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CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Blue Rocks Game Notes

July 7, 2014 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END: A rough outing for Miguel Almonte and a subpar day by the Blue Crew offense left Wilmington unable to complete a three-game sweep of Winston-Salem on Sunday as the Dash handed the Blue Rocks a 7-1 defeat. The loss ended Wilmington's four-game winning streak anddropped the Rocks back below .500 in the season's second half (8-9).

MELANCHOLY MIGUEL: Almonte (5-4, 4.50) suffered the loss for Wilmington after yielding six runs (five earned) on seven hits over 4.1 innings pitched. Since April 21, Miguel Almonte has gone at least five innings in every start but two. Both short outings have come at Winston-Salem against the Dash. On top of Sunday's rough outing, Almonte left after the fourth inning with elbow discomfort at Winston-Salem on June 10. Overall this season against the Dash, Almonte is 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA in three starts. He has punched out 10, walked 5 and allowed 14 hits in 14 innings pitched.

WINSTON-SALEM IN REARVIEW MIRROR: Sunday afternoon's game was the Blue Rocks' final contest in Winston-Salem this season. The Blue Crew finished 4-5 at BB&T Ballpark in 2014. The two clubs also had a game canceled due to weather on June 11. Wilmington opened the season with a pair of wins at BB&T Ballpark but dropped five of its next seven there. It is the first road venue that the Blue Rocks have wrapped up play at this season.

NEWCOMERS KNOW HOW TO MAKE A DEBUT: Mark Threlkeld and Ramon Torres have continued to impress during their brief tenures in Wilmington. On Sunday, Threlkeld went 1-for-3 with a walk while Torres went 1-for-4. Since joining the Blue Crew from Double-A Northwest Arkansas, Threlkeld is 5-for-11 with two runs and a walk. Torres is 4-for-14 with two runs, a triple, three RBIs and a walk since his promotion from Low-A Lexington. While playing for the Naturals, Threlkeld hit .253 with seven homers, 10 dou- bles, a triple and 26 RBIs. With the Legends, Torres batted .304 with five homers, 15 dou- bles, two triples and 25 RBIs in 73 games.

THE UTILITY MAN: When Cody Stubbs started in right field Sunday, he became the first Blue Rock this season to have appeared at three different positions in the field. Stubbs has played first base, in left field and in right field. He has also been the team's designated hitter this year, as well. Prior to this season, the slugger had not played any position in the field but first base as a professional. Stubbs is batting .197 when he plays first base, .375 when he plays left field and is 1-for-2 now as a right fielder. As the designated hitter, Stubbs is hitting .174. Overall, Stubbs is batting .227 this season with six doubles, four triples, 27 RBIs and a team-leading eight homers.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Glenn Sparkman took a no-hitter into the seventh inning on the Fourth of July, and on Monday he was named Carolina League Pitcher of the Week for the effort. Sparkman lost his bid for a no-no with one out in the seventh, but it was the only hit he allowed in a career-long seven-inning outing of a 5-0 Wilmington win. Sparkman set the tone early by fanning the first two batters he faced. He finished his night in similar fashion by punching out the final two hitters he opposed as well. In between, the right- hander worked five one-two-three innings. The only base runner he allowed over the first six innings came on Ramon Torres' one-out error in the third. Sparkman paid it little atten- tion, however, retiring the next two batters he faced. Joey DeMichele was the lone Winston- Salem batter to register a hit off the righty, lining a single into center with one down in the seventh. Sparkman finished his night with nine strikeouts and no walks. Sparkman took a no-hitter deeper into a game than any Blue Rocks pitcher this season. Luis Santos was the only other Wilmington hurler to make it through five frames without yielding a knock in 2014. Sparkman also turned in only the third start by a Blue Rocks pitcher not named Christian Binford that lasted at least seven innings. Binford did it five times on his own. Wilmington is now 7-1 in Sparkman's eight starts. Since shifting to the rotation Sparkman has posted a 2-1 mark and a 1.13 ERA. His only loss came when he yielded one run in six innings as the Hillcats no-hit the Blue Rocks on June 27.

