SAL1 Delmarva Shorebirds

Encarnacion, 'Birds Pummel Drive in Opener

Published on May 30, 2019 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Delmarva Shorebirds News Release


GREENVILLE, SC - The Delmarva Shorebirds easily improved to 30 games over .500, coasting past the Greenville Drive 10-2 on Thursday night at Fluor Field at the West End.

Drew Rom (4-0) brought his breakthrough May to an end with a win for the Shorebirds (41-11), allowing one run on three hits over five innings with one walk and six strikeouts. He stretched his scoreless streak to 25.1 innings before top Red Sox prospect Tristan Casas' solo home run in the fourth brought it to an end; it was the first earned run Rom had given up since April 20. Rom, himself the Orioles' No. 27 prospect, finished May with a 0.35 ERA over five starts (one earned run in 25.2 innings), going 3-0 in the process.

Brayan Bello (2-4) was saddled the loss for the Drive (23-30), allowing eight runs on nine hits in just 3.2 frames.

The Shorebirds busted things open in the top of the second. Seamus Curran and Nick Horvath worked back-to-back one-out walks, and Jean Carlos Encarnacion singled to load the bases. Daniel Fajardo then snuck a hard grounder past third and into left, scoring both Curran and Horvath to put Delmarva up 2-0. Encarnacion and Fajardo both took extra bases after the throw to the plate went wild.

After a strikeout, Adam Hall ripped a liner straight up the middle for a two-out single, plating both runners. Doran Turchin then got hit by a pitch, and Cadyn Grenier banged a two-run double off the left center wall, making it a six-spot for the Shorebirds and a 6-0 lead.

Delmarva added one each in their next two turns at bat. In the third, Encarnacion blasted a solo home run over the replica green monster in left field. In the fourth, Hall beat out an infield single and eventually scored on a wild pitch, making it 8-0 Shorebirds.

Casas homered off Rom with two out in the fourth to get Greenville on the board, and Alan Marrero and Kervin Suarez led off the fifth with back-to-back singles, threatening to spoil Rom's day. The 19-year-old got out of it, though, retiring the next three in a row and fanning Brandon Hewlett looking to make it through five strong.

Encarnacion came up big again in the seventh, crushing a two-run bomb into the Delmarva bullpen in right center to become the first Shorebird this season with a two-homer game.

Suarez walked with two out in the seventh and eventually scored on an error to give the game its final margin. Jhon Peluffo and Matthew Hammonds combined for four effective innings out of the bullpen to bring it home for Delmarva.

Encarnacion finished 3-for-5 with two homers - doubling his home run total for the season - three runs, and three RBIs. Hall notched his team-leading 21st multi-hit game of the season, going 3-for-5 with a double, two runs, and two RBIs. Grenier and Fajardo also picked up two-RBI games.

Casas' fourth-inning homer was the only extra-base knock for the Drive, who only tallied four hits on the night.

With second-place Greensboro's 11-10 win over Lakewood, the Shorebirds maintain their six-game lead in the SAL Northern Division, and their magic number to clinch the first half title is down to 12.

The Shorebirds look to close out the month on a high note on Friday night against the Drive. Nick Vespi (3-2, 5.45) toes the rubber for Delmarva against Greenville's Alex Scherff (0-4, 5.18). First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m., and pregame coverage on Fox Sports 960 AM and the MiLB First Pitch App begins at 6:50 with Will DeBoer on the call.

Check out the Delmarva Shorebirds Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from May 30, 2019


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