Red Sox pitchers issued nine walks and tossed five wild pitches, Salem’s defense made three errors, and the K-Tribe broke it open with five runs in the last of the sixth, routing the Sox 10-2 on Friday night at Grainger Stadium. After falling behind 4-0 early, Kolbrin Vitek’s solo home run in the top of the sixth brought Salem within two, but the Indians batted around in the bottom of the frame and rolled to the series opening victory.
Salem starter Drake Britton lasted just two and a third innings, throwing 67 pitches to 15 batters and obtaining only seven outs. The Indians scored an unearned run in the last of the first and then rallied for three more in the bottom of the third, with Tyler Cannon’s RBI double driving in two, chasing Britton from the ballgame in the process.
Down 4-0, the Red Sox loaded the bases with one out in the fifth against Indians starter Clayton Cook, who held Salem to just one run, scoring on Shannon Wilkerson’s fielder’s choice ground-out. In the top of the sixth, Vitek’s second homer of the season cut the deficit to two, and Miles Head drew a two-out walk that ended Cook’s day. But Jose Flores induced a Jorge Padron ground-out to end the threat.
A tight game became a laugher via Kinston’s five-run sixth, utilizing four walks, one hit-batter, three wild pitches, and two singles to score five times. Anatanaer Batista, who had thrown three scoreless innings until the sixth, was charged with three of the runs, while Jeremiah Bayer was assessed two. The Indians scored one more time off Bayer in the seventh, giving Kinston a 10-2 lead.
Delvi Cid led the K-Tribe with three hits, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch, reaching base in all five plate appearances. Adam Abraham and Tyler Cannon each drove in two runs as Cook picked up the win, improving to 7-8. Britton fell to 1-11 with the loss.
The setback snapped Salem’s three-game winning streak and dropped the Sox five and half games behind the first-place Winston-Salem Dash in the Southern Division.
The Red Sox are counting on Anthony Ranaudo to help them rebound on Saturday night, a 6:30 start against Kinston righthander Brett Brach.
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Chris Graham
