SalemSox.com

Lynchburg, VA - Just one night removed from a 17-hit outburst, the Salem Sox were shut down by Lynchburg's Curtis Partch, mustering just two hits in a 3-0 Hillcat win on Saturday evening at City Stadium. Salem failed to record a hit after the second inning, but was able to bring the tying run to the plate with two outs in the ninth. Alex Hassan struck out with runners at first and second, however, to end the ballgame.

Partch was fantastic for Lynchburg, winning for the first time since June 28. The righthander matched a season-high with six shutout innings in what was undoubtedly his best start of the season. Coming into the game, Partch had an alarming 13.20 ERA in five appearances in the month of July, but he kept the Sox off balance all night, matching a season-high with six strikeouts.

Neftali Soto and Denis Phipps did all the damage for Lynchburg, as the duo combined to go 6-for-8 with five doubles, a home run and three runs scored. Soto led off the fourth with his 14th dinger of the year to right-center off Brock Huntzinger, and Phipps followed up with a double down the left field line. He would later score on an RBI single by Brodie Greene to put Lynchburg up 2-0.

Two innings later, Soto doubled to left-center with one out and scored on Phipps' second two-bagger of the night to put the 'Cats up 3-0. Phipps would add another double in the eighth to finish with three in the ballgame.

Lynchburg closer Donnie Joseph made things interesting in the ninth by walking Oscar Tejeda and Will Middlebrooks with two outs, but struck out Hassan for the final out. Salem did not manage a hit after the second inning.

Huntzinger was the hard-luck loser for the Sox, yielding just three runs in 5.2 innings on the mound. The All-Star righthander gave up seven hits, but struck out four and didn't walk a batter. Huntzinger fell to 7-6 on the year.

Hassan provided one of the two hits for Salem, a one-out double in the second inning, but struck out in his other three at-bats. Peter Hissey singled in the first, but was picked off by Partch to end the frame.

Already assured of a series-split, the Sox can aim to make it three out of four against the Hillcats on Sunday evening at 6:05 PM. Michael Lee will start on just three days rest against the Hillcats' Jordan Hotchkiss, who possesses the league's best ERA at 2.20.

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Lynchburg, VA - After scoring just nine runs in their previous four games, the Salem Red Sox busted out in a big way, blowing out the Lynchburg Hillcats 11-2 on Friday night at Calvin Falwell Field.

Jason Place blasted two late-inning home runs and Alex Hassan hit a two-run blast of his own and drove in four runs for the second straight day.

Up 6-2 in the eighth, Place hammered an opposite field solo home run over the auxiliary scoreboard in right-center for his first dinger in a Salem uniform in 2010.

Hassan came up with two outs in the ninth and backed up his grand slam last night with a two-run bomb over the left field wall to put the Sox up 9-2.

Two batters later, Place sent a laser to dead center field that cleared the batter's eye and gave Salem an 11-2 lead.

Salem jumped out to an early lead off of Lance Janke, tallying four runs in the second inning with the aid of five base hits, an error, a sac fly, and a balk.

After Will Middlebrooks singled to lead off the frame, he advanced to second on an errant pickoff attempt and moved to third on a balk before the next pitch.

Hassan then scorched a line drive to left that ended up as a sac fly and gave Salem a 1-0 advantage. Drew Hedman doubled home Dan Butler later in the inning and came home along with Place on a two-run single by Mitch Dening to put Salem up 4-0.

The Sox extended their advantage in the third inning, as Oscar Tejeda singled and Will Middlebrooks doubled to put runners on second and third with no one out in the third.

Hassan came through with an RBI groundout to score Tejeda, and Butler followed Hassan with an RBI double down the right field line to put Salem up 6-0 after just two-and-a-half.

Kyle Day put Lynchburg on the board in the fourth with a two-out single off Salem starter Miguel Gonzalez to decrease the deficit to 6-1. Day later homered in the seventh off of Will Latimer for the only other Hillcat run.

The Red Sox finished with 17 hits on the night, two short of their season high. Eight of the nine batters in the Salem lineup recorded a hit, with six Sox recording multi-hit games. Place broke out of his 0-for-7 start with a 3-for-5 showing, including the two homers and three RBI.

