The Fredericksburg Nationals managed only one hit on Tuesday night, falling 10-0 to the Delmarva Shorebirds in the opener of a six-game road series.
A Cristopher Cespedes grand slam highlighted a seven-run sixth inning for the Shorebirds, who won their 10th game in 13 tries over the FredNats. It marked the second shutout loss of the season for Fredericksburg.
Rodney Theophile (L, 0-4) allowed two runs, one earned, over 3.0 innings as he was handed the loss. Both runs came in the first, as a Geraldi Diaz throwing error on a strikeout in the dirt brought home Mason Janvrin and a TT Bowens groundout scored Darell Hernaiz.
Jeremy De La Rosa’s second-inning single was the only Fredericksburg hit against Zach Peek (W, 2-2), who struck out eight batters over a career-high 5.0 scoreless innings.
Aaron Barrett was a bright spot for the FredNats, as he retired all six batters he faced and struck out four in his second rehab outing.
In the sixth, Bryan Peña allowed all seven batters he faced to reach and score. A Hernaiz single and Hudson Haskin double doubled the lead to 4-0 before Cespedes unloaded the bases with an opposite-field grand slam. One batter later, Andrew Martinez sent out a solo homer to left field to extend the Shorebirds lead to 9-0.
Leif Strom allowed only one run over 3.0 innings of relief to close out the pitching line for the FredNats, but Houston Roth (S, 2) was even better. He earned an unconventional four-inning save by pitching hitless, scoreless relief to end the ballgame.
The FredNats continue their series against the Shorebirds on Wednesday night. First pitch from Perdue Stadium is scheduled for 7:05, with FredNats On Deck beginning at 6:50 on the FredNats Baseball Network.
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Chris Graham
