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Wilmington Blue Rocks

Blue Rocks Game Notes: August 27, 2014

August 28, 2014 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


ROCKS SHUT OUT TWICE: The Blue Rocks were shut out in both ends of Wednesday night's doubleheader against Potomac, with the Nationals taking each contest by a score of 3-0. Wilmington hitters managed just three hits combined between the two contests. With the pair of defeats, the Rocks fell to 29-34 in the second half and to 62-69 overall. They also dropped to 1.5 games behind Lynchburg and a half-game behind Frederick for the C.L. North Wild Card spot. Potomac clinched the C.L. North title with their victory in the opener.

BIG INNING BLUES: A lack off offense and one big inning by their opponent has plagued the Blue Rocks in each contest during their current four-game skid. On Monday in Salem, the Red Sox broke a 2-2 deadlock with a four-run seventh inning. In Tuesday's 3-1 loss to Potomac, a three-run fifth inning springboarded the P-Nats to victory. Estarlin Martinez provided a two-RBI double for Potomac in the fourth inning in Wednesday's nightcap. That was all the Nationals needed in a 3-0 win. In the nightcap, also a 3-0 loss to Potomac, John Wooten's two-run homer in the third provided the big blow. During Wilmington's four-game losing streak, Wilmington has scored a combined three runs on 16 hits. They have left a total of 20 men on base and have gone a combined 2-for-22 with runners in scoring position.

SOLID STARTS: Johnny Walter made his third spot start of the season - and his third career professional start - in Wednesday's nightcap against Potomac. Walter threw 4.2 innings in his longest outing as a pro. The righty yielded three runs on three hits while suf- fering a tough-luck defeat. Walter walked four and struck out six, which ties the career-high he set in a relief appearance on July 2 against Potomac. Walter is 0-2 with a 4.76 in his three starts this year and has posted a 5-1 and a 3.55 ERA as a reliever this year. Brooks Pounders made his second start since returning to the Blue Rocks in Wednesday's opener. The 6-foot- 5 righty gutted through 6.2 excellent frames, yielding three runs on seven hits. Pounders walked two, struck out seven and threw 96 pitches, 64 of them for strikes. In his first start with Wilmington this year, on August 22, he tossed five sterling frames and gave up two runs (one earned) on five hits and one walk. Pounders, who spent all of 2013 with Double-A Northwest Arkansas, is on the road to recovery after surgery late last year. On June 27, 2013, he threw a complete-game no-hitter, the first in Naturals history. Back in 2012, during his first stint in Wilmington, Pounders went 6-4 with a 4.32 ERA in 16 games (15 starts).

YEAR-END HONORS: The Carolina League announced on Thursday that Wilmington Blue Rocks pitcher Glenn Sparkman is the eight-team league's Pitcher of the Year. Sparkman's dominant season has seen him go 8-2 with a league-best 1.40 ERA in 28 appearances (17 starts). Also honored by the Carolina League was former Blue Rocks closer Mark Peterson, who was named to the league's year-end All-Star Team. Sparkman's numbers have been tremendous in virtually every category this year. The right-handed hurler has yielded just 88 hits, 23 runs (18 earned) and 22 walks while striking out 113 in 116 innings pitched. He leads the league with a .209 batting average against and is second in the circuit with a 0.95 WHIP. His best month of the campaign was July. In five starts, he went 3-0 with a 0.87 ERA. He gave up a mere 22 hits and three walks while striking out 28 in 31 innings pitched. Sparkman's dazzling July earned him the Carolina League's Player of the Month award. Peterson's honor comes thanks to his 1.33 ERA in 33 games as Wilmington's closer. The right-hander converted 22 of his 24 save tries. Despite a promotion to Double-A Northwest Arkansas on July 25, Peterson's 22 saves still lead the circuit.

