Lara debuts for FredNats in 6-2 loss to Shorebirds

Though Andry Lara gave his team a chance to win in his Low-A debut, the Fredericksburg Nationals fell to the Delmarva Shorebirds on Thursday night by a score of 6-2.

Lara (L, 0-1) allowed four runs on three hits and five walks over 4.2 innings while striking out three Shorebirds batters. The FredNats managed only four hits all night, and Jacob Young’s game-tying two-run double in the fifth was immediately followed by a two-run homer from Delmarva’s Darell Hernaiz that gave the Shorebirds the lead for good.

The FredNats couldn’t get anything going against Shorebirds starter Peter Van Loon, who allowed only an infield single in 4.0 scoreless innings. Lara loaded the bases in the third, and unleashed two wild pitches to bring home the game’s first two runs and put Delmarva ahead 2-0.

Young’s two-out, two-run double off the right field wall in the fifth briefly evened the score, but Conor Grady (W, 1-0) stranded Young at third to prevent the FredNats from taking the lead. Hernaiz’s homer in the bottom of the fifth was the only run-scoring hit allowed by Lara, though it proved to be the game winner.

The Shorebirds added two more unearned runs against Bryan Peña in the seventh thanks to a pair of errors and two-out RBI singles from Colton Cowser and Coby Mayo. Justin Armbruester and Daniel Lloyd got the final seven outs to lock down the Delmarva win.

The FredNats continue their series against the Shorebirds on Friday. First pitch from Perdue Stadium is scheduled for 7:05, with FredNats On Deck beginning at 6:50 on the FredNats Baseball Network.