Dubler lunged to the plate to tag out the Nats’ second baseman.
In the bottom half of the inning, Yount doubled with one out. After Wagner grounded out, Saladino again came to the plate. He hit a hard grounder over the third base bag. Lozada made a headlong dive, sprung to his feet and gunned out Saladino to preserve the two-run edge.
Joe Testa relieved Selik in the sixth and got two quick outs, then retired the Dash in the seventh. In the eighth, he allowed a one-out walk to Andy Wilkins. Hector Nelo was brought on, and his wild pitch moved Wilkins to third. Ian Gac hit a sacrifice fly to right field that trimmed the lead to one at 4-3.
The Nationals benefited from three Winston-Salem errors in the top of the ninth and plated two unearned runs that made it 6-3. Nelo then worked around a one-out walk to earn his 13th save.
Potomac heads to Wilmington and opens a four-game set on Monday night. Adam Olbrychowski takes the mound against Michael Mariot at 7 P.M.
