Wilson Shines Again, 'Birds Breeze By 'Claws

SALISBURY, MD - Ryan Wilson continued his torrid stretch on the mound, driving the Delmarva Shorebirds past the Lakewood BlueClaws 4-2 on Monday night at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium.
Wilson (5-3), named the South Atlantic League's Pitcher of the Week earlier in the day, posted his sixth straight Quality Start for the Shorebirds (18-7, 66-28) as he earned the win. Wilson was dominant yet again, going a careerlong eight innings, allowing just two runs on four hits while walking none and striking out nine. Wilson retired the first 12 batters he faced, striking out six of them. Over his past six starts, Wilson is 4-1 with a 0.92 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 39 innings.
Manuel Silva (2-3) got saddled with the loss for the BlueClaws (7-16, 36-57), going four innings and allowing four runs on five hits and three walks while striking out six. Reed Hayes collected his second save, allowing just a single in a scoreless ninth.
It took just four batters for Delmarva to jump on the board in the first. Jaylen Ferguson singled to open the frame and Adam Hall followed with a walk. After a strikeout, Jean Carlos Encarnacion poked an RBI single to left to put the Shorebirds ahead 1-0.
Delmarva bolstered their lead in the second. Cody Roberts drew a leadoff walk, and after a flyout Ryne Ogren slapped a single to right. Following another flyout, Hall worked his second walk of the game to load the bases. Robert Neustrom unloaded them as he blasted a first pitch bases-clearing double to left center, stoking the Shorebirds' advantage to 4-0.
Lakewood broke up the perfect game bid and the shutout in the fifth. Abrahan Gutierrez singled to start, snapping Wilson's string of 22 in a row retired since last Tuesday in West Virginia. Carlos De La Cruz then cracked a two-run homer, his third of the year, to cut the Delmarva lead to 4-2. The blast ended Wilson's scoreless streak at 12 innings.
The BlueClaws couldn't muster anything down the stretch, however, accumulating just three hits in the final four frames.
The Shorebirds had six hits in the game, each coming from a different player. In addition to his RBI single, Encarnacion walked twice to reach base three times while Adam Hall also reached base three times, going 1-for-2 with two walks and a run scored.
Gutierrez had two of Lakewood's five hits, going 2-for-4, while De La Cruz provided their only runs with his two-run homer.
Wilson's eight-inning start was the longest for a Delmarva pitcher since Brenan Hanifee went eight innings against Hickory on July 8, 2018. The last time a Shorebird pitched a full nine innings was August 16, 2010, when Bobby Bundy pitched a complete game to beat the BlueClaws 4-2 in Lakewood.
Between Wilson and Hayes, Shorebirds pitching needed just 106 pitches to finish off the BlueClaws. Taking just 2 hours and 1 minute, the game was the shortest of the year for the Shorebirds by four mintues.
The Shorebirds go for the early series win against the BlueClaws on Tuesday night. Hector Guance (7-3, 3.68) goes for Delmarva against James McArthur (0-6, 6.43) for Lakewood. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m. with gates opening at 6:00. Tuesday at Perdue Stadium is Wag Your Tail Tuesday presented by Concord Pet Foods & Supplies. Pregame coverage on Fox Sports 960 AM and the MiLB First Pitch App begins at 6:50 with Will DeBoer and Sam Jellinek on the call.