The Salem Red Sox were on the wrong end of a pitching duel Saturday night, falling on the road to the Carolina Mudcats by a final of 3-1 at Five County Stadium. Teddy Stankiewicz was the hard luck loser, allowing two runs on six hits through six innings.
Stankiewicz (0-1) struck out three batters in his first appearance in the Carolina League, not allowing a run until a two-out rally in the sixth inning.
Andrew Thurman (1-0) was strong through six innings of his own for Carolina, allowing just four batters to reach. Salem managed three hits off the Mudcats starter, who did not walk a batter. The Red Sox lone run came on an RBI single in the eighth from Cole Sturgeon, scoring Manuel Margot, who had doubled in the previous at-bat. Sturgeon was thrown out attempting to move up on the throw home, ending the inning.
The Mudcats broke the scoreless draw in the sixth on a two-out, two-run double from Jose Briseno. Two batters prior to that double, Sean Godfrey chopped a high grounder back up the middle that Stankiewicz leapt for but could not snare. The ball fell for an infield single and the inning continued with a Dustin Peterson walk preceding the Briceno double.
Anuery Tavarez continued his hot start for Salem, leading the way with a 3-for-4 outing with a stolen base accompanying his two singles and one double. Tavarez is 6-for-10 with a walk on the series.
Mike Adams appeared for the first time in 2015 for the Sox, allowing two hits and one run over two inning in his Carolina League debut.
The Red Sox put a runner in scoring position in the ninth when Tavarez doubled off of Andy Otero with two outs. Carolina went to the bullpen, summoning Andrew Waszak to close it out. Waszak threw one pitch to Jake Romanski, who flew out to right ending the game.
The Red Sox fell to 1-2 on the season while Carolina improved to 2-1. Salem looks to salvage the series split tomorrowafternoon at 2 p.m. Fans can listen to the game on 1240 AM WGMN ESPN Roanoke, on salemsox.com or via the TuneIn Radio app.
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Chris Graham
