CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Blue Rocks Game Notes

Published on August 3, 2012 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


IN A PINCH: Cyle Hankerd has been a terror since joining the Winston-Salem Dash. Perhaps no team knows that as well as the Wilmington Blue Rocks. On Thursday night, the veteran with Triple-A time added to his list of successes in the series with a pinch-hit three-run double in the eighth inning for a 6-4 Winston-Salem (67-42-1, 23-17) win. The rubber match triumph gave Winston the series and handed the Rocks their fourth loss in five games.

BEST MONTH EVER: The Carolina League has Matt Fields as the circuit's Topps Player of the Month for July. In 27 games he hit .355 with 13 homers and 19 RBIs. He scored 18 runs in the month, belted six doubles and added a triple. He recorded an on-base percentage of .425 and a slugging percentage of .794 for a 1.219 OPS. In the 23 games he played first base, he only made one error.

FIELDS OF DREAMS: Fields' July slugging percentage led all of minor league baseball thanks to his MiLB-best home run total on the month. His July OPS placed third in the minors while his average ranked second in the Carolina League.

RARE AIR: This is only the eighth time a Blue Rock has won the award and the first time since outfielder Brian McFall in July of 2007. Other notable Rocks to receive the honor include Johnny Damon, Glendon Rusch and Carlos Beltran.

CYLE STYLE: In 10 games against the Rocks, Hankerd has hit .355. Six of his 11 hits have gone for extra-bases including four homers for a 1.280 OPS.

RISPY BUSINESS: The Rocks went 2-for-16 (.125) with men in scoring position on the night and 2-for-27 (.074) in their two losses on the series.

RUBBER OR GLUE?: Wilmington fell to 1-6 in rubber matches. Their lone win was a 2-1 victory at Myrtle Beach on May 20.

UNLUCKY NO. 7: The Blue Crew entered the game with the CL's best winning percentage when leading after seven innings at 37-1 (.974). The original loss came on July 8 at Myrtle Beach when the Pelicans forced a 1-1 tie in the ninth en route to a 2-1 triumph in 10 innings.

EARLY RETURN: Manager Vance Wilson made several major changes to the lineup on Wednesday, and most of those alterations remained last night. Orlando Calixte hit leadoff for the second time as a professional. He had three hits including a pair of doubles. Fields batted third for the second time as a Blue Rock and posted a pair of hits, including a double, and two RBIs. Lane Adams cleaned up for the second time with Wilmington and reached base three times with two hits, one walk and a run scored.

OUCH: The Rocks have gotten little production from the No. 3 spot in the lineup this season. Minus the numbers of the since-promoted prospect Brian Fletcher, three-hole hitters have a meager average of .211 (68-for-322) with 59 strikeouts.

STREAKING: Geulin Beltre extended his season-best hit streak to eight with his third-inning double. With hits in 10 of his last 11, he has connected at a .368 rate (14-for-38) with eight RBIs. His average is up 20 points in the process (.206-.226).

WHO OWN DA BLUE ROCKS?: After taking two of their first three meetings with Winston-Salem this season, the Blue Rocks have dropped 12 of their last 14 dates with the Dash. Eight of those 14 games have been decided by two runs or less. No CL squad has bashed more homers against Wilmington than Winston (18). The Rocks' ERA against the Dash is 5.03 and 3.72 against every other CL squad.

SOUTHERN COMFORT: The Blue Rocks are 2-4 six games into a stretch of 15 straight against Southern Division squads. They own a 23-44 (.343) record in interdivisional play. That is in stark contrast to the 25-17 (.595) mark in intradivisional competition. Once this long run against the South concludes, Wilmington's schedule ends with 18 of the final 22 contests against its brothers in the North.

Check out the Wilmington Blue Rocks Statistics

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Carolina League Stories from August 3, 2012


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