SALEM, Va. – Courtesy: Ben Gellman/Salem Red Sox
The Sox (12-8) got a terrific start from Darwinzon Hernandez (W, 2-1), who bounced back from an awful outing in his last start to get the win. Frederick (7-12) lost for the ninth time in their last 11 contests and mustered only one hit. It was the first shutout the Sox had pitched since August 26, 2017 against the Wilmington Blue Rocks.
Salem struck first in the bottom of the third against Frederick starting pitcher Alex Wells (L, 0-2). Trenton Kemp hammered a one-out triple off the wall in center, and Brett Netzer sliced a single to right field with two outs to plate Kemp and give the Sox a 1-0 lead. The Sox tacked on another in the bottom of the fourth, as Tyler Hill was able to earn a two-out walk before Jhon Nunez ripped a double to left that sent Hill sliding in safely at home to make it 2-0.
The Sox doubled their lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. Chris Madera earned a leadoff walk from Wells, and with one out, Kemp jumped all over a 1-0 fastball, sending it high over the left-field wall for a two-run dinger. It was Kemp's second blast of the year, and it made it a 4-0 lead for the Sox.
The Sox added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth against Frederick reliever Francisco Jimenez, who surrendered a leadoff single to Bobby Dalbec and a one-out single to Hill to put runners at first and second. Nunez laced a beautiful single into the gap in left-center, plating Dalbec and sending Hill to third base; Nunez made it to second on the throw. Madera then lofted a sacrifice fly to center, sending Hill home to run the lead to the final 6-0 margin.
Hernandez was overpowering in five shutout frames, whiffing six while allowing only one hit and three walks. Hildemaro Requena closed out the Keys with two no-hit innings of relief, recording two strikeouts to one walk.