This week, our Delmarva Shorebirds moved forward into the new era of a team without top prospect Jackson Holliday. Delmarva was able to get in five of six games during this rainy week against the Salem Red Sox, the Boston Red Sox’s Low-A affiliate.
Considering the Shorebirds won four of five of those games, I’d say they’re still in good shape without Holliday. The usual suspects, Creed Willems and Samual Basallo, carried the load while the pitching was much improved compared to the last two weeks.
Here are the final totals for the week:
Game 1: DEL 0, SAL 5
Game 2: DEL 3, SAL 1
Game 3: DEL 8, SAL 5
Game 4: DEL 5, SAL 3
Game 5: DEL 4, SAL 2
Game 6: PPD
Willems once again carried a chunk of the Shorebirds’ offensive load this week. The young backstop delivered the only home run of the series while finishing the week by going 4-for-13 with three RBIs and a stolen base. Yes, you read that correctly. Creed Willems stole a base.
Samuel Basallo carried the largest load of the offense. The other great catcher on this team went 5-for-20 with a double and five RBIs. Basallo continues to look unchallenged, and very soon, a call up to Aberdeen will be a reality for this kid.
A few other bats contributed to the lineup as well, including Douglas Hodo, Anderson De Los Santos and Roberto Martinez. Hodo really helped replace the bat of Holliday by going 3-for-9 with four walks, two RBIs and three runs scored.
As mentioned earlier, the pitching was much better for Delmarva in this series. Eight out of 17 pitchers who made an appearance in this series didn’t give up a single run. The starting pitching threw 21 innings, giving up just four earned runs combined.
Juan Nunez had a five-inning shutout appearance that included seven strikeouts and the victory. His ERA now sits at a 3.78.
Juan De Los Santos is a guy I’ve spoken on before about being one to watch on this team. His four-inning, one-run outing in this series helped continue to get him back on track, as this was his first quality outing of the young season.
All together, the pitching staff held their own with a 3.07 team ERA for the week and 48 strikeouts. This series could be a sign that the staff is headed in the right direction.
The Shorebirds will take on the Carolina Mudcats starting tomorrow, the Low-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. This series begins on Tuesday, at 11:05 a.m. EST.
Who stood out to you this week for Delmarva? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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