The visiting Carolina Mudcats snapped a five-game losing streak in style by sweeping a pair of similar, low-scoring ballgames from the Salem Red Sox on Thursday night at LewisGale Gale Field. In the opener, Carolina broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the seventh, winning 2-1 thanks to Francisco Lindor’s RBI single. In the nightcap, the 1-1 tie was broken in the top of the fifth, with Carolina rallying for three runs to prevail 4-1. Salem mustered just two runs on ten hits in the two ballgames, dropping to 15-16 on the season.
Both starters were excellent in game one, with Cody Anderson and Mike Augliera each permitting just one run on six hits over six innings. The Red Sox took a 1-0 lead in the last of the fourth on Keury De La Cruz’ towering home run to left-center, but the Mudcats responded just two batters into the top of the fifth, with Zach MacPhee’s double prefacing Ryan Battaglia’s game-tying RBI single. The action remained even into the seventh, where a leadoff walk proved costly. Reliever Nate Striz put Tyler Naquin aboard on five pitches, and the Mudcats leadoff man stole second before Lindor drive him in with a single to center. Salem put the tying run in scoring position in the bottom of the last, but Sean Coyle struck out to end the ballgame.
In game two, Naquin used his legs to create another run, singling in the top of the first, stealing second, moving to third on a deep fly to center, and crossing the plate on Jerrud Sebourin’s RBI ground-out. Similarly, De La Cruz helped create Salem’s first run in response, as the right-fielder led off with a triple in the bottom of the second. Three batters later, Blake Swihart singled him home to tie the game at one.
But command issues plagued Salem starter Heri Quevedo in the top of the fifth. He walked two of the first three batters, both of which would come around and score against reliever Mike McCarthy. Sabourin singled, Jordan Smith doubled, and Charlie Valerio doubled, each driving in one run to create a 4-1 lead. The three-run difference stood up with Grant Sides tossing two scoreless out of the Mudcats bullpen to pick up the win. Enosil Tejeda set down all six batters he faced over the final two frames to earn his second save.
The Salem Sox will look to bounce back from a frustrating Thursday as they hit the road for a week-long trip through Myrtle Beach and Carolina. The action begins on Friday night at TicketReturn.com Field, as the Sox face the Pelicans to kick off a four-game series. William Cuevas is scheduled to pitch for Salem, while Myrtle will counter with Victor Payano. First pitch is slated for 7:05.
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Chris Graham
