CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Dwyer Does In Potomac

Published on June 3, 2010 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Wilmington, DE - For a time on Thursday night it appeared as though Chris Dwyer's most dominant start of the season might go for not. The Rocks trailed the Potomac Nationals 2-0 entering the home fifth, but one swing of the bat changed everything, as the Blue Crew plated three in the inning and went on to a 4-3 win at Frawley Stadium.

Rey Navarro opened the fifth when he lined a pitch off Potomac pitcher A.J. Morris' leg. The ball bounced away from the right-hander, who tracked it down in time to throw to first. But his toss to the bag was high and Navarro reached on Morris' error. More importantly, the pitcher, who had not allowed a hit to that point, went to one knee behind the mound due to the ensuing pain. He was eventually forced to exit the game without throwing another pitch.

Wilmington, which seemed a tad puzzled by Morris, had little trouble with left-handed reliever Patrick McCoy.

After McCoy retired the first two men he faced, Adrian Ortiz tapped one softly on the ground toward short. He used his speed to beat Jose Lozada's throw to first. The infield single kept the inning alive, which allowed Nick Francis' one-hopper off the wall in dead-center field to plate a pair. Eric Hosmer followed with a liner into left on the very next pitch that scored Francis and gave Wilmington the lead for good.

No one was happier than Dwyer (3-3), who suddenly was in line for the win. He certainly deserved it, as the left-hander struck out a career-high nine batters. He allowed only a pair of unearned tallies in the fourth.

Dwyer, who faced the minimum over the first three frames, walked back-to-back men with one out. After Michael Burgess was retired on a fly ball to the warning track in center, Dwyer appeared to escape the inning unscathed when induced a bouncer right to third baseman Jason Taylor. But Taylor mishandled the ball, allowing a run to come across and keeping the inning alive. Robbie Jacobsen followed with Potomac's first hit of the night, an RBI single into left.

That was all the P-Nats could muster against Dwyer however. The southpaw opened his start by whiffing two of the first three batters he faced, and finished it off by striking out the side in the sixth. He allowed two hits total and walked three.

Wilmington moved across a critical insurance run in the sixth. Jamie Romak reached on an infield single, went to second on an error by the third baseman Lozada, advanced to third on a fielder's choice grounder and scored on Navarro's sacrifice fly to shallow left.

The tally proved critical when Potomac plated a run off reliever Buddy Baumann in the seventh. The left-hander retired the first two men he faced, but allowed Lozada to reach on a bunt-single. He then uncorked a pair of wild pitches which moved Lozada to third, allowing him to score on Steve Lombardozzi's soft liner to center. A walk moved the tying run into scoring position, but Baumann escaped further damage when he fanned Derek Norris.

Barry Bowden entered in the eighth, and mowed the P-Nats down, retiring all six batters he faced. The effort was good for Bowden's team-leading sixth save of the season.

The Rocks host Potomac again on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. Wilmington will send left-hander Ivor Hodgson (2-4, 5.82) to the mound, while the P-Nats are slated to counter with right-hander Patrick Lehman (3-1, 4.97). There will be a post-game fireworks show courtesy of Planet Fitness. For tickets call 302-888-BLUE.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

Jamie Romak's infield single in the sixth extended his hitting streak to 11 games. That ties him with Eric Hosmer for the longest stretch of the season for any Blue Rock. Romak has hit .436 (17-for-39) during the streak.

Jason Taylor played a solid third base over the season's first 19 games, as the former second round pick committed only two errors over that stretch. He has struggled since returning from the disabled list though, committing six defensive miscues over his last nine games.

The Blue Rocks are now a Carolina League best 12-6 in one-run games. The Blue Crew has taken nine of its last 12 such contests.

Wilmington, which went just 8-for-60 with runners in scoring position over its last eight games, came through in the clutch spots on Thursday. The Rocks went 3-for-7 with runners on second or third in their 4-3 victory. All three of the hits came in the fifth frame.

The Wilmington win, coupled with Frederick's victory over the Lynchburg Hillcats, forged a three-way tie for second place in the CL North. It is the second such tie in the last three days. All three teams are seven games back of the first-place Keys with 16 games left in the half.

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Carolina League Stories from June 3, 2010


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