Heri Quevedo continued his dominant stretch of pitching, and the Salem Red Sox registered a pair of four-run innings to storm past the Keys 9-0 on Saturday night at Harry Grove Stadium. Three days after beginning the series with a no-hitter and a 6-0 shutout, the Sox closed the series with another blanking, holding the home team to just two hits, both singles. Quevedo punched out six over five scoreless innings, while Nate Striz struck out a pair in his two frames on the mound. To close it out, Matt Price picked up three strikeouts in two innings to finish the job.
Stefan Welch, Henry Ramos, and Mookie Betts all hit homers for the Sox on Saturday night, with Betts capping the scoring with his first Carolina League round-tripper. Every member of the Red Sox lineup contributed with at least one hit, with the lone exception of shortstop Deven Marrero, who made a fair share of defensive plays while struggling offensively. Half of Salem’s 10 hits went for extra bases.
Frederick starter Julio Rodriguez retired the Sox 1-2-3 in the first, but Welch led off the second with a solo blast to right, breaking the scoring seal. Blake Swihart doubled on the very next pitch, and by the end of the lengthy top of the second, Salem had four runs on five hits, with Cody Koback, Matt Gedman, and Ramos all driving in runs.
Up 4-0 in the fifth, the Sox doubled their lead with another offensive barrage that eventually knocked Rodriguez out of the game. Gedman drew a leadoff walk, preceding Ramos’ two-run missile over the fence in right-center. Ramos finished the contest three RBI to go along with his 12th home run of the season. Swihart added an RBI single to make it 7-0, while Betts pounded an RBI triple off new pitcher Matt Hobgood to give the Sox an 8-0 edge.
Quevedo allowed just one hit in five innings, working around four walks with six strikeouts. He did not allow any Keys baserunner to advance past first base in the first four innings. In relief, Striz and Price each handled two frames confidently to help Salem secure its seventh shutout victory of the season.
Bizarrely, the Salem Sox outscored the Keys 24-11 in the four-game series, but split the set 2-2. The pair of lopsided shutout victories sandwiched two tight one-run setbacks.
At 49-50 for the year, 16-13 since the Break, the Sox will journey to Woodbridge for their 100th game of the season on Sunday, beginning a three-game series against the Potomac Nationals. Mike Augliera will make the start in the series opener, while Sammy Solis will get the ball for the Nats. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05.
Share
Contributors
