CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Blue Rocks Game Notes

June 8, 2007 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Wilmington Blue Rocks (27-32) Carolina League Affiliate of the Kansas City Royals vs. Winston-Salem Warthogs (32-28) Carolina League Affiliate of the Chicago White Sox

Game No. 60 -- Road Game No. 35 -- Ernie Shore Field -- Friday, June 8, 2007 -- 7:00 p.m.

FIVE IN A ROW: A lead and opportunities lost spelled further doom and gloom for the Wilmington Blue Rocks in a 5-2 setback at Ernie Shore Field on Thursday night against the Winston-Salem Warthogs. Julio Pimentel (3-2) allowed all five runs (four earned) for his second straight loss. Wilmington has lost five straight and eight of nine, dropping to five below .500 at 27-32. The Blue Rocks are now 0-4 at Ernie Shore Field this season. Jose Duarte reached base five times, going 3-for-3 with a pair of walks, raising his batting average up to a season-best .312 and his hitting streak to 11 games.

SOLID START: Duarte got Wilmington started with a lead-off triple to right field at the game's start. Marc Maddox would plate Duarte with an RBI groundout to third base for a 1-0 lead. The Blue Rocks would not lead again on the night.

THE DOWNFALL: Pimentel allowed a solo homer to All-Star catcher Cole Armstrong that tied the game at the start of the second inning, Armstrong's third against Wilmington this season. In the third, an errant throw by Valentino Arce allowed Robbie Hudson to reach at the start of the frame. Brandon Johnson followed with a single to left and a sac bunt by Paulo Orlando moved each runner into scoring position. A wild pitch by Pimentel scored Hudson from third and pushed Johnson to third base. All-Star outfielder Aaron Cunningham followed with an RBI single to right for a two-run inning and a 3-1 Wilmington deficit from which the Rocks would not recover. Pimentel went 6.2 innings, allowing 10 hits and one walk against three strikeouts.

OUT OF TOWN: Yet again, the Lynchburg Hillcats helped Wilmington out by blowing a 4-0 eighth-inning lead and losing at home to Salem, 5-4, keeping the Blue Rocks two games out in the Northern Division. But the Frederick Keys earned a 5-2 win at Potomac to enter the race and draw within a half-game of the Blue Rocks. None of the four teams in the Northern Division boast a .500 or better record, with Lynchburg topping the division at 28-29.

LEAVING ‘EM ON: Wilmington blew a series of opportunities on the night, stranding men in scoring position in five straight innings from the third through the seventh. On the night, the Blue Rocks would leave 10 men on base, including eight in scoring position. With a heavy diet of off-speed pitches, lefty starter Clayton Richard (5-2) went seven innings and allowed eight hits, two runs (one earned), three walks and struck out five.

END GAME: A pair were left in the ninth when the tying run was twice brought to the plate, and both times failed to add another tally. Winston-Salem's John Wesley earned a strikeout of Marc Maddox and got Wilver Perez to ground out to the mound, leaving men at second and third for his second save. Wesley worked a pair of scoreless frames and struck out three men while walking one.

STREAK OVER: Catcher Kiel Thibault, who entered with a personal seasonbest seven-game hitting streak, finished the night 0-for-4 with a strikeout.

HEY NOW, YOU'RE AN ALL-STAR: Wilmington tied with Salem to pace the Carolina League with a league-high five representatives among the CL's best that will take on their California League counterparts in the All-Star Game on June 19 in Stockton, CA, the league announced yesterday. Wilmington third baseman Mario Lisson was selected as a starter in the game. Joining Lisson on the team voted upon by league general managers, field managers and media will be center fielder Jose Duarte (selected as an outfield reserve), left-handed pitchers Rowdy Hardy and Gilbert De La Vara, and right-hander Julio Pimentel.

Tonight's Probables

WIL: LHP Matt Campbell (4-2, 3.47) w/Low-A Burlington vs. W-S: LHP Ryan Rodriguez (3-3, 4.70)

THE CALVALRY ARRIVES: The Blue Rocks own a 6.15 team ERA during their five-game losing streak. Tonight, help comes from below as lefty Matt Campbell makes his Blue Rocks debut. Campbell joins the Blue Crew from Low-A Burlington (MWL) where he went 4-2 with a 3.47 ERA over 11 games and six starts. The power lefty, who sported 41 strikeouts against 11 walks in his 46.2 innings pitched, won each of his last three starts for the Bees. Campbell was a first-round pick (29th overall) in the 2004 Draft. His missed all of last season following shoulder surgery.

Winston-Salem answers with another southpaw, Ryan Rodriguez. A fourth-round pick of the White Sox in 2002, this marks the third year for Rodriguez with Winston-Salem. Injuries have slowed his development, with an arm injury knocking him out for the entire 2003 season. The Keller High School (TX) product led the CL in wins (13) in 2005. However, a promotion to Double-A to start 2006 did not turn out well. Rodriguez went 4-8 with a 5.40 ERA in 18 games and starts as the Southern League hit .301 off him. Demoted to the CL, Rodriguez finished 2006 with a 5.57 ERA and 1-2 showing over six starts as a ‘Hog.

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