Can-Am Brockton Rox

Flores Sparkles As Rox Shut Down Jackals, 5-2

Published on August 19, 2010 under Canadian American League (Can-Am)
Brockton Rox News Release


Brockton, Mass. - On a night where 1B Melvin Falu tied the Rox single-season home run mark, starting pitcher Freddy Flores was dominant, shutting out New Jersey through eight innings of work while scattering just five hits, as Brockton defeated the Jackals, 5-2, in Can-Am League action at Campanelli Stadium on Thursday evening.

The two teams were scoreless through the first three and a half innings before the Rox got on the board with Falu's one-out solo blast. The homer was the Carolina, P.R., native's league-leading 19th of the season, tying him with Palmer Karr's single-season record set last year.

In the fifth, 3B Derek Kinzler and CF Chris Valencia rapped back-to-back singles with one out; DH John Parke then knocked a single of his own, bringing home Kinzler. 2B Shawn Williams followed suit with a sacrifice fly, scoring Valencia and making the score 3-0.

In the sixth inning, after C Chris Grossman hit a one-out double, LF Mike Conroy reached base on an error by Jackals 2B Travis Jones. SS Dominic Ramos struck out, but Kinzler loaded the bases with another single. Valencia then hit a double, driving in two and adding to the Brockton lead, 5-0.

New Jersey scratched across a pair of runs in the ninth off of reliever Brad Hertzler; after three consecutive singles loaded the bases, DH Jacob Butler rapped a two-run, one out single of his own to break up the shutout. The Jackals couldn't get any closer, though, as Colin Lynch entered the game and forced a double play on his second pitch to register the save.

After throwing six shutout innings at Pittsfield on August 13, Flores (8-2) has now hurled 14 frames in a row without giving up a run, lowering his ERA to 3.49. Jayson Miller (2-3) took the loss for New Jersey, giving up five runs on ten hits in seven innings pitched, striking out five.

Grossman finished a superb three-game set against the Jackals, going 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles on Thursday evening and 7-for-12 overall in the series, improving his average to .326. Five of the seven hits were for extra bases. Kinzler, Falu and Valencia each had a pair of hits on the night as well. New Jersey put together a remarkably balanced offensive attack, with the team's eight hits, all singles, coming from eight different players.

Prior to the game, the Rox held a pregame ceremony honoring Massachusetts State Trooper Sgt. Doug Weddleton, a native of Brockton who lost his life in a traffic accident while on duty in June. Weddleton's badge number was retired on the outfield wall, and his family was on hand to be honored by state troopers and political representatives.

With Quebec's 6-2 victory over Pittsfield on Thursday, the Rox remain one game back of the Capitales in the second-half standings. The two teams meet in a doubleheader on Friday night at 5:05 p.m. at Campanelli Stadium, the first two of a four-game series. In the opener, Jose Aquino(1-2) toes the slab for the Rox against Brendon Malkowski (1-0), while Wayne Lundgren (7-5) faces Karl Gelinas (2-3) in the nightcap.

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Canadian American League Stories from August 19, 2010


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