CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Rocks Done In by Big Inning

Published on June 15, 2010 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Salem, VA - The middle three innings were not kind to the Wilmington Blue Rocks on Tuesday night. The Blue Crew enjoyed a 1-0 lead entering the bottom of the fourth frame in Salem, but saw the Red Sox score one in the fourth, five in the fifth and three more in the sixth en route to an eventual 10-6 victory. The loss was Wilmington's 35th of the season, guaranteeing the Rocks of a non-winning half.

Starter Ivor Hodgson had used a pair of double plays to work his way around danger in the first two frames before sitting the Sox down in order in the third. But the first chink in his armor was shown in the fourth. Oscar Tejeda laced a one-out line drive into right for a single, and came home to score on Jorge Padron's double with two down in the frame.

The wheels fell off an inning later, as Hodgson (2-6) watched nine Sox come to the plate. Six of the batters managed hits, and five ended up scoring.

Drew Hedman opened things with a single, and was quickly sacrificed into scoring position. Mitch Dening followed with an RBI grounder through the left-side hole that put Salem on top for the first time. After Peter Hissey grounded out to second base, things truly got ugly.

Four straight Sox reached, as Salem blew the game wide open. Ryan Lavarnway poked a grounder into left field for an RBI single. Tejeda also singled to put runners on at first and third for Will Middlebrooks. Middlebrooks had been put down on strikes in each of his first two plate appearances, but his third trip to the dish proved to be a charm. Middlebrooks sent a fly ball over the head of center fielder Patrick Norris for a two-run double. Padron's RBI liner to right-center brought home the third baseman.

Starling De La Rosa entered in the sixth, but little changed for Wilmington. The Sox got three more tallies courtesy of run-producing hits by Dening and Tejeda, plus an error on Rey Navarro, which led to another Salem score.

Wilmington scored its only two runs through the first eight eight innings on RBI knocks off the bat of Jamie Romak. The third baseman scored Adrian Ortiz with his grounder up the middle in the first. He then plated Nick Francis with a double to left in the eighth.

The Rocks kicked up a fuss in the ninth, with some serious aide from the Salem defense. Two errors helped kick start a Wilmington rally as the first five Blue Crew batters of the inning reached base. Ortiz scored one run with an RBI single, while Francis plated two more on a double. Romak pulled Wilmington to within four tallies on an RBI grounder, but that would be as close as the Rocks could get. Salvador Perez grounded out to second to end the game two pitches later.

Salem starter Stolmy Pimentel got the win. Pimentel (5-4) scattered six hits and three walks over five innings of one-run ball to move his mark back above .500 for the season.

Wilmington continues its eight-day seven-game road trip in Salem on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. Right-hander Alex Caldera (6-3, 2.84) will start for the Blue Rocks, while the Sox are slated to counter with Miguel Gonzalez (0-0, 10.13). The righty is making just his fourth appearance and third start with Salem.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

The Salem Red Sox have owned the Wilmington Blue Rocks in 2010. The Sox have taken seven of their eight meetings with Wilmington so far this season.

Salem also knows something about getting the big inning off of Wilmington pitching. The Rocks surrendered a five-run frame to the Sox on Tuesday, half as high as the 10-run inning Salem got off of the Blue Crew during its 11-3 win at Frawley Stadium on May 5.

Rey Navarro extended his hitting streak to eight games with his second-inning single. Navarro is batting .406 (13-for-32) during the streak. Navarro's error in the sixth added to his recent struggles in the field however. The shortstop, who did not make a single defensive miscue in his first 14 games as a Blue Crewer, has recorded 10 errors over his last 25 contests.

Eric Hosmer was not as fortunate. The first baseman saw his season-high 12-game hit streak come to a close thanks to his 0-for-3 night. Hosmer batted .391 (18-for-46) during the streak. The Royals' fifth-ranked prospect, according to Baseball America, did draw his league-leading fifth intentional free pass of the season in the fifth inning.

Jamie Romak went 2-for-5 and added three RBIs in the losing effort. The performance was good enough to give Romak the team-lead in runs batted in. He passed Hosmer on Tuesday night, and also became the first Blue Rock to knock in 40 runs in 2010.

Ivor Hodgson taking the hill has not led to much team-success for Wilmington in 2010. The left-hander has seen the Rocks struggle to a 4-8 mark during his 12 starts. Hodgson has dropped six straight decisions personally, and has watched his mates fall six straight times he has toed the rubber.

Despite the victory, Salem saw its deficit in the CL South remain at 3.5 games. Winston-Salem's 4-3 victory over Frederick lowered the magic number for a Dash first-half crown to three.

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Carolina League Stories from June 15, 2010


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