'Birds Pound Three Homers, Blank 'Claws

LAKEWOOD, NJ - The Delmarva Shorebirds rode a trio of home runs and overpowering strikeout pitching to notch their 17th shutout win of the season, blanking the Lakewood BlueClaws 5-0 on Friday night at FirstEnergy Park.
After Grayson Rodriguez got things rolling with six strikeouts over three perfect innings, Nick Vespi (8-6) came in and kept things rolling for the Shorebirds (34-19, 82-40), allowing just one infield hit over two scoreless innings with one walk and five punchouts. Victor Santos (5-9) swallowed the loss for the BlueClaws (23-29, 52-70), surrendering five runs (four earned) on six hits in four innings, including three home runs.
Ruben Garcia locked it down with a four-inning save, finishing off a dominant Delmarva pitching night by fanning five to give the Shorebirds 16 strikeouts over a combined three-hit clean sheet.
Delmarva got the ball rolling offensively in the top of the second. Shayne Fontana led off with a double to right center, and Ryne Ogren followed with a single to put men on the corners. Seamus Curran hit into a fielder's choice to bring home Fontana and make it 1-0. Nick Horvath then hit a grounder to third that Seth Lancaster threw all the way into right field, moving Curran up to third. Cody Roberts followed with a teardrop single into shallow right, scoring Curran to put the Shorebirds up 2-0.
From there the Shorebirds flexed their power at the plate. Johnny Rizer led off the third with a scorching line drive homer to right, his first in a Delmarva uniform and fourth of the season. In the fourth, Nick Horvath went yard to left for his third solo blast in four games, and three batters later Jean Carlos Encarnacion cranked a towering solo home run all the way above the picnic grass in left field, his ninth of the year, giving the Shorebirds a 5-0 lead.
Lakewood's only true rally came in the bottom of the seventh. McCarthy Tatum led off with a walk, then after a fielder's choice Abrahan Gutierrez singled to put two men on. Garcia buckled down from there, though, forcing Luis Garcia to foul out to third and striking out Ben Pelletier to retire the side. The BlueClaws would manage just one more baserunner on the night.
Adam Hall notched his 41st multi-hit game of the season, going 2-for-4 with a pair of stolen bases, giving him a nine-game hitting streak. Cody Roberts went 2-for-3 with an RBI and was also hit by a pitch. Alexis Torres doubled in the eighth to extend his season-long hitting streak to eight games.
Jonathan Guzman, Carlos De La Cruz, and Gutierriez managed the only three hits on the night for the BlueClaws, all singles.
With nine in a row retired in his abbreviated start, Rodriguez has now tossed eight straight no-hit innings dating back to his five frames of no-hit ball on August 10 against Kannapolis. Over his last eight innings the Orioles' No. 2 prospect has fanned 16 batters and allowed just two baserunners on walks.
Delmarva's 82nd win is their most ever in one season as a Baltimore Orioles affiliate. The Shorebirds are one win away from matching the inaugural 1996 Shorebirds for most wins in single-season franchise history; the '96 team went 83-59 in their one season under the Montreal Expos umbrella.
The Shorebirds aim to make history against the BlueClaws on Saturday night. Ryan Wilson (5-4, 2.89) is slated to start for Delmarva against Lakewood's Josh Hendrickson (0-1, 2.70). First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m., and pregame coverage on Fox Sports 960 AM and the MiLB First Pitch App begins at 6:50 with Will DeBoer on the call.