CarL1 Salem Red Sox

Salem Dominates Lynchburg, Sweeps Doubleheader

Published on May 30, 2012 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Salem Red Sox News Release


Lynchburg, VA (May 30, 2012) - Drake Britton tossed six scoreless innings in perhaps his finest start as a pro, Travis Shaw and Michael Almanzar both reached base six times, and the Salem Sox came up big in countless ways to sweep the Hillcats at City Stadium on Wednesday night, prevailing 6-3 in the opener and 7-1 in the nightcap. Matt Barnes encountered the most turbulence he has experienced on the year in game one, but he still struck out eight Hillcats in four innings, allowing three runs on six hits. Ruben Flores retired all nine batters he faced to seal the victory in the opener, while Britton struck out seven and did not walk anybody in his dominating performance in second game, earning his third win of the season in the process.

In game one, the Red Sox trailed 1-0 after two innings before exploding for a four-run rally in the third, all accomplished with two outs. With the bases loaded, Michael Almanzar crushed a line-drive double to drive in a pair and lift the Sox in front 2-1. The very next batter, Xander Bogaerts, smashed a nearly identical double to left, driving in two more to give Salem a 4-1 advantage. The Sox never trailed again, despite Barnes giving up tallies in two more innings that twice brought Lynchburg within two.

Barnes did not factor in the decision and allowed multiple runs for the first time in his career. Making his tenth start, the 19th overall pick out of UConn gave up a run in the first, but bounced back by striking out the side in the second. He picked up two more punchouts in the third and three more in the fourth, working around two hits and a walk in his final frame on the mound. Despite allowing three runs, all earned, in four innings, his Carolina League ERA remains just 1.93, while his full-season ERA is 1.15. In ten starts, he has pitched 54.2 innings, striking out 78 and walking just seven.

Flores arrived in the last of the fifth and slammed the door shut, dealing three perfect innings out of the pen to earn his first Carolina League win. Flores struck out five and now has 23 strikeouts and just one walk on the season.

In game two, the Red Sox erupted early against Hillcats starter Ronan Pacheco, scoring five times in the first and once more in the second. Shaw belted home runs in each of the first two innings, crushing his third and fourth bombs of the season to help create separation in the nightcap. His first shot, a two-run dinger, gave Salem a 2-0 lead, and his solo blast in the second made it 6-0. Drew Hedman added an RBI triple in the first, while Carson Blair and Felix Sanchez each drove in a run with an RBI single.

With plenty of early run support, Britton simply attacked Hillcat hitters. For just the second time this year, the lefthander did not walk a batter, and he struck out seven in six scoreless innings, scattering five hits, all singles. After winning just twice in his first 34 appearances in the Carolina League, Britton has now won back-to-back ballgames after beating Frederick last Friday and Lynchburg on Wednesday. In his last seven outings, Britton has permitted just 10 earned runs combined.

Lynchburg broke up the shutout by scoring an unearned run off Michael Gleason in the ninth, but Salem still owned two Wednesday wins to improve to 28-21 and move within two games of the first-place Winston-Salem Dash (31-20); the Sox trail the Dash by just one game in the loss column with 21 contests remaining in the first-half pennant chase.

Finishing with 13 runs on 20 hits in the two games, the Sox were led by Shaw and Almanzar, who each reached base six times in eight plate appearances. Shaw also became the first member of the 2012 Salem Sox to record multiple home runs in a single game.

The Red Sox will try to make it three out of four in the series against the Hillcats in Thursday's series finale at City Stadium, with Brandon Workman set to oppose Gus Schlosser on the mound. First pitch is slated for 6:05.

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Carolina League Stories from May 30, 2012


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