‘Birds Rally Back From Early Deficit, but Still Fall to Red Sox

SALEM, VA – The Delmarva Shorebirds bounced back from an early three-run deficit to tie the game, but saw Salem steal the lead back immediately in an 8-5 loss on Thursday night at Carilion Clinic Fied.

The Shorebirds (20-39) had been looking for back-to-back wins while the Red Sox (30-30) got back to .500 with the win.

The Shorebirds got on the board first for the first time in the series in the first inning. After Heston Kjerstad and Trendon Craig singled, Isaac De León knocked in both of them with a two-run double, putting the ‘Birds ahead 2-0.

In the bottom of the second, Salem turned a leadoff double from Eduardo Lopez into a run after a pop-up was dropped, plating Lopez from third after a wild pitch. After a hit batter, Eddinson Paulino popped a three-run homer, his fifth of the season, to vault Salem ahead 4-2. The Red Sox tacked one more on later in the inning on a Blaze Jordan RBI single.

A bevy of Salem errors got Delmarva back in the game in the fourth. Trendon Craig walked to start the inning and then stole second. Isaac De León then singled him to third before Creed Willems hit a tapper back to the mound that was thrown wildly to first, allowing both Craig and De León to score. Two outs later, Wilkin Grullon, pinch-running for Willems, advanced to second on an errant pickoff throw and then scored on a Roberto Martinez RBI single, tying the game at 5-5.

Salem managed to untie the game in the bottom of the fourth. Niko Kavadas launched a two-run homer, his ninth of the season, to put the Red Sox on top for good.

The Red Sox added an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh on a successful double steal pulled off by Tyler Miller from first and Lopez from third to seal the game at 8-5.

Joey Stock (2-1) collected the win out of the bullpen for Salem, throwing two shutout innings, allowing just a hit and a walk while striking out four.

Angel Vargas (0-2) suffered the loss for Delmarva, conceding two runs in two innings on three hits and two walks, striking out two.

The Shorebirds continue their series with the Red Sox on Friday, June 17. Shane Davis (1-5, 4.06) is slated to go for the Shorebirds while Salem counters with Hunter Dobbins (0-0, 7.94) First pitch from Carilion Clinic Field is slated for 7:05 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning at 6:50 p.m. on theshorebirds.com 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.