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CarL1 Salem Red Sox

Sox Feel Wrath of Moustakas in 8-3 Saturday Setback

August 1, 2009 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Salem Red Sox News Release


Wilmington, DE - A new month was not a panacea for the recent Red Sox woes as Salem opened August with an 8-3 loss to Wilmington. Derrick Robinson and Mike Moustakas combined for six hits and five RBI to lead the Blue Rock offense, and Eduardo Paulino threw a quality start as Wilmington won its eighth straight at the expense of the Red Sox, who lost their eighth straight ballgame. A five-run fifth inning broke open a 1-1 draw and Wilmington tacked on extra runs in the sixth and eighth innings to take their third straight from Salem. The Red Sox will aim to snap their skid against presumably the toughest challenge yet, as major leaguer Gil Meche makes a rehab start for the Blue Rocks on Sunday afternoon in the series finale.

Salem starter Eammon Portice yielded an RBI double to Moustakas in the bottom of the first that gave Wilmington a 1-0 lead, but the righthander would settle down over the next few frames to retire 10 of the next 11 hitters. Salem used a two-out RBI double from Jon Hee to even the score in the top of the fifth, but the tie would be short-lived.

Nick Van Stratten doubled down the third-base line to open the last of the fifth, and he promptly scored on Jamar Walton's RBI single. After a Matt Morizio ground-out, Anthony Seratelli's single scored Walton and set the stage for Derrick Robinson, who belted his first career Blue Rock homer to make it 5-1. The two run shot was Robinson's first in 221 games played for Wilmington over the past two seasons. Once Johnny Giavotella singled, Portice's night officially ended. Jose Capellan hit Moustakas and then yielded an RBI single to Clint Robinson which made the score 6-1. After another ground out and a walk, the 11th batter in the inning, Walton, chopped to second to finally end the frame.

The Red Sox finished with seven of their nine batters recording one hit. Only Mike Jones and David Mailman went hitless on Saturday, but Salem once again struggled in key moments, going 2-12 with runners in scoring position and stranding eight runners on base. Eight of the 13 Wilmington hits were struck by the top third of the order, with Giavotella going 2-4 to complement the three-hit nights of both Robinson and Moustakas.

Paulino improved to 5-6 with six solid innings, giving up three runs on six hits. Portice fell to 6-5 despite six strikeouts and no walks. Despite regaining the Carolina League lead in Ks, Portice was touched up for six runs on eight hits over four and a third innings. Capellan yielded a run on three hits in an inning and two thirds out of the pen, while Josh Papelbon allowed one run on two hits over the final two frames on the hill for Salem. Chris Chavez earned his fourth save for the Blue Rocks, shutting the Red Sox down over the final three innings.

Salem aims to avoid a winless road trip as they wrap up their seven-game, two-city trek on Sunday afternoon in their first day game since June 21. The Sox will send Stephen Fife to the hill to make his fourth Salem start. As mentioned above, Gil Meche is scheduled to throw between 55-65 pitches in a rehab start for the Blue Rocks. First pitch is set for 1:35 at Frawley Stadium.

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