Salem Red Sox down Wilmington, 3-1

The Salem Red Sox rode the fine pitching of William Cuevas and Nate Striz to their second straight win over the visiting Blue Rocks and their third straight win overall, downing Wilmington 3-1 on Tuesday evening at LewisGale Field. Keury De La Cruz led the offense with two hits and two RBI, while Garin Cecchini also collected two hits and a walk to raise his season average to .355. Cuevas permitted just one run in six innings, while Striz allowed just one hit in three scoreless out of the pen to earn the save.

Salem scored single runs in the second, third, and fifth, missing other opportunities to do even more damage offensively. In the second inning, Brandon Jacobs reached on a hit-by-pitch, stole second, and scored on a comedy of errors from the Blue Rocks defense. In pursuit of the stealing baserunner, Blue Rocks catcher Kenny Swab airmailed the throw into center, where center-fielder Lane Adams bobbled the ball, allowing Jacobs to score the game’s first run.

The lead was short-lived, as the Blue Rocks evened the score in the top of the third on Jack Lopez’ RBI single. However, it did not remained tied long either, with De La Cruz driving in Cecchini with two outs in the last of the third.

Up 2-1, the Sox made it 3-1 on De La Cruz’ groundout with the bases loaded in the fifth. Salem stranded multiple men in scoring position in the fifth and sixth innings, leaving eight in the game, but mustered an offense to prevail behind the solid pitching and defense. For the fifth time in the last six games, Salem did not make an error.

Cuevas improved to 2-6, earning his first victory since April 21. He completed six innings for his second straight start, tossing 81 pitches and allowing one run on five hits and two walks, with two strikeouts. In relief, Striz worked around a hit and walk in the ninth, inducing the game-ending groundout from Geulin Beltre with the tying runs aboard.

Salem will look for a three-game sweep over Wilmington on Wednesday night, with the first pitch slated for7:05. Kyle Kraus will make his third start for the Sox, while Kyle Zimmer, the fifth overall pick in the 2012 draft, makes his 13^th start for the Blue Rocks.