CarL1 Salem RidgeYaks

Salem Red Sox Game Notes

Published on June 8, 2013 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Salem RidgeYaks News Release


Following Friday's rainout, the Salem Sox begin a four-game, two-day series in Lynchburg on Saturday afternoon.

First pitch at 4:05.

Nine Days: This is the story of a team that will play nine games in the next nine days against Lynchburg, with an additional three games against Wilmington. All together, the Salem Sox will play 12 contests over the final nine days of the half, including doubleheaders today and tomorrow against the Hillcats. After hosting the Blue Rocks on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, the Salem Sox will welcome the Hillcats to LewisGale Field for another doubleheader on Thursday before wrapping up the half from Friday through next Sunday. Salem trails Myrtle Beach and Winston-Salem by four and a half games in the chase for the Southern Division first-half title.

Solo Sluggers: Henry Ramos belted home runs against Winston-Salem on Wednesday and Thursday, while Brandon Jacobs also crushed a towering round-tripper on Thursday evening. But while Ramos now has five dingers on the year and Jacobs has six, all 11 home runs have been solo shots for these two outfielders. As a team, the Sox have hit 37 home runs in 58 games, but 28 of those blasts have been solo shots. Team leader Sean Coyle has ten homers, nine without anybody on base. Garin Cecchini, Keury De La Cruz, and David Renfroe share the team lead with two multi-run homers apiece on the season.

Sanchez Not Switching: For the first time in his career, Felix Sanchez is simply a righthanded hitter. After struggling from the left side of the plate, the Dominican outfielder has removed that facet from his game and has experienced success in his return to Salem. He went 0-for-4 in his first game back with the Sox six days ago, but since has gone 6-for-14 with three straight multi-hit games. Reaching base more often should create many more scoring opportunities for the Sox as a result of Sanchez' superb speed. In just 22 games this year, Sanchez has 11 steals in 15 tries. Last year, he had 25 stolen bases in just 46 games.

The All-Star Trio: Garin Cecchini and Blake Swihart were both selected as starters for the upcoming Carolina League-California League All-Star Game, to be held at the home of the San Jose Giants on Tuesday, June 18. In addition, Henry Owens will be a part of a stacked Carolina League pitching staff at the Advanced-A midsummer showcase. Each of these three players are currently ranked among the top ten Boston Red Sox prospects by Baseball America. Cecchini leads the Carolina League in batting average and on-base percentage, while Swihart is tied for eighth in batting average an #1 among catchers. Owens is second in the circuit with 68 strikeouts and third in opponent batting average (.190). Last year, Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley Jr., Mike Olmsted, and Travis Shaw represented Salem in the All-Star game, with Shaw earning MVP honors thanks to his towering three-run homer at BB&T Ballpark in Winston.

Score!: It didn't take long for the Sox to score on Thursday, and Salem extended its streak to 77 straight games with at least one run. The Sox have not been shutout since August 12, 2012 at Wilmington. Salem is the only team in the CL to score at least one in every game so far in 2013.

Check out the Salem RidgeYaks Statistics

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Carolina League Stories from June 8, 2013


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