Salem Red Sox Game Notes
May 10, 2013 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Salem Red Sox News Release
The Salem Sox surf their way into a four-game series in Myrtle Beach beginning on Friday night.
First pitch at 7:05.
On the roster, INF Bryan Johns was transferred to Greenville, while INF Nick Natoli was received from Pawtucket.
The Beach Boys: The Salem Red Sox arrive in Myrtle Beach for a four-game series against the first-place Pelicans, needing a four-game sweep of the Southern Division leaders to catch them in the standings. The Red Sox did take two out of three over the Pelicans at LewisGale Field in April, scoring three times in the bottom of the ninth on Sunday, April 14 to walk off as the series winner in the rubber match. Since then, the Pelicans have gone 16-8 to establish the best record in the league coming off a three-game sweep over Lynchburg this week. Salem's three-game winning streak was snapped on Thursday, with the Sox dropping both ballgames in a doubleheader against Carolina. After this four-gamer against the Pelicans, the Red Sox will be exactly 25% of the way through their regular season and at the midway point of the 70-game first half.
Wouldn't It Be Nice: It sure would help Salem's chances if Keury De La Cruz great hitting performance in Thursday's twin-bill carried over to the weekend on the Grand Strand. De La Cruz went 3-for-6 in the double-dip, finishing a double shy of the cycle. His fourth inning home run in the opening game broke a scoreless tie and gave the Red Sox a lead, but Salem eventually fell 2-1. Nevertheless, Thursday was De La Cruz' first three-hit day (albeit in two games) of the season. The solo homer was his second of the year; he also owns Salem's lone grand slam of the season vs. Wilmington on April 23.
Catch a Wave: With hits in both games of the doubleheader, Salem third-baseman Garin Cecchini continued his offensive tear that has made him the league's #1 hitter. His .380 clip (41-for-108) is tops in the circuit by a healthy margin, 28 points higher than Carolina's Francisco Lindor. Aside from Cecchini and Lindor, only five other players who qualify for the league leaderboard have averages above .300. Cecchini has registered hits in 23 of his last 27 games, a stretch in which he's batting .406, fourth-best in the minors since April 7. Cecchini hit his fourth home run of the season on Tuesday night, matching his round-tripper total from the 2012 season in just 103 at-bats. Last year, he had four homers in 455 at-bats.
Shut Down: While Henry Owens (who's scheduled to pitch on Saturday) has established himself as the staff ace, unheralded Mike Augliera has become another excellent starter for the Salem Sox. The fifth round pick from Binghamton in 2012 tossed six superb innings on Thursday night, receiving a no-decision since he departed with the score tied at one. Augliera has gone at least five innings in each of his six starts, and he's compiled a 3-0 record with a 3.67 ERA. He's the only pitcher in the league with at least 30 innings pitched who has not allowed a single home run yet this season.
Surfin' USA: Infielder Nick Natoli has covered plenty of miles in the past week. After traveling through Wilmington and Winston with the Salem Sox and reaching base three times in Tuesday's opening game against Carolina, Natoli was promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket. He went 0-for-2 after pinch-hitting in the seventh during Pawtucket's 14-9 victory over Gwinnett on Thursday in his Triple-A debut, and he meets Salem in South Carolina for the weekend series vs. Myrtle.
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