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Wilmington Blue Rocks

Blue Rocks Game Notes: August 19, 2014

August 19, 2014 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


HAWKINS' HOMER COSTS ROCKS: One big swing by Courtney Hawkins kept the Blue Rocks from a three-game sweep of Winston-Salem as the Dash took Sunday's series finale, 4-1. With one out in the third inning, Hawkins greeted Blue Rocks starter Luis Santos with a titanic three-run homer to left, turning a 1-0 game into a 4-0 contest. With the loss, the Blue Crew fell to 26-27 in the second half and to 59-62 overall. They remain one game behind the Lynchburg Hillcats for a spot in the postseason.

ANTONIO AWAKENS: Michael Antonio entered Sunday evening's contest mired in a 2-for-21 slump during the month of August. The right-handed hitting DH broke out of that slump on Sunday and had hits in each of his first two at-bats. Antonio finished the contest 2-for-4 at the plate with a run. His average is now up to .160 this month in nine contests. The struggles in August followed tremendous months at the plate in June and in July. In June, Antonio batted .328 with three homers in 18 games. During July, he hit .311 with a homer and seven doubles in 18 contests. For the most part, Antonio has had an excellent second half. Antonio batted .192 in 29 games before the All-Star Break and he has hit .310 since. Overall this year, Antonio has hit .255 with 30 runs, 17 doubles, two triples, five homers and 31 RBIs in 63 games.

INNINGS EATER: Luis Santos turned in a solid performance during his spot start on Sunday. He completed seven innings for the first time as a member of the Blue Crew and gave up four runs on seven hits. Santos also struck out four and did not walk a bat- ter. After his eighth start of the year, Santos was moved to the bullpen and thrived in that role. However, since his original move to the 'pen on July 26, he has still bounced back and forth between starting and relieving. Santos made another spot start against Myrtle Beach on August 6. He struggled that night and allowed five runs on seven hits in five innings pitched. However, the righty did set a new season-high with six strikeouts against the Pelicans. Santos is 2-4 with a 6.36 ERA in 10 starts for the Blue Rocks this year. Out of the bullpen, he is 1-0 with a 1.08 ERA in three appearances totaling 15.2 innings. Overall in 2014, Santos is 3-4 with a 5.64 ERA in 13 games (10 starts). He has fanned 46, walked 17 and given up 58 hits in 60.2 innings pitched.

MONDESI'S HITTING STREAK ENDS: Raul Mondesi saw his season-best eight- game hitting streak come to an end on Sunday night when manager Darryl Kennedy lifted him in the first inning after he did not run out a ground ball to first hard enough. Mondesi finished the evening 0-for-1. During his eight-game hitting streak, Mondesi hit a combined .375 (12-for-32) with five homers, three doubles, a triple and 11 RBIs. In the opener of Wednesday night's doubleheader against Frederick, Mondesi became the first Blue Rock since Cody Strait in 2008 to leave the yard in four consecutive contests. Strait homered in five straight games that year, from August 13-18. Current manager Darryl Kennedy was also the team's skipper at the time. Mondesi is currently batting .250 in 13 August contests. The switch hitter has batted .237 from the right side of the plate and .217 from the left side in 2014. Six of his seven homers this year have come as a left-handed hitter. Overall this year, Mondesi has a .222 batting average, seven home runs, 49 runs, 14 doubles, 10 triples, 31 RBIs and 21 walks in 95 games.

DASH DROPPINGS: Sunday night's loss to Winston-Salem was the final meeting of the year between the two clubs. The Blue Rocks played slightly-above .500 ball against the Dash in 2014, posting a final record of 10-9. Wilmington was more successful against Winston-Salem at Frawley Stadium than at BB&T Ballpark. The Rocks posted a 6-4 record against the Dash at home but a 4-5 record on the road. The Blue Crew hit a combined .211 against the Dash this year while Winston-Salem batted a collective .236 against Wilmington in 2014. The Blue Rocks' pitching staff posted a 2.66 ERA against the Keys while Winston-Salem's pitchers had a 2.61 ERA against the Blue Rocks. Wilmington hitters struck out 159 times and Winston-Salem hitters fanned 157 times in the season series. The Rocks left the yard eight times against the Dash, while Winston-Salem left the yard seven times against Wilmington this year. The Blue Rocks now head to Myrtle Beach for a three-game series. It will also be the final meeting of the year between the Blue Rocks and Pelicans.

