Once again, the Delmarva Shorebirds faced off against a formidable foe, the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, the Low-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.
Over these six games, the Shorebirds were lackluster, as they dropped the final five games of this series.
Here are the final scores from this past week:
Game 1: DEL 5, KAN 1
Game 2: DEL 3, KAN 5
Game 3: DEL 4, KAN 8
Game 4: DEL 1, KAN 5
Game 5: DEL 1, KAN 2
Game 6: DEL 1, KAN 2
The Shorebirds and Cannon Ballers played a few close games over this week. On Delmarva’s side, a few bats kept them within a lot of these games. However, they struggled to score runs.
Samual Basallo, like usual, led the charge for Delmarva by having maybe one of his best games in game one. He went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a triple, with a walk and an RBI. Over the whole week, Basallo went 5-for-14 to bring his season average to .299.
Basallo was just promoted to High-A Aberdeen for his efforts this season, so Delmarva will now have to rely on a new, young star to consistently keep them in games.
All season long, a few players have been taking their turns showing out in the absence of star players within the Shorebirds roster. This week, it was outfield prospect Trendon Craig, who helped carry the load along with Basallo.
Craig went 6-for-22 with a home run and three RBIs against Kannapolis. Craig’s season average and OPS are up to .304 and .840, respectively, in limited action this season.
As following the normal theme, there wasn’t much more offense outside of that. Carter Young had a down wee but will bounce back and continue to be a contributor to this offense.
On the pitching side, it was much better. The pitching staff kept the Shorebirds within almost all of these games.
In game one, 20-year-old Luis De León threw an absolute gem. The young left-hander didn’t allow any hits or runs over five innings while allowing one walk and striking out eight. Later in the series, he appeared in a one-inning start where he allowed just one hit and no runs.
Since his call-up from the FCL Orioles on July 14, De León has been arguably the best arm for the Shorebirds all season. He now has 47 strikeouts in 37.1 innings, good for a 1.21 ERA. He is also 3-0 in his nine appearances, and in his three appearances with Delmarva, he’s pitched 10 innings with just two hits allowed and 11 strikeouts.
His efforts this week earned De León Carolina League Pitcher of the Week honors. He’s an impressive young arm.
Deivy Cruz had himself another good start in game five of this series. In a shortened five-inning game, Cruz pitched all five innings to a tune of two runs on six hits. This was the first game he has allowed a run since June 22, and his season ERA sits at a solid 3.53 at 19 years old.
As the trade deadline looms near, things could possibly get shaken up for the Delmarva Shorebirds. Only time will tell, and all of us fans shall see what lineup the Shorebirds will roll out next series after the deadline.
The Shorebirds’ next action will be at home against the Lynchburg Hillcats, the Low-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians.
Who stood out to you for Delmarva this week? 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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