Rocks Go Silently in Series Opener against Potomac
April 20, 2015 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release
WILMINGTON, DE - Potomac's Nick Pivetta was brilliant on Monday, blanking the Rocks over seven innings, and leading the Nationals to victory at Frawley Stadium by a final of 3-1. Pivetta allowed only three hits and two walks while notching five strikeouts. A home run by catcher Spencer Kieboom got the offense started for the Nationals, as the Rocks fell to 6-5 on the season, ending their two game winning streak in the process.
Wilmington starter Jake Junis was the hard luck loser on Monday night. The Right-hander went six innings, yielding three runs on five hits with no walks, and struck out one batter. Junis drops to 1-2 on the season, to go along with a 5.06 ERA.
Kieboom produced the first run of the evening leading off the second inning. The Marietta, Georgia native took Junis deep for his first long ball of the year, putting Potomac in front 1-0. Junis would allow a double to first baseman John Wooten later in the frame, but would escape the second without further damage.
The Nationals pushed across two more in the next inning to give themselves a 3-0 lead. After shortstop Wilmer Difo doubled with one out and reached third base on a wild pitch, second baseman Khayyan Norfork was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners. Center fielder Isaac Ballou knocked in Difo with a sacrifice fly which also moved Norfork up to second, and then Kieboom would produce another run with a single that plated Norfork.
Both offenses would struggle mightily in the game's middle portion, as 19 batters in a row were put down between the two squads at one point. The streak began with Wilmington first baseman Frank Schwindel hitting into a fielder's choice to end the bottom of the third inning, and reached into the top of the seventh when reliever Andrew Edwards walked Wooten to begin the frame. The Blue Rocks went several innings themselves between baserunners, with right fielder Daniel Rockett walking with one out in the eighth inning to produce the first base runner since center fielder Bubba Starling walked with two down in the third.
Wilmington put together their first threat in the bottom of the eighth inning, and managed to cut into Potomac's lead. After left fielder Dominique Taylor struck out swinging to begin the frame, the Rocks loaded the bases with a walk and two singles. Starling would then drive in the only run of the night for the Blue Crew, coming through with an infield single to score Rockett, making the game 3-1. The rally would end when Schwindel followed with a double play to end the threat with the bases loaded.
The Blue Rocks went down in order in the bottom of the ninth, as reliever Dakota Bacus picked up his second save of the year. The Rocks will take on the Nationals on Tuesday in the second contest of their three game set. First pitch from Frawley Stadium is scheduled for 6:35 p.m., and fans can listen to the broadcast on 89.7 WGLS-FM. For ticket information, call 302-888-BLUE or visit BlueRocks.com.
PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:
Wilmington tied a season low with only one run scored on Monday. The one other time this year the Rocks only plated a single run was in a 9-1 loss during the season opener on April 9 at Myrtle Beach. The six hits Wilmington collected on Monday also tied a season low, matching their previous season-worst mark on April 17, when the Blue Crew lost to the Frederick Keys 6-4 at Frawley Stadium.
Ramon Torres had an impressive hitting streak come to an end on Sunday, but started a new one on Monday. The Wilmington second baseman began the season with an eight game hitting streak, during which he batted .333 with a double and six runs scored. That streak came to an end with his 0-for-4 performance Sunday afternoon. With a 3-for-4 night against the Nationals Monday, Torres begins anew, and has only produced one hitless game on the season.
Bubba Starling has gotten off to a roaring start in 2015. The Rocks center fielder went 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI on Monday, pushing his season average to .385, good for the top batting average in the Carolina League. In total, Starling has recorded two homeruns, three doubles, nine RBI's, and four runs scored in nine games thus far. He is 9-for-18 on the current homestand, which includes four infield hits in the last two contests.
The double play continues to plague the Blue Rocks, as they hit into their 12th twin killing in 11 games this season, which leads the Carolina League. That mark includes four double plays coming with the bases loaded. Mauricio Ramos and Frank Schwindel are tied for the team lead with three twin killings apiece. Schwindel hit into his third with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the eighth inning on Monday.
THEY SAID IT:
Manager Brian Buchanan:
"[Jakob Junis] was a different pitcher [from the fourth inning on]. He made some adjustments and was starting to get the ball down. That's one thing that you want to see a pitcher do. He didn't have his best stuff in the first couple of innings, to bare down and make an adjustment...was a positive for him. He knew what he was doing wrong and he made the adjustments. Those last three innings...he was a totally different pitcher."
"We work on [situational hitting] in [batting practice]. When you have a runner at third base with less than two outs, we try to get them to drive the ball away. That guy was playing on the line too, if he was playing normal depth it might have got through. You've just got to bare down in those situations and try to get a pitch to hit and drive it up the middle."
"[Nick Pivetta] was outstanding. These are the kind of games where you've got to battle and scrap and get a couple runs here and there but he did a really nice job. We saw him last year at Hagerstown and he pretty much did exactly the same thing. It's one of those games where you've just got to tip your hat. We were trying to be aggressive on the fastball and it didn't work out. He had everything working. He buried that curveball when he needed a strikeout and he'd throw a good pitch when he needed to get ahead."
Pitcher Jake Junis:
"I started being aggressive with my fastball. I was trying to get more tempo; I felt like I was kind of slow and standing up those first couple of innings and I was leaving some balls up. I kind of lost my command because things were out of whack. After that third inning I was really trying to focus on keeping the ball down and getting some groundballs. [Last week] from the get-go I had the extension on [the ball], I was keeping it down. I had my changeup and a decent curveball that day too. Next start, I've just got to get it from the get-go like I did there."
"I faced [Hagerstown] anywhere from three to five times last year and a lot of those guys came up. They have some good hitters. They were one of the best teams in the league last year. Give them credit, they know how to be disciplined at the plate. Seeing them a few times last year...gave me an idea of what to do tonight. I've just got to execute it better next time."
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Carolina League Stories from April 20, 2015
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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.
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