CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Blue Rocks Game Notes

Published on May 18, 2012 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


PITCHER'S PARADISE: Two prospect pitchers in Yordano Ventura and J.R. Graham clashed at City Stadium on Thursday night. To nobody's surprise, the game was taut throughout as Ventura (2-3) and the Wilmington Blue Rocks prevailed by the slimmest of margins over the Lynchburg Hillcats (22-16), 2-1. To the surprise of some, the game had its share of fireworks including the second ejection in as many nights for Blue Rocks manager Vance Wilson.

HEAVE-HO: Vance Wilson's ejection was his third of the season. The team is 2-1 in those games. He was tossed by home plate umpire John Bacon last night before the start of the fourth inning. The night before, Wilson and veteran pitching coach Steve Luebber were ejected by Bacon for two separate incidents. That marked the first ejection for Luebber as a member of the Blue Rocks' coaching staff. He has been with the team since 2007. Wilson was also sent to the clubhouse on April 15 at home against Frederick courtesy of Lawrence Reeves. Bacon and Ben Leake are scheduled to umpire this weekend's series.

REGRESSION TO THE MEAN: Through his first six Carolina League starts, 20-year-old Yordano Ventura was 0-3 with a 4.10 ERA and .269 batting average against. In his last two nods, he is 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA and a .119 batting average against. His efforts have lowered his season-long ERA to 2.97, the seventh-best mark in the loop.

A CUTH BELOW: Cheslor Cuthbert batted fifth in the lineup. It marked the first time he hit anywhere other than the three-hole as a Blue Rock. The league's youngest position player mostly batted fifth en route to top-five prospect status last season with Low-A Kane County. He went 1-for-4 and scored a run on Thursday. He hit .220/.310/.283 in 33 games as the three-hole bat.

'CAT CHAT: While the Blue Rocks are just 3-4 against the first-place Hillcats, the rest of the Northern Division owns a 2-9 record against Atlanta's CL satellite. In their final first-half meeting with the first-place Hillcats, the Blue Rocks' win drew them within 5.5 games of the Northern Division's penthouse residents. The teams do not meet again until June 28.

ON THE CHASE: Chase Boruff logged his first save since Aug. 29, 2011. He has not allowed a run over his last five outings and 8.1 innings. In that time, he has allowed just five hits (.172 BAA), no walks and has struck out nine.

CLOSE CALLS: The Blue Rocks played their league-high 17th one-run game of the season. They are 6-11 in such affairs. That means 44% of the team's games and 35% of its wins have come by a single score.

IT IS HIGH, IT IS FAR, IT IS GONE: Wilmington's pitching staff has allowed a homer in a season-long five straight games. Opponents have outhomered the Blue Crew 32-19.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE: Jamie Romak, a man who played for both the Hillcats and the Blue Rocks, was traded by the Royals yesterday to the St. Louis Cardinals for cash considerations...He had been with Triple-A Omaha..He was drafted by the Braves, Lynchburg's current parent club, but played with Lynchburg under the Pirates' umbrella before shifting to Kansas City's farm...The Blue Rocks improved to 3-0 when Juan Graterol catches...With two errors last night, Lynchburg third baseman Edward Salcedo has made a team-high 14 miscues on the year, the most by any CL third bagger.

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Carolina League Stories from May 18, 2012


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