CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Rocks Explode for Seven-Run Seventh Inning in Win

Published on July 27, 2010 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Wilmington, DE - In the first 15 innings of the Wilmington Blue Rocks' three-game set with the Potomac Nationals, the Blue Crew offense had managed just a single unearned run. That all changed in one frame on Tuesday night, as Wilmington plated seven runs in the seventh inning, erasing a two-tally deficit in the process. The dramatic turnaround gave Wilmington an 8-2 win and a one-game lead in the Carolina League North.

The Rocks entered the seventh inning down 2-0, with an offense that appeared dormant. Making matters worse they were facing Jimmy Barthmaier, a reliever who has spent time in the Majors with the Pittsburgh Pirates. But the Blue Crew bats were not deterred, as Wilmington sent 12 men to the plate in the frame, registered six hits, and were aided by two costly Potomac errors.

The frame began innocently enough, as Rene Oriental got things started with a free pass. That was followed by the first defensive miscue of the frame by the P-Nats. Juan Rivera laid down a bunt that trickled up the first-base line to first baseman Tyler Moore. Moore tried to tag out Rivera, but the ball popped out of his glove and bounced into shallow right field. Both men moved into scoring position as a result.

After Patrick Norris went down swinging for the inning's first out, Christian Colon came through with a game-tying line-drive single into left. That was followed by a pair of big blasts, as Nick Francis plated Colon with a double off the wall in left and Ernesto Mejia tattooed a home run in that same direction.

That ended Barthmaier's (0-1) night, but not the offensive fireworks. He was replaced by Patrick McCoy, who was greeted by a single off the bat of Salvador Perez. After the second out, Rey Navarro singled to center and Potomac made another costly error. Oriental hit a hopper towards third that was misplayed by Will Ortiz, allowing Perez to score and the inning to continue. Rivera capped off the frame with an RBI single to left that plated Navarro.

It was a stunning turn of events, as the Rocks had trailed in the contest since the third inning. Potomac took the lead that frame thanks to an unearned run off Wilmington starter Danny Duffy. A double by Dan Lyons eventually resulted in a run thanks to a two-out, two-strike miscue by Perez. The catcher saw a ball bounce in and out of his glove and trickle away far enough to let Lyons come to the plate.

Potomac extended the advantage to, 2-0, an inning later. Duffy issued back-to-back free passes to get himself into trouble early in the frame. The left-hander gave himself an opportunity to wiggle out of the jam unscathed when he induced a 5-4-3 double play, but could not take that next step. Robbie Jacobsen followed with anRBI single into left.

Duffy's night ended after five frames. He allowed only the two tallies (one earned) on two hits in the no-decision. He also fanned seven and issued three free passes.

The P-Nats had an opportunity to blow the game open against Wilmington reliever Brendan Lafferty in the top of the seventh. A double and a single, put runners at the corners with no outs. But Lafferty struck out Nick Moresi and then Potomac ran itself out of the inning. Jacobsen broke for second base and got caught in a rundown. Just as he was tagged out by Navarro, Moore started for home. Navarro pivoted and fired to the plate in time to complete the inning-ending double play.

The effort allowed Lafferty to pick up the win. He allowed three hits, but no runs in three innings pitched.

Wilmington and Potomac will square off in a rubber match on Wednesday afternoon at Frawley Stadium. The second and final mid-week mid-day game of the 2010 season in Wilmington is slated for a 12:05 p.m. first pitch. Ivor Hodgson (5-8, 4.70) takes the hill for the Blue Crew against Potomac right-hander Patrick Lehman (3-2, 4.88).

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

With the win, Wilmington regained sole possession of first place in the CL North. Had the Rocks lost they would have failed to own at least a share of first place in the division for the first time since June 30.

Josh Worrell, just called up from the Burlington Royals (APP) on Tuesday morning, made his Advanced-A debut in the ninth inning. The son of former All-Star closer Todd Worrell yielded two hits, but no runs.

Salvador Perez went 4-for-5 with a run scored in the win. The catcher had entered Tuesday in a monumental slump that had dropped his average 65 points from .309 to just .244 entering the night.

Nick Francis also enjoyed a big night at the plate. The right fielder, who was batting third thanks to Wil Myers' night off, went 2-for-5 with two RBIs a run scored and a homer. Francis is batting a blistering .333 (24-for-72) with six home runs and 19 RBIs in his last 19 games.

Check out the Wilmington Blue Rocks Statistics

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Carolina League Stories from July 27, 2010


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