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CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Blue Rocks Game Notes

June 22, 2007 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Frederick Keys (32-37, 0-1) Carolina League Affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles vs. Wilmington Blue Rocks (30-38, 1-0) Carolina League Affiliate of the Kansas City Royals

Game No. 70 -- Home Game No. 30 -- Frawley Stadium -- Friday, June 22, 2007 -- 7:05 p.m.

A STRONG START: Starter Blake Johnson tossed six one-hit innings as the Wilmington Blue Rocks defeated the Frederick Keys, 8-1, on Thursday night at Frawley Stadium in the opening game of the Carolina League's second half. The Wilmington right-hander won for the first time in five starts dating back to May 25, using 90 pitches to neutralize the first-half champions of the Northern Division. Johnson (4-6) and three relievers combined on Wilmington's first onehitter since July 28, 2005. Offensively, shortstop Chris McConnell busted out of a 1-for-10 slump with a homer, a triple and three RBIs and Brad McCann homered in his first Blue Rocks at-bat to power a 12-hit Wilmington attack.

ONE-HIT WONDER: Johnson retired the first nine batters in order and did not allow a hit until Arturo Rivas' lead-off single in the fourth. The Louisiana native struck out three and walked three, including a pair of batters with one out in the sixth. But, Johnson got Zach Dillon to line out to shortstop and then retired Pete Maestrales on strikes to strand both runners and end the frame. Rayner Oliveros pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, while David Humen and Patrick Green finished off the one-hitter. Humen allowed an unearned run without giving up a hit in the eighth and Green tossed a perfect ninth to put away the Keys.

LITTLE MAC: With the Rocks leading 1-0 and a man on in the second inning, Chris McConnell blasted a Derek Rodriguez offering over the left-field fence and into the Frederick bullpen. It was his first homer since joining the Rocks and just his second home run in 223 at-bats between Wilmington and Low-A Burlington. McConnell was at it again in the fourth, shooting a one-out RBI triple into the leftcenter field alley. He would finish the night 3-for-4, a double shy of the cycle.

BIG MAC: The Blue Rocks capped their scoring with Brad McCann's two-out opposite field solo blast in the bottom of the eighth. Pinch hitting for DH Jeremy Jirschele, McCann lifted Josh Potter's 1-0 offering over the right-field fence and gave the Rocks an 8-1 lead. It was McCann's first and only at-bat in his first game since being acquired via trade from the Florida Marlins.

TRIPLE MAC ATTACK: The homers by Chris McConnell and Brad McCann marked the fourth time this season that the Blue Rocks as a team have posted a multi-homer effort. The last occurrence was fully fueled by right fielder Brian McFall, who went deep twice at Winston-Salem on June 8.

GOODBYE SHUTOUT: The Keys broke up the shutout in the top of the eighth without the benefit of a base hit. Paul Winterling led off the frame with a walk against David Humen and scrambled to third when Miguel Vega made an errant throw to second after a slow roller by Travis Brown. Winterling scored on Arturo Rivas' groundout one batter later for a 7-1 game.

BUSTING OUT: Marc Maddox tied his season and career-high with a four-hit night against Frederick. The Mississippi native singled in four straight at-bats between the second and eighth innings, breaking a 0-for-13 slide.

WELCOME TO WILMINGTON: Playing in his first game with the Rocks since being received from Low-A Burlington on June 14, Jeremy Jirschele went 2-for-3 and scored two runs for the Blue Rocks. Jirschele is the son current Omaha Royals skipper Mike Jirschele, who managed the Rocks to the 1994 Carolina League Mills Cup championship.

Tonight's Probables

WIL: RHP Dan Cortes (0-4, 3.86) vs. FRE: LHP Carlos Perez (5-5, 4.71)

WINLESS: Right-hander Dan Cortes takes the ball in search of his first win in 10 starts and the team's first back-to-back wins this month. Cortes tossed just two innings, allowing two runs on one hit in taking a loss versus Winston-Salem on Sunday. The 20-year-old had been on the temporarily inactive list for personal reasons after taking a no-decision at Salem on June 2. Cortes' first two starts as a Blue Rock came against Frederick, and each resulted in a loss. Over 6.1 total innings versus the Keys, Cortes boasts a 7.11 ERA. His ERA against the rest of the league checks in at 3.24.

Frederick counters with southpaw Carlos Perez. On June 13, Perez dominated Wilmington with seven strikeouts over six two-hit innings to earn win in the Keys' 8-2 victory. That clutch performance wrapped up a doubleheader sweep of the Blue Rocks, and keyed Frederick to its first-half title finish. Perez has started just eight of his 13 games this season. As a starter, he has gone 3-4 with a 5.67 ERA. Red hot in recent time, over his last six outings (two starts), the 25-year-old has gone 4-1 with a 1.74 ERA.

Meet The Keys

MVP!: Frederick Keys shortstop Blake Davis drove in two runs and was named MVP for the Carolina League at Tuesday's All-Star Game against the Cal League's best in Stockton, CA. Closer Bob McCrory was also named a Carolina League All-Star. McCrory retired the only two batters he faced in the game, and has since been promoted to Double-A. Ryan Finan leads the team in homers (6) and RBIs (35) including a .438 batting average and two dingers and eight RBIs in 11 games versus Wilmington.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING: Despite ranking last in the league in team batting average (.244) and runs scored (4/g) on the first half, Frederick won the first-half title in the Northern Division at 32-37. The Keys became the first team ever in Carolina League history to win a half title below the .500 mark. The half crown clinched a playoff spot for the 2005 champion and last year's runner-up.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Entering tonight, the Blue Rocks lead the alltime series against the Keys 148-141, including an 81-63 mark at Frawley Stadium. In their lone previous series at Frawley, Wilmington dropped three of four versus Frederick April 30-May 3, a series loss that sparked a season-best eight-game winning streak for the Rocks thereafter. Wilmington is 5-7 against the Keys in 2007.

Check out the Wilmington Blue Rocks Statistics



Carolina League Stories from June 22, 2007


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