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Wilmington Blue Rocks

Gallagher's Bat Keys Another Late Rally and Sweep of Carolina

May 25, 2015 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


WILMINGTON, DE - The Blue Rocks celebrated Memorial Day at Frawley Stadium by completing their first series-sweep of the season and extending their current winning-streak to four games, a season-high, thanks to a 5-1 win over the Carolina Mudcats. The Rocks used another late rally to capture what was a come-from-behind victory. Cam Gallagher was the offensive standout for the second consecutive night, as the designated hitter went 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

The Rocks trailed 1-0 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. Carolina starter Blair Walters was cruising at that point, having given up only one hit through his first six innings of work. Walters ran into trouble, though, as he lost command and walked Jack Lopez on four pitches to start the inning. With Lopez running on the pitch, Robert Pehl lined a single into left as Lopez moved up two bases to make it runners on the corners for the Rocks. That single by Pehl would end Walters' day as Mike Nesseth replaced him out of the bullpen. Nesseth got a big out of Frank Schwindel as he lifted a pop-up into shallow right that was not able to score Lopez from third. The next batter, Logan Moon, then played some small ball and laid down a safety squeeze, which scored Lopez to tie the game. Then Gallagher stepped up and, after recording three doubles on Sunday night, he launched his first homerun of the season into the left field bullpen to give Wilmington a 3-1 lead. The Rocks added another run on an RBI single from Nessy Santiago scoring Dominique Taylor who singled and stole second in the previous at-bat. The Rocks batted around and finished the frame up 4-1.

Cody Reed was not as sharp as his last outing when he struck out 11 batters against the Winston-Salem Dash, but he kept his team in the game despite not having his best command. Reed made it through just five innings, allowing one run on four hits and two walks. Reed followed up his 11-strikeout performance by striking out just two batters on Monday. Reed left the game in line to lose, but Ashton Goudeau entered from the bullpen and held the game where it was for three innings. Goudeau, who made just his second appearance with Wilmington on Monday, allowed just one hit in his three frames of work. After the Rocks added an insurance run in the eighth on a run-scoring error, Robinson Yambati came in to shut the door and seal a 5-1 victory.

As Reed labored through five innings, the Mudcats were able to take the initial lead. In the second inning, Reed got a harmless groundout from Carlos Franco to start the frame, but then catcher Joe Odom stepped up and knocked a 3-1 pitch from Reed out of Frawley Stadium, over the wall behind the bullpen in left field. That was Odom's first homerun of the season, but it would be the only run of the game for the Mudcats who have now lost 10 games in a row, a league-high total.

The Rocks get to enjoy their Memorial Day Weekend a day late as they have a day off on Tuesday. Wilmington travels down to Woodbridge, Virginia to start a road trip that will see the Rocks play nine games in seven days, including two double-headers against the Potomac Nationals and the Mudcats. The Rocks and Nationals kick off their series on Wednesday evening. First pitch of game-one of the split double-header is scheduled for 5:05 p.m.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

Batting below the Mendoza-line seems like a distant memory for Cam Gallagher, despite the fact that that is the situation he was in entering play on Sunday. Gallagher seems to really be heating up, as he had another impressive day offensively, including the two-run go-ahead homer of Nesseth in the seventh. Gallagher ended the day 2-for-4 with that homer, two RBIs, and a run scored. Gallagher also had the only hit against Blair Walters through the first six innings of Monday's game. After a 3-for-4 night on Sunday, Gallagher now has his batting average up to .230 (it was .190 entering Sunday). Gallagher finished the Rocks' home stand 7-for-16 (.438) with the homerun, three doubles, six RBIs, and two runs scored.

Despite the fact that Cam Gallagher was not behind the plate on Monday, Rocks pitchers have not seemed to mind when Santiago Nessy is laying down the signs. Nessy has now caught four games for the Rocks since coming down from Double-A Northwest Arkansas, and the Wilmington pitching staff seems comfortable with their new catcher. In the four games Nessy has caught, Rocks' pitchers have given up just one earned run in each of the four contests. In 36.0 innings pitched, they are posting a 1.00 ERA with Nessy catching. With the win on Monday, the Rocks are now 4-0 in games caught by Nessy. He also picked up his first RBI as a Blue Rock when he singled in Dominique Taylor in the seventh.

