Strong start by Fife leads to Salem win

It was a light night for Sox affiliates, as Portland and Greenville were not scheduled to play. At McCoy Stadium, all the action came in the third inning, but Pawtucket once again found itself on the wrong end of a close game, falling 2-1 to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Brian Anderson accounted for the Red Sox lone run with a solo home run, going 1 for 4, and Aaron Bates did continue his hot streak by going 2 for 3 with a walk, raising his Triple-A batting average to .218 in the process. The start and the loss went to Enrique Gonzalez (7-10), who allowed both Yankees runs on 4 hits and 5 walks in 6.1 innings, striking out 3. Javier Lopez and Marcus McBeth combined to hold Scranton scoreless the rest of the way, but the Pawtucket offense was once again unable to crack the armor of Yankees relievers Edwar Ramirez and Johnathan Albaladejo as the duo produced 2.2 hitless innings to finish up the game.

Salem scored early and often and easily took down Myrtle Beach by an 8-4 score, taking advantage of a solid start by Stephen Fife (2-0), who went the first 5.0 innings giving up only 1 run on 2 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 4, and his ERA now sits at 1.99. Armando Zerpa and Derrick Loop each went 2.0 innings to finish things up, with Zerpa giving up 2 runs (1 earned) and Loop giving up just an unearned run. Both men allowed 4 hits and struck out 2 in their outings. Jon Hee, starting at third base for Salem and batting second, went 2 for 3 with a home run, 2 RBI and 2 runs scored to pace the Salem attack. Mike Jones went 1 for 4 with a 2-run double, while Chih-Hsien Chiang went 2 for 4 with an RBI triple. Kris Negron also had a nice night, going 1 for 2 with an RBI, 2 runs scored, and 2 stolen bases, giving him 21 total on the year.

The GCL Red Sox had their game against the GCL Reds suspended due to rain with the Red Sox leading 1-0 in the second inning. The game will be completed on Saturday, August 8.

Turning finally to the Dominican Summer League, a great outing by Nestor Lestreto and a balanced offensive attack led the DSL Red Sox to victory over the DSL Dodgers, 7-1. Lestreto (6-1) went the first 5.0 innings giving up just 1 run on 5 hits and 2 walks, striking out 2 to earn the win. Luis Bastardo finished off the game with 3.0 scoreless innings, allowing 3 hits and a walk and striking out 1. Pedro Chourio went 2 for 5 with a home run, 2 RBI and 2 runs scored, while Alfredo Soto went 1 for 3 with a bomb of his own and 3 RBI. Juan Ugas doubled twice in 5 trips to the plate, and Keury De La Cruz also went 2 for 5.

Player of the Night: Stephen Fife, who went 5.0 innings giving up only 1 run on 2 hits and 2 walks, striking out 4 to lower his ERA to 1.99.

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