SAL1 Delmarva Shorebirds

Mercedes Collects Four Hits in Losing Effort

Published on August 15, 2015 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Delmarva Shorebirds News Release


SALISBURY, Md. -- The Delmarva Shorebirds fell to the Lakewood BlueClaws by an 8-1 final score, leveling the series at one game apiece. After a lopsided Shorebirds' victory on Friday, Lakewood returned the favor with a comfortable win of their own to set up a rubber match on Sunday.

The BlueClaws scored five runs early off Shorebirds' starter Brian Gonzalez, building an insurmountable lead. Deivi Grullon and Chase Harris collected RBIs in the second inning for a 2-0 advantage. In the third, Lakewood doubled their lead with a two-run double by Cord Sandberg, a controversial play where manager Ryan Minor argued the ball bounced wide of the bag for a foul ball. Drew Stankiewicz hit an RBI double in the fourth for a 5-0 lead.

Nigel Nootbaar pitched 2.1 scoreless frames in relief, retiring seven of the eight batters he faced. Lakewood's offense returned to form with four consecutive hits against Tanner Chleborad, stringing together three more runs. Caleb Kellogg finished the night for Delmarva with a scoreless ninth inning.

Delmarva's offense was centered around Yermin Mercedes and Steel Russell. Mercedes went 4-for-4, including an RBI single in the eighth for Delmarva's only run. Mercedes raised his batting average to a team-high .296, which would rank in the top 10 in the league if the catcher had enough at-bats to qualify. Russell finished with a 3-for-4 night in the losing effort.

Will Morris received the win for Lakewood, improving to 5-0 with seven scoreless inning and lowering his ERA to 1.74. Scott Harris completed the game for the BlueClaws with two innings in relief. Gonzalez settled for his fifth straight losing decision since the All-Star Break.

The Shorebirds and BlueClaws square off in a rubber match in Sunday's finale. Left-hander John Means (8-8, 3.57) battles right-hander Tyler Viza (4-7, 3.53) in a matchup of two of the league's ten best starters by ERA. First pitch is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium in Salisbury, Md.

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South Atlantic League Stories from August 15, 2015


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