Sour Sunday: Kinston Downs Salem 4-1
June 20, 2010 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Salem Red Sox News Release
Salem, VA (June 20, 2010) - The Salem Sox took the field knowing that a victory could earn a share of the first-half Southern Division crown; unfortunately, Kinston righthander Joe Gardner continued his season of dominance, holding the Red Sox scoreless through six dazzling innings in a 4-1 Indians victory on Sunday afternoon at Lewis-Gale Field. The loss snaps a five-game winning streak for Salem and gives the Sox a 42-28 record through 70 games, one game below Winston-Salem, who earned the playoff berth at 43-27 despite their own 7-4 loss to Wilmington on Sunday. Salem now breaks from baseball for three days while four Red Sox All-Stars head to the California-Carolina League All-Star tilt in Myrtle Beach. Ryan Lavarnway, Oscar Tejeda, Will Middlebrooks, and Brock Huntzinger are the quartet of Salem stars heading to compete against the western advanced-A circuit.
Kinston scored twice off Salem starter Stolmy Pimentel in the fourth inning to surge ahead 2-0. Abner Abreu connected on an RBI double and Doug Pickens drove in another with a one-out single, the only runs Pimentel surrendered in six otherwise superb innings. But Pimentel was tagged with the loss and fell to 5-5 on the year because, for the second time this season, the Sox could not decipher Gardner.
Gardner yielded only two hits and struck out nine over six frames to improve to 6-1. Salem scored one in the seventh off reliever Chris Jones, but left the tying run at third base and the go-ahead run at first. The Sox finished the day with zero hits in ten at-bats with runners in scoring position.
The Indians added to their lead with two outs in the top of the ninth as Ronald Rivas jacked a two-run dinger off Kyle Fernandes, plating a huge pair of insurance tallies for Kinston. In the last of the ninth, the Sox netted one baserunner against closer Cory Burns, but never brought the tying run to the plate as Alex Hassan grounded out to end the game. Burns earned his tenth save, tied for the Carolina League lead.
The 42 wins for the Red Sox were the second most ever for a Salem team in the first half of a season. Only the 1974 Salem Pirates (47-23) won more in their first 70.
Following the break, the Red Sox open a six-game road swing, with three-game sets against Wilmington and Winston-Salem, beginning on Thursday, June 24 at Frawley Stadium.
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Carolina League Stories from June 20, 2010
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- Dash Clinch First Half Title - Winston-Salem Dash
- Stellar First Half Ends in Loss - Frederick Keys
- Sour Sunday: Kinston Downs Salem 4-1 - Salem Red Sox
- K-Tribe Beats Salem 4-1 to End First Half - Kinston Indians
- Dash Can't Clinch Again; Rocks Win 7-4 - Winston-Salem Dash
- Hillcats End Half with Shutout Win - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Wilmington Spoils Winston's Weekend - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Unlucky P-Nats Drop First-Half Finale, 3-0 - Potomac Nationals
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Five-run third propels Frederick to 9-1 victory over Birds - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
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