Bullpen Tosses Five and Two-Thirds Scoreless Innings for Salem
July 22, 2009 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Salem Red Sox News Release
Salem, VA (July 22, 2009)- Trailing 4-0 before the offense had their first crack, the Red Sox responded with a bevy of clutch, two-out hits to rally past the Keys 8-5 on Wednesday evening at Lewis-Gale Field. In addition to the timely offense, Salem received five and two-thirds innings of scoreless baseball from their superb bullpen, allowing the Red Sox to prevail despite a shaky start from Jose Capellan. Kyle Fernandes improved to 4-0 with two and two-thirds innings of shutout ball, Jason Rice blanked the Keys over two frames, and Derrick Loop tossed a perfect ninth with a couple strikeouts to preserve the victory and earn his 13th save of the season.
Frederick wasted no time in the first, jumping on top 1-0 when the second batter of the game, Pedro Florimon, belted a solo homer to left field. The next five batters would also reach against Capellan as the Keys sent 10 men to the plate in the first inning. When all was said and done, Frederick led 4-0, but Capellan did retire Matt Angle with two outs and the bases loaded to avoid further damage. Three innings later, when the Keys added another run to their total, they also stranded the bases full, a costly missed opportunity that would plague them later. The Keys left eight runners on base in the first four innings, 12 in the game.
The Red Sox finally broke through off Frederick starter Rick Zagone with the third inning. Zagone, a South Atlantic League All-Star making his first start against Salem, retired seven of the first eight batters he faced, but a pair of two-out doubles from Zach Borowiak and Daniel Nava plated a pair of runs for the Sox to cut a 4-0 deficit in half. Nava had a huge offensive night for the Sox, finishing 3-4 with two doubles, a triple, and a walk for his fourth three-hit night in his 17th game played this season.
Frederick's lone tally in the top of the fourth made it 5-2, but Salem would once again rebound in a big way. After the first two batters were set down in order, a walk to Chih-Hsien Chiang, a double from Luis Segovia, and a walk to Kris Negron loaded the bases for Che-Hsuan Lin. After the 7-8-9 combo reached, the leadoff man became the big bopper, crushing a line drive into the left-center alley for a double that cleared the bases and tied the game at five. Zagone induced a pop up from Borowiak to end the inning, but the early Frederick lead had been erased and the game was all square after four innings.
Nava's third extra-base hit of the night greeted Keys' reliever Jake Stevens to begin the fifth. He moved to third on an infield grounder from Mike Jones, then scored on Luis Exposito's sacrifice fly to give Salem its first lead of the game. Salem added two more in the sixth inning, scoring for the first time with fewer than two outs in an inning when Segovia sprinted home on a wild pitch. Later in the frame, Ryan Adams' throwing error allowed Jones to reach and Negron to score to make it 8-5.
Stevens suffered the loss for Frederick, falling to 3-5 after giving up the go-ahead run in the fifth and two more in the sixth. Brian Parker held the Red Sox hitless over the final two innings, but Salem's pen was even better. Frederick managed just one hit in the final five innings off the Red Sox relievers. Rice and Loop held the Keys without a hit over the final three frames to close the door.
With the three-game set even at one game apiece, the Sox and Keys meet for the series' rubber match on Thursday at 7:05, with Stephen Fife set to duel Pedro Beato in the finale. Thursday's matchup will be the final regular season game for the Keys at Lewis-Gale Field, and the two teams will finish their 20-game season series next week at Harry Grove Stadium in Frederick. Currently, the Red Sox lead the season series 9-7.
• Discuss this story on the Carolina League message board...
Carolina League Stories from July 22, 2009
- Cats Top P-Nats - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Blue Rocks Silence Pelicans - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Bullpen Tosses Five and Two-Thirds Scoreless Innings for Salem - Salem Red Sox
- Four-Run Lead Whittles Away In 8-5 Loss - Frederick Keys
- Espino Helps Indians Snap Slump Against Dash - Winston-Salem Dash
- Cats Scratch Back as Nats Fall in Lynchburg - Potomac Nationals
- Kinston Flies by Dash 5-2 - Kinston Indians
- Potomac Nationals Game Notes - Potomac Nationals
- Hillcats Game Notes July 22nd - Lynchburg Hillcats
- K-Tribe Notes for Wednesday - Kinston Indians
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
