Stankiewicz goes the distance for Salem

Salem needed just one reliever to make it through the first game of Friday's doubleheader, leaving the bullpen in good shape for the nightcap. As it turned out, Teddy Stankiewicz gave the relief corps the rest of the night off.

Stankiewicz turned in first career complete game of his career, tying a career high with nine strikeouts and allowing three hits over seven innings as the Red Sox blanked Myrtle Beach, 3-0, to secure a split of the twinbill at Pelicans Ballpark.

"Everything was in sync, throwing-wise," said Stankiewicz, the Red Sox's 19th-ranked prospect. "I made sure I kept my arm up today, which is really good for me. Keeping my arm up, I'm able to command my pitches a lot better, get to the plate and be able to throw more strikes. That really helped. My mechanics felt really good today."

Stankiewicz (3-8) faced one batter over the minimum, thanks to some good work by his defense. After Myrtle Beach's Trey Martin singled with one out in the third, right fielder Yoilan Cerse cut him down trying to stretch it into a double. In the sixth, Mark Zagunis also fell victim to Cerse when he tried to extend a double into a triple. Cerse's throw, via second baseman Tzu-Wei Lin on the relay, nailed Zagunis at third.

Stankiewicz only dealt with a baserunner in the second and stranded him.

"For me, when people are on base, I'm always thinking positive, like we're going to turn two," he said. "I don't get upset if they get a hit because it's baseball; they get hits. It's just how you get out of them that's the big thing. If somebody gets a hit or there's men on base, it's still pitching. You still want to go 100 percent, not 90 percent because if you go 90 percent, something's going to happen. If you're still throwing with conviction, something good is going to happen."

The complete-game shutout was the first of the 21-year-old right-hander's career and Salem's first since May 16, 2014. Stankiewicz threw 60 of 83 pitches for strikes.

"I felt like I threw all my pitches a lot, even my off-speed, which was good," he said. "I mixed it up quite well today. I felt like my slider and curveball were excellent and my changeup was pretty good, too. Overall, everything was pretty decent today."

Friday night's start was Stankiewicz's first against Myrtle Beach since May 5, and he handled his unfamiliarity with the lineup with ease.

"I think it helps in situations because even if you play a team over and over and over, you still know the weaknesses and you can still get them out," he said. "Whenever you don't know somebody, you're just trying to feel for it. And when you get it, you know what to do the next time around."

Salem broke a scoreless tie with three runs in the sixth as Mario Martinez delivered a two-run single and scored on a base hit by Lin.

In the opener, Myrtle Beach rallied from a late deficit with five runs in the eighth to pull out a 5-1 win. Jeimer Candelario, the Cubs' No. 12 prospect, came through with a bases-loaded triple.