'Birds Stitch Together 18th Shutout
August 21, 2019 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Delmarva Shorebirds News Release
SALISBURY, MD - The Delmarva Shorebirds stitched together their 18th shutout of the season as they blanked the Greensboro Grasshoppers 1-0 on Wednesday night at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium.
With the game scoreless heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, the Shorebirds (37-20, 85-41) finally got on the board. With two away, Nick Horvath was hit by a pitch to start the rally and moved to third on a single to right from Alexis Torres. Shayne Fontana then delivered the winning blow with a line drive base hit to left, scoring Horvath and making it 1-0 Delmarva.
Juan Echevarria (4-0) picked up the win for the Shorebirds with two scoreless and hitless innings, walking just one and striking out three. Yerry De Los Santos (4-2) was tagged with the loss for the Grasshoppers (29-28, 73-53) after allowing the lone run in the game in the seventh. Ruben Garcia recorded the save for the second straight night, his seventh of the campaign, striking out two in a perfect ninth.
Gray Fenter got the five-man combined two-hitter going for the Shorebirds, going three perfect innings and striking out four. Nick Vespi chipped in two innings, allowing both Greensboro hits and striking out one. Matt De La Rosa served as a bridge from Echevarria to Garcia, earning his league-leading 12th hold with a scoreless eighth.
Behind the plate for the Shorebirds' latest clean sheet was Adley Rutschman, who made his Delmarva debut after being promoted from short-season Aberdeen earlier in the day. The 2019 No. 1 overall pick and baseball's No. 6 prospect went 0-for-2 with two walks in four plate appearances. He also showed off a cannon behind the plate, throwing out the Grasshoppers' Ji-hwan Bae trying to steal second base, which ended the top of the seventh and set up Delmarva's rally in the bottom of the frame.
Johnny Rizer picked up a single to extend his hitting streak to nine games for Delmarva, while Torres and Fontana had the only other hits of the game for the Shorebirds.
Greensboro recorded just two hits, singles from Ji-hwan Bae and Luke Mangieri, and stranded just two men on base the entire night.
Will Kobos fired five no-hit innings for Greensboro but also did not factor into the decision. Kobos walked three while striking out eight.
The Shorebirds go for the sweep against the Grasshoppers on Thursday night. Delmarva hands the ball to Drew Rom (6-2, 2.49) against Steven Jennings (5-11, 5.01) for Greensboro. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m. with gates opening at 6:00. Thursday night at Perdue Stadium is #WeAreWorcester Night with the first 1,000 fans receiving a bobblehead of Lou Taylor, Superintendant of Worcester County Public Schools, presented by Blue Water Development. It is also KISS 95.9 Thirsty Thursday presented by Salisbury Pit and Pub, and the final Maryland Pride Thursday of the season, with the Shorebirds' Maryland Pride jerseys being auctioned off after the game. 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.
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