Fredericksburg Blanks Salem 3-0 in Quick-Moving Pitcher's Duel

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Fredericksburg Blanks Salem 3-0 in Quick-Moving Pitcher's Duel

June 20, 2025 - Carolina League (CarL)
Salem Red Sox News Release


SALEM, Va. - In a game that lasted just one hour and 54 minutes, the Salem Red Sox (26-39, 0-1) fell to the Fredericksburg Nationals (31-35, 1-0), 3-0, on Friday night at Carilion Clinic Field at Salem Memorial Ballpark.

On Arts in the Ballpark Night, the FredNats once again jumped out to an early lead.

A leadoff single from Cristhian Vaquero put a runner aboard for Nationals' No. 6 prospect, Luke Dickerson. On just the 11th pitch of the ballgame, Dickerson lined a sharp fly ball double to right field to score Vaquero and give Fredericksburg a 1-0 lead. Two batters later, Nick Peoples brought home Dickerson on an RBI groundout to make it 2-0.

The FredNats added one more in the second inning thanks to a Francesco Barbieri RBI fielder's choice, paired with an error.

On Thursday night, Fredericksburg led 4-0 after two innings and went on to win 5-3. Friday night, they led 3-0 after two-and that's where the score would remain.

In the bottom of the second, Frederik Jiminez worked a leadoff walk off Nationals starter Alexander Meckley. Natanael Yuten then ripped a double down the left field line to put a pair of runners in scoring position for the bottom half of the lineup. But Meckley escaped the jam, retiring Azocar, Asencio, and De Leon in order to leave two men stranded.

That escape ignited a streak of 28 consecutive batters retired between the two clubs. Neither team saw a baserunner in innings three through six.

Fredericksburg broke its 14-batter streak in the seventh with a one-out single from Carlos Tavares off Adam Bates. But Bates induced a 6-4-3 double play off the bat of Kelvin Diaz to erase the threat.

Salem also snapped its own 14-batter out streak in the bottom of the seventh. Andruw Musett drew a leadoff walk, and Jiminez reached on an error, putting two on with no outs once again.

Then came the dagger.

Yuten lined a second-pitch fastball right at second baseman Randal Diaz, who snagged the shot and fired to first to double off Jiminez. First baseman Carlos Tavares alertly threw to second to catch Musett leaning, completing a rare 4-3-6 triple play-Salem's first time hitting into a triple play since May 26, 2023, also turned by Fredericksburg.

The eighth and ninth innings remained quiet, and the FredNats closed out a tidy 3-0 victory to even the series at two games apiece.

Yhoiker Fajardo, the 18-year-old out of Venezuela, made his Single-A debut for Salem. The right-hander went four innings, allowing three hits, three runs (one earned), and struck out three. Fajardo took the loss in his first start since being called up from the FCL earlier this week.

Adam Bates finished the game for Salem, going five scoreless innings with just three hits allowed in a strong relief outing.

Alexander Meckley earned the win for Fredericksburg, throwing six shutout innings with four strikeouts and no walks. It marked the second straight night a FredNats starter tossed six full innings against Salem.

Friday's contest marked the start of the second half of the season, and the Sox being shut out on four hits was just the fifth time they've been blanked all year.

With the series now tied 2-2, the Red Sox and Nationals will meet again for game five Saturday night at 6:35 p.m. at Carilion Clinic Field. Right-handers Yoel Tejeda Jr. and Ben Hansen are the scheduled starters in the penultimate game of the six-game set.

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