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GREENSBORO - The Grasshoppers battled back from a five-run deficit to tie but could not complete the rally, falling to the Delmarva Shorebirds, 9-8, at NewBridge Bank Park Sunday night.

Justin Jacobs completed a four-run sixth inning for the Grasshoppers when he delivered a two-run double, tying the game at 7-7. But the Shorebirds bounced back in the top of the eighth with a two-run homer by Tyler Henson.

The Hoppers looked like they had another comeback left in them, as they put runners on the corners with nobody out in the bottom of the eighth.

Jacobs was at the plate and was facing lefty Brett Bordes. Jacobs came into the game with a .405 average versus southpaws, but he bounced into a double play, which brought Greensboro within a run but effectively killed the rally.

Mick Mattaliano pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his 18th save for Delmarva.

Things got off to a bad start for the Hoppers, as they elected to delay the start of the game because of impending bad weather. Over two hours later, the tarp came off with very little rain collected.

The delay certainly did not help starting pitcher Jay Voss, who continued to give up hits in bunches. Voss came into the contest with a .347 batting-average against and proceeded to allow seven hits in 12 at-bats.

He gave up seven runs in 21/3 innings before getting the hook. Voss retired the first batter he faced in the third inning and then allowed six straight baserunners. He left after giving up a homer to Matt Tucker, the second home run he permitted in the inning.

"We've been talking to him," Hoppers manager Edwin Rodriguez said of Voss. "He's young and eventually he'll learn. He needs to attack the hitters. The first inning he threw 30-something pitches. By the third inning it was 60-something pitches. If you don't attack the hitters, the defenders go on their heels. No one is ready to play ball in 20-minute innings. He needs to be more aggressive, attack the hitter and pitch to contact."

As has been the case most of the year, the relievers kept Greensboro in the game.

Eric Basurto and Kevin Gunter combined for four scoreless innings, which gave the Hoppers time to get back in the game.

But the bullpen finally cracked when Steve Cishek (1-3) allowed the home run in the eighth inning to send Greensboro to its ninth loss in the past 10 games.

Rodriguez did not want to single out anybody for the team's slump, but he made it clear where the team needs to improve in order to turn things around.

"Even when we're winning, it's all about pitching," Rodriguez said. " It's hard to point out a team that just depends on its offense. If you depend on your offense, chances are you're not going to win many games because you're not going to score 15 runs a game. The starting pitchers need to set the tempo. If they don't do that, it's hard to come out and score that many runs."