CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Wilmington Offense Wakes for with Sunday Slugfest

Published on August 22, 2010 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Wilmington, DE - After scoring just one run over the first 18 innings of its weekend series with the Lynchburg Hillcats, there was no where to go but up for the Wilmington Blue Rocks offense. The Rocks slugged three home runs as they avoided the sweep with an 8-2 win on Sunday afternoon at Frawley Stadium.

Wilmington scored seven of its runs eight over the first three frames, jumping all over Lynchburg starter Ezequiel Infante. Infante (0-1) was making his first Advanced-A start after being moved into the rotation when 10-game winner Jordan Hotchkiss was promoted earlier in the week.

Christian Colon greeted Infante with a first-inning dinger. The shortstop, who went 0-for-4 on Saturday to end his 11-game hitting streak, sent the first pitch he saw on Sunday soaring over the left-field fence. It established the tone early for the Rocks.

On a day when storm clouds swirled around Frawley Stadium, and rain fell on and off over the final five innings, intense winds were the biggest factor in the game. The blustery conditions led to long balls for Wilmington.

It especially seemed to aid catcher Salvador Perez. Perez extended the Wilmington advantage in the second inning when he bashed a two-run homer into the deepest part of the park in left-center field. Wilmington would add a run later in the frame when Colon singled in Rene Oriental to make it 4-0 Blue Crew.

Perez went yard again an inning later. The right-handed catcher went opposite field with two men on in the third, lengthening Wilmington's advantage to, 7-0. The frame began with a double by Ernesto Mejia and Nick Francis followed with a walk to put a pair on for the red-hot backstop.

It was more than enough for the Wilmington pitching staff. Starter Buddy Baumann did a better job than his counterpart at keeping the ball down. Baumann (4-2) faced the minimum over his first three frames and yielded only one run on four hits in five total innings. His lone mistake came on a solo shot allowed to Cody Puckett in the fourth frame. The effort earned the left-hander a win.

Baumann was followed by reliever Jairo Cuevas, who came on and tossed three innings of one-run ball. Cuevas yielded just an unearned tally in the eighth when Oriental misplayed a ball in the left-field corner. Manauris Baez kept Lynchburg off the board in the ninth.

Wilmington added an extra score of its own in the eighth. Back-to-back hits by Francis and Perez opened the frame, which setup an RBI fielder's choice grounder by Rey Navarro.

The Rocks travel to Woodbridge, VA on Monday to start a pivotal three-game series with the Carolina League North leading Potomac Nationals. The P-Nats fell to the Winston-Salem Dash on Sunday, so the Rocks enter the set just 1.5 games back in the standings. Right-hander Aaron Crow (1-2, 5.74) gets the start for Wilmington against southpaw Danny Rosenbaum (2-2, 2.63).

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

Buddy Baumann lasted five frames in an outing for just the fourth time in 12 starts. He had not accomplished the feat since July 15, which also was when the left-hander earned his last win before Sunday.

Adrian Ortiz saw his nine-game hitting streak come to an end on Sunday. He went 0-for-3 with a walk. Ortiz batted .341 (13-for-41) during his streak. It was a much-needed surge for the outfielder, as it came on the heels of a 3-for-28 (.107) slump. That slump coincided with his return from the Central American and Caribbean Games in early-August.

Salvador Perez's two home run performance marked the fourth time a Blue Rock has turned in a multi-homer performance in 2010. The catcher was the first to do it at Frawley Stadium as the other three all came on the road. Nick Francis accomplished the feat last for the Blue Crew, when he went yard twice at Kinston on July 25. Perez finished his afternoon 3-for-3 with a walk. He had not homered since May 19.

Home runs at Frawley have been a rarity for Wilmington in 2010. Even with the three dingers on Sunday, the Rocks have been out-homered at home on the season, 33-22. Wilmington has 19 more home runs on the road than they do on the Riverfront.

The game was delayed 43 minutes in the bottom of the eighth inning. The tarp came on the field when the light rain, which had been falling on and off since the fifth frame, turned into a downpour.

Sunday's victory was Wilmington's 11th of the season against Lynchburg, clinching the season-series in favor of the Rocks. The contest marked the final meeting of the year between the Rocks and Hillcats at Frawley Stadium. Wilmington took six of 10 at home from the Hillcats this season. The Rocks wrap up the season-series with Lynchburg next week, during a three-game set in the Hill City.

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Carolina League Stories from August 22, 2010


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