CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Godin Leads The Way In Beach Blanking

July 23, 2009 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Myrtle Beach, SC - A nearly three-hour monstrosity had the Blue Rocks (50-44, 12-13) ahead 5-0 by the middle of the fourth as they cruised to a 7-0 shutout of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Four of the Blue Crew's seven scores went unearned on Pelican pitching thanks to an eye-popping five Myrtle miscues. Starter Jason Godin (3-0) looked great in picking up his second win in as many nods since joining this year's rotation. The Old Dominion product struck out six over six scoreless innings. Chris Chavez and Brandon Sisk finished off the team's 11th shutout win of the season.

Two-out hitting and an error led to the only run the Blue Rocks would need. Johnny Giavotella belted a two-out double to deep left-center in the third inning. Mike Moustakas followed with a batted ball misplayed by first baseman Ernesto Mejia. That miscue allowed Giavotella to score for a 1-0 lead.

The advantage swelled to 5-0 in the fourth. Chase Fontaine knocked in one of the scores while Derrick Robinson hammered home two more. Another error on a Moustakas batted ball, this time a fly ball to right fielder Chris Shehan, resulted in the inning's fourth score. In the seventh, a pair of bases-loaded bruises courtesy of reliever Rudy Darrow gave RBIs to Paulo Orlando and Fontaine to round out the scoring.

Godin's lone major test came in the sixth when a double, walk and hit batter loaded the bases with one out. The sinkerballer promptly induced a round-the-horn double play off the bat of Gerry Rodriguez to end the threat. Godin has allowed one unearned run over a dozen innings and two starts since taking Rowdy Hardy's vacated starting spot.

Chavez worked two scoreless frames before Sisk bolted down the victory with a couple of strikeouts in a 1-2-3 ninth for the team's third shutout since July 12.

The series concludes at 7:05 p.m. on Thursday. Carolina League Pitcher of the Week Danny Duffy (7-3, 3.40) will get the ball. Myrtle Beach counters with rehabbing big leaguer Tim Hudson (0-0, 0.00) in his second CL outing. Hudson is expected to be held to a 45-pitch/three-inning limit. Southpaw and usual starter Cole Rohrbough (4-6, 6.00) will work behind Hudson.

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Mike Moustakas went 0-for-5, lowering his batting average to .244. He has failed to notch a hit in 32 at-bats over his last eight games. His batting average has not sunk this low since he owned a .229 clip on April 17.

The Blue Rocks left 10 men on base in the game and went just 3-for-14 with men in scoring position. Over their last nine games, the Rocks have hit a collective .185 (17-for-92) with runners in scoring position.

The Blue Crew's 3.39 ERA leads the league, including a CL-best 2.51 mark this month.

Two new names joined the Wilmington roster on Wednesday. Right-handed reliever Eric Basurto joined the clubhouse from Low-A Burlington. The 23-year-old went 1-1 with a 0.77 ERA in six games for the Bees. In 11.2 IP, he struck out 19, walked nine and held the circuit to a .154 batting average. The former Marlins farmhand was received in May as the "player to be named later" in the Ross Gload trade.

Also on the roster these days is top-five prospect Mike Montgomery. The 20-year-old southpaw went 2-3 with a 2.17 ERA in 12 starts for the Bees. He held the league to a .206 batting average and struck out 52 men in 58.0 innings. He lasted at least five innings and allowed one earned run or less in five of his last six Burlington starts. While he's on the roster, he will not physically join the team until the weekend in Kinston. The California native will start Sunday's road trip finale. Baseball America named Montgomery the top prospect in the Rookie Arizona League for 2008. The Royals made him a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds (36th overall) in the 2008 June draft.

With the addition of Mike Montgomery, the Blue Rocks now have four of the Royals' top five prospects according to Baseball America. Mike Moustakas (1), Eric Hosmer (2), Mike Montgomery (3) and Danny Duffy (5) all are on the squad. Former Blue Rock Dan Cortes (2008) entered the season ranked third, but was traded earlier this month to the Mariners.

The Blue Rocks own a 5-4 record at Myrtle Beach this season. A win in the rubber match would give Wilmington its second ever winning season in the distraction-laden environment, equalizing the 2001 squad's 6-4 effort.

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Carolina League Stories from July 23, 2009


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