CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Blue Rocks Win Back-And-Forth Affair with Late Run against Nationals

Published on August 19, 2015 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


WILMINGTON, Del. - Down 4-1 at one point on Wednesday, the Blue Rocks rallied for a 7-6 victory over the Potomac Nationals at Frawley Stadium. The win pushed the Blue Crew's record to 56-66 on the season, and 18-34 in the second half. Wilmington enjoyed home runs from Cam Gallagher and Ryan O'Hearn, while Humberto Arteaga scored the decisive run in the eighth inning with the contest tied at 6.

Wilmington struck first in the bottom of the opening inning off of major league-rehabber David Carpenter. Carlos Garcia tripled to begin the frame, then came around on Jack Lopez's sacrifice fly. The Rocks could not push across any more scores, but they exited the inning with a 1-0 lead.

The Nationals put together a big inning against Pedro Fernandez in the top of the third to take the lead. Khayyan Norfork doubled with one out in the frame, then reached third base when Rafael Bautista bunted for a hit. With runners on the corners and one away, Narciso Mesa produced a base hit that scored Norfork, tying the game in the process. The next batter, Reed Johnson, cranked a three-run homer, his second long ball in as many days, to hand the P-Nats a 4-1 advantage.

The Blue Rocks regained the lead in the fourth with a four-run frame of their own. Gallagher led off the inning with a solo shot, his fifth home run of the season. Arteaga was next, and he was hit by a pitch, which prompted the ejection of pitcher Ian Dickson. With Justin Thomas in to replaced Dickson, the Blue Crew eventually put runners on second and third with two down. Lopez came up with some two-out magic by doubling in a pair to tie the game at four. Wilmington would take the lead when Robert Pehl chased Lopez home with a single, giving the Rocks a 5-4 edge.

Potomac pulled even in the top of the fifth. Norfork doubled to begin the inning, then Bautista followed with a single, setting up runners on the corners with nobody out. Two batters later, Johnson brought home the tying run with a ground out. The inning would conclude with the score knotted up at five.

The Nationals retook the lead in the seventh inning. With Yender Caramo into the ballgame, Norfork began the frame with a single. He worked his way to third base after two outs, and then raced home on a wild pitch by Caramo. The run gave Potomac a 6-5 lead after six-and-a-half innings.

O'Hearn tied the game very quickly for the Rocks. With one away in the bottom of the seventh, the first baseman blasted an opposite-field home run, his sixth since joining Wilmington. The Blue Crew could not push across any more in the frame, but the contest ended up tied at six following O'Hearn's long ball.

The Blue Rocks took a late lead in the bottom of the eighth. Arteaga walked to begin the inning, then Logan Moon bunted his way on base. After a sacrifice bunt by Dominique Taylor, Arteaga came home on a wild pitch, handing the Rocks a 7-6 lead.

Wilmington would make the lead stick, and the Rocks took the game by that 7-6 score. The Blue Rocks and Nationals wrap up their four-game series on Thursday at Frawley Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m., and fans can listen to the broadcast on 89.7 WGLS-FM.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

For the sixth time this season, the Wilmington offense had to go up against a major leaguer on Wednesday. David Carpenter pitched one inning for Potomac, giving up one run on an extra-base hit and a walk. The first time the Blue Crew faced a big leaguer was back on May 7 against Potomac when Casey Janssen made the start in game one of a split double-header. Janssen went just one inning, but got the Rocks to go down in order, striking out a single batter. The next major leaguer to pitch against the Rocks was Kevin Gausman, who appeared in a game for the Frederick Keys. Gausman threw three scoreless frames against Wilmington on June 6. They then faced Wei-Yin Chen, who also threw three innings for Frederick on June 20. Chen shut out the Blue Crew over three frames in that contest. Aaron Barrett pitched twice in three days against the Blue Rocks in early July at Potomac. Over two combined innings, Barrett yielded one unearned run and struck out four batters.

