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Wilmington Blue Rocks

Wilmington Blue Rocks Game Notes: July 14, 2014

July 14, 2014 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


FOURTH INNING SINKS BLUE CREW: A four-run Salem fourth inning doomed Wilmington Sunday evening at Frawley Stadium as the Red Sox handed the Blue Rocks a 5-1 defeat. It was Wilmington's second consecutive loss and dropped the Blue Crew to 10-12 in the second half and 43-47 overall.

FRUSTRATING 48 HOURS OF MISSED OPPORTUNITIES: Wilmington went hitless with runners in scoring position on Sunday, picking up right where they left off during Saturday's setback when,Wilmington had multiple late chances to break a 1-1 deadlock. The Rocks left the bases loaded in the sixth inning. In the home half of the seventh, Wilmington had Terrance Gore at third base with less than two outs and still couldn't score. The Blue Crew left two more runners on base in the eighth. In the ninth the Rocks had the tying run reach third base, and the winning run aboard at first, but failed to push either across. Wilmington has left 20 men on base over the last two games, and have gone a combined 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position. That has been an issue for the Rocks all season. Wilmington is batting just .218 with men at second and/or third base in 2014.

MARVELOUS MICHAEL ANTONIO: Despite the quiet offensive night for the Blue Rocks, Michael Antonio was able to author another strong perfromance at the plate. Wilmington's designated hitter finished the evening 2-for-3 with a run, a triple and a walk. After struggling when he was called up from Low-A Lexington in May, Antonio has done nothing but hit since. He batted .161 in 18 May games, hit .328 in 18 June contests and is hitting .321 in eight July games. Since the All-Star Break, Antonio is batting at a .382 clip with nine runs, seven doubles, two triples, two homers and 10 RBIs in 15 games. The right- handed slugger has been at his best with runners on base. He's hitting .297 with runners aboard and .225 with the bases empty. Overall this season, Antonio is batting .260 with 24 runs, 13 doubles, two triples, four homers and 24 RBIs in 44 games for the Blue Crew.

SECOND-HALF STAR: After Miguel Almonte allowed four runs on nine hits in 3.2 innings, Wilmington's bullpen turned in another outstanding effort on Sunday night. Zeb Sneed followed Almonte and tossed 3.1 scoreless innings. Sneed yielded just one hit and one walk while fanning two. He is now 3-2 this season with a 2.22 ERA in 26 appearances. Johnny Walter took his turn next and hurled a scoreless eighth inning. The only blemish on his record was a base on balls. Walter is 4-1 with a 3.67 ERA in 19 appearances this year. Yender Caramo wrapped things up with a solid ninth inning. He did allow a run on one hit, but it was an unearned tally. Caramo has posted a 2-5 record in 2014 to go along with a 2.93 ERA in 21 outings. As a whole, Wilmington's bullpen has been tremendous this year. Collectively, Blue Crew relievers have posted a 19-14 record and 2.89 ERA. They have struck out 278, walked 96 and given up 259 hits in 308.2 innings pitched.

BINFORD TAKES BIG STAGE: Former Wilmington Blue Rocks starting pitcher Christian Binford worked a perfect third inning for the United States Sunday in the 15th annual All-Star Futures Game, which officially kicked off the MLB All-Star festivities in Minnesota. Binford struck out one and got through the inning throwing only eight pitches, six of them for strikes. The 6-foot-6 right-hander was the lone representative from the Kansas City Royals system, and took his place among the game's most prominent pros- pects in the showcase event of the season for Minor League Baseball. Prior to his promo- tion to Double-A Northwest Arkansas, Binford was Wilmington's best starter. For the Blue Crew, he went 5-4 with a 2.40 ERA in 14 starts. He fanned 92, allowed only 72 hits and issued just 11 free passes in 82.2 innings pitched. At the time of his promotion, Binford's strikeout total sat atop the Carolina League leaderboard. The 6-foot-6 righty did not walk a batter in his final five starts. He also completed seven innings five times for the Rocks and was a three-time Carolina League Pitcher of the Week. With the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, Binford has yielded four runs on seven hits and two walks in nine innings pitched over two starts.

