CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Blue Rocks Game Notes - April 18, 2014

Published on April 18, 2014 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


MONDESI STAYS HOT: For the second consecutive day, Raul A. Mondesi hit a clutch triple that led directly to a Wilmington Blue Rocks win. Mondesi stepped to the plate in the top of the third inning with one out, runners at second and third and the Blue Crew down, 1-0. He proceeded to launch a triple off of the right field fence that gave the Rocks a 2-1 lead, one they would never relinquish in a 4-2 win Thursday over the Lynchburg Hillcats. The Rocks took two out of three from the Hillcats this week and improved to 7-7 on the season.

STARTING PITCHING LEADS THE WAY: With Dziedzic's excellent start Thursday, Wilmington has now received seven consecutive exceptional starts from its rotation. Over the past seven ballgames, the team's starting pitchers have allowed a combined five runs over 38.2 innings pitched. That is good for a 1.16 ERA. Dziedzic opened up the stretch himself by tossing six shutout innings last Friday and striking out seven. Christian Binford topped Dziedzic on Saturday and pitched seven scoreless frames while fanning 10. On Sunday, Daniel Stumpf threw 5.2 innings and allowed just one run while whiffing five. Sean Manaea delivered five shutout innings of his own Monday while also adding five punchouts. Miguel Almonte pitched six shutout innings in game one of Wednesday's doubleheader and struck out seven while yielding just one hit. In game two, Yender Caramo tossed four innings and let up three runs while striking out a pair.

OFF TO THE RACES: After stealing three more bases Thursday against Lynchburg, the Blue Rocks have now swiped 18 bags as a team this season, which is second in the Carolina League. What really stands out, though, is that not a single Wilmington base stealer has been thrown out; the Blue Crew is a perfect 18-for-18 on the basepaths. Terrance Gore and Jack Lopez currently lead the Rocks in stolen bases with four apiece. Raul A. Mondesi and Kenny Diekroeger both have three steals, tying them for second on the team, while Hunter Dozier, Bubba Starling, Zane Evans and Tyler Chism have all contributed one stolen base each. After stealing seven bases Thursday against the Rocks, Lynchburg now leads the Carolina League with 20 stolen bases.

WINNING CURES ALL: After beating Lynchburg on Thursday, Wilmington has now won back-to-back series for the first time since last August. The Blue Rocks won their final two series of the 2013 campaign, taking two out of three from both the Myrtle Beach Pelicans and the Winston-Salem Dash. The Blue Crew's 2014 schedule began with the same two opponents, but the Rocks split their opening series against the Dash and were swept by the Pelicans in their second series. Wilmington finally picked up its first series win of 2014 by taking three out of four from Winston-Salem at home before moving on to take two out of three from Lynchburg on the road.

BACK IN ACTION: Catcher Zane Evans was activated off of the disabled list prior to Thursday's first pitch and went 0-for-3 at the plate in his return to the lineup. Evans also walked and stole a base in the eighth inning, which helped Wilmington score a crucial insurance run. Evans had been sidelined since April 9, when Myrtle Beach third baseman Joey Gallo accidentally struck him in the back of the head with the follow through of his swing. In a corresponding roster move, catcher Beau Maggi was transferred to Rookie-Level Idaho Falls.

THEY SAID IT - DARRYL KENNEDY: "[Jonathan Dziedzic] had to work for this win, no doubt about it. That third inning, they had a lot of action going on. For him to keep them off the scoreboard there, that was huge. He didn't have his best stuff and it looked like he changed his game plan a little bit at the beginning and then settled in after that and started pitching a little better and mixing up speeds and using his off-speed [pitches]. The first couple of innings it looked like he was trying to establish the fastball a little too much and that got him out of rhythm...I think [Raul A. Mondesi] has pretty much been there all year for us. The biggest thing is now he's coming up with runners in scoring position. The bottom of the lineup did a good job of getting on for him and setting it up. He's pretty much been our hottest hitter all year and now he's just getting a chance to drive runners in...Our pitching, again, is keeping us in ballgames and giving us the chance to win. It's just a matter of time before our offense starts heating up a little bit. Hopefully we'll get to Myrtle [Beach] and the weather will be nice and our offense will start taking off." Upcoming Probable Starters and Schedule

WIL: Christian Binford (1-0, 0.00)

Christian Binford, the No. 10 prospect in the Kansas City Royals organization according to Baseball America, is best known for his pinpoint command while on the mound. After issuing three walks in each of his first three starts of 2013, Binford did not allow more than two free passes in a game the rest of the season. Binford has continued that trend in his first two outings of 2014, and has not yielded a walk in either of his two starts. In his first outing on April 5, Binford tossed five innings and allowed two unearned runs against the Winston-Salem Dash. However, it was his dominant second start against the Dash that really stood out.

On April 12 at Frawley Stadium, Binford pitched seven shutout innings and struck out ten, helping to lead the Blue Rocks to their second consecutive shutout victory -something the team had not accomplished since 2009. Binford only allowed two hits that night, as he picked up his first victory of the season. Despite being 6-foot-6, Binford is not a power pitcher and gets hitters out by locating his pitches well. His fastball generally sits between 88 and 93 miles-per-hour according to scouts. Binford was a 30th round draft pick in 2011 out of Mercersburg Academy. By signing with the Royals, he turned down an opportunity to play collegiately at the University of Virginia.

MB: LHP Luis Parra (1-0, 3.86)

The Texas Rangers signed Luis Parra in September of 2008 as a non-drafted free agent. All Parra has done since then is put up excellent numbers at every Minor League level he has pitched. Parra made his professional debut in 2009, posting a 3-1 record and a 2.63 ERA in 14 appearances (12 starts) for the DSL Rangers. After another successful season in the Dominican League in 2010, Parra moved to North America and pitched for the AZL Rangers in 2011 and 2012. Though he struggled in 2011 to the tune of a 5.32 ERA in 15 appearances (7 starts), he bounced back to go 5-6 with a 3.79 ERA in 13 starts there in 2012. Parra spent the 2013 season split between Low-A Hickory and Advanced-A Myrtle Beach. He posted a 5-6 record and a sparkling 2.68 ERA in 20 starts combined between the two levels. Friday will be Parra's fourth appearances of the 2014 season - and his second start. Parra made his first start of the season on April 8 against the Blue Rocks at Frawley Stadium. He tossed five innings in that ballgame and allowed three runs on three hits. All three of those runs scored on Bubba Starling 's opposite-field home run.

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