One day after mustering just three hits in a 3-0 setback, the Salem Sox pounded 15 hits and scored a baker’s dozen to surpass the Keys 13-9. The visitors from Frederick rallied for four runs in the top of the fourth to take a brief 4-3 lead, but the Sox stormed back with a seven spot in the bottom of the inning to surge in front for good. Deven Marrero, Stefan Welch, and Blake Swihart all finished with three hit-nights, while Salem pounded nine doubles at a team, setting a LewisGale Field record and matching the franchise record set back in 1997. On the mound, William Cuevas racked up a season-high 10 strikeouts in seven and a third innings, earning his fifth straight victory.
With Salem up 3-0 in the top of the fourth, one began to think about another possible no-hitter. One week after no-hitting the Keys in Frederick, the Sox had another dynamite start in the mound, with Cuevas setting down the first 11 men he faced. But with two outs in the fourth, four straight Keys reached, with two doubles, a single, and a Jason Esposito two-run homer suddenly giving Frederick a 4-3 lead. It would not last long.
In the last of the fourth, Zach Clark hit David Chester with a knuckleball, then Matt Gedman bunted his way aboard. With men at first and second, Matty Johnson’s bunt was fielded by Clark, who slung it past the third baseman and down the left field line. Chester and Gedman both scored to put the Sox back in front 5-4, and Johnson raced all the way to third. Henry Ramos and Marrero pounded back-to-back doubles to make it 7-4, and after Clark made another error, Welch pounded a two-run double to give the Sox a 9-4 edge. Zach Fowler replaced Clark, and Swihart greeted him with another RBI double to make it 10-4.
The Sox added three in the fifth to lead by nine, with Welch and Swihart each collecting their second doubles of the night. Up 13-4, the Sox sent Cuevas back to the mound for the top of the eighth. He collected his tenth strikeout, but then walked a man and yielded a single to another. Manny Rivera replaced him, walked the first batter he faced and surrendered three more hits to help the Keys score five runs, bringing them back within four.
In the top of the ninth, Matty Ott bounced back from his tough performance on Sunday, setting down the Keys 1-2-3 to cap off the Red Sox victory. It was the sixth time in nine innings that the Keys went 1-2-3, with Cuevas dealing five perfect frames among his seven and a third on the hill. Cuevas, who was 1-6 on the season after losing on June 1, improved to 6-6 with his fifth straight triumphant decision. The loss went to Clark, who again struggled with his knuckleball. He fell to 0-2, giving up 10 runs (eight earned) on eight hits over three plus innings.
At 51-52 on the year, Salem hopes to return to the .500 mark on Thursday night in game two of the series. Sox righthander Heri Quevedo carries a 14.1 inning shutout streak into his start, while lefty Trent Howard gets the ball for Frederick.
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Chris Graham
