The Salem Red Sox plated four runs on just five hits Monday night at LewisGale Field, but it was enough to knock off the Potomac Nationals, 4-2, completing a four-game sweep.
After three scoreless innings to begin the game, the Red Sox drew first blood with a two-run fourth. Sam Travis led off with a single and was plated one batter later by an Aneury Tavarez triple. Cole Sturgeon lifted a sacrifice fly into deep center, easily scoring Tavarez to give the Red Sox a 2-0 lead.
Tavarez finished 1-for-4 with his 11th RBI of the season. The triple was his third of the year, tying Manuel Margot for the Carolina League lead.
The two runs gave some room to Trey Ball, who yielded a run in the top of the fifth on an RBI double from Spencer Kieboom. However, Salem picked up another two-spot in the bottom of the fifth thanks in part to another triple. Mario Martinez and Carlos Coste each reached after being hit by a Wander Suero pitch. With two outs, Travis crushed a triple off the top of the wall in center, scoring both Martinez and Coste to push the lead to 4-1.
Travis’ two-hit game was his sixth multi-hit contests in his last seven games and extended his hitting streak to eight games. The reigning Carolina League Player of the Week finished 2-for-4 with a triple, run scored and RBI.
Ball returned for the sixth, but left after a walk and groundout. Taylor Grover came in and allowed the inherited run to score on an RBI groundout, but worked around any further damage. Ball (2-2) worked in and out of trouble in his 5.1 innings of work, giving up two runs on four hits and four walks while striking out two.
Grover combined with Mike Adams and Austin Maddox to shut down the P-Nats over the final 3.2 innings. Grover pitched a scoreless seventh, Adams tossed a perfect eighth and Maddox needed just five pitches to earn the save in the ninth inning. Suero (3-2) took the loss for Potomac, allowing four runs on four hits and a walk in six innings.
The Sox four-game winning streak has pushed Salem to three games over .500 for the first time this year at 13-10. Potomac lost its fourth straight, falling to 10-15. Salem now hits the road for a four-game, three-day series at Myrtle Beach. The series opener is scheduled for Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m. Teddy Stankiewicz (0-3, 3.91) will climb the hill for the Red Sox against the Pelicans’ Jonathan Martinez (0-1, 2.12). Fans unable to attend can listen to the game on 1240 AM ESPN Roanoke, online at salemsox.com or via the TuneIn Radio app.
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Chris Graham
