While the Salem Red Sox have not won a game by multiple runs since May 17, another one-run triumph made for a happy Sunday evening in the Roanoke Valley. Behind Kyle Stroup’s dominant seven-inning performance and a patient display from the Red Sox offense, Salem held off Myrtle Beach 3-2 to grab the series rubber match and hand the Pelicans their ninth loss in their last ten games. Meanwhile, the Sox have gritted through five one-run victories since their last multi-run win on May 17, with four of the last five wins coming by the exact score of 3-2.
Brandon Jacobs collected Salem’s only hit, but the timely two-run double in the fourth scored the first runs of the game. Nick Natoli had been hit by a pitch to start the inning, and Garin Cecchini collected one of his three walks to put runners at first and second. After Keury De La Cruz struck out, Jacobs smashed a line drive into the left-field corner, bringing home both runners, who had been off on the pitch. Jacobs finished the game 1-for-2 with two RBI and two walks, with his only out coming on a screaming line drive to short.
Despite having only one hit, the Sox mustered baserunners in each of their first seven innings, drawing nine walks in the game. Double plays ended the first two frames, and unfortunately, Salem failed to capitalize more often than not. Thankfully, Stroup was locked in on the mound.
Stroup dealt seven innings for his second straight start, needing 87 pitches to traverse through his tenth outing of the season. He yielded just three hits and one walk while striking out five, shrinking his season ERA to 3.88. The win improved Stroup to 3-3 on the year, and the righty retired the final 11 Pelican batters he faced.
Salem led 2-0 into the sixth, when an unearned run proved to be the difference in the game. After drawing his third walk, Cecchini was at third base with two outs and an errant pick-off throw to first allowed him to scurry home. The error went against Myrtle Beach reliever Will Lamb, and the Sox advantage grew to three.
The insurance tally turned out to be vital after the Pelicans pounded back-to-back solo homers off Matty Ott with two outs in the eighth. Jake Skole, who went 3-for-4, crushed his first of the year on an 0-2 pitch, while Drew Robinson blasted his second of the season on a 2-0 pitch. Undeterred, Ott set down Rougned Odor to finish the eighth and tossed a perfect ninth to preserve the win, earning his second save of the season.
With 17 games left in the half (to be played over the next 14 days), the Salem Sox are just five games back in the loss column behind the first-place Pelicans (six games overall). Having dropped nine of their last ten, the Pelicans are ahead of the Winston-Salem Dash by just one game after Winston’s three-game weekend sweep over Carolina.
The Sox will look to get on a roll against the Dash, who arrive to LewisGale Field on Monday for five games in four days, beginning with a doubleheader. Salem and Winston will play two on Monday night, starting at 5:30. The first game features Mike McCarthy against Jake Cose, while the Dash will throw Jason Van Skike in game two. Salem’s second game starter is TBA.
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Chris Graham
