CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Blue Rocks Blanked in Series Finale

Published on June 2, 2010 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Kinston, NC - Despite eight hits and 11 baserunners in total, the Wilmington Blue Rocks (23-30) suffered a 2-0 blanking against the Kinston Indians (29-24) on Wednesday night. Three K-Tribers combined on the donut with prospect T.J. House (2-3) earning the win, while Cory Burns notched his sixth save. Blue Rocks starter Tim Melville (1-6) pitched well, allowing just one hit in five frames, but that knock was a two-run homer by Jason Kipnis in the opening inning. The rubber-match loss cost Wilmington the series. The Blue Rocks have lost eight consecutive such affairs.

The first inning set the tone with hits by Adrian Ortiz and Eric Hosmer nullified when each man was thrown out on second base by left fielder Lucas Montero attempting to leg out a double. The bottom half of the frame saw Karexon Sanchez earn a four-pitch walk. Kipnis then went opposite way to left for his sixth homer of the season.

Melville settled from there, retiring the last 13 men he faced. He struck out six and walked two. But his offense squandered many an opportunity.

Salvador Perez singled and Nick Francis doubled with two down in the second. Starter T.J. House (2-3) then got a sharp groundball out to first from Rey Navarro. In the third, Ortiz bunted for a one-out hit before Patrick Norris walked and Hosmer followed with a groundball double play to end the threat.

Jamie Romak began the fourth with a single to right, extending his hitting streak to 10 games. The next batter, Jason Taylor, swung at a 3-0 pitch and bounced into an around-the-horn double play. Perez singled thereafter, but was subsequently stranded. The fifth inning ended on a fly-ball double play off the bat of Ortiz with Montero throwing out Navarro at the plate to tie the Carolina League record for outfield assists in a game.

House allowed eight hits and a walk over those first five frames. Reliever Chris Jones tossed the next three including a seventh inning with the first two Blue Rocks reaching base. Taylor was grazed by a pitch and Perez reached on a Kipnis error only to see three consecutive Blue Rocks go down thereafter.

Wilmington has been shut out five times this season, and its latest such setback concludes its road trip at 2-4.

The Blue Rocks return to Frawley Stadium for a seven-game homestand starting Thursday night. The first of four against the Potomac Nationals will have Wilmington southpaw Chris Dwyer (2-3, 4.03) against right-hander A.J. Morris (1-2, 4.29) at 7:05 p.m. It will be 90s Night at Frawley and the first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a Blue Rocks backpack courtesy of Delaware Citizen Corps Council.

Also, every Thursday the Blue Rocks host a happy hour from 90 minutes before first pitch until game time. Fans can get $2 off each ticket purchased from 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. at the ticket windows. Cheap happy hour drink and appetizer specials are available.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

Jamie Romak singled and walked in extending his hitting streak to 10 games. He has hit .444 (16-for-37) during his string of success, lifting his overall contact clip by 46 points (.196-.242). Only Eric Hosmer has posted a longer hitting streak for the team this year when he opened the season with an 11-gamer.

The Blue Rocks have not won a rubber match since their first of the season on April 14 at Kinston. Tim Melville, also got the nod that day in the Blue Crew's lone shutout victory of the season, 1-0. Since that triumph, the Blue Rocks have lost eight straight rubber matches in compiling a 4-10-2 record in series play on the season.

Melville might have suffered a sixth straight losing decision, but over his last four starts the right-hander has posted a 2.92 ERA and .190 batting average against. In 24.2 innings of work, he has struck out 21 while walking five.

Kinston's Lucas Montero tied the CL record for outfield assists in a game with three. The feat has now been accomplished eight times in league history. It had most recently occurred on April 12, 2003 when Myrtle Beach's Carlos Duran turned the trick.

Adrian Ortiz singled twice for his third straight multi-hit game.

The Blue Rocks went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Over its last three series and nine games, the Blue Crew has hit .133 (8-for-60) with men at second and/or third.

Kinston's pitching staff leads the league with seven shutouts, including two against the Blue Rocks. No other CL squad has tossed more than four. Wilmington's five shutout losses trail only the seven suffered by Myrtle Beach for most in the loop.

Check out the Wilmington Blue Rocks Statistics

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Carolina League Stories from June 2, 2010


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