Hassan tallied two hits and drove in four runs for the second straight night. Middlebrooks and Butler each added three hits and two runs, while Butler drove in his third run for Salem since being called up from low-A Greenville.

Lost in the offensive outburst was the solid performance of Gonzalez, who improved to 4-2. The former Rule 5 pick went five innings, allowing just one run on five hits, lowering his ERA to 4.95 in the process.

Salem looks for their third consecutive win in Lynchburg at 6:05 PM Saturday.

Brock Huntzinger takes the mound for the Sox opposite the Hillcats' Curtis Partch.

SalemSox.com

Lynchburg, VA (July 22, 2010)- Stolmy Pimentel was masterful over seven superb innings, Alex Hassan crushed a two-out third inning grand slam to provide some cushion, and the Salem Red Sox defeated the Lynchburg Hillcats 5-1 on Thursday night at City Stadium.

After being swept in their last trip to the Hill City, the Sox won their first game at Calvin Falwell Field since April 18.

Pimentel pitched into the seventh for the second straight start, allowing just a solo home run to Denis Phipps in the second inning, but retired 18 of the next 20 batters he faced, including 14 in a row at one point.

The Dominican righthander struck out a season-high seven batters, including all three in the third, dropping his season ERA to 4.21. In his two starts since pitching in the XM Futures Game, Pimentel (6-7) has posted a 1.93 ERA, allowing just three runs (two earned) in 14 innings, while striking out 14 and walking just three.

The Sox scored all five of their runs in the top half of the third. Mitch Dening tied the game at one with a one-out single to drive in Drew Hedman. Peter Hissey followed with a single, while Oscar Tejeda walked to load the bases with one gone.

After Tim Federowicz's fly ball to center resulted in no advancement of the runners, Hassan stepped to the plate and smacked a 2-1 offering from Chase Ware (0-2) over the left field wall for his first career grand slam, putting the Sox up 5-1.

That was more than enough for Pimentel, who handed the game to Seth Garrison in the eighth. After pitching for Salem in 2009, Garrison's return to the Sox in 2010 was rock solid, allowing just one hit over the final two frames while striking out three Hillcats.

Hassan finished the night 2-for-4 with a career-high four RBI. Dening collected two hits and also stole his 10th base of the year, while Tejeda compiled his team-leading 33rd multi-hit game of the year with a 2-for-3 showing.

The Sox and Hillcats continue their Route 460 rivalry on Friday night from the Hill City at 7:05 PM.

After winning his last start, Miguel Gonzalez takes the mound again for Salem against Lynchburg's Lance Janke.

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Woodbridge, VA (July 21, 2010) - The Sox picked up their third come-from-behind victory in their last four games, erasing a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2 in eight innings in Wednesday's doubleheader opener against the Nationals at Pfitzner Stadium.

The host squad bounced back to swipe the nightcap 4-1, as Danny Rosenbaum picked up the win in his Carolina League debut.

Salem dropped two of three in the series in Potomac, but won six of ten at Pfitzner Stadium on the season.

Salem faced major league rehabber Jordan Zimmermann in the opener and as stymied during Zimmermann's four frames on the mound.

The Sox managed just two singles against Zimmermann, who threw 34 of his 47 pitches for strikes, striking out four.

The Nats took a 1-0 lead thanks to Michael Burgess' second inning solo homer and plated another run on a wild pitch in the fourth, but Salem finally broke through against reliever AJ Morris in the top of the sixth.

Luis Segovia began the rally with a one-out single and the Sox had the tying runners in scoring position when Peter Hissey doubled for the 20th time this season.

An Oscar Tejeda ground out put Salem on the board, bringing home Segovia to make it 2-1. With two outs, Will Middlebrooks singled to score Hissey and even the ballgame at two apiece.

The Nats threatened with two on and two outs in the seventh, but Pat Ryan popped out the red-hot Tyler Moore to send the game to extras. Ryan earned his first Carolina League victory by retiring all four batters he faced in the seventh and eighth innings.

The Sox were able to manufacture a run in the top of the eighth against Nationals reliever Clayton Dill. Drew Hedman singled to start the inning, advanced to second on Segovia's sacrifice bunt, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on Hissey's sac fly for the go-ahead tally.

