Jake Dahlstrand was dominant on Wednesday afternoon, spinning seven innings of three-hit baseball as the Salem Red Sox snapped a three-game losing streak and beat the Myrtle Beach Pelicans 4-1 at LewisGale Field.
In his third start of the year, Dahlstrand (3-0) was in control throughout, allowing just one run in the first inning. The run was unearned as the Pelicans utilized two errors to score. Dahlstrand did not walk a batter and pitched effectively to contact, striking out two batters.
The Red Sox deficit did not last long. In the second inning, Jordan Weems drove in Jake Romanski one-out double. Salem loaded the bases in the inning and Jose Vinicio legged out an infield single to score Mario Martinez and take the lead.
Salem added to the lead in the fifth when Manuel Margot and Anuery Tavarez manufactured a run. Margot walked to lead off the inning, stole second, advanced to third on a Sam Travis single and scored on a Tavarez sacrifice fly. Martinez made it 4-1 an inning later, scoring on a Hector Lorenzana single.
Meanwhile. Dahlstrand continued to mow down Pelicans. He became the first Red Sox starter to pitch in to the seventh inning in 2015, retiring nine of the last ten batters that he faced. In the process, he picked up his third win, tying for the league lead, while whittling his ERA to 0.95.
Offensively the Red Sox were boosted by a 2-for-4 mark and two runs scored from Martinez. Three of the four runs batted in came from the bottom third of the order as Weems, Lorenzana and Vinicio each earned an RBI.
Jonathan Martinez started the game and was tagged with the loss for Myrtle Beach. Martinez (0-1) was touched for three runs on five hits and four walks through five innings. Kyle Kraus pitched two scoreless innings out of the Salem bullpen to earn his first save of the season.
The Red Sox hit the road on Thursday for Zebulon, N.C. and a four game set with the Carolina Mudcats. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. as Trey Ball (1-1, 3.97) faces Andrew Thurman (1-1, 1.64). Fans can listen to the game on 1240 AM WGMN ESPN Roanoke, online at salemsox.com or via the TuneIn Radio app.
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Chris Graham
