The Red Sox had other ideas, however, winning Sunday and Monday’s games — both by a two-run margin — to earn the split.
The FredNats (33-39; 3-6 second half) will be facing the hottest team in the Carolina League, as the first-place Shorebirds (34-40; 6-3) have won three in a row, taking four of six last week in Lynchburg.
Elijah Green, the No. 4 prospect in the Washington farm system, only appeared in one game against the Sox — the series opener on Wednesday — going 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts. Green, the fifth player taken in last year’s draft, was not listed on the injury report, so the five-game layoff could have been a much-needed mental break for the heralded 19-year-old, who has struck out 106 times in 211 at-bats this season.
Right-hander Jarlin Susana (No. 6) surrendered three runs on six hits while striking out five Salem batters and walking one in a 4-2 loss on Saturday. Susana is now 0-4 with a 3.18 ERA, a 1.28 WHIP and 47 strikeouts in 12 starts this season.
Shortstop Armando Cruz (No. 13) hit safely in three of his five games against Salem, including his first home run of the season on Thursday, but is hitting .204 on the season with just 16 RBI in 53 games (196 at-bats).
Center fielder Daylen Lile (No. 15) recorded a two-run triple in Wednesday’s opener, but went 3-for-14 in his next four games with six strikeouts and no RBI the rest of the week. Lile is hitting at a .274 clip in 2023 (.832 OPS), and still leads the team with 62 hits, 16 doubles, 5 triples, 42 RBI and 42 runs scored this season.
After sitting out Wednesday and then going 0-for-4 on Thursday, left fielder Roismar Quintana (No. 16) racked up seven hits and drove in three runs over his last four games against Salem (11 total bases in 15 at-bats), including a towering, solo homer to deep left field in Friday’s win. Quintana improved his batting average to .228 on the season.
This Week’s Opponent
Delmarva is 5-7 against the Freddies in 2023, winning four of five at Virginia Credit Union Stadium in April before dropping six of seven at Fredericksburg in late May/early June. The two North Division rivals will tangle one more time in the final series of the regular season from Sept. 5-10 in Salisbury.
The Shorebirds are the highest-scoring team in the league with 369 runs (5 per game), and also lead the league in doubles (120) and team OPS (.700) coming into tonight’s game. On the mound, they’ve also given up more runs than any other team (381; 316 of those earned) and the second-most hits (599).
Delmarva, the Single-A affiliate of Baltimore, has a couple of intriguing prospects on the roster to keep an eye on. Catcher Samuel Basallo (No. 10 in the Orioles organization) is hitting .294 on the season, and leads the team in hits (75), runs scored (43), RBI (55), home runs (10) and doubles (15).
Former Vanderbilt shortstop Carter Young (No. 28) has been struggling at the plate over his last 10 games, going just 5-for-42 over that span. Young (.226) has collected 55 hits and 24 RBI on the year.
Right-hander Carter Baumler (No. 21), who Baltimore took with the fifth overall pick in the 2020 draft, has yet to make his season debut after missing most of the 2022 campaign due to shoulder inflammation and offseason surgery.
Freddies Notes
A pair of former FredNats made it to The Show last week, as Amos Willingham, a 24-year-old right-hander out of Georgia Tech who appeared in 23 games with Fredericksburg in 2021 (including the team’s combined no-hitter), was called up to join the Nationals last Wednesday against Seattle.
Jose Ferrer, a left-handed pitcher who pitched in 13 games with Fredericksburg last season, also made his MLB debut on Saturday for Washington, getting through an unscathed inning against Philadelphia with a pair of punchouts. Ferrer (No. 24) was 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA and two saves with the FredNats in 2022 before getting called up to High-A Wilmington.
Next Week
The Freddies will be off from Monday through Thursday before hosting Lynchburg for a three-game series next weekend (July 14-16). The following week, Fredericksburg will head to Augusta for six games against the GreenJackets.
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