The Salem Red Sox will have their longest homestand of the season this week as they entertain the Lynchburg Hillcats and Potomac Nationals for three games each at Haley Toyota Field.
Lynchburg will be here for night games Tuesday through Thursday. Potomac comes in Friday for a 7:05 pm game, followed by a 6:05 pm start on Saturday and a 1:05 pm matinee on Sunday.
Lots of promotions are planned, including a beer stein giveaway tonight, April 27. The first 750 fans age 21 and over will receive a hand painted beer stein commemorating Salem’s 50th Season in the Carolina League. Friday is Power Rangers Night and a poster giveaway, along with fireworks after the game, and Saturday is Star Wars Night. Posters will also be given away on Saturday and Sunday and kids will run the bases on Sunday after the game.
The Sox saw their winning streak end at eight straight games Sunday afternoon as they were swept by the Frederick Keys, falling 2-1 and 6-0 at at Harry Grove Stadium in Frederick.
The Red Sox saw the tables turned after they had swept a doubleheader from their hosts on Friday. The Keys never trailed in the doubleheader, only allowing one hit in the second game. The eight-game winning streak matched the longest winning streak in the Red Sox era for Salem, recorded August 7-17 in 2014.
Prior to Sunday the Sox had won eight straight to take over first place in the Carolina League’s Northern Divison, going from two games under .500 to six games over in just over a week. The sweep began April 14 with a 7-1 win over the Down East Wood Ducks in Kinston. Salem won the next two games of that series as, then swept Wilmington at home last week to make it six in a row. Thursday’s game at Frederick was rained out, but the Sox swept a Friday doubleheader, 10-3 and 7-6. Another rainout followed Saturday and the streak came to an end Sunday.
With the doubleheader sweep on Sunday the Sox stood at 11-7 on the season, one game ahead of Potomac and two ahead of Lynchburg in the standings. Both teams are here for games this week, making this an important homestand in the race for the first half division championship.
Next Monday the Sox are off to Wilmington for three, returning home to host Winston-Salem for a four game homestand beginning a week from tonight