In the second game, Moore provided the early fireworks again, blasting a two-run homer off Caleb Clay in the first inning. Moore finished the series with an absurd .727 average, with eight hits in 11 at-bats in the three games. The Nationals added one more in the second and another in the fifth, while Salem's lone run in the nightcap came in the fourth on a Tejeda RBI single.

In the top of the seventh, Dan Butler doubled to open the frame, but a possible rally was quelled when an apparent good bounce was taken away from the Sox. With Butler at second, Hassan hit a chopper down the third-base line.

Although the ball appeared to deflect directly off the third base bag down the left-field line, home plate umpire Gus Curtis signaled for a foul ball.

Instead of Butler scoring, Hassan reaching, and the tying run coming to the plate, Butler remained at second and the count was 0-2 to Hassan.

Salem manager Kevin Boles vehemently argued his case and was ejected by Curtis, the third time in 2010 that Boles has been tossed. Hassan and Hedman both flew out, and Segovia struck out against Dan Leatherman, who picked up his 11th save for the Nationals.

Salem continues its week-long road trip with a four-game series at City Stadium in Lynchburg.

The Red Sox and Hillcats kick off their series on Thursday night at 7:05, with Stolmy Pimentel making the start opposite Chase Ware.

SalemSox.com

Woodbridge, VA (July 20, 2010) - This marks the third time this year that a Salem-Potomac game has been impacted by the weather.

On Opening Day back in April, the Sox led 1-0 in the second inning when a torrential downpour blasted Pfitzner Stadium, forcing the Sox to suspend play and resume the next day.

The weather struck again when the two clubs traveled to Boston for the "Futures at Fenway" spectacle on July 10, as overwhelming rain created flooding in Beantown and denied the two clubs the opportunity to play at Fenway.

The Sox and Nats are now scheduled for two-seven innings game at Pfitzner Stadium on Wednesday night, with action set to begin at 5:30.

It will be the second doubleheader between the two clubs in the last week and a half. Salem and Potomac split a pair at Lewis-Gale Field on Monday, July 12.

SalemSox.com

Woodbridge, VA (July 19, 2010) - Potomac took a 2-0 lead in the first and never looked back, sandwiching a 38-minute rain delay with two huge innings to blow out Salem 13-0 on Monday night at Pfitzner Stadium.

Nationals first-baseman Tyler Moore continued his hot-hitting with a single, two doubles, a homer, and five RBI. In his last five games, Moore has gone 12-20 with 13 RBI.

After Jordan Zimmermann was scratched due to a crick in his neck, Adrian Alaniz shined in his spot start opportunity, tossing six scoreless innings to improve to 5-3 on the season. Justin Phillabaum tossed a shutout seventh, while Pat McCoy handled the final six outs over the final two innings.

The Nationals used a pair of two-out hits to drive in runs in the first, breaking the seal against Salem starter Brock Huntzinger, who gave up four runs in five innings, falling to 7-5 on the year. Huntzinger also gave up solo homers to Tyler Moore and Jose Lozada in the fourth and fifth innings.

The game stood at 4-zip Nationals after five, but Potomac would score nine more times over the next two innings against the Red Sox bullpen. Kyle Fernandes relieved Huntzinger to open the sixth gave up four straight extra-base hits, three doubles and then a two-run homer to Bill Rhinehart that made it 8-0.

Following a rain delay that halted play in the top of the seventh, Zach Hammes was nickel and dimed as the Nats plated five more runs on six singles, one walk, and one error in the bottom of the inning. Only two of the five runs were earned, but Potomac had blown it wide open and led by 13.

Salem was out-hit 15-5, with Oscar Tejeda being the only member of the Red Sox with multiple hits. The bottom five hitters in Salem's lineup combined to go 0-17 in the game against the Nationals, who shut out their foe for the seventh time this year. Salem was blanked for the sixth time, though none have been as drastic as this 13-run difference.

Salem will seek vengeance on Tuesday night in the middle-matchup of the three-game series. Michael Lee will start for the Sox opposite Dan Rosenbaum. Lee has gone 2-0 with a 0.68 ERA in his first three starts of 2010 after pitching primarily in the bullpen, while Rosenbaum will be making his Carolina League debut after compiling a 2.32 ERA in 18 starts in the South Atlantic League.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:03 PM at Pfitzner Stadium.

