CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Rocks Bat Around in Third, Force Rubber Match

Published on August 12, 2013 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Wilmington, DE -The Wilmington Blue Rocks sent all nine men to bat in the third inning, before scoring three runs for good measure in the bottom of the seventh, to defeat the Salem Red Sox 7-3 on Monday night at Frawley Stadium. Vance Wilson's team never relinquished the lead following a four-run bottom of the third, while the Rocks will play for a series victory on Tuesday. With the win, the Blue Crew improved to 54-65 on the campaign and 21-28 in the second half standings. Meanwhile, with Monday's triumph, Wilmington moved back into a tie for the second half Northern Division wildcard spot.

Salem jumped on top early, grabbing a 1-0 edge two batters into the contest. Henry Ramos opened the game with a double down the leftfield line, and scored on an RBI single by Matty Johnson through the left side of the infield. However the Rocks bats came to life against Kyle Stroup (4-8) in the third. Parker Morin opened the frame with a single to left and advanced 90 feet on a bunt base hit by Ethan Chapman. With runners at the corners, Jack Lopez then responded with a triple to right, to give the home team its first lead. Lopez would later score on a groundball to the right side by Yem Prades, before Dennis Raben knocked in the inning's fourth run on an RBI single to center which scored Justin Trapp.

Salem would pull to within a run, plating single tallies in the fifth and sixth. Following a leadoff base-hit by Cody Koback, Nick Natoli would double to left to score his teammate, while in the sixth, the Red Sox would benefit from control issues by Wilmington reliever Cory Hall. After a one-out walk to Mookie Betts, Matt Gedman would execute a perfect hit-and-run to move his teammate to third, before a wild pitch scored Betts to make it 4-3 Rocks.

However the Blue Crew would put the game out of reach one inning later. Turning to the longball in the seventh, Trapp hit a solo shot which bended the pole in left, before Raben added a two-run bomb over the rightfield fence to give the team its largest lead of the night.

Frontrunning 7-3, Hall would retire the first batter of the eighth inning, before handing the ball to Andrew Triggs, who allowed just one hit over the final 1.2 innings.

Wilmington concludes its season-series with Salem on Tuesday night. Right-hander J.C. Sulbaran (0-2, 8.56) takes the mound for the Blue Rocks, and will be opposed by Sox righty Heri Quevedo (5-5, 4.37). First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m. from Frawley Stadium, and fans can listen to the broadcast on 89.7 WGLS-FM. For ticket information, fans can call 302-888-BLUE or visit BlueRocks.com

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

Winner of only six starts in his professional career, Angel Baez picked up win number seven after a strong performance in his fourth Advanced-A start. It was his first victory since July 30, 2012, when he was pitching for Low-A Kane County. Over a season-best five frames, the right-hander allowed two runs on four hits while walking three. He also struck out seven, the most punch outs Baez has registered in a 2013 contest. Monday marked the 22-year-old's first start with the Blue Rocks since April 22, after he missed more than three months with a fractured right hand. Prior to rejoining the club, Baez made six appearances (three starts) with the AZL Royals, where he went 1-0 with a 2.51 ERA.

Coming off a challenging Sunday, where the Blue Rocks managed just one run on five hits, the bats exploded for seven runs on 11 hits in the middle game of their series against Salem. Over the current homestand, Wilmington has posted double-digit hit totals three times in its last five games, while the club will look to win back-to-back series for the first time since May 21-26. To accomplish that feat, the Blue Rocks will need to resolve their struggles in rubber games. In 2013, the team is just 2-8 in deciding affairs. The club's most recent rubber match came last Wednesday at Salem, where the Red Sox defeated their Northern Division foe 6-3 in a matinee at Salem Memorial ballpark.

Justin Trapp extended his hitting streak to 10 games on Monday night. In four trips to the plate, he went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and two runs scored. The longball was Trapp's first since July 23 at Carolina, and his first at Frawley Stadium since May 19. On Tuesday, Trapp will look to tie the longest hitting streak of his career, as he hit safely in 11 straight games stretching from July 28-August 8 as a member of the Kane County Cougars last season. Over his current 10-game streak, Trapp is hitting .368 (15-for-41) with a homer, a triple, four doubles, three RBIs and eight runs scored. In the process, it has moved his batting average up 11 points (.256-.267), the highest it has been since July 9.

Not to be outdone, Jack Lopez also saw his hitting streak extended to 10 games, finishing the night 1-for-3 with a triple, two RBIs and a run scored. In total, he reached base three times, after he earned a pair of walks in the first and fourth innings. After hitting safely in seven games from July 20-29, Lopez is batting .316 over his last 10 contests (12-for-38) with a double, two triples, seven RBIs and six runs scored. That has pushed his batting average up to .243, the highest it has been since April 9. A hitter who has made tremendous strides since the All-Star break, Lopez is batting .288 over 41 games in the second half, while he is hitting .316 over his first 10 contests in August.

Parker Morin turned in one his best offensive performances of the year on Monday. Going 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored, the Rocks catcher helped trigger the club's four-run third inning which put the team on top for good. The multi-hit effort was the second in three games for Morin, who is hitting .546 over his last four ballgames (6-11) with two doubles, an RBI and three runs scored. He has also got on base at a much higher clip of late, earning four walks during the recent four-game upswing. Following a challenging July where the Utah native hit just .172, Morin is batting .259 over his first nine games in August.

Dennis Raben homered for the first time since late July, recording a two-run blast which sealed the deal for Wilmington in the bottom of the seventh. Ending the night 2-for-4, the former Miami Hurricane also finished with three RBIs, his fourth game with three or more RBIs as a member of the Blue Rocks this season. A player who has provided a big boost to the middle of the order, Raben has tallied 31 RBIs over 46 second half games this season, while his longball on Monday moved him into a tie with Jared Schlehuber for the club lead (eight).

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Carolina League Stories from August 12, 2013


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