‘Birds Comeback Bid Falls Short in Loss to FredNats

FREDERICKSBURG, VA - The Delmarva Shorebirds started on the comeback trail too little, too late, as they fell 6-4 to the Fredericksburg Nationals on Thursday night at FredNats Ballpark.

The Shorebirds (42-32) trailed early, but made a furious comeback attempt that was extinguished by the Nationals (25-50) in the end.

The FredNats got on the board first in the second inning. After Junior Martina singled to open the frame, Jake Randa launched a two-run shot out to right, his second of the season, to put the Nationals up 2-0. Kevin Strohschein followed Randa with a homer of his own, a solo shot, his eighth of the campaign, to go back-to-back and make it 3-0 Nationals.

It stayed at 3-0 until the bottom of the seventh as both pitching staffs settled in. Three straight singles began the frame with the third being an RBI knock from Geraldi Diaz. With runners then at first and third a wild pitch pushed another run across. After a strikeout, Geraldi Diaz swiped third base and then scored an out later on a Viandel Pena single to make it 6-0.

Costly FredNats errors allowed Delmarva back into the game in the eighth. With two away, Jean Carmona singled and Ryne Ogren walked. Cristopher Cespedes then ripped a double to right that plated both runners after an error in rightfield allowed the ball to roll to the wall and also allowed Cespedes to go third. A throwing error on an ensuing groundball then brought Cespedes home to make it a 6-3 game.

The Shorebirds brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth after Darell Hernaiz doubled home a run, but the FredNats held on for the 6-4 win.

Jackson Rutledge (1-1) earned the win for the FredNats with five shutout innings. He allowed just two hits and two walks while striking out seven.

Noah Denoyer (5-3) suffered the loss for the Shorebirds. He exited after 3.1 innings due to injury while allowing three runs on three hits, striking out five.

With his RBI double in the ninth, Hernaiz extended his hitting streak to six games. Cespedes finished 2-for-4 with an RBI double while Yorkislandy Alverez also chipped In two hits.

Randa had a stellar day at the plate for the FredNats, finishing 4-for-4 with a two-run homer and two runs scored.

The FredNats cashed in when it mattered, going 3-for-6 with runners in scoring position compared to 1-for-11 for the Shorebirds.

The Shorebirds will try to right the ship against the FredNats on Friday, July 30. Houston Roth (5-1, 3.58) starts for Delmarva against Karlo Seijas (3-8, 6.21) for Fredericksburg. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 from FredNats Ballpark with pregame coverage beginning at 6:50 p.m. on Fox Sports 960 AM as well as streaming online on the IHeart app with Sam Jellinek. MiLB.TV coverage will be provided by the FredNats.

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.