Over this past week, the Delmarva Shorebirds matched up with the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, an affiliate of the Houston Astros, as they would drop four out of five games.
This series was shortened one game due to rain, and all together was a bad week for the Shorebirds. They won only one out of the five games, allowed more than 10 runs in two games and lost all four by at least four runs.
However, there is always some positives to be talked about. Let’s knock out the first one right away.
This series marked the professional debut for outfield prospect, Heston Kjerstad. After all that Kjerstad has dealt with leading up to this debut, it is nice to take a step back and just appreciate the work this kid has put in.
In his first two professional games, Kjerstad wasted no time. He notched three hits in those two games, one of which being a double. He also picked up his first RBI, while making a few great plays in the outfield.
Another positive for this series has been the same since his debut. And that is Creed Willems. The young catcher’s stats will not make you jump, however, if you look at his last few series, they should.
Willems added another home run to his total in this series, adding three more hits in total. Although his average is still down in the mid .150s, expect to see that and his OPS rise exponentially over the next month or two.
Also on the steady rise is Isaac Bellony, who has been a top name on Delmarva’s roster all year. And due to the promotion of Darell Hernaiz before this series, Bellony now may just be number one.
Well, that didn’t last long, as Bellony was promoted to Aberdeen after two games of this series.
That brings us to the pitching. And boy, it was not good in this series.
The sole win in this series was picked up by Juan De Los Santos, and that comes as no surprise. De Los Santos tossed a six-inning, one-run beauty in his outing against the Woodpeckers.
Carter Baulmer also saw his third professional outing, and he, again, did not disappoint. He tossed three innings in his start, allowing no runs and striking out six. It seems the kid is becoming accustomed to professional ball real quick.
In game one, 21-year-old pitcher Joel Benitez finally seemed to find his groove. In his best outing this year, Benitez tossed 2.2 scoreless innings in relief, allowing just one hit and zero runs.
The Shorebirds hope to get back on track this week, as they face the Salem Red Sox. Game one begins Tuesday.
Who stood out to you the most in Delmarva this week? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook and Twitter! And make sure to use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content to show your Birdland swag!
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