Salem Red Sox nip Lynchburg Hillcats, 2-1

The Salem Red Sox turned two unearned runs into a 2-1 triumph in a rain-soaked Sunday contest with the Lynchburg Hillcats at Calvin Falwell Field.

Salem (33-17) broke through in the second inning against Lynchburg (32-18) starter Nick Pasquale when Rafael Devers and Danny Mars hit back-to-back singles. Ben Moore then hit a groundball to third base which was booted by Claudio Bautista, allowing Devers to dash home. The next batter, Franklin Guzman hit into a fielder’s choice to bring in Mars and give Salem a 2-0 lead.

In his return from the disabled list, Daniel McGrath pitched well for the Red Sox, allowing only one run in 4.0 innings. The Hillcats run came in the third inning when Anthony Santander lifted a sacrifice fly to close the deficit to 2-1.

Pasquale (1-1) only lasted 4.0 innings for the Hillcats, and was able to avoid further trouble with the help of a double play to end his final inning. The Lynchburg defense turned four double plays in the game.

Yankory Pimentel (3-1) dominated out of the bullpen for Salem, throwing 3.0 perfect frames, striking out four. The Santo Domingo, DR native tied his season-highs in both innings pitched and strikeouts.

When Pimentel’s day was complete, Taylor Grover entered and shut down the Hillcats, fanning three in 2.0 perfect innings. Grover earned his third save of the season in the process. Red Sox pitchers combined to retire the final 16 Hillcat batters of the game.

The Red Sox complete the series with the Hillcats Monday afternoon at Calvin Falwell Field. First pitch is scheduled for 2 pm. Salem will send Jalen Beeks (4-2, 3.25) to the bump, while Lynchburg will counter with Luis Lugo (2-2, 4.82). Follow along with all the action on the Salem Red Sox Baseball Network. Coverage with the Pre-game Show driven by Haley Toyota begins at1:45 pm.