Salem's Raudes delivers scoreless gem

Roniel Raudes delivered his longest start of the season his last time out, but he might have topped that performance on Friday night. 
The 22nd-ranked Red Sox prospect tossed six scoreless innings, yielding two hits and a walk while striking out three, to lead Class A Advanced Salem to a 9-3 victory over Myrtle Beach at Haley Toyota Field. After consecutive six-inning starts, Raudes has lowered his ERA to 2.92.

The right-hander, who sports a 1.22 WHIP and has held opponents to a .227 average, threw 54 of 89 pitches for strikes. Despite a low punchout total, Raudes (2-1) retired 11 of the 23 hitters he faced on four pitches or fewer. 
After the 20-year-old set down the first five Pelicans, Austin Upshaw singled back up the middle and stole second with Andruw Monasterio at the dish and two outs in the second. But Raudes fanned Monasterio to end the threat. 
Gameday box score
Following a scoreless fourth, the Nicaragua native found himself in a jam with two down in the fifth after Chris Pieters singled and Daniel Spingola was plunked on the sixth pitch of his at-bat. He stayed cool and whiffed Connor Myers. 

P.J. Higgins Drew a leadoff walk in the sixth, but he was the last Pelican to reach base against the Salem starter. Vimael Machin grounded out to first, Alamo flied out to left and Jhonny Pereda lined to right, closing the book on Raudes' first scoreless outing since a six-inning effort against Carolina last July 18. 
The 6-foot-1, 160-pound hurler owns a 4.22 ERA in 28 Carolina League starts over the last two seasons. His 2.92 ERA this year is second among starters on the staff, trailing only fourth-ranked Red Sox prospect Bryan Mata (1.56).
On the offensive side, Santiago Espinal delivered a bases-loaded triple for Salem, while Ryan Scott doubled, drove in a run and scored twice.