CarL1 Salem RidgeYaks

Salem Red Sox Game Notes

Published on April 19, 2014 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Salem RidgeYaks News Release


The Salem Sox look for their third straight win as they battle the Dash in Winston-Salem on Saturday night... First pitch at 7:00...

A Familiar Formula: During Salem's long winning streak, the recipe was early offense and brilliant pitching, the exact ingredients that emerged on Friday night in Winston-Salem. The Sox won their second straight game to improve to 8-7 behind a two-run top of the first and Brian Johnson's perfect performance, as he authored six hitless innings with five strikeouts and no walks. The victory moved the Red Sox within a half-game of first place, trailing only the Myrtle Beach Pelicans in the Carolina League Southern Division. The Red Sox have now won three of their first four matchups against the Dash in 2014. Salem's in the midst of an 18-game stretch exclusively against Southern Division opponents. The Red Sox will face a Northern Division foe for the first time on Wednesday when they host Lynchburg.

The Constant: While the first 14 games have given the Sox a tremendous peak and a deep valley, one Salem hitter has been hot from Opening Day to the present. Outfielder Kevin Heller, who's been in the lineup for 12 of the team's 15 games, is the only member of the club who's reached base in every game he's played. Consequently, Heller is hitting .368 (14-for-38), fourth-best in the league, and his on-base percentage is .489, #2 in the circuit. Heller recorded an extra-base hit in five straight games, a streak that ended on Friday night in Winston. Still, his .632 slugging percentage is third in the league, trailing only Myrtle Beach's Joey Gallo and Winston's Courtney Hawkins.

Feeling Great Again: Second-baseman Reed Gragnani had his hot start to 2014 interrupted by a leg injury when a Pelican baserunner spiked him trying to steal second last weekend at LewisGale Field. After sitting out for six days, Gragnani returned to the lineup and immediately picked up right where he left off, delivering four hits and five RBI in Salem's last two games, both wins. In seven games played this season, Gragnani has hit .414 (12-for-29) with nine RBI, tied for the team lead in runs driven in.

Similar Studs: Through 15 games, Mario Martinez and Jonathan Roof have both played in 13 contests. They both are hitting .302, with 16 hits in 53 at-bats. In fact, they both have struck out 12 times too! But Roof has one more double, one more run scored, and seven more walks than has teammate, giving him a far superior OBP. Roof's OBP is .403, while Martinez's is .339.

Monitoring Mookie Madness: While Salem's 16-game winning streak ended 10 days ago, one streak we're still watching is continuing to unfold in Double-A, where second-baseman Mookie Betts has reached base in 12 straight games to begin the 2014 season. Considering that Betts reached safely in the final 35 games of 2013, including the playoffs, he has now recorded at least a hit or a walk in 47 consecutive games dating back to last August. In these 47 games between Salem and Portland, Betts is hitting .417 (73-for-175). In 11 games with the Sea Dogs, Betts is hitting .417 (20-for-48) with five walks and only four strikeouts. Betts went 2-for-8 on Friday night in Portland's doubleheader, its first games since Monday. The Sea Dogs were rained out on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

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Carolina League Stories from April 19, 2014


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