Keury De La Cruz connects for Salem Thursday night as the Sox clinched the Southern Division second-half title with the 10-1 win over Frederick.
Playoffs With Pelicans Begin Wednesday
Keury De La Cruz connects for Salem Thursday night as the Sox clinched the Southern Division second-half title with the 10-1 win over Frederick.
The Salem Red Sox put the final explanation point on their Carolina League Southern Division title chase Thursday night, defeating the Frederick Keys 10-1 to clinch not only a playoff spot, but the second half division title as well.
Salem’s win eliminated the Carolina Mudcats from the last playoff spot, and when the first-half champions Myrtle Beach lost the second game of a doubleheader at Wilmington, Salem locked up the outright second-half title over the Pelicans.
Salem will open the Southern Division playoffs next Wednesday at Salem Memorial Ballpark when they entertain Myrtle Beach in the opening game of the best-of-three series. It will be Salem’s first appearance in the Southern Division finals since they swept Winston-Salem 3-0 in 2009, before eventually losing in the Carolina League Mills Cup final to Lynchburg.
The Red Sox second-half title came after a scorching run in the second-half of August. After August 14th, the Sox were in third place in the division, chasing both Carolina and Myrtle Beach amid a number of roster call-ups. Salem made its big move beginning August 18th.After losing the opener of a four-game home series against Carolina, the Sox took the next three games in dramatic fashion. They carried that momentum on the road, winning two-of-three at Myrtle Beach and sweeping a three game set at Carolina.
Thursday night, Salem took control in the early innings and left little chance for any comeback hopes by either the Pelicans or Mudcats. The Sox took the lead with a run in the second inning before effectively putting the game away with fours runs in both the third and fourth, giving the Sox a 9-0 advantage over the guests from Frederick that had been eliminated from Northern Division playoff contention earlier in the week.
Every hitter in the Salem lineup had at least one hit, with Matt Gedman leading the way with three doubles and four RBIs and David Chester going deep with a blast over the left-field wall. Chester, along with Blake Swihart and Mookie Betts, finished with two hits each. This put Salem starting pitcher Luis Diaz on cruise control, painting the strike zone for six Ks in seven innings to pick up the win.
