Shorebirds' Rodriguez goes pro-best seven

A season of firsts continued Monday for Grayson Rodriguez.
Baltimore's fourth-ranked prospect allowed a run on two hits and a walk over a career-high seven innings as Class A Delmarva shaded Hagerstown, 2-1, at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium.

Rodriguez (6-0) also topped the century mark in pitches for the first time as a pro, 64 for strikes. Through eight starts, the 11th overall pick in last year's Draft has allowed eight runs -- seven earned -- in 43 innings and his ERA is 1.47, tops in the South Atlantic League. He stands second on the circuit with a 0.84 WHIP, trailing Greensboro's Brad Case at 0.79.
In four home starts, Rodriguez has compiled a 3-0 record after allowing three runs on 10 hits with 32 strikeouts and seven walks in 23 2/3 innings.
Manager Kyle Moore, in his first season with Delmarva, said there was no trepidation in sending out Rodriguez for the seventh inning. "We felt he was in complete control of the game. It was good for his development, and I'm happy to see that.
"Pitch count is a key, but there's also a little bit of 'feel' in that. We talked about where he was, and based on how the game was going, we felt the stress of his pitches were non-existent. Going out for the seventh and finishing, that was big for Grayson's confidence, it was a big deal. He dominated."
Gameday box score
The 6-foot-5 right-hander retired the first five batters, then yielded a two-out walk to Omar Meregildo. Rodriguez sat down 10 of 11 before Cody Wilson doubled with one out in the sixth. A wild pitch moved him to third and he scored on a groundout by Justin Connell.
Rodriguez retired the final five Suns and ended his day with a strikeout of Meregildo, his eighth of the game. He had at least one whiff in each frame except the third, and two in the fourth and sixth.
It marked the fifth time this season the 19-year-old has posted at least eight K's. He set a career high with 10 in his first Class A start on April 5. He ranks fifth in the Sally League with 61 strikeouts.
Through 50 games, Delmarva (39-11) leads the South Atlantic League with a 3.00 ERA on the prowess of Rodriguez and Ofelky Peralta, who is second in the league with a 1.51 ERA. The team boasts a league-high seven shutouts, 527 strikeouts and has allowed the fewest hits (335).
Moore, who has been with the Orioles organization for 10 years and was Delmarva's hitting coach in 2016, said all aspects of the team have been working together.
"We're trying to build up the foundation of the organization, and it starts here," he said. "We have guys up the middle who can field, we have a lot of weapons in the bullpen, our starters are strong and our hitters are coming through.
"A lot of these guys, we had last year at Aberdeen," added Moore. who managed the Ironbirds in 2018. "We finished strong, we won a lot of games in August, and a lot of those guys found their way to this team. I thought we could be good, and with the familiarity of the players, the pitching program that [Minor League pitching coordinator] Chris Holt and the development staff have put in place -- these guys have taken it and ran with it."

Delmarva scored in the first as Baltimore's No. 14 prospect Adam Hall reached on a throwing error by shortstop Jose Sanchez, Washington's 12th-ranked prospect. Doran Turchin then drove an 0-2 pitch from right-hander Francys Peguero into left field for an RBI double. In the fifth, Ryne Ogren scampered home as Will Robertson reached on a bases-loaded fielder's choice .
Robbie Thorburn, Ogren, Robertson and Turchin had two hits for the Shorebirds, who continue to pace the league with a .253 average. They've won six of their last seven games.
Peguero (2-4) gave up two runs -- one earned -- on seven hits in five innings. He struck out five.