'Birds Sweat Out 10-Inning Shutout

KANNAPOLIS, NC - The Delmarva Shorebirds became the first minor league team this season to reach 30 wins, sweating one out over the Kannapolis Intimidators 2-0 on Friday night at Intimidators Stadium.
Scoreless in the top of the 10th, Alexis Torres began the inning at second base. Robbie Thorburn hit a grounder deep on the left side, and shortstop Lenyn Sosa's throw to get Torres at third was late. Adam Hall followed with a slow roller to third for a fielder's choice, scoring Torres to finally put the Shorebirds (30-8) on top. After a Cadyn Grenier single and passed ball, Doran Turchin lifted a sac fly to the warning track in right, plating Hall to make it 2-0 Delmarva.
The Intimidators (18-21) began the 10th with Alex Destino at second, and he soon took third on a wild pitch. Luis Curbelo walked to put the tying run on base, but Delmarva reliever Matthew Hammonds put a stop to it there. Hammonds struck out Amado Nunez after a nine-pitch battle, got Jhoandro Alfaro to pop out to short, and fanned Travis Moniot on three pitches to finish off the Shorebirds' fifth shutout, the first of the extra-inning variety.
After Drew Rom set the tone with five scoreless innings of four-hit, no-walk, seven-strikeout ball, Matt De La Rosa (3-0) picked up the win in relief for the Shorebirds. Just like Zach Matson the night before, De La Rosa retired 11 in a row on the way to four scoreless one-hit innings, walking none and fanning five.
Lane Ramsey (0-2) bowed to Delmarva in extras for the second time, giving up both unearned runs on one hit in the 10th. Hammonds' save was his first of the season to finish off the combined five-hitter.
Delmarva's breakthrough in the 10th inning came after both teams came tantalizingly close to runs throughout the first nine. The Shorebirds left men in scoring position in the first, second, fourth, eighth, and ninth innings; Kannapolis had men in scoring position in the second and fourth in addition to their free runner in the 10th.
Both teams' best chances to score before extras came in the fourth. In the top of the frame, Turchin led off with a single, Ben Breazeale walked, and Nick Horvath singled to load the bases with no out. Kannapolis starter Johan Dominguez was replaced by Vince Arobio, who calmly notched back-to-back strikeouts and got Torres to roll out to second to end the threat.
In the home fourth, Sosa led off with a single, then Romy Gonzalez hit a roller directly up the middle that bounced off the second base bag and into right, putting men on first and third with nobody out. Rom calmed down from there, though, getting a strikeout, groundout back to the mound, and strikeout to strand the Intimidator runners at second and third.
Dominguez allowed five hits in three-plus scoreless innings for Kannapolis, taking no decision; Arobio fired four perfect innings in relief, striking out seven.
Thorburn finished 2-for-5 for his 10th multi-hit game of the month for the Shorebirds; Grenier and Horvath each had a single and a double.
The Intimidators saw their five hits, all singles, scattered across five batters.
Delmarva has now strung together 18 consecutive scoreless innings; Shorebird pitching hasn't given up a run since the first inning at Greensboro on Thursday night. The Shorebirds have now gone two straight games without allowing an extra-base hit.
With Hickory's 3-2 loss at Hagerstown, the Shorebirds are now a season-high five games up in the SAL Northern Division.
The Shorebirds get back to work against the Intimidators for their second doubleheader in 12 days on Saturday. Nick Vespi (1-2, 7.84) toes the rubber for Delmarva in Game 1 against Kannapolis' Kade McClure (1-1, 3.38); the Intimidators have penciled in Wilbur Perez (1-1, 3.94) in Game 2 against a Shorebirds starter to be announced. First pitch of Game 1 is set for 5:30 p.m., and pregame coverage on Fox Sports 960 AM and the MiLB First Pitch App begins at 5:15 with Will DeBoer on the call.