CarL1 Salem RidgeYaks

Sox Finish Off Pelicans to Sweep Four-Game Set in Myrtle Beach

Published on August 13, 2009 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Salem RidgeYaks News Release


Myrtle Beach, SC (August 13, 2009) - Three multi-run innings paced Salem to a 7-0 lead, giving the Red Sox plenty of support as they completed the sweep of the Pelicans with a 7-4 triumph on Thursday evening. Tim Federowicz and Che-Hsuan Lin each drove in two runs, providing the early lead for Dave McKae, who earned his second Red Sox victory with six strong innings in which he allowed just one run on two hits. Jason Rice struck out three in two scoreless frames out of the bullpen, and Kyle Fernandes survived an error-fueled two-out rally in the ninth to preserve the victory, giving the Red Sox a split of their eight-game road trip. After dropping four in a row to Kinston, Salem followed up their Monday off-day by outscoring Myrtle Beach 36-10 over four games in three days at BB&T Coastal Field.

Although Pelican starter Richard Sullivan retired six of the first seven batters over two scoreless innings to begin his outing, the Red Sox pounded the lefthander for seven runs on eight hits over the third, fourth, and fifth innings. Following a leadoff single from Will Vazquez and a one out walk from Lin, Federowicz delivered a two-out, two run single to break the scoreless tie in the top of the third innings. With the Sox up 2-0 and two runners in scoring position with two down in the fourth, Lin cracked his second triple of the season to drive in a pair and make it 4-zip. Jon Hee's single down the left field line made it 5-0, bringing Lin home from third. Hee led the Red Sox with two hits and has recorded hits in five straight games.

Salem plated two more off Sullivan in the fifth after loading the bases with nobody out. Zach Borowiak and Kris Negron each belted sacrifice flies to score Mike Jones and Chih-Hsien Chiang, respectively, making it 7-0 Red Sox. Sullivan fell to 2-11 on the season, tying Mario Santiago for second-most losses in the Carolina League.

Meanwhile, McKae improved to 2-5 with his second spectacular outing against Myrtle Beach, no-hitting the Pelicans through the first five innings in which he retired 15 of 16 batters he faced. With nearly an identical stat line to the last time he faced the Pelicans back on April 24, the righthander yielded just one run on two hits. Robert Marcial reached on a Kris Negron error to begin the sixth and came around to score an unearned run on Michael Fisher's single. With two on and one out, McKae induced a 5-4-3 double play from Donell Linares to complete his sparkling performance.

The laugher for eight innings became slightly more suspenseful in the bottom of the ninth after the first two batters were set down very quickly. To everyone's surprise, the final out would prove elusive for the Red Sox. Fernandes hit Benji Johnson to put the first runner on, and Johnson advanced to third when Mailman dropped a fly ball in right field that put Randy Gress at second base. Incredibly, even a strikeout of Marcial would not end the game, since the third strike skipped to the backstop and the batter reached on the wild pitch, scoring Johnson from third. CJ Lee belted a two-out double to make it 7-4, but Che-Hsuan Lin's diving catch on Cole Miles' sinking line drive to left-center field ended the game and prevented the tying run from coming to the plate.

With the win on Thursday, Salem completes a stretch of 13 of their last 15 games on the road. Looking forward, Salem has 14 of their next 17 at Lewis-Gale Field. Just a half game behind Winston in the division and holding a two and half game lead over Kinston for the wild card spot, the Red Sox open up a three-game set with the Indians on Friday night. Salem will be looking for payback after the K-Tribe outscored the Sox 24-5 in a four-game sweep at Grainger Stadium this past weekend. The Red Sox will get their second shot at old friend Bryan Price, who makes his third start for the Indians organization following the deadline day deal sent him to Kinston. Eammon Portice takes the hill for the Red Sox in the series opener, which is set to begin at 7:05.

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Carolina League Stories from August 13, 2009


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