PHOTO BY BRIAN HOFFMAN
The Salem Red Sox took four of five games from the Fredricksburg Nationals in Salem last week to make up some ground in the Carolina League’s North Division standings. The Sox are now six games behind the Carolina Mudcats as they head to Fayetteville for a six-game series with the Woodpeckers this week.
The Sox dropped the first game to Fredricksburg, 9-5, but rallied to win the next four around a Saturday rainout. That game will be made up when the Nationals return on June 18.
Salem won three closes, 4-2 on Wednesday, 5-4 on Thursday and 3-2 on Friday as Luis Cohen, Blake Alta and Michael Sansone picked up wins. On Sunday Andruw Musett was three for five with a pair of home runs, including a three-run shot in the sixth inning that nearly ignited a brawl. After Musett crossed the plate words were exchanged and both dugouts and bullpens emptied before order was quickly restored.
Musett’s sixth inning homer was the highlight of an eight run inning that included an RBI double by Yoeilin Cespedes and an RBI single by Antonio Anderson just prior to Musett’s bomb over the high leftfield wall.
Griffin Kilander picked up his first win in relief Sunday with two and a third shutout innings. Manuel Medina pitched the final two and two-thirds innings for his first save.
With the win Salem improved to 12-14 on the season. They’re now on the road for two weeks, returning home May 20 to host Delmarva for six games.
The parent Boston Red Sox made several changes to the Salem roster last week. Shortstop Franklin Arias and pitchers Brandon Clarke and Matt McShane were promoted to High-A Greenville and the Drive sent shortstop Fraymi DeLeon to Salem. Pitchers Ben Hansen and Jay Allmer were also added to the Salem roster. On Tuesday of this week infielder Antonio Anderson was promoted to Greenville.
