CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Late Rally Falls Short as Rocks Drop Series Opener to Lynchburg

Published on July 10, 2015 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


LYNCHBURG, VA - A late rally in Lynchburg was not enough for the Blue Rocks to overcome a four-run deficit as they fell to the Hillcats in the opener of a four-game series 6-5 at Calvin Falwell Field on Friday night. Alec Mills turned in a rare sub-par outing on the way to his fifth loss of the season, while Yhoxian Medina collected a couple of RBIs in the winning effort for the 'Cats. Mauricio Ramos did stay hot for the Blue Rocks with two more hits added to his ledger.

The Hillcats fell behind early, but started their comeback in the bottom of the fifth inning. After leaving some balls up in the first four frames, Mills finally got burned by a leadoff double from Paul Hendrix, who then moved to third on a passed ball and scored the first Lynchburg run on a LeVon Washington sacrifice fly. Then two rare walks from Mills put two men on with one out and Medina evened the score at two with an RBI single. Clint Frazier, whose been heating up for the Hillcats, then singled into right field to plate the third Lynchburg run and give them the 3-2 lead. That did it for Mills as he was replaced by Robinson Yambati who got a strikeout and a fly out to avoid further damage.

Despite retiring the first six men he'd face, Yambati gave the Hillcats some insurance in the seventh. Claudio Bautista collected Lynchburg's first hit off of Yambati and he was promptly doubled in by Medina who collected his second RBI. A Bradley Zimmer RBI single and a balk from Estarlin Cordero, who came in out of the bullpen with one out, would give the Hillcats the 6-2 advantage.

In the eighth, the Rocks cut their deficit to two runs but had a chance at more. Dominique Taylor walked and then was thrown out trying to go to third on a single from Humberto Arteaga. That out was followed by RBI hits from Ramos and Cody Stubbs. Elier Hernandez came up later in the inning as the tying run but grounded out to end the frame. Wilmington managed a run in the ninth to bring the deficit down to just a single run, but with the tying run at first base Carlos Garcia would line out to end the game and wrap up a 6-5 victory for Lynchburg.

Wilmington found the scoreboard first on Friday and they did it in the third inning after a couple of quick frames from Hillcats' starter Michael Peoples. Robert Pehl led-off the frame with the first hit of the day for Wilmington and got up to second on a walk to Luis Villegas. After a failed bunt attempt by Taylor led to Villegas being doubled off of first, Garcia stepped up and smacked a single into right to bring Pehl home. Garcia was trapped in a rundown but still made it to second, only to be stranded there. Thanks to some more shoddy defense, the Rocks added another run in the fourth. With Ramos at second, Hernandez singled into left and the ball scooted by the outfielder Mike Papi, which allowed Ramos to come around for the second run of the game.

The Rocks and 'Cats will continue their series on Saturday evening. Wilmington will send Jakob Junis to the mound. Junis will look to continue his string of quality starts as he'll come into tomorrow having tossed two in a row in his last two outings. The Hillcats will counter with D.J. Brown who will make his third appearance, second start, against Wilmington this season. First pitch from Calvin Falwell Field is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

Luis Villegas made his Advanced-A debut on Saturday night going 0-for-3 with an RBI. What is more intriguing than the stat line is where Villegas was born. The native of Maracay, Venezuela became the sixth Venezuelan born player on the Blue Rocks when he came up from Low-A Lexington last week to replace Cam Gallagher who is taking part in the Pan-American Games in Canada. Those six native Venezuelans (Villegas, Arteaga, Garcia, Santiago Nessy, Luis Rico, Yender Caramo) is tied for most of any affiliated full-season minor league team. Only the Clearwater Threshers (Advanced-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies in the Florida State League) boast as many Venezuelans as the Blue Crew. Five other teams in full-season ball feature five Venezuelan players, one of those being the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, the Omaha Stormchasers. Villegas batted .306 with two homers and 12 RBIs in 19 games with the Legends before getting the call to replace Gallagher while he represents the U.S.A. at the Pan-Am Games.

The week after being named the Carolina League Pitcher of the Month in June, Alec Mills may have turned in his worst outing of the season on Friday. The usually reliable right-hander's 4.1 innings pitched was his shortest outing since he went just four innings on April 22 against the Potomac Nationals. Friday also marked the first time since June 7 Mills was not able to turn in a quality start (six-plus innings pitched, three or less runs). His walk to Eric Haase in the fifth was the first free-pass he had allowed since June 18, and the walk that followed to Bautista meant it was the first multi-walk outing from Mills since that June 7 game against Frederick when he walked two. Despite the struggles, Mills still has not walked more than two batters in a game all season.

Although Michael Peoples kept the Rocks off balance all night, he still had no answer for Robert Pehl and Carlos Garcia who have torn up Lynchburg pitching this season. Garcia finished his day just 1-for-5, but he still managed to produce a run with an RBI single scoring Pehl who reached base twice, going 1-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch. Garcia is now batting .357 against the Hillcats this season, including three RBIs and two runs scored. Since the promotion of Ramon Torres to Double-A, Garcia has become the Rocks' everyday second baseman and leadoff hitter. He is hitting .293 for the season with 16 runs scored and seven steals. Pehl, on the other hand, has had a bigger sample size against Lynchburg and is batting .409 (9-for-22) with two RBIs, four runs scored, and four walks. While still dealing with utility duties, Pehl has been solid at the plate this season. He is batting just .245 but his patience and ability to work walks has put his on-base percentage at an impressive .346.

After going hitless in his first two games with the Rocks, Elier Hernandez finally found his first hit with Wilmington on Friday. The knock, with the help of an error, would end up bringing in the Blue Crew's second run of the game. Friday was Hernandez' first hit, but the outfielder was making solid contact during the Rocks' last home stand against Frederick, including a deep fly ball that was taken in on the warning track by speedy Keys' outfielder Josh Hart on Wednesday. Hernandez got the call from Low-A Lexington on June 7 to replace roster spots vacated by the advancing Torres and Frank Schwindel. He played 74 games in Lexington with the Legends putting up Advanced-A worthy numbers. Hernandez batted .290 with 26 extra-base hits (19 doubles, two triples, five homeruns) and 42 RBIs. He is currently ranked by Baseball America as the 22nd best prospect in the Kansas City Royals farm system.

THEY SAID IT:

Designated Hitter Robert Pehl

"This is a great group of guys to play with. We're never out of a game and I think all of us feel that way. Just to know that the game is never over and anything can happen makes it a lot more enjoyable, especially when you're down...just keep battling, keep playing hard."

"I couldn't even tell you, honestly (why I'm successful against Lynchburg). I don't really see it as different teams, I just come to the field and keep working. I've been feeling good about what I've been doing lately, so I think it's carrying over to the games. I'm getting to see some results, which is nice."

"I don't want to make any excuses (for why I was slumping), I just take the opportunity when I'm out playing to get better and make the work earlier in the day count. In the game, just study the game, there's always something to learn by watching it. With the extra down-time, I just took it as an opportunity to study the game, get better every day and find a way (back into the lineup). That was always the challenge."

"Getting out there more is nice. I love to play and being in the lineup is a good feeling. To get results one day and show up the next day and keep the rhythm is always nice. When you're hot, you're hot. To get in the lineup more is a good feeling and you feel better about what you're doing ...only time to know how good you are and how you're feeling is to get in the game and see live pitching."

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Carolina League Stories from July 10, 2015


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