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Salem, VA - The Red Sox were outhit 23-12, yet still somehow found a way to survive a furious Dash comeback and prevail 10-9 in the series finale at Lewis-Gale Field on Saturday night.

After trailing 3-0 in the first inning, the Sox soared to a 10-4 lead after six, only to have Winston creep to the precipice of the equalizer in the ninth. With one out in the top of the last, the Dash had runners at first and third, trailing by one.

But Cesar Cabral, who had already given up five hits in just over an inning of relief, induced a 1-6-3 game-ending double play from Seth Loman to cap the contest and give the Red Sox their ninth win in their last 13 games.

Alex Hassan led the way for Salem with a season-high four hits, and Mitch Dening and Peter Hissey each added two more, but the offensive prowess from Winston's lineup continuously left fans shaking their heads.

Loman and Kyle Shelton each had four hits, while Jon Gilmore, Luis Sierra, and Mike Richard each tallied three for the visitors, who bettered their 21-hit total they mustered against the Sox back on May 8. But 13 runners left on, including the bases loaded in both the seventh and the eighth, prevented the Dash from completing the comeback.

It's ironic that in a game with 23 hits, six of Winston's nine runs were unearned.

The Dash took advantage of two critical Oscar Tejeda errors, one in the first inning that led to three runs and another in the eighth that eventually became four runs.

Yet with the tying run at second base in the ninth, Tejeda unleashed a super-human athletic dive to corral a screaming ground-ball up the middle, transforming the potential game-tying single to center to a simple infield hit for Jon Gilmore. A batter later, Loman chopped into the twin-killer to end it. It was the fourth double-play of the game turned by the Red Sox

Miguel Gonzalez picked up the win for Salem with five solid innings, recovering from the three unearned tallies in the first to not allow another run in the remainder of his outing. He allowed nine hits, yet did not walk anyone and struck out two to improve to 3-2 on the season. Joe Serafin suffered the loss, giving up runs in four of his five innings pitched to fall to 0-2.

After falling behind 3-0, the Sox plated two in the first, two in the second to take a 4-3 lead, then one more each in the fourth and the fifth to surge ahead 6-3.

With the advantage trimmed to two after Winston's run in the top of the sixth, Salem batted around and scored four times in the bottom of the sixth, with all the runs charged to reliever Drew O'Neil. Hassan's third RBI of the game made it 10-4 in favor of the Sox, and it appeared that the rout was on.

Winston continued to swing, however, connecting on 11 of their 23 hits in the final three innings. The Dash scored one in the seventh but left the bases loaded, then scored four times in the eighth, all with two outs, all after Tejeda's pivotal throwing error. With the score 10-9 after Sierra's two-run single, the Dash loaded the bases again, but Cabral struck out Richard to leave them loaded.

Cabral earned his third save, for despite two inherited runners scoring, none were charged to him. The Sox threatened to add insurance in the last of the eighth, but with two runners aboard, Jon Hee lined to second to end the threat. Salem left 10 runners on in the ballgame, as Salem's 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh was the only time either team went down in order in the three hour and 26 minute contest.

Saturday night goes down as the longest nine-inning game of 2010 for the Salem Red Sox.

Will Middlebrooks jacked a first-inning solo homer for the Red Sox, his eighth of the year and fourth of July. Hassan also went deep with a solo shot in the second and finished a triple shy of the cycle.

Having reached the .500 mark in the second half at 11-11, Salem will enjoy an off day on Sunday before embarking on a week-long road trip, consisting of three games against Potomac and four against Lynchburg.

The Sox and Nationals will duel at 7:03 on Monday at Pfitzner Stadium, with Brock Huntzinger taking on major league rehabber Jordan Zimmermann in the series opener.

SalemSox.com

Salem, VA - Will Middlebrooks' infield single in the bottom of the tenth capped off a wild comeback for the Red Sox, as Salem scored three in the ninth to tie the game before completing a 7-6 victory over the Winston-Salem Dash in the first extra inning at Lewis-Gale Field on Friday night.

Salem never led until the last play of the contest, trailing 3-0 after four-and-a-half and 6-3 after eight-and-a-half.

