For the third time this season, Matt Heidenreich was simply too good for the Salem Sox.
The 21-year-old righthander needed just 98 pitches to fire a complete game shutout on Monday night, and the Winston-Salem Dash cruised to an 8-0 victory to answer Salem’s 7-zip triumph on Sunday. Heidenreich allowed just four hits, all singles, and the Red Sox never saw a baserunner reach as far as second base.
In three starts against the Red Sox, Heidenreich is 3-0 with a 0.42 ERA (1 ER/21.2 IP) Offensively, Trayce Thompson and Brady Shoemaker both blasted three-run bombs in the first couple innings to shoot the Dash to an early large lead. The Dash outhit the Red Sox 14-4, one day after Salem outhit Winston 12-2.
Heidenreich remained perfect into the fifth inning, retiring the first 13 batters he faced before Xander Bogaerts singled with one out in the fifth. A couple pitches later, Michael Almanzar grounded into an inning-ending double play, the first of three twin-killers that the Dash would turn in the ballgame. Although Heidenreich only struck out three batters, he created 14 ground outs and never needed to face more than four batters in any inning. Of his 98 pitches, 69 of them were strikes.
Salem starter Miguel Celestino was not nearly as sharp. Lasting just two innings, Celestino allowed a season-high seven earned runs, six of them coming on two boisterous swings from Thompson in the first and Shoemaker in the second. The Dash pounded seven hits against Celestino, five of them going for extra bases, and Celestino’s ERA rose from 3.06 to 3.88.
Manny Rivera dealt four scoreless innings out of the Salem bullpen, working around three hits and three walks to escape unscathed, while the Dash scored their eighth run of the game against Ryan Pressly, who permitted one run on four hits in two innings of work.
Shoemaker and Dan Black led the Dash with three hits apiece, although every member of the Winston starting nine finished with at least one knock. One day after five Red Sox delivered multiple hits, Salem dispersed four hits evenly between Bogaerts, Almanzar, Travis Shaw, and Sean Coyle.
With the four-game series even at one win apiece, the Sox and Dash continue their set on Tuesday at 7 PM. Salem has not announced a starter, while Winston-Salem will send Steve McCray to the hill.
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