The Chesapeake Baysox dropped their second game of the week in Erie, falling 5-1 to the Erie SeaWolves on Thursday night at UPMC Park.
The Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles managed just one run against the Detroit Tigers affiliate despite drawing five walks. Erie scored all five of its runs on two swings of the bat.
Left-hander Sebastian Gongora retired the first seven batters he faced, striking out four, before Andrew Jenkins hit a solo home run in the third inning to give the SeaWolves a 1-0 lead.
Trouble mounted for Chesapeake in the fifth. Jenkins doubled, a walk and a fielder’s choice loaded the bases with one out. Gongora, who took the loss to fall to 0-1, exited in favor of right-hander Tyson Neighbors. With two outs, John Peck delivered a grand slam to left-center field — his third homer of the series — pushing Erie’s advantage to 5-0.
Baysox hitters struggled against Erie left-hander Lael Lockhart. In the third, Brandon Butterworth tripled and two walks loaded the bases with two outs, but Chesapeake could not cash in. Lockhart earned the win, improving to 1-0, after throwing five and one-third innings with six strikeouts while keeping the Baysox off the scoreboard.
The Chesapeake bullpen delivered three scoreless innings of relief. Right-handers Cohen Achen and Daniel Lloyd combined to shut down the SeaWolves over the final frames.
The Baysox finally broke through in the ninth. Aron Estrada opened the inning with an opposite-field double and scored on two groundouts for the lone Chesapeake run.
Chesapeake has dropped two of the first three games in the six-game series against Erie. The clubs meet again Friday night with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 p.m. ET at UPMC Park.
The Baysox return home next week for a six-game series against the Altoona Curve, the Double-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, beginning Tuesday, May 5, at Prince George’s Stadium.
