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CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Early Deficit Proves Too much in 8-6 Loss

April 25, 2010 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Winston-Salem, NC - Failed opportunities and stiff sticks from the opposition put the Wilmington Blue Rocks (8-9) in an early hole they could not climb out of as the Winston-Salem Dash (12-5) took a Sunday series finale, 8-6. While the Blue Rocks failed to complete a three-game sweep and saw a three-game winning streak end, they did secure their second series win of the season.

Twice the Blue Rocks saw one of their men gunned down at home plate. The first such situation came in the second when Eddie Prasch was done at the dish on a toss from left fielder Kenny Williams, Jr. to keep the game scoreless. In the bottom half of the inning, prospect right-hander Tim Melville (1-2) allowed five of the first seven batters to reach, including an RBI hit from Ozzie Lewis and a bases-loaded walk to Eduardo Escobar. Wilmington third baseman Jason Taylor helped out his starter though, snaring a liner off the bat of Jon Gilmore to halt the damage at 2-0 and leave the bases loaded.

Fernando Garcia began the third with a triple before three straight outs followed against Winston-Salem starter Nate Jones (2-1). In the next half inning, four out of five men reached with one out including a particularly scary moment when center fielder Justin Greene took a Melville fastball in the head. His batting helmet flew outside the batter's circle as he crumpled to his knees. After several minutes of examination from Dash athletic trainer Josh Fallin, Greene came to his feet and walked off under his own power, but left the game. Preliminary reports after the game indicated the ball caught a piece of his left check and ear flap. Greene suffered just some mild swelling and is not expected to miss much time.

On the next pitch, Brandon Short doubled to drive in the inning's second and third scores for a 5-0 hole. The hit extended Short's Carolina League-best hitting streak to 14 games. Melville muted the rally thereafter with an impressive putout of Escobar at first.

The Blue Crew finally cracked the scoreboard in the fourth, but did so in an inefficient manner. Jamie Romak walked and Taylor doubled to put men at second and third with nobody out. The Blue Rocks would score just one run. Jones whiffed Prasch and Juan Graterol plated Romak with a sacrifice fly to right for a 5-1 score. But Jones made a fluid field and shovel in one motion of a Juan Rivera bunt more than halfway to first to put out the shortstop by barely a step and end the inning.

The Dash chased Melville in the fourth on three straight one-out hits. Williams' double to center knocked in a run and ended the prospect's day. Manauris Baez entered with two men on and kept them there by retiring back-to-back batters.

Melville failed to get through the fourth inning for the third time in four starts. In 3.1 innings, he allowed six runs on nine hits and three walks. He struck out just one and hit the same batter, Greene, twice with a pitch.

The fifth frame saw another golden opportunity squandered by the Blue Crew. Garcia singled and Ortiz doubled to place men at second and third with nobody out. Again, the Blue Rocks would settle for one run. Patrick Norris' comebacker went for a base hit off Jones, scoring a run. Eric Hosmer hit the next pitch back to Jones as well, which ignited a rundown of Ortiz between third and home. While a tag nabbed Ortiz, heads-up baserunning saw Norris slip into third while Hosmer took second on the fielder's choice.

On the next pitch, the play of the game resulted in a very rare 3-1-2 inning-ending double play. Romak hit the ball to first where Seth Loman gloved, flipped to Jones at first and a snap throw to the plate cut down Norris to end the inning with the Rocks down, 6-2.

Loman bombed his team-leading fourth home run over the 25'-tall center-field wall in the sixth and a Williams single knocked in another tally for an 8-2 deficit. To Wilmington's credit, it did not back down.

A four-run seventh got the Blue Rocks to 8-6. Norris tripled in the first score, a wild pitch by reliever Santos Rodriguez ushered home the second and Prasch doubled in a pair to close out the scoring. Alas, it would be the closest Wilmington would get.

Against Kyle Bellamy in the eighth, the first two batters reached again as Rivera walked and Garcia took a pitch off his foot. Ortiz sacrificed them up before a pair of outs in succession ended the threat.

Winston-Salem right-hander Gregory Infante bolted down his first professional save with his staff's first 1-2-3 inning of the day in the ninth.

The six-game road trip now shifts to Salem, VA where the Blue Rocks will meet players from their one-time parent club, the Boston Red Sox. The series opener comes at 7:05 p.m. on Monday night with Wilmington southpaw Ivor Hodgson, Jr. (1-0, 3.68) facing fellow lefty Fabian Williamson (3-0, 1.20).

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

Eric Hosmer failed to collect a hit for just the second time in 17 games, but his walk made sure the prospect first baseman has reached safely with a hit or walk in every Blue Rocks game this season.

The Blue Rocks went just 3-for-15 (.200) with runners in scoring position.

Patrick Norris posted a 3-for-5 day including his team-leading third triple and two RBIs. Over his last four games, Norris has hit .471 (8-for-17) with four extra-base hits and seven RBIs. He has lifted his batting average by 66 points from .213-.279 since April 20.

Combined with Fernando Garcia's triple, the Blue Rocks own a league-best 10 three-baggers against a league-low four home runs.

Garcia and Adrian Ortiz each posted two hits in the series finale.

Eddie Prasch continues to sizzle. His 2-for-4 effort saw a double, two RBIs and a walk. Prasch has filled the DH role in each of the last three games since he was activated off the disabled list on Friday.

After entering the series hitting a league-worst .221, the Blue Rocks hit .364 (40-for-110) over the series to raise their team contact clip to .250.

By stranding two inherited runners, Manauris Baez continued a great run for the bullpen. The team's relievers have combined to leave 11 of 14 (79%) hand-me-down men on to begin the season.

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