SALEM, Va. – (Courtesy of SalemSox.com)
The Salem Red Sox and Wilmington Blue Rocks were neck and neck most of the evening, but the Sox scored three in the eighth inning to top the visitors 4-2 Friday night at Haley Toyota Field.
Salem (26-25) moved back over .500 for the first time since May 24 with the win, and drew within half a game of the Potomac Nationals in the race for the first-half crown in the Northern Division. Wilmington (21-33) had seven hits, but six of them went for extra bases in the loss. The win was the third in a row for the Sox, and they improved to 7-0 on the season at Haley Toyota Field against the Blue Rocks.
Wilmington struck right away against Salem starting pitcher Jake Thompson (ND), who gave up a triple to Kort Peterson to begin the ballgame. Gabriel Cancel lofted a sacrifice fly to right, plating Peterson and putting the Blue Rocks ahead 1-0. Khalil Lee doubled, but Thompson recovered to retire the next two batters and end the inning.
Salem responded in kind in the bottom of the first against Wilmington starter Jace Vines (L, 2-7). With one out, Brett Netzer singled through the left side, and moved up to second on a ground-out by Roldani Baldwin. C.J. Chatham lashed a single into right field, and Netzer came around to score, tying the game at 1-1.
Both starters stifled the offenses from there until the Sox took the lead in the bottom of the eighth. Leadoff man Trenton Kemp hit a grounder to third that Gabriel Cancel fielded cleanly, but his throw to first skipped in the dirt and Chris DeVito couldn’t handle it, allowing Kemp to reach on the error. With Chris Madera at the plate, Kemp tried to steal, but got caught in a rundown. It looked like the Blue Rocks would get him, but home plate umpire Jason Johnson ruled that catcher Xavier Fernandez was guilty of obstruction, and sent Kemp to second base. Wilmington manager Darryl Kennedy and pitching coach Doug Henry were both tossed for arguing the call, but it stood nonetheless.
Vines was rattled, and tossed a wild pitch that sent Kemp to third base. Chris Madera poked a single into right field, scoring Kemp and giving the Sox the lead. Santiago Espinal hammered a double to left, and Madera galloped around the bases to score, with Espinal reaching third on the throw to the plate. New reliever Julio Pinto came on to face Brett Netzer, who blooped a single into shallow center, scoring Espinal to give the Sox a 4-1 lead.
Wilmington made some noise in the top of the ninth against reliever Algenis Martinez (W, 2-0), who fanned the first two batters of the frame. However, Vance Vizcaino slammed a fly that bounced on and over the top of the right-center field wall for a solo homer, cutting the lead to 4-2. Martinez recovered his composure, whiffing Oliver Nunez to end the ballgame with the win secured.
Thompson fired a career-long seven innings, allowing one run on five hits and striking out four. Martinez surrendered a run on two hits in two frames, fanning four batters.
The Sox will look for a fourth straight win Saturday night, with righty Bryan Mata toeing the slab for the Sox against Wilmington right-hander Ofreidy Gomez. First pitch from Haley Toyota Field is at 6:05 p.m., and the pregame show with Ben Gellman and Suzie Cool begins at 5:45 p.m. on the Red Sox broadcast network.