CarL1 Salem RidgeYaks

Keys Stick Dagger in Sox, Win 4-3

Published on May 29, 2011 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Salem RidgeYaks News Release


Salem, VA (May 29, 2011) - The 20 wins in 27 games to begin the season is already a distant memory. Now, the boomerang turnaround is breaking records.

Frederick completed its first ever four-game sweep in Salem with a 4-3 Sunday triumph, handing the Sox their 17th loss in their last 21 games, evening Salem's record at 24-24. It was Salem's eighth one-run loss in the last 16 games and the 12th straight setback at Lewis-Gale Field, breaking a Salem record for most consecutive home losses.

The Red Sox battled back from a 4-1 deficit by scoring single runs in the seventh and eighth innings, but fell short against the Keys closer Sean Gleason in the ninth, going down in order to drop another one-run affair. Since a slim win on May 7, Salem has lost all eight of its one run decisions and is now 9-10 in one-run games on the seasons.

The Keys were buoyed by veteran pitching, sending out three pitchers who have played extensively in Double-A and Triple-A. Starter Ryohei Tanaka tossed five innings to earn the win, holding the Red Sox to one run on three hits. Justin Moore and Will Startup allowed one run each in the seventh and eighth innings, but Gleason slammed the door in the ninth to earn his league-leading 12th save.

Shannon Wilkerson blasted a solo homer for the third straight game, crushing a first-inning bomb off Tanaka for his sixth round-tripper of the season. But unfortunately, that dinger only served to cut an early 2-0 deficit in half. Frederick had already plated a pair in the first thanks to Kipp Schutz' RBI double and Tyler Kolodny's RBI single.

The Keys added another run against Salem starter Chris Hernandez in the fifth, knocking the lefthander out of the game after four and two-thirds innings. Hernandez surrendered three runs on five hits and four walks, falling to 5-2 with his first loss since May 1.

David Mailman drove in a run with an RBI double in the seventh, while Kolbrin Vitek reached on a error by the third-baseman that scored Wilkerson in the eighth. Wilkerson and Dan Butler both finished with multiple hits, while Reynaldo Rodriguez went 0-4, snapping his seven-game hitting streak.

Defensively, the Red Sox turned a season-high five double plays, four of which were around-the-horn 5-4-3 jobs. The Keys put runners on in every inning, relentlessly pressuring the Red Sox pitching staff. In the four-game series, Salem pitchers only recorded three perfect 1-2-3 innings.

Adam Donachie, another minor league veteran who played 78 Triple-A games last season with Norfolk, walked four times in four plate appearances on Sunday. Kolodny and Steve Bumbry each went 2-4 for the Keys, who improved to 28-21, inching to within a half game of the lead in the Northern Division.

Salem is hoping that facing Lynchburg will be a panacea to the problems, as the Red Sox went 6-0 against the Hillcats back in April. Lynchburg, however, has been a different team in late-May, winning seven of its last eight including four straight over Potomac in the past two days.

The 460 rivals will kick off a four-game, two-city series on Memorial Day Monday at LewisGale Field, a 1:05 matinee pitting a pair of lefthanders, Drake Britton for Salem and Chris Masters for Lynchburg.

Programming note: Monday's action will be broadcast live on salemsox.com and will be heard on tape delay beginning at 5:05 on NewsTalk 960 WFIR.

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Carolina League Stories from May 29, 2011


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