SALISBURY, MD - The Delmarva Shorebirds couldn't get the bats alive as the Lakewood BlueClaws took the finale of the three-game series, winning 4-1 on Thursday night at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium.Adonis Medina (3-6) earned the win for the BlueClaws (6-9, 46-39), allowing one run on seven hits in six
SALISBURY, MD - The Delmarva Shorebirds couldn't get the bats alive as the Lakewood BlueClaws took the finale of the three-game series, winning 4-1 on Thursday night at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium.
Adonis Medina (3-6) earned the win for the BlueClaws (6-9, 46-39), allowing one run on seven hits in six innings while walking one and striking out nine. Lucas Humpal (4-7) took the loss for the Shorebirds (9-6, 38-45), going seven innings for the fifth time while allowing four runs on nine hits, walking one and striking out six on 97 pitches. Trevor Bettencourt avenged a blown save in Salisbury last month with a perfect ninth for his seventh stopper of the year.
Lakewood used a sizable stock of flares to put two runs on the board in the first inning. Arquimedes Gamboa dropped a one-out single into center, and Mickey Moniak singled to left to move Gamboa up to third. After a strikeout, Edgar Cabral laced a soft liner to right, scoring Gamboa to break the ice. Henri Lartigue followed with a single of his own to right, and Moniak raced in to make it 2-0 for the visitors.
Tanner Kirk led off the bottom of the third with his first double of the season, a line drive to the corner in left. Cole Billingsley then singled him over to third before getting hung up between first and second base. With Jake Ring at the plate, Medina bounced a pitch that rolled to the backstop, and Kirk raced home to score and cut the deficit to 2-1.
The BlueClaws rebuilt the lead in the fifth inning. Daniel Brito led off with a single, and Gamboa took his place on a failed sac bunt and moved up on a groundout. Darick Hall slashed a base hit into center, and Gamboa raced around to score to make it 3-1.
Juan Luis snuck a line drive around the right field foul pole for a solo home run in the sixth, giving the game its final margin.
Delmarva got the tying run to the plate with two out in the eighth after singles by Preston Palmeiro and Chris Clare, but Alejandro Juvier grounded out to first to end the last real threat of the game.
Billingsley finished 3-for-4 to lead the Shorebirds, while Palmeiro and Clare each had two hits. Delmarva scored four runs in the three-game series and got just one RBI, a Palmeiro solo home run in the first inning of the opener on Tuesday.
Brito and Lartigue each went 2-for-4 with a double and RBI to lead the BlueClaws. Hall's RBI was his SAL-leading 63rd of the year.
Addison Russ picked up a hold with two scoreless for Lakewood, while Delmarva got two scoreless out of Cody Dube in the eighth and ninth.
The Shorebirds hit the road again for a four-game set at Hickory, starting on Friday night. Zach Muckenhirn (4-7, 5.02) gets the start against the Crawdads' Michael Matuella (0-5, 5.90). First pitch is 7:00 p.m., and pregame coverage on Fox Sports AM 960 and the MiLB First Pitch app begins at 6:45 p.m. with Will DeBoer on the call.
