Stolmy Pimentel continued his resurgence with six dominant innings, setting the tone to Salem’s 10-3 win on Sunday afternoon at LewisGale Field, halting the Red Sox losing streak at four games. Pimentel allowed just one hit, a third-inning bloop single by Doug Pickens, in his near flawless performance, while the Sox sticks supported him with 10 runs on 14 hits. Over his last five starts, Pimentel has permitted just three earned runs in 24 innings, an ERA of 1.13 for the 21-year old Dominican righthander.
Every member of the Red Sox lineup mustered at least one hit, and Salem wasted little time assuming an early advantage. After Kinston starter T.J. House walked Derrik Gibson on five pitches to begin the bottom of the first, Heiker Meneses tripled into the right-center field gap, bringing Gibson across to surge on top 1-0. Meneses scored easily on Jorge Padron’s ground-out to second, and the Sox held a 2-0 edge after one.
The lead increased thanks to David Mailman’s two-out RBI double in the second, driving in Josue Peley from second base. Up 3-0, the Red Sox had multiple baserunners in the third, fourth, and fifth, but could not score again against House, who left after surrendering three runs on eight hits and four walks over five frames.
While House wiggled his way out of jams, Pimentel avoided them completely. He retired the final 11 men he faced in his virtuoso performance, in which no Indian reached second base. Pimentel struck out five, including the final man he faced to complete his six shutout innings on the mound. The win improved him to 3-3 with Salem and shrunk his ERA to 3.81.
After Pimentel finished the top of the sixth, the Sox offense broke it open. Salem scored four times on two hits and three walks against Indians reliever Trey Haley, with Miles Head and Shannon Wilkerson each connecting for RBI singles that helped the Sox capitalize on Haley’s erraticness. With a 7-0 lead, Salem’s quest for a shutout was abruptly halted in the top of the seventh when the K-Tribe plated a pair against reliever Tom Ebert. But Salem added one more in the seventh and two more in the eighth, surging to a 10-2 lead into the ninth. And unlike Saturday night, Casey Frawley’s ninth-inning solo homer did little more that narrowly alter the final tally.
Salem was led offensively by Wilkerson, who recorded a team-high three hits. Meneses finished 2-2 with two walks and a sac fly, while Peley went 2-3 with a walk and a sac fly. Meneses has hit in all six games since joining Salem, while Peley extended his hitting streak to seven games. Bryce Brentz also contributed a multi-hit performance, singling and scoring twice from the cleanup spot. The Red Sox have pounded double-digit hits in five of the last six games, despite managing just a 2-4 record in that stretch.
With Kinston leaving town, the Sox welcome Myrtle Beach to the Roanoke Valley for the next three nights. Ryan Pressly is set to start the Monday night opener against Myrtle, while the Pelicans will counter with Chad Bell. First pitch is slated for 7:05.
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Chris Graham
