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Wilmington Blue Rocks

More Offensive Struggles Lead Wilmington to Seventh Straight Loss

August 1, 2015 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


WILMINGTON, DE - Another slow offensive night for the Wilmington Blue Rocks led them to their seventh consecutive loss, 3-1 to the Carolina Mudcats on Saturday night. The Rocks managed to score just one run for the second straight night, and they've scored just nine runs over their last five contests. With the loss, Wilmington is now 14-22 in the season's second half as they find themselves in last place in the Carolina League Northern Division.

After an easy two innings for starter Jakob Junis, he ran into trouble in the third. Johan Camargo walked to start the frame and then went first-to-third on a Reed Harper single. A softly hit groundball through the right side of the infield off the bat of Connor Lien tied the game at one and then a two-RBI double from Dustin Peterson gave the Mudcats all the runs they would need as they led 3-1.

The Rocks cracked the scoreboard first again on Saturday night. In the bottom of the first, a day after his 10-game hitting streak came to an end, Carlos Garcia got on base with a leadoff base hit. After Humberto Arteaga hustled out an infield single, a Mauricio Ramos fly ball moved Garcia up to third with just one out. Ryan O'Hearn then came to the plate and, for the second night in a row, drove in the first Blue Rocks run, this time with a sacrifice fly to give the Blue Crew an early 1-0 advantage.

Though he took a loss, Junis was much better in his second start back since taking paternal leave for the birth of his twins in Arizona. He turned in a quality start, going seven three-run frames. He allowed six hits and a walk while striking out five Mudcats. Junis was just out-battled by Carolina starter Brandon Barker who only lasted six innings, but gave up just one run on four hits and three walks. With his performance on Saturday night, Barker's ERA shrank to 2.91. Despite a good 3.34 ERA, Junis is now 4-8 at Advanced-A this season.

Wilmington and Carolina wrap-up this three-game set on Sunday evening as the Rocks will look to salvage a game from the 'Cats. Pedro Fernandez will make his first start with the Blue Rocks. During his time at Low-A Lexington, Fernandez was 6-2 with a 3.13 ERA, while in 58 career appearances he is posting a good 3.03 ERA. The Mudcats counter with Andrew Thurman who is 4-3 with a 3.35 ERA. First pitch from Frawley Stadium is scheduled for 5:05 p.m.

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Ryan O'Hearn had another productive night at the plate. A day after hitting his first homerun at Advanced-A, the Rocks' first baseman went 0-for-2, but he did get on base with a walk and, for the second night in a row, accounted for the only Blue Rocks run with his RBI sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first inning. Run production is something the Rocks' struggling offense desperately needs right now, and O'Hearn is a good guy to give that to them. With Low-A Lexington, he led the squad with 19 homers in 314 at-bats. He also led the Royals' Low-A team in RBIs (56), hits (87), and total bases (155) while posting a .277 average. O'Hearn was an eighth round draft pick by the Royals in 2014 out of Sam Houston State. He started his professional career with the Rookie-Level Idaho Falls Chukars, where he was named Pioneer League MVP and Idaho Falls Player of the Year after leading the short-season league in runs (61), hits (90), OPS (1.034), and slugging percentage (.590). He had the highest batting average (.361) of any Royals minor-leaguer in 2014.

The Rocks have been great this season when scoring first, but recently that has not been the case. Wilmington is still 10 games over .500 (36-26) when they crack the scoreboard first, but in their last 16 games in which they've scored before their opponent they are just 5-11. The direct cause for this trend may be the offense's struggles over the month of July, which seem to have carried into August. Wilmington hit just .231 as a team in July, while scoring just over three runs a game. This recent trend is particularly alarming for Wilmington, who struggles even more when their opponent is the first to score. The Rocks are just 16-28 when the other team reaches the scoreboard first.

A loss on Saturday meant the Blue Rocks extended their longest losing streak of the season to seven games. Prior to Friday's loss to Carolina, their longest gap without winning a ballgame was five, a streak that lasted from May 28-31 against Potomac and the Mudcats. With the loss, the Blue Crew has also ensured a loss in their seventh straight series dating back to their series against Lynchburg, which began on July 10. The Blue Crew is now 14-22 in the season's second-half, good for the worst record in the Carolina League during the half. They are a half game worse than the Salem Red Sox (15-22), while they find themselves 5.5 games behind the Lynchburg Hillcats, who currently hold the lead in the Northern Division.

On Saturday night there was full moon in Delaware, and Logan Moon was appropriately on his game. Moon only had one official at-bat, in which he got a single, but he also managed to extend his team-lead in walks by drawing three free passes. The outfielder now has 34 walks, eight more than the next closest Blue Rocks (Jack Lopez & Robert Pehl, 26). His .326 on-base percentage is good for fourth on the team behind just Pehl, Mauricio Ramos, and Carlos Garcia. Moon is hitting .313 in his last ten games, including 10 hits, five runs, and an RBI. His recent hot streak started with a 3-for-5 performance on July 25 against Lycnhburg. He came into that game in a 3-for-35 slump.

THEY SAID IT:

Manager Brian Buchanan

"(Jakob Junis) did a good job. He's been doing it all year. He's keeping us in games and giving us a chance to win. Right now we're in a lull offensively, so we'll work on that. He did a nice job, and that's all you can ask from your starter when he gives you seven innings and keeps us in the game."

"(Junis has) been here all year, and like I said, every time he goes out we have a chance to win. He's kind of been the constant all year. It's good to see out of him, and he did the same thing last year when he was with me in Lexington, and he's doing it this year. He knows how to pitch, and he's smart. I wouldn't call him the rock of the rotation, because there are four other guys that have some pretty good stuff, but they're all going to pull their load, and right now Junis is giving us a chance."

"I think this time of (year), especially in August (the off-days are more welcome). It's been a long year and you're always welcoming off-days. We've got a bunch in the month of August, so that will help us kind of catch our breath a little bit."

"We haven't had a lot of offensive (success) lately. We've got to start buckling down and putting better at-bats together. We had a chance, but for whatever reason, we can't get the big hit right now. We need to start doing that."

Shortstop Humberto Arteaga

"I was feeling really good at the plate (Saturday.) I was just looking for my pitch (and waited for it to come) and I got them."

"We have been playing desperate at the plate (with the struggles offensively.) We want to do too much instead of (letting the plays happen) and we are not taking out at bats one pitch at a time. We seem rushed while batting. I have only been here twenty days but I know that we can hit but it is just one of those (stretch of games.)"

"All of the off days (in August) are going to be good for us. It is the last month of the season and everybody starts to get tired so it will be good for us. We have four of the five Mondays off."

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