AtL Southern Maryland Blue Crabs

Blue Crabs Drop Both in Doubleheader with Ducks

Published on August 23, 2018 under Atlantic League (AtL)
Southern Maryland Blue Crabs News Release


(Waldorf, MD., Aug. 23, 2018) - The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs (16-24) lost both games of a doubleheader against the Long Island Ducks (26-15), 7-1 in game one and 2-1 in a tightly-contested game two.

A scoreless first began game one of the doubleheader, before the Blue Crabs opened the scoring in the bottom of the second. Jon Griffin led things off with a double, the first runner to reach base for Southern Maryland in the game. Two batters later Griffin moved up to third on a single from Angelys Nina, allowing him to score on a sacrifice fly from Cory Vaughn.

The lead didn't last long, as the Ducks responded with three in the top of the third. After Craig Stem (6-7) struck out the first batter in the inning, the starter allowed a walk and a single to put two aboard. Taylor Ard followed that with a three-run homerun, giving the Ducks and their starter Chris Pike (1-0) a 3-1 lead.

Two scoreless innings ensued as Stem and Pike continued to battle, before Long Island added three more to their lead in the sixth. David Washington doubled to start the frame, before back-to-back strikeouts brought Stem close to getting out of the inning. Anthony Vega drew a walk to extend the frame to Dan Lyons, who came through with his fifth homerun of the season to push the Ducks lead out to five.

David Washington added one to the total with a solo homerun in the top of the seventh, his 20th long ball of the season. The Ducks sent Jose Cuas to the mound in the bottom half of the inning, looking to finish off the first game of the day. After two quick outs, Craig Maddox picked up his third hit of the game to keep the game alive. Cuas recovered to get a groundout, finishing off the 7-1 win for Long Island.

After a quick break in between games, the teams returned to the field for game two of the doubleheader. Pitching immediately took the stage, as Kyle Drabek and Lorenzo Barcelo each dominated early. Drabek faced the minimum through three innings, allowing just one hit before his night finished.

Barcelo worked an inning further than Drabek, going into the fourth where he would allow the first run of the game. Griffin once again got it going, with a one-out double putting him in scoring position. Nina followed that with a single to right-center field, allowing Griffin to score easily from second and take a 1-0 lead.

Long Island would answer the run with two of their own in the top of the fifth. Tommy Shirley (4-3) struck out the first two batters in the inning, before Ramon Cabrera extended the inning with a line drive single. Dioner Navarro then hit his second homerun of the season for the Ducks, a two-run shot that put his team ahead 2-1.

The bullpen took over the lead for Long Island in the fifth, with Carlos Pimentel (3-3) striking out the side in order in the inning. Edwin Garcia reached scoring position in the sixth but was stranded there after two straight outs from Ashur Tolliver ended the inning.

The one-run game went to the seventh, where Long Island sent Fernando Abad (S,2) to the mound as the closer. An error started the inning, as Nina reached second on a wild throw from the shortstop. Two batters later Vaughn walked, reaching base as the winning run. A groundout moved both men up to second and third, before Abad picked up a strikeout looking to finish off the doubleheader with a 2-1 Long Island win.

The Blue Crabs return to action Friday, August 24th for the road series opener against the York Revolution. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 P.M. on Friday at PeoplesBank Ballpark.

For more information on the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, or to reserve your seat today for any of the Blue Crabs upcoming home games, please visit our website at somdbluecrabs.com or call us at 301-638-9788.

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Atlantic League Stories from August 23, 2018


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