Delmarva Scores Five Unanswered Late to Stun Red Sox 7-5 in Series Finale

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CarL Salem Red Sox

Delmarva Scores Five Unanswered Late to Stun Red Sox 7-5 in Series Finale

May 25, 2025 - Carolina League (CarL)
Salem Red Sox News Release


SALEM, Va. - The Salem Red Sox (19-25) watched a 4-1 lead slip away on Sunday afternoon as the Delmarva Shorebirds (18-27) mounted a late rally to score five unanswered runs and take the series finale 7-5 at Carilion Clinic Field at Salem Memorial Ballpark.

With the comeback win, Delmarva secured its first series victory over the Sox since 2023, snapping a streak of five straight series losses or splits against Salem. The Shorebirds claimed four of six games this week, handing the Red Sox a frustrating finish to their homestand.

After a pair of marathon extra-inning games earlier in the week, the series finale was more conventional. Both teams traded punches early before the Shorebirds' offense erupted in the final innings to complete their comeback.

The Shorebirds struck first in the top of the second inning. Colin Tuft knocked a one-out single into center field and came around to score on a sharp RBI double from Kevin Guerrero, giving Delmarva an early 1-0 edge.

Salem immediately responded in the bottom half of the inning. Freili Encarnacion led off with a single before Kleyver Salazar and Starlyn Nunez drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. A wild pitch from Shorebirds starter Luis De León allowed Encarnacion to score the tying run, and Natanael Yuten followed with a sacrifice fly to left field to plate Salazar. Another wild pitch - the second of the inning - brought home Nunez to cap a three-run rally and give the Red Sox a 3-1 lead.

The Sox padded their lead in the fourth. Yuten reached on an error and advanced to third on a single by Fraymi De Leon. Kelvin Diaz then lifted a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Yuten and extending the lead to 4-1.

Delmarva chipped away in the fifth. Elis Cuevas led off with a single before Red Sox starter Blake Aita retired the next two batters. Then, Braylin Tavera broke out of a slump, having struck out in six straight at-bats, Tavera delivered an RBI single to center to bring the Shorebirds within two runs at 4-2.

Yuten briefly gave Salem breathing room again in the bottom of the fifth, driving in another run on an RBI fielder's choice to make it 5-2. But the momentum quickly shifted.

In the sixth, Raylin Ramos doubled to start the inning and Edwin Amparo followed with a single. Aita buckled down to get two outs, but Cuevas struck again with a two-run double to right, his second hit of the game, cutting the lead to just 5-4.

Aita exited after a career-high 86 pitches over six innings. He allowed 10 hits, four runs, and struck out five. He gave way to Nathanael Cruz, who looked sharp at first but ran into trouble in the seventh.

After two quick outs, Cruz walked Yasmil Bucce, bringing Ramos to the plate. On a 3-1 pitch, Ramos crushed a hanging breaking ball over the left field fence for a two-run home run, giving Delmarva a 6-5 lead, their first since the second inning.

The Shorebirds added insurance in the eighth, as Alfredo Velasquez brought home another run with a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 7-5. In total, Delmarva scored five runs over the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, all with two outs. The run in the eighth was an additional blow and was the final punch from Delmarva.

Cruz was tagged with the loss after allowing three earned runs on three hits over 1.2 innings.

Delmarva's bullpen was the difference-maker down the stretch. Right-hander Jacob Cravey earned the win with 5.2 strong innings of relief, giving up just one run while striking out four. He threw 72 pitches and held the Red Sox in check throughout the second half of the game. Simon Leandro came on for the ninth and retired Encarnacion on three pitches to earn his third save of the year.

The Red Sox will now hit the road for a six-game series in Zebulon, North Carolina, where they'll face the Carolina Mudcats beginning Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. Salem returns home on Tuesday, June 3 to begin a six-game homestand against the Lynchburg Hillcats in the "Battle of 460."

Check out the Salem Red Sox Statistics



Carolina League Stories from May 25, 2025


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