Bonilla tops Ray in walk-off victory

Lisalberto Bonilla managed on Wednesday what few pitchers can achieve -- throw nine shutout innings, with a dozen strikeouts, and come away winless.

Bonilla had everything working in his fifth start of the season, striking out a Lakewood season-high 12 batters while holding Hagerstown to five hits. It ended well, though, when Lakewood shortstop Edgar Duran delivered a walk-off RBI single in the 10th inning for a 1-0 afternoon win.

Bonilla, a 21-year-old right-hander, earned South Atlantic League All-Star status last month as a reliever before joining the rotation June 11, when he held West Virginia to three hits in five innings. Wednesday's gem, though, was his most dominant outing of the season, coming in his 16th appearance.

Hagerstown, which lost it's best hitter Monday in Bryce Harper, struggled early on against the Dominican righty. Bonilla struck out the side in the first en route to retiring the first nine batters he faced. Chris Curran led off the fourth with a single, but Bonilla breezed through the frame when Curran was caught stealing and Adrian Sanchez and David Freitas both struck out.

Bonilla, who lowered his ERA to 1.49, stranded a runner at third in the fifth, struck out two more in the seventh and finished his day with an inning-ending double-play in the ninth.

The Suns and BlueClaws, though, had one more inning to find a winner. Right-hander Lendy Castillo came in to pitch the 10th, working around a leadoff walk, before Duran gave him the win with a walk-off RBI single to left, plating Jeff Lanning.

Suns starter Robbie Ray matched Bonilla for much of the afternoon, going six innings and allowing just four hits. He struck out seven and walked two in the no-decision.

For Bonilla, who remains 0-2, it was a career day. He'd never pitched more than seven innings or recorded more than nine strikeouts in his career, which began in 2009 after the Phillies signed him as a non-drafted free agent in December '08. He pitched for the Phils' Dominican Summer League affiliate and Class A Williamsport before making his Sally League debut this spring.