Yoeilin Cespedes’s Monster Night at the Plate Propels Salem to Win Over Hickory

SALEM, Va. — The Salem Red Sox (28-41, 2-3) got back in the win column Wednesday night with a clutch late-inning surge, taking down the Hickory Crawdads (37-33, 4-1) by a final score of 5-2 at Carilion Clinic Field at Salem Memorial Ballpark.

The game was dominated early by Crawdads starter Enrique Segura, who carried a perfect game bid into the seventh inning, retiring the first 19 Salem batters he faced. But the Sox offense woke up in dramatic fashion, plating five runs across the seventh and eighth innings off six hits to complete the victory.

The win also featured stellar defensive work and strong relief pitching. Salem turned a season-high five double plays and held the Crawdads to an 0-for-10 mark with runners in scoring position, stranding eight total runners on base.

Sox starter Devin Futrell navigated early threats well, inducing a pair of 4-6-3 double plays to end both the first and fourth innings off the bat of Antonis Macias. The southpaw tossed four innings in a no-decision, allowing just three hits while tying his career-high with three strikeouts before handing the ball to Calvin Bickerstaff.

Bickerstaff faced a jam right away in the fifth, walking Esteban Mejia and giving up a double to Ben Hartl. With two in scoring position and no outs, he buckled down. After inducing a groundout and a shallow popout, Bickerstaff walked Marcos Torres to load the bases for Texas Rangers No. 28 prospect Devin Fitz-Gerald, who was 2-for-2 on the night. On the fifth pitch of the at-bat, Fitz-Gerald lined a shot into shallow right, but Justin Gonzales sprinted in to make a key catch and strand all three runners.

Bickerstaff and Joe Vogatsky combined to escape another threat in the sixth, keeping Hickory off the board.

Then came the turning point.

Segura, still perfect entering the seventh, faced Yoeilin Cespedes — the No. 7 prospect in Boston’s system. Cespedes drilled a fastball into left field for Salem’s first baserunner and hit of the game. That hit broke the spell and sparked a rally. Andruw Musett was hit by a pitch, and Frederik Jimenez flew out deep enough to move Cespedes to third.

Enddy Azocar followed with a sharp RBI single to center, scoring Cespedes and giving the Red Sox the first run of the game. That ended Segura’s night after a career-best 6.2 innings, where he allowed two runs on two hits with three strikeouts. Kleyver Salazar greeted reliever Brock Porter with another RBI single, scoring Musett to give the Sox a 2-0 lead.

In the eighth, Hickory responded. Vogatsky issued a leadoff walk to Fitz-Gerald, and Maxton Martin — the Crawdads’ hit leader and home run leader — made him pay, smashing a two-run homer to right to even the score at 2-2.

But the Red Sox had one more answer left.

Fraymi De Leon and Yohander Linarez led off the bottom of the eighth with singles. That brought up Cespedes, already with a hit and a run scored. After fouling off a fastball, he got the off-speed pitch he was hunting and crushed it over the left-field fence into the Salem trees. The three-run homer was Cespedes’s fifth of the season and gave the Sox a 5-2 lead.

Jay Allmer took care of the final four outs, shutting the door to seal the win.

Despite being outhit 7-6, Salem’s timely swings, led by Cespedes’s 2-for-4 night with a home run and three RBIs, and clutch defense proved to be the difference.

With the series now tied at one game apiece, the Sox and Crawdads will square off again Thursday at 6:35 p.m. on Go Bananas Night at the ballpark. Right-hander Yhoiker Fajardo is scheduled to make his second start of the season for Salem.