Jon Hee led off the tenth with a walk and Luis Segovia pinch-ran, advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt by Mitch Dening.

Segovia moved to third on a wild pitch, Peter Hissey was issued a free pass, and Oscar Tejeda was intentionally walked to load the bases with one out.

With the infield drawn in, Middlebrooks came up and smacked a grounder to shortstop Mike Richard, who dove to his left to snag the ball, but his throw home was too high and too late to get Segovia, who scored the winning run.

The Sox poured out of the dugout and cascaded upon Middlebrooks, while the 4,509 fans at Salem Memorial Ballpark celebrated arguably the most dramatic victory of the 2010 season.

The game was sent into extras because of a wild ninth inning. With the score tied at three entering the frame, Winston-Salem's Kyle Shelton delivered a two-out, two-run bloop single to put the Dash up 5-3.

Brandon Short singled up the middle to add another tally and provided the Dash with a three-run cushion heading to the last of the ninth.

But Salem worked their late-inning magic in the bottom of the ninth off reliever Charlis Burdie. After entering the game with runners on first and second and one out, Burdie walked Tejeda before getting a groundout off the bat of Middlebrooks.

Hee scored on the play to make it 6-4, but the fielder's choice brought the Sox to within an out of defeat. After a passed ball brought home Hissey to make it a one-run game, Burdie walked Tim Federowicz to put runners at first and second.

Newcomer Dan Butler came up next and blasted a clutch two-out, game-tying double. Drew Hedman was intentionally walked, loading the bases and bringing up Ryan Dent. But Dent grounded out to shortstop to strand the bags packed and send the game to the tenth.

The Dash jumped out in front in the second inning on a Jordan Cheatham RBI single and extended their cushion to 3-0 in the fifth on a Brandon Short sac fly and a two-out double steal that saw Shelton steal home for the second run of the inning.

The pesky Sox started their first comeback of the night in the bottom half of the fifth as Hissey brought home Dening with a two-out single up the middle to pull Salem within 3-1.

After failing to score any more in the fifth, Dent continued the comeback with a one-out double in the seventh, later scoring on an RBI groundout by Dening. Hissey came up with two outs and roped a two-bagger to right-center, scoring Hee to tie the game at three.

Salem was the beneficiary of 10 walks from the Winston-Salem pitching staff, including seven in the final three frames.

Considered to be one of the stronger bullpens in the league, the Dash's relievers have struggled in this series, posting an 11.58 ERA by allowing 13 runs, 12 earned, in 9.1 innings, while walking 12 Sox batters.

Salem finished with nine hits on the night, two of which came from Middlebrooks. The third baseman made up for an error in the top half of the ninth with two RBI, including the game-winner. Hissey was 2-for-3 on the evening with a double, RBI and a run scored.

Lost in the late inning heroics was the performance of Stolmy Pimentel, who returned to his early season form with seven strong innings, setting a career-high.

Making his first start since appearing in the MLB Futures Game Monday, Pimentel struck out six batters, while only allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits.

The Sox look for the series victory in the finale of the four-game set, scheduled for Saturday evening at 6:05 PM.

Miguel Gonzalez will look to bounce back from his rough outing on Monday, while Joe Serafin makes his second start of the year for the Dash.

SalemSox.com

Salem, VA - Brandon Short went 3-for-5 with three RBI, including a two-run homer in the sixth to cap off a five-run rally, as the Winston-Salem Dash defeated the Salem Red Sox 9-6.

All five runs in the sixth came with two outs and busted open what was a 3-2 score, and the Dash evened the four-game set at one game apiece.

The bottom third of Winston's order went a combined 7-for-11 with three doubles, two RBI and six runs scored. Jordan Cheatham scored three of those runs while clocking two of the doubles. Kyle Shelton and Mike Richard each added an RBI in the five-run sixth.

Salem jumped out to the early lead for the second straight night, as newcomer Dan Butler scored on a groundout by Drew Hedman to make it 1-0.

Butler was called up from Low-A Greenville on Thursday, as both Ryan Lavarnway and Jorge Padron were promoted to Double-A Portland.

Winston tied the game in the third on a sac fly and took the 3-1 lead with two runs in the top of the fifth off Salem starter Caleb Clay (3-8).

