CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Potomac Blows Away Blue Crew in Series Opener

Published on July 26, 2010 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Wilmington, DE - John Lamb did not pitch poorly on Monday night, but at the same time he was not his usual dominant self. The left-hander was chased after only four innings and as a result the Wilmington Blue Rocks no longer control sole possession of first place in the CL North. The Blue Crew dropped a 10-1 decision to the Potomac Nationals at Frawley Stadium, which allowed the P-Nats to sneak even in the standings and move a game in front of Wilmington in the loss column.

Lamb allowed only a pair of runs during his time on the mound, and one of those scores was unearned. But the 20-year-old lost a bit of his usual pin-point command late his outing and was removed before the fifth frame began. It equaled the shortest outing of Lamb's Wilmington career.

Potomac took the lead for good before Wilmington even got its first trip to the plate of the night. A two-out single by Derek Norris prompted a first-inning threat for Potomac. Lamb then threw errantly to first as he tried to pick Norris off, which allowed the runner to advance into scoring position. He then came around to score an unearned run on Tyler Moore's RBI single up the middle.

Potomac extended its lead in the third. The P-Nats opened the frame with three consecutive hits off of Lamb. Steve Lombardozzi tripled into the left-center field gap and Wilberto Ortiz followed with an RBI single to center. After Norris singled to put a pair on with nobody out, Lamb recovered with a strikeout and a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.

His night would end after the fourth, however, as he turned the game over to reliever James Thompson. Unfortunately for the Blue Crew, Thompson could not keep Wilmington close enough to make a run.

The right-hander kept Potomac off the board in his first frame out of the 'pen, but saw things fall apart quickly in the sixth. Thompson allowed three straight hits to begin the inning, as a run scored in the process. Sean Rooney doubled and was plated by Robbie Jacobsen's single. Bill Rhinehart followed with another single and both men moved up a bag on Nick Moresi's sacrifice bunt. Jacobsen then scored on Francisco Soriano's sacrifice fly, and Rhinehart came home courtesy of Lombardozzi's single up the middle.

The bottom fell out for Thompson in the seventh as Potomac loaded the bases and Rhinehart cleared them with a grand slam home run to right. Thompson's night ended after three frames, having yielded seven runs on eight hits.

Meanwhile, the Wilmington offense was stymied by Potomac starter Danny Rosenbaum. The left-hander allowed just five hits and nary a run in a career-best eight innings. He seemed to get stronger as the night progressed. He retired 12 straight batters over one stretch from the fifth into the eighth inning. And when Wilmington put two men in scoring position with only one away in that eighth frame, Rosenbaum induced weak contact from two straight hitters to escape the jam unscathed.

Wilmington looks to even this three-game set when it hosts Potomac again on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. Danny Duffy (0-0, 3.00) makes his third start of the season for the Rocks. He will be opposed by P-Nats right-hander Trevor Holder (0-2, 3.98).

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

Just one day after the Wilmington offense got its first grand slam of the season courtesy of Nick Francis, James Thompson allowed the third grand slam of the campaign against Rocks pitching. Prior to Monday, the last salami against Wilmington came on May 15 off the bat of Potomac slugger Tyler Moore.

The Rocks, who had already been blanked by the Potomac Nationals twice entering Monday night, escaped the indignity of a third such performance courtesy of a passed ball by catcher Derek Norris with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. With men at second and third, Norris' miscue allowed Ernesto Mejia to come home with the Rocks' only tally of the night.

Wilmington must hope this week's series is not a case of two teams heading in opposite directions. After the loss on Monday, the Rocks have dropped five of their last seven games, while Potomac has victories in 12 of its previous 17 contests.

Five of Wilmington's nine starters on Monday night went hitless, and the team as a whole could not buy a clutch knock. As a unit, the Rocks went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

For the second time in the last week, regular third baseman Adam Frost had to pitch for the Blue Crew. Frost, who appeared in two games on the hill in the season's first half with Low-A Burlington, and became the first Wilmington position player to pitch since Matt Morizo in 2008 when he tossed a scoreless frame on Thursday, pitched the ninth inning in Monday's rout. Frost yielded one run on one hit and two walks in his one frame. It was the first score he had surrendered all season.

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Carolina League Stories from July 26, 2010


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