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Wilmington Blue Rocks

Rocks Snap Four-Game Losing Streak Behind Skoglund Gem

June 15, 2015 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


WILMINGTON, DE - Following a road trip that saw the Blue Rocks lose six of seven games, Wilmington got back in the win column on Monday night, defeating the Salem Red Sox 4-1. The Blue Crew improved to 35-29 on the season, while Salem dropped to 33-30. Eric Skoglund tossed seven strong innings, and Ramon Torres accounted for three of the four Wilmington runs of the night in a 1-for-4 effort. The win, coupled with losses by both Frederick and Lynchburg, got Wilmington's magic number to clinch a first-half division crown to three.

Skoglund cruised through seven frames for the Rocks on Monday, allowing only one unearned run on four hits, walking none and striking out eight. Salem starter Teddy Stankiewicz picked up his league-leading eighth loss of the season. He went six innings, yielding three runs (two earned) and nine hits, while striking out a single batter.

The Rocks got the scoring started in the bottom of the third inning with a pair of runs. After Dexter Kjerstad reached on an error by first baseman Sam Travis to begin the frame, Logan Moon singled to put runners on first and second with no outs. Carlos Garcia bunted the runners up a base, and then Torres plated them both with a double, giving Wilmington a 2-0 lead.

The Blue Crew added to their lead in the bottom of the sixth. Mauricio Ramos led off the frame with a triple, his second of the year. Cody Stubbs was next, and he lifted a fly ball to left that was deep enough to score the tagging Ramos. After another hit two batters later, a single by Jack Lopez, Stankiewicz got Cam Gallagher to ground out to end the frame at 3-0 Rocks.

Salem finally broke through against Skoglund in the top of the seventh inning. The first man up was Travis, and he singled. Two batters later, Skoglund tried to pick Travis off of first base, but the throw got away from Robert Pehl, and Travis reached third on the play. Wendell Rijo took advantage of the two-base error, as he followed with a sacrifice fly to bring Travis home with the first and only Red Sox run of the game.

Wilmington didn't waste any time getting the run back. In the bottom of the seventh, Moon walked with one out, and Garcia followed with a base hit that got Moon to third. Torres was the next batter, and he grounded into a fielder's choice that plated Moon, giving the Rocks a 4-1 edge and ending the scoring for the evening.

Wilmington and Salem continue their three-game series (the final one of the first half at Frawley Stadium) on Tuesday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m., and fans can listen to the broadcast on 89.7 WGLS-FM.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

Thanks to a two-RBI double from Ramon Torres with one out in the bottom of the third inning, the Blue Rocks' longest scoreless innings streak of the season came to a close. The offensive drought had reached 25.1 frames before the Torres double. The previous season-long streak of scoreless innings for Wilmington was 20, which stretched from May 11 to May 13 against both Lynchburg and Potomac. The streak also included back-to-back shutouts at the hands of the Salem Red Sox on Saturday and Sunday, giving the Rocks nine shutout losses in 2015. Wilmington was only shutout a total of eight times a season ago.

Despite the offensive struggles for Wilmington, Jack Lopez continues to hit in the month of June. After batting .230 in April and then following that up with a .171 average in May, Lopez has turned it around, batting .410 (16-for-39) in 12 games this month. Lopez has scored nine runs and knocked in three more during the month. He is also wreaking havoc on the base paths, as Lopez is 6-for-6 in stolen base attempts in June. He now has his overall average up to .241 with a homer, 12 RBIs, and an on-base percentage of .321. Lopez is currently tied for the team lead in walks at 18 with Logan Moon.

Eric Skoglund managed to get through seven frames yet again for the Blue Rocks, the fifth time he has done so this season. In four of those five games (including tonight), the lefty has gone exactly seven innings, with the lone outlier coming on May 29 at Potomac when he threw an eight-inning complete game (though he picked up the loss in that contest). Skoglund was the first Wilmington pitcher to go at least seven innings, doing so for the first time back on April 29 against Myrtle Beach. He is 3-1 in games where he completes at least seven this year. The Blue Rock pitcher with the most seven-inning games after Skoglund is Alec Mills, who has three such outings under his belt.

