CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Missed Opportunities and Three-Run Ninth Ruins Rocks

Published on April 25, 2013 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Salem, VA - The Wilmington Blue Rocks dominated the game in every area but the scoreboard on Wednesday night in Salem. Wilmington out-hit the Red Sox, 14-9, and put a runner on base in every inning but one. The problem was for the Blue Crew, they also stranded 12 men on base, including seven in scoring position. That allowed Salem to hang around, and when the Sox rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth, Wilmington had suffered its second walk-off loss of the season. The 5-4 setback left the Rocks a game under .500 for the season (9-10).

Sean Coyle began the home-ninth by slapping a single through the right-side hole. Nick Natoli followed with a walk off of reliever Andrew Triggs and the Red Sox were in business. Triggs (1-1) seemed to find the solution to his problem when he induced a dead-double-play grounder to short off the bat of Garin Cecchini, but Kenny Diekoreger could not field it cleanly, and Salem had the bases loaded with no outs.

Brandon Jacobs pulled the Sox to within a single score on a sacrifice fly to right and then Keury De La Cruz sent the few fans left at Salem Memorial Ballpark home happy with his game-winning two-run double off the wall in right-center.

It was a shocking loss for Wilmington, which had seemed to salt the game away with Daniel Mateo's solo home run in the top of the ninth. That blast gave the Rocks a two-run edge and the Blue Crew bullpen had allowed only a single score in its previous 23.1 frames of work entering the ninth. Plus Triggs had just worked out of a jam in the eighth when Salem put a pair in scoring position against Malcom Culver.

As difficult as the ending was for Wilmington, what really stung was the fact that it really should have never been that close.

The Rocks got single scores in the first, second and fourth innings, but should have had a much bigger lead. Cheslor Cuthbert's RBI single put Wilmington up 1-0 in the opening frame, but the Blue Crew would strand runners at first and second later in the inning. In the second Lane Adams extended the Rocks' advantage with an RBI single to right, but yet again Wilmington let an opportunity for more go by the wayside by leaving men at first and third.

The Rocks also stranded runners at the corners in the fourth, left a man at third in the fifth and shipwrecked runners at first and third in the eighth. The most painful missed opportunity came in the seventh though. Wilmington loaded the bases with only one out, but Diekroeger grounded into an inning-ending 4-6-3 twin-killing.

Wilmington finishes its longest road trip of the season with another game in Salem on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. Southpaw John Lamb (1-2, 3.46) tries to salvage the split for the Rocks against Salem righty Mike Augliera (2-0, 4.96).

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

Daniel Mateo continues to show significant signs of life at the plate in a losing-cause for Wilmington. The infielder broke out of an 0-for-20 slump with a 2-for-4 evening on Tuesday and picked up right where he left off on Wednesday, getting three hits including his second home run of the season. Entering Tuesday, Mateo's last hit had come on April 17, and the five-game hitless stretch had dropped his average by 72 points from .262 to .190.

After giving up 18 runs over 8.1 frames in less than a 72-hour stretch, the Rocks' rotation, desperately needed someone to right the ship. Their ace did exactly that on Wednesday, as right-hander Kyle Zimmer fanned 11 and held Salem to just a single run in 4.2 frames of work. It was the most strikeouts by a Wilmington pitcher since Jake Odorizzi fanned 12 at Frawley Stadium on June 18, 2010. Zimmer, the top-rated prospect in the Kansas City system according to Baseball America, has now allowed one run or less in three of his four starts this season.

The Blue Rocks bullpen's scoreless streak reached 21 innings before Daniel Hernandez allowed a solo home run to Sean Coyle to open the seventh inning. Hernandez, who replaced Angel Baez (disabled list) on the active roster on Wednesday, whiffed two and allowed just one run on three hits in his Wilmington debut. Rocks' relievers stranded all four runners they inherited in the loss. Wilmington's 'pen has now left 16 of the 20 men they inherited on base on the season.

For the first time in 2013 Parker Morin played in a game and did not get on base. The Wilmington catcher hit three balls hard on Wednesday, but finished the night 0-for-4. He had reached safely in all 12 contests he had appeared in prior to the contest, entering the night with a robust .400 on-base percentage.

Check out the Wilmington Blue Rocks Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Carolina League Stories from April 25, 2013


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central