Typical Tuesday? Well, maybe for you, but not for the fans who attended last night’s Salem Red Sox game.
You couldn’t have asked for better weather, upper 70’s and not a cloud in the sky, (even the Roanoke Star was visible) and along with no theme allocated for the night, it was strictly baseball inside LewisGale field where the Sox did not upset, winning the game 3-1.
Since there are only six days until the All-Star Break and six more home games to play before that break, each game has an embedded playoff-feel that won’t be duplicated until September.
And although Salem rolled over Wilmington on Monday by a score of 9-0, the Sox came out of the gates confident yet again on Tuesday night.
Swinging their bats early and often allowed the Sox a number of opportunities to steal in which they did. Once Blue Rocks catcher, Kenny Swab, overthrew his first few steal attempts, the Sox were left with no other option but to exploit Wilmington’s weakness.
Keury De La Cruz and Garin Cecchini both led the offense for the Sox with two hits apiece while De La Cruz recorded two RBI and Cecchini improved his season bating average to .355.
After five innings, the Sox found themselves in front 3-1 and never looked back. Scoring runs in the second, third and fifth innings, the Sox then relied heavily on their defense to close out the remainder of the game.
Starting pitcher, William Cuevas, picked up the W pitching six full innings only allowing one run on five hits and struck out two at the plate. Closing pitcher, Nate Striz, also threw the ball very well closing out the victory despite a shaky ninth inning that kept fans in the stands. The Blue Rocks had two outs and two runners aboard just before a routine groundout ended the game improving the Sox’s win streak to two.
While Salem looks to complete the series sweep against Wilmington tonight, they’re back at home again Thursday for a double-header against Lynchburg, beginning their final weekend series before the All-Star Break. The Sox will then have four days off and will be back at home on June 28 at 7:05 against Carolina.
PS- Don’t forget Wednesday is Military Appreciation night, Thursday is Star Wars Night, Friday is Mick Foley Night, Saturday is Beach Night and Sunday is Bark in the Park. Check out the Salem Sox website for more information on promotions and tickets.
