Ranaudo Deals Gem, Sox Down Cats 6-1
June 8, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Salem Red Sox News Release
Lynchburg, VA (June 8, 2011)- Anthony Ranaudo shut down the Hillcats over six scoreless innings and Reynaldo Rodriguez provided the big swing in a 6-1 Salem victory over Lynchburg on Wednesday night at City Stadium. In his second Advanced-A start, Ranaudo yielded just two hits to the Carolina League's top hitting team, earning his first victory in a Salem uniform.
Ranaudo retired the first the seven batters he faced before giving up a one-out walk in the third. Todd Cunningham's bunt single provided the first Hillcat hit, but Ranaudo induced a groundout to escape his only inning in which he allowed multiple runners. The 39th overall pick in the 2010 draft retired seven of the final nine he encountered, facing just three over the minimum in six superb innings. He allowed just two hits, struck out three and walked two for his fifth overall triumph combined between Low-A Greenville and Salem.
Ranaudo was extremely economical in his outing, tossing 63 pitches, 42 of which were for strikes. He threw first pitch strikes to 14 of the 21 hitters he faced, including 11 of the first 14 Hillcat batters in the ballgame. Showcasing his explosive fastball and a sharp curveball, Ranaudo dealt four innings of nine pitches or less, with his longest frame lasting just 17 pitches.
Offensively, the Sox provided plenty of support, scoring their first run thanks to a Hillcat error in the fourth. An inning later, Rodriguez battled Lynchburg starter Willie Kempf in a nine-pitch duel before sending the 10th pitch of the at-bat over the left field wall for a two-run homer, boosting Salem to a 3-zip lead. Rodriguez hammered his ninth dinger of the season and drove in his 41st and 42nd runs. Three batters later, David Mailman tripled down the left field line, scoring Dan Butler to put the Sox up 4-0.
Salem added a pair of runs in the seventh as Mailman drove in his second run of the game with a sac fly and Shannon Wilkerson scampered home on a wild pitch to make it 6-nothing.
Mitch Herold perpetuated the strong performance of Ranaudo by tossing two scoreless of his own, facing the minimum and striking out one. Kendal Volz gave up an RBI double to Andrelton Simmons in the ninth, but was able to shut the door on Salem's 6-1 victory.
Rodriguez and Mailman each drove in a pair, with Rodriguez's homer extending his hitting streak to seven games. The Colombian slugger has now hit safely in 14 of the last 15 contests he's appeared in, recording 20 hits in the streak. Wilkerson and Derrick Gibson each notched multi-hit games for the Sox, who snapped a five-game losing streak with the five-run win.
Salem will look to split the four-game set with their Route 460 rivals on Thursday night, when a pair of southpaws with the same first name take the bump. Chris Hernandez gets the ball for the Sox against Lynchburg's Chris Masters, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM.
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