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Wilmington Blue Rocks

Three Late Runs Doom Rocks, Fall 5-2

August 13, 2016 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Salem, VA--The Wilmington Blue Rocks (43-75/16-33) knotted the game up against the Salem Red Sox (70-47/27-21) and flame-throwing starter Michael Kopech, but three late runs cracked the stalemate and helped in dropping the Rocks 5-2. A third inning single by Elier Hernandez extended his hitting streak to six games and while Samir Duenez did not collect a base knock he did drive in another run to give him 38 RBI on the year in just 49 games.

Both Blue Crew starter Corey Ray and Kopech kept the game scoreless through the first two frames before the Sox got to Ray in the third. After a walk and single to being the inning, the Sox dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move men to second and third with just one out. Danny Mars followed with a single to drive in both runs and bring in the first two runs of the game and a 2-0 Sox lead. The game remained at that score until the sixth when the Rocks finally got to Kopech.

The boys from Frawley did it without getting the ball out of the infield. Brian Bien worked a walk to start he inning and Carlos Diaz took a ball off of the body to get men at first and second without anybody out. Cody Jones used his speed and dropped down a bunt to load the bases and give the Rocks a chance to get back into the game while chasing Kopech. Austin Bailey grounded into a force out to short as the deficit was cut in half before Duenez tied the game with a groundout to first. However, Downes did the same thing in his at bat to end the threat.

The tie though was short lived as the Sox plated a run in the bottom of the sixth. Jake Newberry replaced Ray, but immediately gave up a leadoff double and Salem once again went to the sacrifice bunt to get a man at third with one out. It paid dividends one batter later when Deiner Lopez whacked a ground ball single to right and propel the Sox ahead 3-2. They upped their lead in the seventh thanks to a leadoff double plus a single to bring the score to 4-2, and then an error later in the frame brought home the fifth run of the game for Salem. The Blue Crew tried to rally, but got nowhere in the eighth and ninth to drop the second game of the series 5-2.

Newberry takes the loss for his first such occurrence on the season and drop to 3-1 while Bobby Poyner gets the win and moves to 3-1 despite a blown save. Jamie Callahan came on in the ninth and retired the side in order for his fifth save of the 2016 campaign. The boys from Frawley will try to salvage a win in the series finale late Sunday afternoon when RHP Glenn Sparkman (1-0, 4.50) on the mound against the Sox's LHP Matt Kent (8-6, 3.97). First pitch for that game is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. and fans wishing to listen to game can hear Matt Janus' call by tuning in to WGLS-GM 89.7 Rowan Radio or by going to the Rocks website at BlueRocks.com.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

One man who has swung the bat all season long since joining the Blue Rocks is Samir Duenez. The burly first basemen did not pick up a hit on Saturday night, but he did drive in one of the two runs for the Rocks. He went 0-for-4 on the night, driving in the first run for the Rocks with a groundball out in the seventh. The Venezuelan first basemen has driven in four runs in the two games of the series and five total over his last three games. Over the last seven games, he has driven in seven runs while hitting safely in 16 of his last 21 games with nine multi-hit games in that span. Since July 21, he is hitting 33-for-95 with a triple, eight doubles, 14 runs scored, 19 RBI, six walks, a hit by pitch and three stolen bases. During the streak he has bumped his average a total of 29 points from .274 to .303. Duenez has 87 RBI between his time with the Lexington Legends and the Blue Rocks, which is a double-digit lead over anybody else in the Kansas City Royals minor league organization.

Rocks manager Jamie Quirk had not been ejected through the first 118 games of the season, but that all changed in No. 119. In the bottom of the eighth inning, pitcher Kyle Kubat had appeared to everybody as if he had struck out Joseph Monge, including home plate umpire Brock Ballou. However, as Monge was walking back to the dugout, first base umpire Cody Clark ruled that Monge had tipped the ball for a foul instead of the third strike of the at bat and a strikeout. This brought Quirk out of the dugout and the first-year manager for the Blue Crew was ejected from the game for arguing balls and strikes. It was the latest in the season a Wilmington manager had been ejected for his first time in more than a decade.

The Rocks defense was not at its best on Saturday night. The D committed four errors in the game, which was the most miscues since back on July 23 when they did so in a 9-0 shutout at the hands of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans down in South Carolina. The four errors is the third-most in any game this season for the Blue Crew and the seventh time the Rocks have committed four or more errors on the year. The bad outing for the club comes on the heels of two straight games without making an error. The most consecutive games they have gone without an error is three, which they have done three times: April 13-15, June 23-25 and most recently August 3-5. The Blue Crew is last in the Carolina League in errors, committing 129 miscues on the year, three more than the seventh place team in the league the Carolina Mudcats.

It has not been a good year for the Rocks against the Salem Red Sox and Michael Kopech. After the 5-2 loss against the Sox on Saturday night, the Blue Crew is now 5-11 on the year against their southern opponent. Most of the damage has been done at LewisGale Field where the boys from Frawley are just 2-7. Kopech has been the biggest thorn in the side though to Rocks batters. Kopech has registered just a 1-0 record in his three starts against Wilmington, but he has a scintillating 1.13 ERA in 16 innings pitched. He was almost unhittable to begin the game on Saturday, striking out the first six batters he faced before Elier Hernadez began the third with a single. Kopech has given up just seven hits in 16 innings spanning the three starts and the two runs he ceded on Saturday were the first two runs that crossed the plate against him by the Rocks. The flame-throwing righty has also punched out an astounding 29 batters while walking just four as the Rocks are hitting .130 off of him and he has produced a 0.69 WHIP.

THEY SAID IT

ROCKS CATCHER CHAD JOHNSON

"When you see (Michael Kopech) for a third time it should make it a little easier in a way, because you know what his ball is going to do. You know what his off-speed is and you know how he's going to come after you. But he attacks with that fastball and it's a good pitch. It really is. We just have to make adjustments in our swing and we didn't do a great job with it."

"These guys are a great team. Their record shows that. To beat them you know you're going to have to win a close game, because they're too good to blow out. When it's tied or a one-run game late, you've got to make defensive plays in order to win. We didn't do that, but at the same time you have to credit them. They just seem to find a way to put the ball in play and good things are going to happen for you in this game when you do that."

"Yeah, Cory (Ray) has been working so hard. He's been struggling the last month, but he's battled every single time. His big thing is getting his stuff in the zone. We've been working really hard on that and he's improving with it. He's got a big arm. Everybody can see that. If he can locate his fastball he's going to be a really good pitcher. And if he keeps trusting his changeup he's going to be even better."

"Our bullpen has worked a lot of innings. Maybe they're getting a little bit tired. But at the same time, they love to compete and they want to get their innings. They've been great for us this year and they're going to keep fighting for us no matter what we need from them."

"Obviously Jamie (Quirk) has been with us all year. We're out there working our tails off and he's right there working with us helping us get better. And to see him have our backs like that and be all fired up, it gets you fired up. Or if it doesn't there's something wrong with you. It makes you excited to get back out there the next day and keep working with him. We are lucky to work with a guy like that."

"This game is hard. The season is long and it's a drain. It's hot and you'd be lying if you said it was easy to keep your concentration for three straight hours at this point of the season. But that's what being a professional is about and that's what we are learning to be able to fight through. We do our work to keep our bodies in shape but to keep your mind sharp is a whole different ballgame. I'm not going to beat around the bush, it isn't easy. But that's why they always say baseball is 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical."

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