Ryan O'Hearn is beginning to adjust to life in the Carolina League. The 25th-ranked prospect in the Kansas City Royals organization, according to Baseball America, had just two extra-base hits and no homers in his first 12 Advanced-A games. He then hit his first home run as a Blue Rock on July 31 at Frawley Stadium against the Carolina Mudcats. That was the first of 11 extra-base hits from O'Hearn over his last 14 contests. The Dunedin, FL native hit his fifth dinger with Wilmington on Sunday at Potomac after knocking two out of the park on Saturday evening. His homer on Wednesday was his sixth since getting the call to the Carolina League, which already ties him for second on the club in the category behind only Mauricio Ramos. During his time with the Low-A Lexington Legends this season, he batted .277 in 81 games while leading the team in homeruns (19), RBIs (56), hits (87), and total bases (155). O'Hearn was an eighth round draft pick by the Royals in 2014 out of Sam Houston State. He started his professional career with the Rookie-Level Idaho Falls Chukars, where he was named Pioneer League MVP and Idaho Falls Player of the Year after leading the short-season league in runs (61), hits (90), OPS (1.034), and slugging percentage (.590). He had the highest batting average (.361) of any Royals minor-leaguer in 2014.

Wednesday was another productive night for Carlos Garcia. The Venezuelan native reached base three times against Potomac, and mixed a triple, a run scored, and a walk into his evening. Garcia is now 4-for-10 in the series versus the Nationals, as he accounted for three of Wilmington's seven total hits over the course of Tuesday's doubleheader. The switch-hitter has arguably been the best offensive player for the Rocks as of late. With his three-bagger on Wednesday, Garcia extended his hitting streak to seven games, during which time he is batting 10-for-23 (.435). Overall, Garcia is hitting to a .290 clip during his time with Wilmington. He leads the team in triples with seven, and is fifth on the club with 31 runs scored.

Another Blue Rock that enjoyed a productive night at the plate on Wednesday was Jack Lopez. The infielder finished 1-for-3 with three RBIs, one run, and a walk against Potomac. Wednesday's contest marked only the second time this season Lopez produced a trio of RBIs in a single game. He has once collected four in a contest, which came when Lopez hit a grand slam on June 20 at Frederick. The Puerto Rican native has been swinging a good bat lately, as he has recorded hits in three of his last four contests. During that stretch, Lopez is 5-for-16 (.313), including a home run, two doubles, four RBIs, and five runs scored.

THEY SAID IT:

Manager Brian Buchanan:

"(The offense) did a good job. They competed and that's what they need to do, day in and day out. Last night they were a little sluggish in both games. There wasn't much effort. Tonight was 100 percent better the way they went out and battled, had good at-bats. They're talented enough to where, if they do that, they're going to win some games."

"I did (know Ryan O'Hearn had opposite field power). I didn't know about him having it in this park but I knew he could hit it. That ball was hit well."

"(Pedro Fernandez) gave up a three-run homerun on a fastball that was up (to Reed Johnson). That could be a learning experience. If you make pitches like that they're going to hit them. (Johnson) is obviously an experienced hitter and a good hitter, but Fernandez did a nice job. It was much better than his previous outings. He kept the ball down, for the most part. He threw some decent sliders to keep them off-balance."

"It was good (to score off of David Carpenter. (Carlos) Garcia had a really good at-bat against him. He had that triple and then Jack (Lopez) came up and he threw him a fastball and did the only thing he could do with it. Scoring first is huge. They did a good job and came out ready to go."

"(Yender Caramo) has been throwing the ball well all year. It's tough for a pitcher to be a starter and then a piggyback and now he's in the 'pen. He's had a couple of different roles. I think when he wants to he can be really good. He's been doing a great job."

Infielder Jack Lopez:

"I knew (David Carpenter) was a big leaguer, so I just wanted to find something up in the zone and got one. It kind of ran in on me but I was able to get the sac fly to start the game off well."

"(The groundballs) keep us on our toes (in the field) whenever Yender (Caramo) comes out to the mound, and (Pedro Fernandez) too, we will get a lot of groundballs. They throw some pretty good heat and (Caramo) throws a good two-seam action. We both know that we have his back out there and even (Mauricio) Ramos and (Humberto) Arteaga."

"I guess (it is easier when a guy is struggling with command,) but whoever comes in has to throw more strikes. Still have to throw the ball to the plate so we still have to do our jobs. We have to find a way to get on. Find a way to get them over, find a way to get them in, to be on the right side of the game."

"Being more consistent (is what I am trying to accomplish.) Once I am more consistent I will be out of (Wilmington) but right now I am worried about helping my team win and carrying to the playoffs."

Check out the Wilmington Blue Rocks Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Carolina League Stories from August 19, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central