CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Good Pitching and Timely Hitting Propel Rocks to Doubleheader Sweep, 2-1 and 3-2

Published on June 16, 2016 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Zebulon, N.C. - The Wilmington Blue Rocks (24-40) just finished their best homestand of the season and were looking to keep the momentum going after traveling down to Zebulon, N.C. to take on the Carolina Mudcats. They did just that and kicked off the six games in four days road trip by sweeping their doubleheader on Thursday, 2-1/3-2. It was the oldest baseball recipe in the book that produced the two wins; good pitching and timely hitting.

Brandon Downes got the boys from Frawley on the board in Game One with a solo blast in the top of the second. After the Mudcats tied it with a run in the fourth, the Rocks struck right back in the top of the fifth. Chad Johnson got on base with a single and moved up to second on a wild pitch. After a one out grounder pushed Johnson to third Wander Franco came up with a huge two out single to retake the lead at 2-1.

The combination of Corey Ray and Luis Rico did the rest of the work for the Blue Crew. Ray gave up just the one run in five innings of work and Rico slammed the door shut in the sixth and seventh innings as the Rocks took Game One 2-1. Ray evens his record at 2-2 with the win and Rico picks up his second save in as many chances.

Game Two was more of the same for Wilmington. They did not even wait for the second inning to crack the scoreboard in the follow up contest. Three straight singles by Franco, Downes and Elier Hernandez put them ahead 1-0. After the Mudcats tied the game in the bottom of the frame, the Rocks regained the lead in the fourth. Robert Pehl doubled to start the mini rally and moved to third on a Brian Bien flyout. Pehl came around to score when Nick Dini hit a fly ball to center and the Mudcats catcher was unable to corral the throw to home. The game would once again become tied when Carolina scratched across a run in the bottom of the fourth.

This time it was small ball leading the way for the boys from Frawley. Dini started things off with a single and was bunted over on a sacrifice by Cody Jones. Humberto Arteaga did his job with another groundout to move Dini to third and Franco came through for the second time in the doubleheader, singling to center to push the Rocks ahead 3-2. Thanks to Jake Kalish's three scoreless innings in relief, the Blue crew was able to hold on to the 3-2 lead and complete the sweep as Kalish improves to 2-0 on the year.

After the great start to the road trip, the Rocks will toss LHP Matt Tenuta (3-4, 5.90) against the Mudcats' RHP Matt Withrow (4-4, 3.88). Fans interested in listening to the game can tune in to WGLS-FM 89.7 or go to BlueRocks.com for all the game action.

Pebbles of Knowledge

One of the easiest ways for a team to secure wins is when the bullpen gets the job done. Lately for the Blue Rocks the bullpen has been doing even more could be expected. During their doubleheader against the Mudcats the bullpen was did not give up a run if five innings of work while picking up a win and s save. In the four innings between Luis Rico and Jake Kalish the two arms struck out eight without issuing a single free pass. Dating back to their first game against the Winston-Salem Dash, the bullpen has now thrown 18 innings with a 2-0 record and two saves in addition to 19 punchouts to just two walks with one run allowed.

Brandon Downes has been near the top of the team's home run leader board all season long. With a solo shot in Game One of the doubleheader, Downes's fifth of the season, he has now overtaken Wander Franco for the active team lead in homers. Downes did more than just launch the home run through. He also picked up a pair of hits in the second contests, going 2-for-3 with a double and walk to push his batting average to .241. Overall in the two games, Downes put together a 3-for-6 evening with a home run, a double, one RBI, one run scored and one walk.

It took a while for Chad Johnson to find his swing this season, but all of a sudden the catcher is in a hitting groove. The first-year Blue Rock is in the midst of a season-long 12-game hitting streak has tied Ryan O'Hearn for longest on the season. They are not cheapies either. The backstop is piling up the extra-base hits in that span with two dingers, three doubles and his only triple of the year. Overall during the last 12 affairs, Johnson is 17-for-45 with the six extra-base hits, eight RBI and four runs scored. He has also walked four times during the streak, upping his team-leading total of free passes to 27 on the season--nine more than any other teammate.

They Said It

Blue Rocks Manager Jamie Quirk

"I'm proud of these guys. It was tough conditions with the heat and the long bus ride and we still got it done. As we talk about all the time, it's all about your pitching and ours was terrific. Corey (Ray) was good in game one and allowed our offense to scrap and claw its way to a couple runs. Then (Colin) Rodgers battled. He wasn't great but he didn't fold. A couple weeks ago he would've put his head down and maybe not have been able to get out of that bases-loaded jam in the second game, but he didn't here and he kept us in the game and that's a real credit to him."

"The bullpen was huge. It was Luis Rico's day to throw and he did his job. Then (Jake) Kalish game in during the second game and was great. He was the only fresh guy we had left and we just rode him their down the stretch. He's really putting himself up the totem pole with the way he's been pitching. It's certainly impressive to watch him work."

"(Pitching coach) Charlie (Corbell) has had this mapped out for a week. We knew this would be on the schedule and he put together a plan. We still don't know who will pitch the second game on Saturday, so we aren't quite that good, but we knew what we wanted to do. There's only so far the plan can go though if the pitchers don't go out there and execute, and fortunately our guys did that and we came out in okay shape."

"(Nick) Dini's hustle play was big in game two. He works us into a threat and sets up the whole inning. It allows to bunt and puts pressure on their pitcher. Then Wander (Franco) who hit like four more balls hard that resulted in outs keeps attacking and finally gets rewarded by driving him home. That's the kind of stuff you love to see as a manager the way that inning unfolded."

"(Robert) Pehl being able to play multiple positions for us is a big luxury. We've talked about it before but if we get in a tight spot like we did with the injury to (Alfredo) Escalera, we have so much more flexibility. I can put Pehl almost anywhere and not have to worry about his glove. That's so helpful to a team and it was helpful for us (Thursday). "

Blue Rocks Catcher Chad Johnson

"We're really starting to come together as a team. Most important thing is we're having fun now. That bus ride was a long one and I think everybody was a little stiff, but the warm weather helps you loosen up quicker and we took care of business. I think that effort and getting two wins like that speaks to how far we've come as a team."

"Confidence makes baseball a lot more fun. And I've got some right now. When I was in my slump there for a few weeks baseball wasn't that fun. I was beating myself up and calling my family and they kept reminding me how hard and crazy this game is. I know it's a part of it, but when you're in the middle of it, it wears on you. But this is a lesson that you've got to keep your head up and keep working and understand you'll get through it."

"Our bullpen is doing a tremendous job and you can't discount what the starters are doing either. The pitching has been great and they're keeping us in games. The bullpen especially has been on it. That 14-inning game against Winston-Salem this week was kind of an eye-opener for me. They kept throwing zeroes up on the board and I realized how long we've come since the beginning of the season."

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Carolina League Stories from June 16, 2016


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