Red Sox update: after struggling in the first half of the season the Salem Red Sox came out strong after the break and led the Carolina League’s Southern Division at one point. A recent slump took care of that, at least for now, but the Sox still have a decent shot at a playoff spot. The Boston farm team is currently battling Myrtle Beach for a wild card berth in the September post season.
It took the Red Sox nine tries, but they finally earned their 50th win of the season on Monday (Aug. 3), when they were 50-54 for the year and 18-18 in the second half. Call ups, injuries and trades of players to other organizations have left the Red Sox with a different look than they debuted with in April at Lewis Gale Field, but manager Chad Epperson says the goal remains the same: “Everybody in this locker room wants to win a pennant.”
Outfielder Daniel Nava led the team in batting (28 games) at .352 as of Tuesday, with the revitalized Che-Hsuan Lin (CF) and catcher Luis Exposito bashing six home-runs apiece to lead the club. After returning from a long stint on the disabled list shortstop Yamaico Navarro clubbed five round trippers of his own – and was promptly promoted from Single-A Salem to AA Portland. Pitchers Seth Garrison (7) and Eamon Portice (6) led the starting rotation in wins.
By Gene Marrano [email protected]
