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Blue Rocks Game Notes

June 21, 2007 - Carolina League (CarL1) - Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Frederick Keys (32-37, 0-0) Carolina League Affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles vs. Wilmington Blue Rocks (30-38, 0-0) Carolina League Affiliate of the Kansas City Royals

Game No. 69 -- Home Game No. 29 -- Frawley Stadium -- Thursday, June 21, 2007 -- 7:05 p.m.

A FIRST HALF TO FORGET: A night after being eliminated from the playoff chase, the Wilmington Blue Rocks managed just two base hits en route to dropping their first-half finale to the Winston-Salem Warthogs at Frawley Stadium on Sunday afternoon, 5-2. With the loss, the Rocks concluded the season's first half with a 30-38 record, losing 14 of their last 18 ballgames. The 30 wins are tied for the thirdworst total of any half in team history and the second-worst first-half total ever. Despite posting one of the all-time worst half showings in franchise history, the Blue Rocks finished in second place in the Northern Division, just 1.5 games out.

HEXAGONAL STRUGGLES: The Blue Rocks used a season-high six pitchers to navigate through a rough afternoon on Sunday. Dan Cortes (0-4) got the start and went the first two innings. Having not seen the mound in over two weeks due to a personal leave of absence, the 20-year-old Pomona, CA native issued a pair of walks and uncorked a wild pitch to contribute to a two-run Warthogs' first inning.

CLARK IS SUPERMAN!: Blue Rock catcher Cody Clark extended his personal season-long hitting streak to nine games with a two-out single in the seventh on Sunday. Conversely, first baseman Miguel Vega's personal-best six-game streak fell by the wayside following an 0-for-4 effort at the dish.

WHO IS THAT GUY?: Needing help at first base, the Blue Rocks have received help from outside the Royals system. Today, Kansas City acquired first baseman Brad McCann from the Florida Marlins organization. The older brother of Atlanta Braves All-Star catcher Brian McCann, the Royals received Brad in a trade for a "player to be named later". The older McCann, who played at Clemson, had just five hits in his last 34 at-bats with the Advanced-A Jupiter Hammerheads (FSL) and was hitting .246 with six homers and 21 RBIs. He had 42 strikeouts against just two walks. Wilmington's latest addition played briefly with the Carolina Mudcats in the Double-A Southern League in May, seeing time in 10 games from May 14-25. McCann went 5-for-20 at the higher level, with two homers and three RBIs. But he struck out nine times and was sent back to Jupiter. Previously considered a top prospect, McCann struggled with Jupiter in 2006 after being an All-Star in the South Atlantic League while playing for Greensboro in 2005.

ROUGH SHOWING: The good news about the 11th California/Carolina League All-Star Game on Tuesday in Stockton, CA is that a man who wore the Blue Rocks uniform went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored en route to earning team MVP honors and leading his league to victory. The bad news is -- that player wore the Blue Rocks colors in 2006. And Bubba Bell is still a member of the Boston Red Sox minor league system, playing under former Wilmington skipper Chad Epperson with the Lancaster JetHawks. Bell's efforts led the Cal League to a 10-5 win over the Carolina's best, thanks to three-run innings in the second and third. The All-Star game was long on offense and short on defense, with the teams combining for six errors, four by the Carolina Leaguers and two by Blue Rocks (Julio Pimentel & Mario Lisson each made a miscue). The Cal League avenged a 4-1 loss in last year's Midsummer Classic, although the Carolina League still leads the series, 5-4. Two games have ended in ties since the series' inception in 1996.

OF LOCAL NOTE: Jose Duarte came off the bench to play center field and went 0-for-2 with a strikeout in the game. In addition to his error, Lisson went 0-for-4 as the starting third baseman with a strikeout. Rowdy Hardy got the start and tossed a scoreless inning, working around a hit and a walk. Pimentel, thanks to his own error, allowed three unearned runs on three hits and one walk over an inning. Gilbert De La Vara threw a perfect inning of relief with a strikeout.

Tonight's Probables

WIL: RHP Blake Johnson (3-6, 4.78) vs. FRE: RHP David Hernandez (4-4, 4.37)

A NEW SEASON: Right-hander Blake Johnson starts against the Keys for the first time this season. The No. 17 prospect in the Royals system according to Baseball America, Johnson earned his first career save working behind Rowdy Hardy as a piggyback reliever in a 6-2 win at Frederick on April 24. Over his last six starts, Johnson has gone just 1-3 with a 7.09 ERA, allowing the opponent to hit .323 against him. Johnson has not won a home start in three tries since May 9 versus Lynchburg.

Right-hander David Hernandez throws for Frederick. In his first full pro season with Low-A Delmarva (SAL) in 2006, the former Consumnes Junior College (CA) star went 7-8 with a 4.15 ERA. A strikeout man, the 22-year-old hurler boasts 277 career K's in 257.0 pro innings. The Orioles selected Hernandez in the 16th round of the 2005 June Draft. Last time out, the league leader in strikeouts (76 in 70.0 IP) took a no-decision due to a rain delay in a 6-1 win over Wilmington on June 13. He allowed just one run on two hits and one walk with seven strikeouts over 4.2 innings.

Meet The Keys

MVP!: Frederick Keys shortstop Blake Davis drove in two runs and was named MVP for the Carolina League at Tuesday's All-Star Game against the Cal League's best in Stockton, CA. Closer Bob McCrory was also named among the league's best. McCrory retired the only two batters he faced in the game, and has since been promoted to Double-A. Ryan Finan leads the team in homers (6) and RBIs (35) including a .452 batting average and two dingers and eight RBIs in 10 games versus Wilmington.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING: Despite ranking last in the league in team batting average (.244) and runs scored (4/g) on the first half, Frederick won the first-half title in the Northern Division at 32-37. The Keys became the first team ever in Carolina League history to win a half title below the .500 mark. The half crown clinched a playoff spot for the 2005 champion and last year's runner-up.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Entering tonight, the Blue Rocks lead the alltime series against the Keys 147-141, including an 80-63 mark at Frawley Stadium. In their lone previous series at Frawley, Wilmington dropped three of four versus Frederick April 30-May 3, a series loss that sparked a season-best eight-game winning streak for the Rocks thereafter. Wilmington is 4-7 against the Keys in 2007.


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