THEY SAID IT, MANAGER DARRYL KENNEDY: "I thought [Luis] Santos did exactly what we needed him to do and that's get us deep in the ballgame. He pitched very good, made one mistake and unfortunately it was a three-run home run. We didn't get anything offensively today. Not much to it...[Bubba Starling] got over there quick and made a perfect throw and got the guy out. That was nice. I thought, defensively, it was a pretty good day. That double play we turned there to end the ninth was really nice, [too]...[We have] to go to Myrtle Beach and they've beat us all year. We've got to go down there and scratch and claw and get some wins. And, Salem, they're playing better than anyone right now...They won again today. This road trip is going to tell us a lot. That's for sure...I took [Raul Mondesi] out for disciplinary reasons...He didn't give the effort [on the groundout] that I think we demand as an organization. Whether you're in a pennant race or not, you've got to play the game the right way."

Today's Starters

WIL: LHP Sean Manaea (5-8, 3.25)

vs.

WS: RHP Sam Wolff (8-4, 2.93)

After the summer of 2012, many thought Sean Manaea would be the No. 1 overall pick in last June's draft. While pitching in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks in 2012, Manaea put together one of the most dominant pitching seasons the league had ever seen. He went 5-1 with a 1.21 ERA that summer, while throwing his fastball between 94 and 96 m.p.h. Manaea's 85 strikeouts set a modern-day Cape League record, eclipsing Josh Bard's 82 in 2005. Last spring at Indiana State, however, a series of unfortunate injuries led to a drop in velocity and, in turn, Manaea's draft stock falling. Manaea hurt his ankle and then his hip and his shoulder. Kansas City still drafted him 34th overall last June and signed him to a $3.55 million bonus. He had surgery after the draft to repair a torn hip labrum and did not pitch professionally in 2013. Manaea will make his 23rd start of the season on Tuesday against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Last time out, the talented southpaw threw a seven-inning complete-game shutout in game one of a doubleheader against the Frederick Keys at Frawley Stadium. Manaea was masterful that night and gave up just two hits and one walk while striking out seven. His longest outing of the season came on August 2, also against the Keys at Frawley. That night, Manaea tossed 7.1 shutout frames. He yielded just four hits and one walk while striking out seven. Manaea is 5-8 with a 3.25 ERA this season. He has fanned 121, walked 50 and given up 89 hits in 102.1 innings pitched. Manaea's 121 strikeouts lare tied with Frederick's Parker Bridwell for the Carolina League lead, while his 3.25 ERA ranks sixth among active CL pitchers.

Wilmington will face right-hander Sam Wolff for the third time this season on Friday. Wolff was a sixth-round draft pick in 2013 by the Texas Rangers out of the University of New Mexico. He was drafted three times prior to signing with Texas last June. In 2009, the L.A. Angels of Anaheim took him in the 42nd round, and in 2011, the Boston Red Sox picked him in the 47th round. Wolff also played at three different schools during his collegiate career. He began at the University of San Diego, then left for the College of Southern Nevada for a year before transferring to the University of New Mexico. Thus far, Wolff has been dominant as a pro. In 2013, he pitched at two levels in the Rangers system, posting a 3-0 record and a 1.10 ERA in 10 games for Rookie- Level Spokane before making 11 appearances for Low-A Hickory, not yielding a single earned run. This season, Wolff has perhaps been Myrtle Beach's best starter. He has posted an 8-4 record and a 2.93 ERA in 21 games (20 starts) while striking out 67 and walking 32. Wolff's best start was April 17 against Potomac, when he tossed seven frames, yielding just one run on four hits. Against the Blue Crew this year, Wolff has given up just two runs (one earned) on six hits in 10 innings pitched.

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