In the first game of the twin bill, Fredericksburg, the Low-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, jumped all over Salem, the Low-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, early on. Leandro Emiliani lifted a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first inning to plate a run, then the floodgates opened in the bottom of the second.
Wilmer Perez opened things up with a single, and John McHenry got hit by a pitch. Armando Cruz drove both men in with his double to give the Freddies a 3-0 edge. Jonathon Thomas then reached on a bunt single to put runners on the corners, before Elijah Nunez plated Cruz with another sacrifice fly to make it 4-0.
Later in the inning, a wild pitch allowed Tuda to score to make it a four-run inning, and a 5-0 lead.
Then in the third, McHenry singled and Cruz walked, before Thomas doubled off the top of the wall in left field to plate a sixth. Nunez followed up with a sacrifice fly, and later Yohandy Morales singled to push the Nats advantage to 8-0.
Salem did get to Luke Young with a two-run homer in the top of the fourth, but overall Young was very sharp. The Texas-born righty fired five innings and allowed just two runs, while striking out a career-high eight batters.
Moises Diaz followed up with two scoreless frames, to put the final touches on a 8-2 FredNats victory.
Young got the win, while Elvis Soto took the loss for Game 1.
In game two, it was Salem’s turn to jump ahead first. In the Red Sox half of the second inning, Johnfrank Salazar doubled home Yorberto Mejicano to put Salem in front 1-0.
That lead lasted until the bottom of the third, which began with Gavin Dugas getting hit by a pitch. Cruz singled behind him, and then Yoander Rivero dropped down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move both men to scoring position.
Later in the third, Andrew Pinckney put the Nats back in front with a two run single back up the middle.
Fredericksburg tacked on single runs in the fourth and fifth innings as well, on a Rivero double, and a Roismar Quintana single.
Salem trailed 4-1 going into the top of the sixth, when Johnfrank Salazar blasted a solo home run to make it a 4-2 lead. Then with runners on second and third, a passed ball allowed Albertson Asigen to score and pull the Red Sox to within a run at 4-3.
Yet the FredNats did not back down, loading the bases for Morales in the bottom of the sixth. YoYo then blasted a ball into the right field corner, unloading the bases to give the Freddies some cushion with a 7-3 advantage.
That was plenty of breathing room for Marquis Grissom Jr., as he closed out a 7-3 win.
Kevin Rodriguez earned the win, Grissom Jr. improved to a perfect 7-for-7 in save opportunities, and Yordanny Monegro took the loss.
For Saturday, Jarlin Susanna gets the start against Jedixson Paez. Additionally, #2 overall pick Dylan Crews will make his debut with the Fredericksburg Nationals.
First pitch is set for 6:05 pm.
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Chris Graham