THEY SAID IT, MANAGER DARRYL KENNEDY: "[Miguel Almonte] didn't have his good stuff. A lot of different arm angles and release points. He was battling his mechanics all day. He didn't have it today. It was a bad day for him. I thought he gutted through the first four innings and then the fifth inning it kind of caught up to him.It started in the first inning with the first hitter of the game when Bubba [Starling] goes for a ball he really shouldn't have gone for. You let the guy get a single and let's play from there. He ends up getting a triple and they score a run. With the throwing error, Jack [Lopez] fielded it and I don't think he had a grip on it and tried to throw it anyway. It wasn't one of our best games but...it's baseball and things like that are going to happen. The silver lining in all of this is we won 2-of-3 and took a series. That's what we've got to do. From here on out we need to win series. If, at the cost of winning a series, is playing one bad game, I'm going to take it just to win a series...The funny thing is, what a lot of people don't understand, is Winston-Salem is third in the league in pitching. It's not like we should be rolling over and crushing that team. They've got a very good pitching staff. Their team ERA is right behind ours. Normally, you're going to have close guys with those guys. Even though this is a hitter-friendly ballpark they do a very good job of pitching...

[Mark Threlkeld] takes very good ABs day in and day out. He comes to play. He plays hard, runs the bases hard and he's going to give you a good at-bat...I had Ramon [Torres] a couple of years ago in the AZL. I love what he brings on a daily basis. He brings a lot of energy, can steal a base, bunt and he can drive the ball as well. He plays a very good infield, no matter where you put him. He plays a very good shortstop, second base, third base and he gives us a lot of flexibility and depth to our infield."

Today's Starters

WIL: RHP Luis Santos (1-1, 7.06)

vs.

POT: RHP Ian Dickson (1-6, 6.11)

Right-hander Luis Santos makes his seventh Wilmington Blue Rocks start Monday night against Potomac. Last time out, he was excellent in a 5.2-inning outing that also came against the P-Nats. Santos allowed just one run on three hits that night and struck out two while issuing just one free pass. In his first start for the Blue Rocks, against the Frederick Keys on May 31, he took a no-hitter into the sixth and allowed two runs across six excellent frames. Santos began the campaign with Low-A Lexington and put up stel- lar numbers for the Legends prior to his promotion to the Blue Rocks. With Lexington, he was 4-1 with a 1.76 ERA in nine appear- ances (six starts). He struck out 34 and walked just five while yield- ing only 33 hits in 46 innings pitched. Santos was signed as a non- drafted free agent by the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 18, 2011. He spent 2011 with the Dominican Pirates and had a 2-1 record and 2.70 ERA. In 2012, Santos split time between the Dominican Pirates 1 and the Dominican Pirates 2. The six-foot hurler was traded from the Pirates organization to the Kansas City Royals organization on November 28, 2012. He was sent to the Royals along with lefty Luis Rico in exchange for right-hander Vin Mazzaro and first- baseman Clint Robinson. Santos made his North American debut in 2013, spending half of the year with Rookie-Level Burlington and half with Rookie-Level Idaho Falls. He posted a combined 7-1 record and 1.97 ERA between the two levels while striking out 47 and walking 14 in 59.1 innings pitched.

Ian Dickson has split the 2014 season between the bullpen and the starting rotation. He began the year as a reliever, making his first seven appearances out of the 'pen, before getting his first start on May 5 against the Frederick Keys. He spent a month in the rotation before returning to his role as a reliever on June 7. Mother Nature got him his next start just last week in Wilmington. When a lightning storm arrived after the top of the first inning, scheduled starter Brian Rauh was scrapped and Dixon got the ball. He allowed three runs on four hits in five solid frames. Despite suffering the setback, Dickson pitched well enough to earn himself another turn in the rotation. As a starter this year he is 1-3 with a 7.67 ERA. Out of the bullpen his earned run average is almost three full points lower at 4.85. He has been much better at home posting a 4.30 ERA as opposed to a 9.11 ERA on the road. It is his first season with the Nationals, who acquired him in an offseason trade with the Cubs for Big League reliever Henry Rodriguez. Chicago selected Dickson in the 35th round of the 2011 Draft out of Lafayette College in Easton, PA.

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