After leading off with a double, Cheatham scored on a double-play groun-out, while Short scored after a double of his own later in the inning.

The Sox halved the lead in the bottom of the fifth on a Tim Federowicz RBI single, but Clay and reliever Cesar Cabral were unable to control the potent Dash offense in the sixth.

Cabral entered the game with runners on first and second and one out, but was unable to get the final two outs before allowing five runs to make it 8-2 Dash. Short's two-run shot tied him with Seth Loman and the departed Lavarnway atop the Carolina League leaderboard with 14 homers on the year.

Salem scored a run in the bottom of the seventh, thanks to Mitch Dening's leadoff triple and ensuing ground-out, but another Short RBI base hit in the top of the eighth put Winston back up by six.

The Sox rallied for two in the bottom of the eighth off reliever Hector Santiago, but Jose Martinez made a fantastic diving catch with runners on first and second with one out to extinguish the rally.

Salem scored a solo tally in the ninth on an RBI double by Butler, but couldn't get the tying run to the plate.

Every batter in the Salem lineup recorded a hit except for Ryan Dent. Jon Hee tied a season high with three hits in four plate appearances, adding an RBI single in the eighth. Despite eight of the nine batters recording a hit, the Sox were a paltry 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position on the night.

Things became heated between the two squads in the sixth inning. After Short's blast, Cabral threw up and in on the next pitch and plunked Drew Garcia. Home plate umpire Jay Pierce, fearing the game could get out of hand, warned both benches and Cabral. The next batter, Jon Gilmore, struck out looking and slammed his bat down, warranting an ejection from Pierce to end the wild frame.

The Sox and Dash tangle again on Friday night at Lewis-Gale Field.

Stolmy Pimentel gets the start for Salem against Winston's Nate Jones. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM.

SalemSox.com

Salem, VA - Michael Lee and Mark Holliman combined on a five-hit shutout and Oscar Tejeda's first inning RBI single held up as the Salem Red Sox defeated the Winston-Salem Dash 4-0 at Lewis-Gale Field on Wednesday night.

The win evened the season series at five and marked the sixth shutout of the year for the Sox.

Starting for just the third time all year, Lee was superb in his five innings on the mound, allowing just four hits while striking out a quartet of Dash batters to improve to 7-3 on the year.

Holliman followed up Lee's effort with a fantastic outing of his own, picking up his first Carolina League save in the process.

The Sox pitching continued their domination of Winston at home, allowing just five runs in four games, with victories in three of those contests.

Since joining the rotation, Lee has been dynamite, allowing just one run in 13.1 innings.

Holliman has been outstanding as well since being signed out of independent ball, yielding two runs in 14.2 frames to go along with 14strikeouts.

Tejeda's one-out RBI single was the lone scoring of the game until the eighth, when Tim Federowicz came up with the bases loaded and crushed a two-out bases clearing double off reliever Charlis Burdie to give Salem a 4-0 cushion.

The two-bagger was the 25th of the year for Federowicz, good enough for third in the Carolina League. The UNC alum also had a great night behind the plate, blocking many balls in the dirt and throwing out a runner at second with two outs in the fourth inning as the tying run sat 90 feet away.

Terry Doyle (5-4) was the hard luck loser for Winston-Salem, allowing just one run on five hits while striking out seven in seven innings on the bump.

Tejeda and Will Middlebrooks each had multiple hits for the Sox. For Tejeda, it was his team-leading 30th multi-hit game of the season, while Middlebrooks continued his red-hot July. Salem's All-Star third-baseman is now batting .381 so far in July.

Peter Hissey was the story defensively for Salem, compiling seven putouts, including multiple grabs ranging far into both the right-center and left-center field gaps. Hissey also accounted for an outfield assist in the second on a ball hit by Jose Martinez.

With Seth Loman at second, Martinez singled up the middle and as Loman was held up around third, Jorge Padron caught the relay throw and whipped it to Tejeda covering first to tag out Martinez, who had wandered too far off the bag.

The Sox and Dash continue their four-game series on Thursday night at Lewis-Gale Field at 7:05 PM.

Caleb Clay will make his fourth start of the year against the Dash this year, while Dylan Axelrod will pitch against Salem for the second time this season.