Shorebirds

The addition of ninth-round draft choice Paco Figueroa as a leadoff man and improved pitching and defense have the Delmarva Shorebirds off to a 7-3 start in the second half of the Single-A South Atlantic League. "We have a much better ballclub than we had in the first half," said manager Gary Kendall, whose Shorebirds were 30-40 in the first half of the league's split schedule of 140 games. The Shorebirds were tied for first in the Northern Division with the Lakewood (N.J.) BlueClaws and the Hickory (N.C.

Yesterday Triple-A International League Ottawa 5, Durham 4: Tim Raines Jr. scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth as the host Lynx (29-26) rallied to defeat the Bulls (27-32). Ottawa trailed 4-0 before Walter Young hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning to cut the lead in half. In the seventh, Raines doubled in two runs to tie the game at 4. Double-A Eastern League Bowie idle Single-A Carolina League Frederick at Salem, ppd., rain and lightning Single-A South Atlantic League Lake County 18, Delmarva 7: The Captains (33-25)

Dave Haehnel of the Delmarva Shorebirds leads Orioles minor leaguers in saves with 11 despite not having the typical profile of a closer. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound left-hander has a fastball in the 88- to 91-mph range, which is below the typical 90s to mid-90s for closers. Deception is his forte in getting hitters out with the game on the line. "David uses a lot of deception," said Shorebirds manager Gary Kendall, a Sparrows Point High graduate. "He hides the ball well, is very aggressive, has an excellent slider and keeps the ball down.