The Rocks are now a season-high seven games over .500, but they're posting an even better record when playing at home. With the win on Monday, the Rocks are now 10-games over .500 (19-9) when playing on the Wilmington Riverfront, compared to 6-9 when away from the friendly confines. While the offense is actually hitting at a slightly better clip in road games this year, the pitchers have really been comfortable in the pitcher-friendly Frawley Stadium. Rocks pitchers are posting a 2.22 ERA as a staff when pitching at home, compared to their 3.47 ERA elsewhere. Rocks pitchers have given up well-less than a hit per inning at home (217 in 259.0 innings) compared to about a hit per inning (124 in 127.0 innings) on the road. Wilmington is holding opposing hitters to a .228 average at home, compared to .261 on the road.

With the four-game sweep of the Mudcats, the Rocks continue to dominate Carolina League South foes. The Rocks are now 14-6 against teams from the league's southern division. While Wilmington still has not faced the Salem Red Sox, they are currently 5-1 against Carolina, 5-2 against the Winston-Salem Dash, and 4-3 against Myrtle Beach, the team with the best overall record in the CL.

THEY SAID IT:

Manager Brian Buchanan

"I thought we swung the bats great today. We hit some balls hard that just couldn't find holes, and I think there in the seventh (inning), we had an opportunity to tie it up. (Logan) Moon had a great safety squeeze, and then (Cam) Gallagher came up with that big hit, and then (Santiago) Nessy with that two-out RBI. I think the line score (is misleading). I think we swung the bats better than (six hits)."

"I don't say anything (when balls are hit right to fielders). Just stay with the approach, and that's baseball. I think they understand it, that you're going to hit some balls hard and they're going to catch them. That's just the way it works."

"(Cody Reed) didn't have his best stuff, but he battled through five innings. We had to take him out because he had a long second (inning) with the pitch count. He probably could have gone more, but we had to take him out. He pitched okay, it wasn't his best outing, but...to get five innings out of guys who are a little erratic or (don't) have their best stuff is important."

Starting Pitcher Cody Reed

"I battled (in today's game) I didn't have my stuff like I have been having (in previous games) and I just had to battle with what I had. The one run I gave up was a solo home run but I was behind in the count and (Joe Odom) did what he was supposed to do, he took a good swing on it and got it out."

"(Frawley Stadium) is a pitchers park; the ball doesn't fly here at all. Those deep fly balls that are caught right at the wall are out of any other park around here. (The) pitchers park defiantly helps (towards our home record) and just having the home crowd around us."

"I am looking forward (to getting into the routine of starting) I have come out of the (bullpen) a couple of times and my first time doing (the piggybacking.) I kind have gotten used to it but now I am in my regular routine of starting and I enjoy doing that."

Designated Hitter Cam Gallagher

"I have been seeing (the ball) well, just been getting good pitches to hit and putting a good swing on it. Yesterday I went back to no batting gloves, which was something I did in high school. I tried it in (batting practice) and it felt good, it is just superstition I guess where it happened and I am going to keep rolling with it."

"The home crowd, just being at home (helps us play.) (Frawley Stadium) is kind of a hard park to drive the ball in, it is a pitchers park. We have great pitching staff and they have been doing a great job day in and day out giving us a chance to win every night."

"It is always good (to get the last win before an away trip.) We want to get the wins at home, we obviously want to get them on the road too, but at home there is a little more advantage. We are going to play some tough teams next week and a lot of games in a few days. I think we are ready, we have an off day tomorrow and will be ready (Wednesday.)"

"(The late inning offense) has been yearlong; it has kind of been our offense doesn't really come around until the sixth or seventh inning. It was our third time seeing (Mike Nesseth) we kind of got a good feel on him, and were just getting our pitches and driving the ball."

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