Salem Earns Series Road Victory Against Delmarva

SALISBURY, MD - The Salem Red Sox (17-16) earned a series win on the road against the Delmarva Shorebirds (10-23) with a combination of stellar hitting and solid pitching, helping the team garner five consecutive wins. This series marked the first time the teams have faced each other this season.

Game 1: Sox Shut Out Shorebirds in Series Opener

The Red Sox defeated the Shorebirds 1-0, after Eddinson Paulino’s solo home run in the top of the third was the only run scored throughout the entire contest. The home run marks his second of the season. Delmarva achieved only two hits, but was not able to send anyone to home plate. Osvaldo De La Rosa picked up his second victory of the year after earning 1.2 scoreless innings right out of the bullpen.

Game 2: Sox Prevent Shorebirds From Achieving Late Rally

Salem started off strong with a four-run top of the first, highlighted by back-to-back home runs from Blaze Jordan and Eduardo Lopez. Delmarva made it onto the board in the bottom of the fourth, but Niko Kavadas quickly responded with a sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth to extend Salem’s lead, 5-1.

The Shorebirds tacked on one run in the sixth and two in the seventh to threaten the Red Sox. However, the Salem pitching staff secured the victory after retiring the final seven Delmarva batters. Angel Bastardo earned the win after striking out seven and Felix Cepeda walked away with a Save after powering through two perfect innings.

Game 3: Red Sox Offense Overpowers Shorebirds

Similar to the previous night, the Red Sox established dominance by scoring big and early in the game. Salem achieved a four-run third inning, highlighted by an RBI double from Miguel Ugueto, an RBI single from Jordan and a force out from Jose Garcia. Delmarva tallied one run in the bottom of the fifth, but it was not enough to spark momentum. An RBI single from Garcia capped off the night to make the final score 5-1.

Game 4: Salem Holds Shorebirds to Four Hits to Continue Win Streak

Salem opened the scoring immediately. In the top of the first, Brainer Bonaci and Kavadas accumulated RBI singles to make it 2-0. Delmarva responded with a run in the bottom of the second to cut the Red Sox lead in half. However, an explosive fifth inning extended the Sox lead drastically after Paulino slammed a two RBI double, while Tyler Miller and Eduardo Vaughan both sent more players home to make the score 6-1. Salem managed to score one more run in the sixth and two more runs in the ninth to officially claim the series win.

Game 5: Sox Escape with the Victory in 11-inning Thriller

It was a solid back-and-forth affair throughout the entire contest, with the Red Sox striking early on a Miller RBI single in the top of the first. The Salem offense calmed and the Shorebirds bats began to make noise, tacking runs in the bottom of the third and fifth to take a 3-1 lead. The score quickly became tied in the top of the sixth after a two RBI double from Paulino, his tenth of the year. Lopez followed in Paulino’s footsteps with an RBI double to give Salem the lead back, 4-3.

Delmarva began to take advantage of a shaky Salem pitching staff, after a walk brought in another Shorebird run to tie the game for a second time. Four innings later, Paulino came in clutch with a sacrifice fly to send Yorberto Mejicano home, changing the score to 5-4. After preventing Delmarva from scoring, the Sox escaped with the close win.

Game 6: Mayer Shines at the Plate Despite Sox Loss

For the second consecutive competition, the Shorebirds and the Red Sox battled until the eleventh inning, mimicking the back-and-forth theme demonstrated in game five. Salem and Delmarva both tallied a run in the first to make it 1-1 right out of the gate. An RBI single from Garcia switched the lead back to Salem, but it did not last long with a two-run homer from Delmarva’s Creed Williams in the bottom of the third. Williams struck again with an RBI triple in the bottom of the fifth to double the Shorebirds lead, 4-2.

Salem began to take control in the top of the eight, as a home run by Jordan and an RBI single from Garcia tied the game at four. To press the Shorebirds even further, Marcelo Mayer doubled to send a runner to the plate and give Salem back the lead, 5-4. It became clear that Delmarva was not going down without a fight. An RBI double by Isaac Belong tied the score at five in the bottom of the ninth, calling for extra innings.

After a silent tenth inning, Mayer grounded into a force out, but not before sending another Salem player to home plate to make the score 6-5. Miller followed with a sacrifice fly to tack on another run. However, the Sox 7-5 lead was no match for Bellony’s three-run walk off home run that ended the game in the bottom of the eleventh.

The Salem Red Sox return home Tuesday to face the Lynchburg Hillcats in the Battle for 460. First pitch will be at 7:05 p.m.