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CarL1 Salem Red Sox

Late Burst Surges Salem Past Lynchburg 6-3

July 30, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Salem Red Sox News Release


Lynchburg, VA (July 30, 2011)- For seven innings on Saturday night, things looked bleak for Salem, as Hillcat starter David Hale had held the Red Sox to just three hits. But Salem exploded for six runs in the final two frames off the Lynchburg bullpen, coming from behind to knock off the Hillcats 6-3 at City Stadium.

Salem took advantage of the shaky Hillcat relievers, scoring four times in the eighth and an additional pair in the ninth. Leading 3-0, Matt Crim came on in relief of Hale to start the eighth and gave up three consecutive base knocks to the bottom third of the Salem order, one of which was Alex Valdez' RBI double that got the Sox on the board. Crim was removed in favor of Andrew Russell, who didn't fare much better. Peter Hissey greeted Russell with a two-run double to left-center, tying the game at three. Kolbrin Vitek then beat out an infield single that the second baseman, Barrett Kleinknecht, threw away, enabling Hissey to score from second and give Salem a 4-3 lead. Vitek was thrown out trying to advance to third on the play.

The Sox added some insurance in the ninth off Ryan Buchter. After a walk and sac bunt, Alex Valdez crushed his first Carolina League homer, a two-run shot that put Salem ahead 6-3. Valdez went 2-for-3 on the night, driving in three runs and scoring twice. Valdez' performance helped Salem win for just the second time all season when trailing after seven frames.

The bullpen's disintegration spoiled a fantastic outing by Hale. Making just his sixth start of the season, Hale faced just three over the minimum, striking out eight over seven innings.

Meanwhile, Salem's Drake Britton tossed five innings for the first time since May 18. The lefthander gave up three runs on six hits to the 'Cats, two of which came on a home run by Kleinknecht, who mashed an 0-2 hanging breaking ball over the left field wall for a 3-0 lead in the third. Christian Bethancourt had an RBI groundout in the second off Britton to give Lynchburg a 1-0 lead.

Chris Martin entered in relief of Britton and dominated the Hillcats. Using two double plays to his advantage, Martin retired 10 of the 13 batters he faced, including the last seven in the ballgame. With the four shutout frames, Martin lowered his season ERA to 0.71, allowing just two earned runs in 25 and one-third innings in a Salem jersey.

A day after having his nine-game hitting streak snapped, Kolbrin Vitek went 2-for-4 and reached base safely for the 11th straight game, while Dan Butler extended his hitting streak to seven games with a one-out single in the seventh.

After evening the series at a game apiece, the Red Sox will look for a series victory in the finale of the road trip on Sunday evening. Anthony Ranaudo will get the start for Salem, against Lynchburg's Dimasther Delgado. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 PM.

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Carolina League Stories from July 30, 2011


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