Brilliant Hernandez Helps Sox Surge into First
May 24, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Salem Red Sox News Release
Myrtle Beach, SC (May 24, 2011) - Chris Hernandez outdueled Robbie Erlin for the second time in May, letting the Salem Sox romp the Myrtle Beach bullpen in the late innings to pull away in an 8-1 Red Sox victory. Second-baseman Zach Gentile consistently helped the Sox succeed, leading the team with three hits and recording an unassisted double-play for the game's final two outs to secure the win that brings Salem back into a first place tie with Myrtle Beach atop the Southern Division.
The Red Sox led wire-to-wire after Kolbrin Vitek tripled in the top of the first, scoring on Dan Butler's sacrifice fly. The early offense preceded another great performance from Hernandez, who struck out a career-high seven Pelicans in five superb innings. The Salem southpaw tossed four scoreless as the Sox took a 2-0 lead, then permitted one run to score on an RBI ground-out in the fifth. The Pelicans put the potential tying run at third base with two outs, but Hernandez whiffed Ryan Strausborger to strand the man, one of eight that the Birds left aboard in the game.
Zach Gentile's RBI double in the fourth made it 2-0, and Salem led 2-1 when Robbie Erlin departed after the sixth. The Pelicans lefthander only allowed a pair of tallies on five hits, but found himself on the short end against Hernandez for the second time this year. On May 6, Hernandez and the Sox prevailed 2-1, but on Tuesday night, the Sox broke it open against the Pelicans bullpen.
Salem scored once in the seventh, once in the eighth, and four times in the ninth to fuel the rout. Peter Hissey finished 2-4 and drove in a run with his 15th double of the season, Reynaldo Rodriguez scurried home on a wild pitch to make it 4-1, and then Rodriguez drove in two more with his league-leading 17th double. Mark Wagner also added an RBI single in the ninth. Overall, the Red Sox offense mustered 11 hits, the third straight game that Salem has recorded double-digit hits. Prior to Saturday, Salem bagged double-digit hits just twice in the previous 22 games.
While the Red Sox were knocking around the Pelican bullpen, Salem's relievers slammed the door. Will Latimer replaced Hernandez in the sixth and tossed three shutout frames, retiring nine of the ten batters he faced with two strikeouts. In the ninth, Anatanaer Batista yielded three baserunners but no runs. With the bags packed and one away, David Paisano's liner to second was snared by Gentile, who stepped on second-base to complete the game-ending double play.
Hernandez improved to 5-1 in eight Carolina League starts. His ERA actually rose by one one-hundreth of a point, from 1.78 to 1.79. Meanwhile, Erlin's ERA shrunk from 2.22 to 2.14, but the Pelicans hurler fell to 3-2, with both losses coming against Salem.
Locked in a virtual tie with Myrtle Beach for first place in the division, the Sox now aim for a Wednesday victory that would vault themselves into sole possession of the top spot. The middle-game of the three-game series features Salem's Drake Britton against Myrtle's Barret Loux, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:05 on Wednesday.
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Carolina League Stories from May 24, 2011
- Brilliant Hernandez Helps Sox Surge into First - Salem Red Sox
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