NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Rocks Run Empty, Get Shutout 11-0

July 18, 2016 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Wilmington, DE- The Wilmington Blue Rocks (34-60/7-18) gave up three more home runs including a three run shot to Taylor Murphy as the Lynchburg Hillcats (60-33/15-8) blasted their way over the Rocks by an 11-0 final. Elier Hernandez picked up a pair of base knocks for the third time in his last four games and Robert Pehl pitched a scoreless ninth inning in the shutout.

It was Foster Griffin's turn out on the mound and after an easy first inning, the lefty got into trouble in the second. He started the frame by issuing a walk and after picking up a strikeout, he ceded a single to Luigi Rodriguez before leaving a 2-2 pitch up to Taylor who deposited it over both walls in right for a three run homer and a 3-0 Hillcats lead. That extended to 5-0 in the fifth when a sacrifice fly by Anthony Santander chased Griffin and brought in reliever Todd Eaton who was greeted by an RBI double by Bobby Bradley.

The Hillcats proceeded to score two more runs in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, eventually settling down to an 11-0 advantage. Paul Hendrix was the cause of both runs in the sixth frame when he battled to a 3-2 count before getting an elevated fastball and sending it over the wall in center for a two run blast. Bradley highlighted his four-hit game with a solo dinger in the seventh inning and ended the night with three total RBI. Pehl came on in the ninth inning and although he walked the first man he faced, he induced a groundout, a flyout and another groundout to escape the inning without any damage.

The Rocks could not solve the Hillcats' starter Luis Lugo who went seven scoreless innings while striking out 10 to move to 6-3 on the year. Griffin gets saddled with the loss and drops to 2-6 on the year while allowing five runs in 4.1 innings. The Blue Crew and Hillcats wrap-up their series on Tuesday morning in a Camp Day game with first pitch coming at 11:05 a.m. The Rocks will send RHP Zach Lovvorn (1-11, 3.48) against LHP Justus Sheffield (6-4, 3.81). Fans that want to head out to Frawley and check out the game can get their tickets at the Blue Rocks ticket office (302-888-BLUE) or on BlueRocks.com. Those interested in listening to the game can catch all the action on WGLS-FM 89.7 or on the TuneIn App.

Pebbles of Knowledge

The Rocks have had trouble all season against the Lynchburg Hillcats and most of the damage has been done with home runs. Coming into the series, the Rocks had allowed 14 home runs to the Hillcats, which was the highest mark against any team they had played all season long. That number is now at 23 after the Hillcats have launched nine home runs through the first three games of the four game set. Lynchburg hit five in the series opener, one last night and then another three on Monday evening. Anthony Santander has done the most damage, blasting a pair of home runs in the first game before adding a solo shot on Monday. The outfielder has driven in nine thus far in the series.

Despite the presence of a left-handed arm on the mound, Austin Bailey picked up another base knock on Monday night. The switch-hitter was inserted into the lineup in the nine-hole and had a successful night by going 1-for-3 with a single to bring his average up to .260. The second basement came into the game batting .118 against southpaws, but went 1-for-3 against two separate left-handed pitchers to boost his splits to .130 against lefties and .297 versus right-handed twirlers.

In the absence of Cody Jones, manager Jamie Quirk has shuffled a pair of batters into the leadoff spot, with the most recent being Carlos Diaz. Diaz responded by hustling for a double to leadoff the bottom of the first inning, but was stranded there. It was Diaz's third time batting at the top of the lineup and he is now 3-for-12 with a double, and a walk in his time pacing the offense. The other man filling in for the Rocks is Brian Bien. Bien's first time out as the leadoff man went poorly as he produced an 0-for-4 night, but since then has picked up a hit each time as the No. 1 batter. In his three other games Bien is 3-for-13 with a double, a run scored, two RBI and a stolen base.

With the game so out of hand, the Rocks needed to go to a position player to pitch the ninth inning. Manager Jamie Quirk turned to Robert Pehl for the third time this season. It was the fourth appearance for a position player out on the bump for the Blue Crew. Pehl has three and Brian Bien has appeared once (also against Lynchburg). Pehl did not allow a run for the second time. Pehl has appeared at six different positions this season, the most by any Blue Rock.

The Blue Rocks have struggled to win series of late. Wilmington has dropped six of its seven sets since the All-Star break, splitting the lone outlier against Winston-Salem. The last time the Rocks captured a series was June 16-19 in Carolina when the Blue Crew took four out of six from the Mudcats. On the season Wilmington has played 28 series, dropping 19, splitting a pair and winning just seven. The Rocks have also lost five of their six rubber matches on the campaign.

Elier (Hernandez) has been hitting the ball harder in the second half and finally was rewarded with a dinger on Friday. It was the outfielder's first home run since April 14 at Potomac, snapping a string of 80 straight games without a long ball. Hernandez also doubled in a run, going 2-for-4 with two extra-base hits and two RBI on the evening. He followed that effort up with two more hits and a run scored on Saturday. After walking and scoring a run on Sunday, Hernandez turned in his third two-hit performance in the last four games on Monday. The second-year Rock and top-30 prospect in the Royals organization, has also excelled in the field. He threw out a Hillcat trying to stretch a single into a double on Saturday just 24 hours after cutting down a Red Sox runner at the plate. Hernandez leads the Blue Rocks with six outfield assists in 2016.

THEY SAID IT

Blue Rocks Manager Jamie Quirk

"Well, their starter (Luis Lugo) had all of his pitches going (on Monday) from the get-go, and it made things difficult for us. He did a good job with the fastball and was hitting his corners and was using his breaking stuff to keep us off balanced. He was pitching tonight and used some good breaking stuff at different speeds and it just seemed like we were always battling from behind in counts. He did not make it easy for us, but he pitched good and aggressive and we didn't have an answer."

"We just left the ball up a little bit too much tonight. I thought Foster (Griffin) was pretty good out on the mound. That is a good hitting team over there he made one mistake early and the kid (Taylor Murphy) put a good swing on it and it put us behind early. But Foster battled after that tough second inning and I like the way he responded in the third. That double play (the strike out and throw out double play) was huge and I thought we would get a big boost from it. That was a big growing moment to come back and strike the next guy out, but unfortunately we couldn't get going against them."

"With (Elier) Hernandez it is just the result of him putting in the work in the cages with Nuney (hitting coach Abraham O' Nunez). He got off to a slow start this year and sometimes guys can't shake that early season slump and that's what happened with him. This game is all about confidence, but he has worked hard and he's putting in the time in the cage and he's more confident at the plate lately and it's showing up. He picked up another couple of hits Monday night, and baseball is a funny game. That guy drops the popup in Salem and he hits a home run next pitch and now he's been picking up hits left and right since then, but it's not just luck. He's getting rewarded for hard work and that's what you're seeing." ------=_20160718230700000000_16103


• Discuss this story on the Carolina League message board...

Carolina League Stories from July 18, 2016


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.

Other Recent Wilmington Blue Rocks Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central