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CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Eigsti's grand slam highlights road rout

August 24, 2009 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Lynchburg, VA - Against the very team they are hoping to face in the first round of the Carolina League playoffs, the Wilmington Blue Rocks made an emphatic statement on Monday night, opening their four-game series against the Lynchburg Hillcats with a wire-to-wire 7-3 victory.

Wilmington's win came largely thanks to the longball. Ryan Eigsti struck the big blow for the Blue Crew in the fourth. With his team up, 2-0, and the bases loaded, Eigsti sent Bryan Morris' full count pitch over the left-field fence for his second career grand slam.

Eigsti's last salami came in 2008 as a Burlington Bee. Monday's blast was his second home run in the last seven days, and his third dinger of the season. It blew the game wide open, giving the Rocks a six-run advantage.

Mike Moustakas added a solo homer on the first pitch of the seventh inning. It was Moustakas' second in as many games since returning from the concussion-like symptoms that plagued him last week after taking a batted ball off the side of his head.

The Rocks other two scores came in the opening frame. Derrick Robinson started the game with a single, then stole second, and came home on Johnny Giavotella's line-drive hit up the middle. Giavotella went to third on two straight wild pitches by Morris (4-7), and then scored courtesy of Moustakas' run-scoring grounder to second.

It was more than enough for Wilmington starter Eduardo Paulino, who kept the Hillcats at bay for seven strong frames. Paulino (9-6) allowed a pair of runs on seven hits, striking out six and walking none.

The only two scores he allowed came on a solo home run in the fourth by Matt Hague, and an RBI groundout by Josh Harrison in the fifth.

In the eighth, Mario Santiago made his first relief appearance in two seasons as a Blue Rock. Santiago's previous 23 appearances in 2009 had all come in starts. But the right-hander, who is second in the CL with 11 losses, entered from the ‘pen on Monday and promptly put two men on base. But Santiago did a great job pitching his way out of the jam, by getting a strikeout, and a 5-4-3 double play.

Santiago was not as lucky in the ninth. Two Lynchburg singles and two Moustakas errors allowed the Hillcats to pull within four runs.

That brought in Zach Peterson with two outs and runners at the corners. The Minnesota native wasted little time, striking out Josh Harrison on four pitches to preserve the win.

The four-game series continues on Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m. Wilmington southpaw Danny Duffy (8-3, 3.22), a ranked prospect and Carolina League All-Star, will face right-hander Ronald Uviedo (5-5, 3.53), a member of the Pirates' 40-man roster. Fellow Hillcats righty Nate Adcock (3-0, 3.21) is expected to piggyback behind Uviedo.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

The Blue Rocks stand a season-best 23 games over .500 for the second time this year.

Wilmington has the league's best winning percentage when scoring first (50-16, .758). The team also paces the league in overall road winning percentage (40-23, .635).

The win marked the Blue Crew's 12th over its last 13 road games.

Ryan Eigsti's grand slam marks the 31st time a Blue Rock has left the yard with the bases full in franchise history. Johnny Giavotella had the squad's only other granny this season when he tied the Blue Rocks' franchise record with seven RBIs, including a grand slam, at Kinston on April 13.

Eduardo Paulino won his sixth consecutive start on Monday, and has taken over the outright team lead in victories with nine. The right-hander has pitched into the seventh inning in nine straight outings.

Mario Santiago made his first appearance out of the bullpen since August 4, 2007 when he was pitching for the Burlington Bees. Santiago was named the Bees pitcher of the Year that season.

Zach Peterson's one-out save was his first since July 26. The right-hander has not allowed a run in 14 of his 18 outings as a Blue Rock.

Wilmington has owned the Hillcats of late, winning six straight against the first0half CL North champions, and nine of 10. Lynchburg's last victory over the Rocks came back on July 7.

Check out the Wilmington Blue Rocks Statistics



Carolina League Stories from August 24, 2009


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