CHARLESTON, WV - Ryan Wilson led the charge in a dominant two-hit shutout as the Delmarva Shorebirds battered the West Virginia Power 9-0 on Tuesday night at Appalachian Power Park.Wilson (4-3) notched his fifth consecutive Quality Start with a career night for the Shorebirds (14-5, 62-26), scattering two hits over
CHARLESTON, WV - Ryan Wilson led the charge in a dominant two-hit shutout as the Delmarva Shorebirds battered the West Virginia Power 9-0 on Tuesday night at Appalachian Power Park.
Wilson (4-3) notched his fifth consecutive Quality Start with a career night for the Shorebirds (14-5, 62-26), scattering two hits over seven innings with no walks and a career-high 11 strikeouts. Over his last five starts since June 15, Wilson has gone 31 innings and allowed just three runs (two earned), good for 0.58 ERA. His 11 punchouts break his old career high of 10, which he set in his previous start on July 3 at Lakewood.
Josias De Los Santos (1-6) absorbed the loss for the Power (9-10, 46-43) despite a Quality Start of his own, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits in six innings with two walks and nine strikeouts.
Scoreless through the first four innings, the Shorebirds finally broke the ice in the fifth. Ben Breazeale scraped the left center wall with a leadoff double, and an Alexis Torres deep flyout to right allowed Breazeale to take third. With the infield drawn in, Nick Horvath lashed one through the left side for a single, scoring Breazeale to get Delmarva on the board at 1-0. Horvath soon after stole second, then after a popout Adam Hall slashed an RBI double down the left field line. Hall later advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a passed ball, making it 3-0 Shorebirds.
Delmarva picked up another on a Jaylen Ferguson RBI groundout in the seventh, then in the ninth the Shorebirds buried West Virginia for good. Breazeale led off with a no-doubt solo homer to right center, his first of the year, to make it 5-0. After two quick outs, Ferguson walked and Hall singled. Robert Neustrom then hit a sharp grounder to second that ate up Nick Rodriguez, scoring Ferguson. Cadyn Grenier then legged out an RBI infield hit, and Seamus Curran chipped a two-run double to left, giving the game its final 9-0 margin.
Felix Bautista finished the job on the mound for the Shorebirds, retiring all six batters he faced over the eighth and ninth to nail down Delmarva's 12th shutout win of the year. Wilson and Bautista combined to retire the final 16 Power batters in a row.
Breazeale led the charge both behind the plate and from it, going 2-for-3 with a double, solo homer, and two runs scored. Hall broke out of a slump for his 29th multi-hit game of the season to go 2-for-5 with a double, two runs, and an RBI. Horvath also had two hits, going 2-for-4 with a run, RBI, and stolen base.
The Power had just three baserunners on the entire night. Julio Rodriguez doubled with two outs in the first inning, and Bobby Honeyman got hit by a pitch in the second and singled in the fourth.
The last three games between the Shorebirds and the Power have been shutouts. West Virginia blanked Delmarva 1-0 in back-to-back games on June 11 and 12.
The Shorebirds go for the early series win over the Power on Wednesday night. Hector Guance (6-3, 3.74) toes the rubber for Delmarva against West Virginia's Clay Chandler (7-4, 3.87). 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.
