Pinto's Grand Slam, Late Surge Power RidgeYaks Past Woodpeckers 10-3

SALEM, Va. – Avinson Pinto broke the game open with a first-inning grand slam, and the Salem RidgeYaks (45-58, 20-18) tacked on four insurance runs in the eighth inning to defeat the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (52-50, 20-17), 10-3, on Wednesday night at Carilion Clinic Field. The victory pulled Salem within 0.5 games of first-place Fayetteville in the North Division standings.

Fayetteville struck first with two runs in the opening inning, capitalizing on a leadoff double from Waner Luciano and an RBI single by Juan Sierra to grab an early 2-0 lead.

The RidgeYaks wasted little time responding.

After Starlyn Nunez was hit by a pitch and Franklin Primera doubled home Salem's first run, Skylar King walked and Louis Andujar was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Andrews Opata then drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game before Pinto launched a two-out grand slam to right field, giving Salem a commanding 6-2 advantage after one inning.

It was Pinto’s fifth home run of the year, his first career grand slam, and his first career home run at Carilion Clinic Field.

The six-run outburst proved more than enough for Salem's pitching staff.

Christian Foutch settled in after the rocky first inning, allowing just two runs over four innings while striking out six. Caden Vire followed with 1.1 scoreless innings to earn his first victory as a member of the Red Sox organization, and Luis Cohen bridged the gap with three innings of one-run relief and four strikeouts. Jay Allmer recorded the final two outs to secure the win.

After neither club scored from the second through the seventh innings, the RidgeYaks added breathing room in the eighth.

Andujar started the rally with a single before Adonys Guzman walked. Ilan Fernandez lined a two-run single to center, Starlyn Nunez followed with an RBI double, and Kleyver Salazar capped the inning with a sacrifice fly to stretch the lead to 10-2.

Fayetteville scratched across one run in the ninth on Arturo Flores' RBI single, but Allmer stranded two runners to close out the victory.

Pinto finished 2-for-4 with the grand slam and four RBIs, while Fernandez collected two hits and two RBIs. Andujar added a pair of hits and scored twice, and Nunez reached base three times, scored once, drove in a run and stole two bases.

The RidgeYaks will look to claim a share of the series on Thursday night as the six-game series continues against the Woodpeckers. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. on a Thirsty Thursday from Salem.

Game Notes

• Salem has won two straight games and now sit 0.5 games back of first place
• The Yaks have moved to above .500 in home games (25-24) for the first time July 24
• Avinson Pinto crushed his first career grand slam and first career home run at Carilion Clinic Field
• Salem struck for six runs in the first inning and have won two straight games after allowing the games first run
• Salem has outscored Fayetteville 20-7 this week, with nine of their runs coming in the first inning
• The RidgeYaks pitching staff has limited Fayetteville to just four runs this week in innings two through nine
• Caden Vire made his home debut with Salem and earned his first professional win
• Christian Foutch went four innings allowing just one walk in the second, third and fourth innings
• Foutch has now gone six straight outings with a no-decision after failing to qualify (five innings) for the win
• Over his last five outings since July 2, Foutch would be 4-0 if there was no five inning minimum for starters to qualify for the win
• Fayetteville didn’t put a runner in scoring position from innings two-eight
• Louis Andujar went 2-for-3 with his 11^th multi-hit this season
• Over his last 25 games since June 27, Andujar is hitting .323 (31-for-96) with 22 RBI, and all six of his homers
• Andujar has recorded a hit in 19 of his last 25 games after collecting hits in just five of his first 20 games
• Salem has belted home runs in 18 of their last 21 games since July 9. The Yaks have hit 27 home runs over their last 20 games, which is the second most home runs by any Single-A club since July 9 trailing just the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (30)
• Salem has won 16 of its last 27 games dating back to July 2. Over that span, the RidgeYaks lead the Carolina League and rank second in Single-A with a .288 batting average, and 261 hits. The Yaks also lead the Carolina League with 176 runs over their last 27 games
• Salem went 5-for-13 with runners in scoring position and is now hitting .324 with runners in scoring position over their last 27 games since July 2 which is the third best average in all of Minor League Baseball over that stretch

Printer-Friendly Version Available Here