The Salem Red Sox moved into a playoff position with a six game sweep of Fredricksburg last week. If the Low-A East season had ended Sunday the Sox would be one of two teams to make the playoffs.
Coming into this week’s six game series at Lynchburg the Red Sox had a 66-42 record, which was second best among the 12 total teams in the Low-A East league. Salem was two games ahead of Down East(64-44), three games ahead of Carolina(63-45) and five games up on Delmarva(61-47). No one else in the league has a realistic chance of catching Salem with just two weeks left in the season.
The top two teams make the playoffs and Charleston has the best record by far at 77-31. The Riverdogs, a Tampa Bay Rays affiliate, would have the home advantage in the five game series that will decide the first Low-A East champion.
The regular season ends on Sunday, September 19, and the team with the league’s second best record will get the first two games at home, probably on Tuesday and Wednesday, September 21 and 22. Charleston will then get the next three at home, or however many games are necessary until one of the teams wins three times.
What’s interesting is if the Sox can take that second spot their series would be like the major leagues before inter-league play. Salem and Charleston do not meet during the regular season, so the championship series would be the first time either team saw the other.
Last week’s six game sweep of Fredricksburg was huge for the Sox as they trailed Carolina and were tied with Down East prior to last week’s games. After getting rained out Tuesday and Wednesday the Sox swept a doubleheader Thursday, 13-1 and 7-6, won a single game Friday, 10-5, then swept another doubleheader Saturday, 14-2 and 2-1.
Salem led for most of the game Sunday, taking a 4-2 lead into the ninth. However, the Nationals rallied for three runs in the top of the ninth to take a 5-4 lead off Jordan DiValerio.
The Red Sox rallied to tie the game with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to send it into extra innings. After Jacinto Arredondo pitched a scoreless inning in the top of the 10th the Sox got a walk-off win in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Gilberto Jimenez for a 6-5 final.
The win was the seventh straight for the Sox, who got home runs from Nick Decker and Nicholas Northcut, both in the bottom of the sixth just one batter apart. Jimenez, Decker and Northcut all had two hits for Salem.
This week the Sox will be in Lynchburg for six while Down East is at Carolina in a series that could eliminate one of the two from playoff contention. The best scenario for Salem would be if those two split their six games and Salem won four or more of the six games in Lynchburg.
The Sox wrap up the regular season with six home games against Delmarva, beginning next Tuesday, September 14.