Shorebirds Pitching Struggled in Loss at Asheville
May 9, 2016 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Delmarva Shorebirds News Release
ASHEVILLE, NC - Delmarva fell behind early and couldn't mount enough of a late rally at McCormick Field on Monday night in a 9-3 loss to the Asheville Tourists. Asheville scored in six of their eight offensive innings. The Shorebirds trail the series two games to one heading into tomorrow morning's finale.
The middle of the Shorebirds order had a good night, as D.J. Stewart, Yermin Mercedes and Alex Murphy all had multi-hit efforts. Stewart launched his first homer of the season in the ninth inning, capping off a night where he scored twice and added a double. Mercedes had more than one hit in a game for the 12th time this year and Alex Murphy clubbed his sixth double of the season.
Delmarva (17-13) struggled to mount anything against Trey Killian. Killian (3-2) walked Stewart in the first, followed by a Mercedes single to left field, but the Shorebirds didn't bring a run home. Ricardo Andujar tallied a one out infield single in the second, but was caught stealing. From that point forward, Killian retired 14 in a row. He finished the night with six strikeouts and one walk, allowing two runs on four hits.
Cristian Alvarado (2-3) struggled on Monday night, allowing four runs on eight hits. Five of the eight hits against him went for extra bases, including two solo home runs from Mylz Jones and Josh Fuentes in the fifth and sixth innings. Alvarado struck out seven Tourists (13-16), making Monday night the fourth straight game in which he struck out at least seven hitters.
Trailing 4-0 in the top of the seventh, the Shorebirds pushed across two runs one three straight hits from the heart of their order. But just as quickly as they cut the lead in half, things ballooned the other way. Bobby Strader came on in relief for the bottom of the seventh and allowed four runs on four hits with two walks. He threw 30 pitches and just 15 strikes. Brian Mundell and Fuentes had RBI hits in the inning, Chris Rabago drew a bases loaded walk and a fourth run scored on a wild pitch.
Of note, Ryan Mountcastle's eight game hitting streak came to an end. His best chance at a hit came in the sixth when Mundell made a slick sliding stop at first base on a hard hit ball just inside the bag.
The Shorebirds give the baseball to Reid Love tomorrow morning in the series finale. First pitch is set for 11:05 am. Brendan Gulick will have the broadcast live on Fox Sports AM 960 and online at theshorebrids.com.
South Atlantic League Stories from May 9, 2016
- RiverDogs Bite Down on Crawdads, 8-3 - Charleston RiverDogs
- Shorebirds Pitching Struggled in Loss at Asheville - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Fireflies Hitters Come Alive in Win over Greenville - Columbia Fireflies
- Extra Inning Walk Off Win for the Braves, 3-2 - Rome Emperors
- Drive Downed by Fireflies, 6-4 - Greenville Drive
- Pitching, Hitting and Defense Equal 9-3 Victory - Asheville Tourists
- Lakewood's Taveras Tames Kannapolis - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Burt Drives in Three, Legends Win - Lexington Legends
- Taveras Superb as Claws Top Kannapolis 4-1 - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Keller Gets Power back on Track - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Fireflies Game Notes: May 9 at Greenville (Game 31) - Columbia Fireflies
- Hissong Gets Call to Tampa as Harris Bolsters RiverDogs Pitching Staff - Charleston RiverDogs
- Delmarva Shorebirds Game Notes for May 9, 2016 - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Intimidator Alum Wendelken Makes MLB Debut - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- WV Power Game Notes - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Grand Slam, Two Doubles Get Blanton in the Flow - Greensboro Grasshoppers
- Hoppers Can't Sustain Consistent Offense - Greensboro Grasshoppers
- Hoppers' Holmes Sharp Again out of Bullpen - Greensboro Grasshoppers
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