The Salem Red Sox are in Kannapolis, North Carolina this week for their final road trip of the season. If the Sox don’t make the playoffs they’ll wrap up the season with a home series against Fayetteville next week.
Coming into the week the Sox still weren’t officially eliminated from the Carolina League post-season. After last week’s game Salem was five games behind the Fredericksburg Nationals in the CL’s North Division second half with a dozen games to play. However, the Carolina Mudcats and Fayetteville Woodpeckers stood between Fredricksburg and Salem and the Sox would have to pass all three to win the second half and make the Mills Cup playoffs.
Last week at home the Red Sox took four of six games from the visiting Mudcats to keep their hopes alive and drop Carolina out of first place. After being shut out in the opener, 3-0, Salem won the next three games. They won 4-2 on Wednesday, 3-1 on Friday and on Saturday they won the first game of a makeup doubleheader, 2-0, as Joey Gartell and Griffin Killander combined to pitch a seven inning shutout. Salem dropped the second game, 11-2.
On Sunday the Sox won the series with a 3-2 win over the Mudcats. The Red Sox scored two runs in the third on a sacrifice fly and an error. Carolina tied the game at 2-2 in the seventh but in the bottom of the eighth Salem scored a run when Natanael Yuten stole second and a wild throw on the play allowed Yoeilin Cespedes to score from third.
Yhoiker Fajardo started on the mound for Salem and pitched six shutout innings, allowing just two hits and fanning eight. Jose Bello relieved and allowed the Mudcats to tie the game but picked up both a blown save and the win when Salem scored in the eighth.
Next week Salem will have a rare Monday game as they host Fayetteville at 4:05 pm for a Labor Day game. They’re off Tuesday before playing 6:35 pm games Wednesday through Saturday and finish up with a 1:05 pm game on Sunday, September 7.
Several promotions are planned for the final homestand, including Roanoke College football night, Fan Appreciation Night featuring a replica jersey giveaway and First Responders Appreciation Night.
