SAL1 Delmarva Shorebirds

Shorebirds News

Published on July 9, 2008 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Delmarva Shorebirds News Release


Game Three Tidbits.... With the four-game series split at one game apiece, the Shorebirds and the Drive meet on Wednesday afternoon, a 12:35 start at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. After scoring just three runs in the first twenty innings of the series, the Shorebirds fourth ranked offense hopes to break out on hump day behind their young lefthander Nathan Nery. The southpaw recovered from a disastrous outing on June 28 in Lakewood and tossed a solid five and a third innings on July 4th in Greensboro. Today will be Nery's 5th start of the season, and the alumnus of Stetson University will be seeking his second victory. Opposing Nery for Greenville will be lefthander Felix Doubront, who makes his 16th start of the year this afternoon. The 20-year-old Venezuelan is 8-6 on the season, but just 1-2 since the all-star break. Doubront began the 2008 season on fire, winning his first four starts and only allowing two earned runs in his first 20.2 innings. He boasts a very impressive strikeout to walk ratio, with 79 whiffs and only 11 walks in 77.1 innings pitched this season.

Greenville Drives Past Delmarva.... The Greenville Drive evened the four-game series at a game apiece with a 4-1 triumph on Tuesday night at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. After a 52 minute delay at the start of the ballgame, Greenville starter Ryne Lawson stymied the Shorebirds through the first five innings in his first start of the season. The Shorebirds scored a run on a Matt Angle ground out in the eighth inning to break up the shutout, but the night was controlled by the Greenville pitching which has now limited the Shorebirds to just three runs in twenty innings over the last two nights. Juan Apodaco's RBI single in the second inning off Luis Noel put the Drive out in a front and gave the visitors a lead they would not relinquish. Ryan Kalish's RBI double in the third made it 2-0, and the Drive scored their third run off the Shorebird starter in the fifth on Yamaico Navarro's two-out single. Noel completed five innings for Delmarva, but surrendered three runs on five hits and picked up his fourth loss of the season, his third thus far in the second half. Ryan Adams was the only Shorebird to tally multiple hits on the night. Three of Delmarva's seven hits went for extra bases, yet the Shorebirds only once recorded more than one hit in an inning and could only scrap one run across the plate. The Shorebirds and Drive reunite on Wednesday afternoon, a 12:35 day game in Salisbury.

Monday Recap: Birds Take 2-1 Duel in 11.... An eleventh inning wild pitch allowed Tyler Henson to scamper home from third base and the Shorebirds walked off with a narrow 2-1 victory over the Drive to open up the eight game homestand at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. A pitchers duel throughout, the Shorebirds were carried by starter Sean Gleason, who became the first Delmarva starter to toss eight innings this season. Gleason received a no decision despite allowing just one run on two hits over eight sensational frames, seven of which were perfect 1-2-3 innings. Chad Povich, in just his fourth start of the season, was also sensational for the Drive. The righthander out of Dixie State tossed a season-high five and two-thirds for Greenville, surrendering just one run on four hits. Drive relievers Ryne Miller and Felix Ventura kept the Birds offense at bay for four and two-thirds, but Delmarva finally struck off Javier Garcia in the ninth. After Henson's leadoff single to put the winning runner on, he advanced to second on Crancer's sacrifice bunt and moved to third on the ensuing throwing error by first-baseman Mike Jones. Kieron Pope struck out for the second out of the eleventh and Pedro Florimon had two strikes on him when Garcia's breaking ball squirted past catcher Will Vazquez, allowing Henson to score the winning run as the Shorebirds won their third straight. Aubrey Miller earned the win in relief for Delmarva. Pitching for the first time in nine days, Miller threw a scoreless eleventh for the Shorebirds.

Errors Continue to Plague Delmarva... With another defensive miscue on Monday night, the Shorebirds have now made 137 errors on the season, most in the South Atlantic League. Second baseman Ryan Adams leads the team with 38 after mishandling a grounder in the tenth inning last night.

Close Calls... In 88 games, the Shorebirds have been outscored by their opponents by 14 runs (403-389). At the same time, Delmarva is seven games above .500. How is this possible? The ‘Birds have made it happen with a plethora of narrow victories. In games decided by one or two runs so far this season, the Shorebirds are 27-17. Delmarva has, however, lost five of their last eight games that have been decided by two runs or fewer since Friday, June 27.

2008 First-Half Review... Delmarva went 38-31 in the first half of 2008, finishing in second place in the Northern Division of the South Atlantic League. The Shorebirds were led by its pitching staff, which recorded the fifth-best ERA in the league (3.83). Luis Noel and All-Star Sean Gleason anchored the rotation, while a plethora of relievers, led by closer Mick Mattaliano, combined to form a spectacular bullpen. In games started by either Noel or Gleason, the Shorebirds had a record of 18-3. Mattaliano converted 14 saves in 16 chances, tabulating a 1.14 ERA in 22 appearances. Offensively, right-fielder Joe Nowicki was named to the All-Star team after compiling a .301 batting average along with 10 home runs and 39 RBI. In addition, Nowicki was tied for the league-lead in extra-base hits with 34. The Shorebirds first-half peaked with six straight wins from May 28-June 3 that put the team a first-half-high nine games above .500. Incredibly, the Birds finished seven games above .500 despite the fact that, defensively, Delmarva made a SAL-high 113 errors. In addition, the Shorebirds were outscored 305-301 by their opponents, but their 21-12 record in games decided by two runs or less helped them finish near the top of the division.

2007 in Review...Delmarva went 68-68 on the year, 34-33 in the first half and 34-35 in the second half... The Shorebirds were 6th in the 16-team South Atlantic League with a 3.91 ERA... They pitched to a 3.65 ERA (1015.2 IP, 412ER) following a 5.16 mark (205.2 IP, 118ER) in April... Delmarva was 2nd in the SAL with 1,074 strikeouts and allowed the 3rd fewest hits (1,126) and home runs (73) in the league... The Shorebirds were 9th in stolen bases (145), 10th in runs scored (662), 12th in average (.259), hits (1,210) and home runs (88), and 13th in walks (433)... Delmarva won a season-high 9 straight games, May 31-June 9, and had a season-high 7-game losing streak, April 25-May 1. Four Shorebirds played in the 2007 SAL All-Star Game, including pitchers Taylor Bergesen and Jeff Moore, right fielder Brandon Tripp, and first basemen Chris Vinyard. Tripp finished the season with a .288 average, 19 homers, and 79 RBI; consequently, he earned the Brooks Robinson Minor League Player of the year award as the Orioles' best position prospect.

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South Atlantic League Stories from July 9, 2008


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