Long Ball Powers ‘Birds past Red Sox

SALISBURY, MD - Jordan Cannon and Gunnar Henderson both homered for the second time in three games to lead the Delmarva Shorebirds past the Salem Red Sox 8-4 on Thursday evening at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium.

For the Shorebirds (2-1), they never trailed in the game, jumping out in front early on the Red Sox (1-2) and never looking back.

With two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Henderson launched a solo homer the other way, his second of the season, to give Delmarva an early 1-0 lead.

In the third, the Shorebirds broke away from the Red Sox, plating three in the inning. Hudson Haskin lined a single to center to begin the inning and Anthony Servideo followed with a walk. Henderson then slapped a single to left to load the bases. Jordan Westburg proceeded to ground into a fielder’s choice at second base to score a run, with the subsequent relay throw to first off target allowing Servideo to score from second. With Westburg now alone on the bases, JD Mundy blasted a double off the right-centerfield fence, scoring Westburg, to make it a 4-0 Delmarva lead.

Salem got a run back in the top of the fourth. Nick Yorke singled to begin the frame and was followed by a Nick Decker walk. After a strikeout, Yorke and Decker executed a perfect double steal to put two runners in scoring position. Matthew Lugo then lofted a fly ball to right field, allowing Decker to tag and score from third to make it a 4-1 game.

The contest stayed at 4-1 until the eighth inning. In the top half, Salem rallied to cut their deficit to one. With one away, Gilberto Jimenez reached on an error. Yorke then grounded a single to left with Jimenez wheeling all the way to third. Decker then drew a walk to load the bases. A wild pitch then allowed each runner to advance 90 feet, scoring Jimenez to make it a 4-2 game and putting two runners in scoring position. Joe Davis brought home another run with a sacrifice fly to make it a one-run at 4-3 heading into the bottom of the eighth.

With Delmarva’s lead cut to one, the Shorebirds rallied for some insurance. Servideo walked to begin the inning and was replaced at first by Henderson after he grounded into a fielder’s choice. Henderson then stole second base before Westburg drew a free pass. With Henderson on the move on the pitch, Mundy hit a high chopper to second that was fielded by Yorke and as he went to tag second base proceeded to drop the ball allowing Henderson to score to push Delmarva’s lead to 5-3. The next hitter, Cannon, then broke the game wide open as he tagged a three-run homer just over the wall down the rightfield line to make it 8-3 Shorebirds.

The Red Sox brought home a run in the top of the ninth on a Jecorrah Arnold RBI triple, but Ignacio Feliz shut the door on Salem to seal an 8-4 victory for the Shorebirds.

Jake Prizina (1-0) picks up the win in relief for Delmarva. The southpaw worked 2.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen, allowing just a hit and walk while striking out four.

Ryan Zeferjahn (0-1) started for Salem and is hung with the loss. Zeferjahn lasted 2.1 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks with one strikeout.

Feliz earned his first save of the season by virtue of throwing the final three innings for Delmarva. Across those three frames, Feliz allowed three runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks.

Brandon Young started for the Shorebirds but did not factor into the decision. Young went 3.2 innings in his first professional appearance, allowing a run on one hit while walking three and striking out five.

Cannon and Henderson paced the offense for Delmarva, driving in half the team’s runs. Cannon finished 2-for-4 with a three-run homer. Henderson also went 2-for-4, adding a solo homer and two runs scored.

Salem was led by Yorke, who finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a stolen base.

The Shorebirds and Red Sox square off in game four of their series on Friday evening at Perdue Stadium. Shane Davis makes his professional debut for Delmarva while Salem hands the ball to Bradley Blalock in his first start of the season. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. with pregame coverage on Fox Sports 960 AM and MiLB.TV beginning at 6:50 with Sam Jellinek on the call.

ABOUT THE DELMARVA SHOREBIRDS

The Delmarva Shorebirds were founded in 1996 and have been the Class-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles since 1997. The Shorebirds have won two South Atlantic League championships in 1997 and 2000 and were named the MiLB.com Minor League Team of the Year in 2019 after going 90-48 in the regular season. Based in Salisbury, Maryland, the Shorebirds are proud to represent the entire Delmarva Peninsula and have hosted two SAL All-Star Games in 1999 and 2011. The Shorebirds are owned by 7th Inning Stretch, LP, based in Stockton, California headed by Chairman Tom Volpe and President Pat Filippone.