Sox Fall To Woodpeckers 8-7 In Extras

SALEM, Va. – Despite two-hit nights from the trio of Miguel Bleis, Antonio Anderson and Nelly Taylor Jr., the Salem Red Sox (22-22) saw their two-game winning streak come to a close in an 8-7 10-inning loss to the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (21-23) on Saturday night at Salem Memorial Ballpark.

The loss momentarily denied the Red Sox their first home series victory of the season, with Fayetteville still in search of the six-game split.

The scoring got started early on. Though the Woodpeckers took a swift 1-0 lead, Salem immediately responded with a five-run first. Anderson’s second homer of the season quickly tied the game at 1, while Natanael Yuten followed it up with a two-run double and Fraymi De Leon laced an RBI single up the middle to put the Sox up 5-1.

Salem then got another in the second. Bleis blasted his fourth homer of the 2024 campaign beyond the left field wall, and after a wild pitch scored Stanley Tucker in the home half of the third, the Red Sox had jolted out to a 7-1 advantage.

Quickly, the tides would turn.

Heading into the fifth still leading 7-2, Salem would proceed to yield a four-spot in the top half of the frame. A Juan Santander RBI double would cap off the scoring, shrinking what was a six-run lead down to a one-run game.

It remained a 7-6 contest until the top of the seventh, when Fayetteville would tie the game on a Cesar Hernandez sacrifice fly, allowing Kenni Gomez to score on a one-out walk.

That’s where things stood going into extras, when Waner Luciano’s RBI double gave the Woodpeckers the 8-7 lead, with Santander able to slam the door from there.

The Red Sox were held scoreless after the third, while Fayetteville was able to erase their largest deficit of the season.

The Sox and Woodpeckers return to action on Sunday afternoon when they conclude their six-game set. First pitch is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. ET.