The Blue Rocks just got back from a seven-game road swing, during which they played four games against Winston-Salem and three against Salem. The road was not kind to Wilmington, as they lost six of seven during the trip, with the lone victory coming in game three against the Dash. The road has been a troublesome place for the Rocks in general this year, with their record standing at only 11-20 in games away from Frawley Stadium. The Blue Crew are a completely different team in the First State, however, as their 24-9 mark in Wilmington is the best home record in the entire league. The biggest difference between home and road this season has been the pitching. Wilmington hurlers are throwing to a 2.27 ERA in home contests, while that mark balloons to 3.73 away from Frawley. The offense has been better in Delaware as well, with Rocks batters owning a .262 average at home, compared to a .250 mark in away games.

THEY SAID IT:

Manager Brian Buchanan:

"(This was one of Eric Skoglund's) best starts, it is up there as one of them. He threw the ball well. He threw some good changeups and some sliders that he has been working on. He also controlled his fastball very well."

"(Eric Skoglund) had a blister so we scheduled (Luis Rico) behind him just in case if something happened early on in the game. (Skoglund) was fine the whole game, he felt it a little bit in the last few innings."

"I don't think (Eric Skoglund would have pitched into the eighth inning.) He got his work in and in last couple of innings he left his pitches up. He looked like he was getting a little bit tired so (seven innings) would have been it (even without the blister.)"

"(Luis Rico) was very good today, he came in and was aggressive with his fastballs and struck out the best hitter in the league (Sam Travis) with a real good slider."

"No (I don't think there is a mental reason with Rico's splits home and away.) (Frawley Stadium) is not a hitter friendly park. If you look at our stats, offensively, also they are probably a little lower here. Pitching is probably a little better but I have not seen the splits but 3.70 (ERA) is still pretty good."

"(It helps the offense) when the pitcher gets into a rhythm and not on the field very long, offensively it helps. It also helps us defensively when a pitcher is working fast and pitching strikes and the fielders don't fall asleep or get lazy."

"At this point we just need to handle our business. I don't think (these games) are must-wins but it's coming down to the point where every win counts. I guess you could say they are must wins but that is too much pressure to put on the guys, this game is too hard. I talked to them and told them to have fun and don't press, don't press for the game, let the game come to you. Tonight they swung the bats well and pitched very well."

"I have a theory (about why we are can score runs easier at home.) When they are playing here (at Frawley Stadium) it is a bigger park, we were preaching line drives. When we get on the road I think they try to do more than they are capable of, just because they want to get their power numbers up. Sometimes they get too aggressive on certain counts. When they come home they know the park and they know they need to hit line drives and keep the ball out of the air."

Starting Pitcher Eric Skoglund:

"I kind of changed my approach a little bit, honestly. My last three or four starts, I've been able to go deep in the game but, unfortunately, I've been getting hit a little bit in the sixth, seventh, and eighth inning. I tried to change my approach a little bit as a pitcher and establish the curveball a little bit earlier in the game so you have to respect all of my other pitches. I think that was a big part of (my success) tonight."

"(Having Luis Rico behind me did not affect me) at all. I always want to go as deep as I can. He was behind me, he did an unbelievable job to close out that game and I tip my cap to him."

"If you establish (your fastball) early in the game they have to respect it. (The credit) goes to Cam (Gallagher). He did an unbelievable job calling the game. I give him the credit."

"All of the catchers here are unbelievable. They've been doing a great job and there's no one that I like better than the other. Me and Cam just did a great job tonight and, yeah, I'm just glad we got that win."

"(I've been working slowly because) I'm just trying to separate each pitch. If I make a mistake pitch, I don't want to take that to the next pitch. That's what causes bad pitches and that's what those guys capitalize on. I'm just trying to slow it down, go at my pace; I'm the one with the ball so I'm in control of the game."

"The hitters did a great job tonight, the first inning through the last. They came out and competed and wanted to win and that's huge."

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Carolina League Stories from June 15, 2015


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