STARS OF THE FALL: Three current Blue Rocks and three former Blue Rocks will suit up for the Peoria Javelinas this year in the Arizona Fall League. In all, twenty of MLB. com's top-100 prospects are scheduled to compete in the prestigious post-season league. Bubba Starling, Raul Mondesi and Miguel Almonte are the current Blue Rocks scheduled to compete. In 125 games for the Blue Crew this year, Starling is batting .220 with nine homers and 54 RBIs. Mondesi is hitting .217 with 14 doubles, 11 triples and eight homers in 103 games for Wilmington in 2014. Almonte has posted a 6-7 record and a 4.61 ERA in 22 games (21 starts) for the Blue Crew this season. Hunter Dozier, Sam Selman and Ali Williams will join the trio of current Blue Rocks in Arizona. Dozier and Williams began the campaign in Wilmington and have since been promoted to Double-A Northwest Arkansas. In 66 games for the Blue Crew this season, Dozier hit .295 with 18 doubles and four home runs. Williams turned in no record but had a sparkling 1.88 ERA in 12 relief appearances for the Rocks this season. Selman spent the entire 2013 campaign in Wilmington and went 11-9 with a 3.38 ERA in 27 starts. Vance Wilson, who currently manages the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals, will skipper the Javelinas. Wilson spent the 2012 and 2013 seasons at the helm in Wilmington.

THEY SAID IT, BENCH COACH JUSTIN GEMOLL: "[Our hitters] battled all night. You've got to tip your hat to their guys. They kept us off balance, they threw strikes and they kept the ball down. We hit a few balls hard right at guys, unfortunately. They did a good job of pounding the strike zone and we just didn't get anything to fall...Both [Brooks Pounders and Johnny Walter] in my opinion, pitched very well. They competed their tails off out there and they gave us a very good chance of winning those ballgames. They kept us in it and did a great job tonight...These guys have battled all year and that's what we're going to keep doing. We're going to keep battling, keep fighting, keep scratching and keep trying to win these ballgames. This is a fun time of year, especially when you've got something to play for. These guys, watching them all year, they're pretty resilient. They all want to win so they'll be out here ready to go tomorrow."

Today's Starters

WIL: LHP Jonathan Dziedzic (5-7, 2.65)

vs.

POT: LHP Hector Silvestre (1-2, 5.40)

Lefty Jonathan Dziedzic has been one of Wilmington's best starting pitchers in 2014. The southpaw takes the mound on Thursday for his 24th start of the campaign and will look to pick up win number six, which would be his first since May 24. Dziedzic has struck out 105 batters in 114 innings pitched this season, while his 2.65 ERA ranks third in the Carolina League, behind only teammate Glenn Sparkman (1.40) and Carolina's Ryan Merritt. (2.62) The crafty lefty has been better within the pitcher-friendly confines of Frawley Stadium than on the road. He is 3-4 with a miniscule 1.71 ERA in 10 starts at home and 2-3 with a 3.54 ERA in 13 outings on the road. Those spectacu- lar overall numbers earned Dziedzic a spot on the 2014 Carolina League All-Star Team. His most recent start came on August 23 in Salem. Dziedzic battled through some command problems early that night, but still managed to hurl five fantastic frames. He only gave up two runs on eight hits and three walks. His best month of the campaign was July. He had no record, but a sparkling 1.04 ERA in five starts. Dziedzic, who is Lamar University's all-time strikeouts leader, was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 13th Round of the 2013 Draft. He was also taken by the Boston Red Sox in the 37th round of the 2012 Draft, but elected to return to school. As a high school senior, Dziedzic threw a no-hitter.

Southpaw Hector Silvestre makes his sixth Advanced-A start of the year on Thursday for the Potomac Nationals. Silvestre is 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA for the P-Nats. He has given up 29 hits, walked two and struck out 17 in 23.1 innings pitched. The 6-foot-3 hurler has been significantly better away from Pfitzner Stadium. In three starts at home, he has allowed 11 runs on 19 hits in 12.2 innings pitched. In two starts on the road, he has yielded three runs on 10 hits in 10.2 frames. Lefties are batting .389 against Silvestre while righties are hitting .286. He began the 2014 campaign with Low-A Hagerstown where he posted somewhat better numbers. With the Suns, Silvestre was 6-7 with a 4.14 ERA in 18 starts. He had 49 strikeouts and 21 walks in 91.1 innings pitched. Silvestre also yielded 91 base knocks for the Suns. He made his North American debut in 2013 for the Gulf Coast League Nationals, where he posted a 7-0 record and a 1.82 ERA in 13 games (eight starts).He led the league in wins and ERA. Silvestre made one spot start for the P-Nats in 2012. He gave up five runs (one earned) on two hits in 3.2 innings pitched,The Washington Nationals signed Silvestre as a non- drafted free agent on January 5, 2011.

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