THEY SAID IT, MANAGER DARRYL KENNEDY: "[Miguel Almonte] wasn't command- ing very well tonight. He was missing with all of his pitches, falling behind in the count and having to come down the middle of the plate. It finally caught up to him in that fourth inning...I'm trying to shuffle around a little bit and give some guys off. Even though we've had some rainouts we're still at the ballpark all day and guys are starting to wear down a little bit. Cody [Stubbs] did a good job. He's been reliable for us in a few different positions and he made a nice catch for us and brought in our only run...[Michael Antonio] has been swinging the bat really well and has been good for us. We've just got to get some guys around him to get hot again. [Mark] Threlkeld is going through [a slump] right now, but hopefully we can come out tomorrow and put a good game together and have a nice day off and get back at it...Zeb [Sneed]'s done it for us all year like that and he really picked us up after coming in early in the game there. He did a nice job."

THEY SAID IT DESIGNATED HITTER MICHAEL ANTONIO: "I knew the count [when hitting the triple] so I was just looking for something I could drive but not really trying to do too much. Sometimes when I try to do too much, that's when I pull off. I try to keep it simple and stay short to the ball and just get a good pitch to drive...This is baseball, there's days when you're going to go 0-for-4, 0-for-8, 0-for-12...maturity in a ball player is putting things behind you and just coming in the next day looking to come out positive."

Today's Starters

WIL: RHP Luis Santos (2-1, 6.11)

vs.

SAL: RHP Justin Haley (6-3, 2.73)

Right-hander Luis Santos makes his eighth Wilmington Blue Rocks start Monday night against Salem. Last time out, he was excellent in a six-inning outing at Potomac. Santos allowed just one run on three hits that night and struck out five while issuing just one free pass. In his first start for the Blue Rocks, against the Frederick Keys on May 31, he took a no-hitter into the sixth and allowed two runs across six excellent frames. Santos began the campaign with Low-A Lexington and put up stellar numbers for the Legends prior to his promotion to the Blue Rocks. With Lexington, he was 4-1 with a 1.76 ERA in nine appearances (six starts). He struck out 34 and walked just five while yielding only 33 hits in 46 innings pitched. Santos was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 18, 2011. He spent 2011 with the Dominican Pirates and had a 2-1 record and 2.70 ERA. In 2012, Santos split time between the Dominican Pirates 1 and the Dominican Pirates 2. The six-foot hurler was traded from the Pirates organization to the Kansas City Royals organization on November 28, 2012. He was sent to the Royals along with lefty Luis Rico in exchange for right-hander Vin Mazzaro and first-baseman Clint Robinson. Santos made his North American debut in 2013, spending half of the year with Rookie-Level Burlington and half with Rookie-Level Idaho Falls. He posted a combined 7-1 record and 1.97 ERA between the two levels while striking out 47 and walking 14 in 59.1 innings pitched.

Salem Red Sox hurler Justin Haley has been one of the best pitchers in the Carolina League this season. Haley is 6-3 with a 2.73 ERA in 17 appearances (nine starts). He has struck out 66 and walked 21 in 82.1 innings pitched. His fantastic first half earned him a spot on the Carolina League All-Star Team at Frawley Stadium in June. Haley is fourth in the league in ERA and is onen of just three pitchers in the circuit to throw a complete-game shutout. Haley is a native of Sacramento, California, and was a Sixth Round pick by the Boston Red Sox in 2012 out of Fresno State. He was also drafted in 2010, by the Cleveland Indians in the 46th Round. Haley has done nothing but dominate since turning pro. His career numbers are as good as his 2014 ones. Over his three professional seasons, Haley has posted a 13-15 record and 3.11 ERA in 56 games (45 starts). According to SoxProsects.com, he "features a fastball the sits between 91-93 mph and occasionally will touch 95 mph with heavy downward action. Haley also flashes a decent slider and a work-in-progress changeup with late fade. Deceptive delivery. Needs to refine command and control."

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