CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Rocks Ride Navarro's Homer to Shutout Win

Published on June 1, 2011 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Kinston, NC - With a pair of prized prospects going head-to-head, it was no surprise the bullpens decided the fate of Wednesday morning's meeting between the Wilmington Blue Rocks (29-22) and the Kinston Indians (26-25) at Historic Grainger Stadium. The Blue Rocks' Jake Odorizzi struck out eight over six scoreless frames of three-hit ball. But it was middle reliever Tyler Sample (3-3) with the win and closer Kevin Chapman bolting down his team-leading seventh save in the Rocks' fourth shutout win of the year, 2-0. Rey Navarro hit a two-run homer as the Rocks snapped a season-worst five-game losing skid.

The Indians never pushed a man beyond second base against Odorizzi. He walked just two men and three of the five baserunners he allowed reached with two outs. Kinston starter Drew Pomeranz faced a little more adversity during his solid five frames of scoreless baseball. The Blue Crew put the leadoff man on base twice against the highly-touted southpaw, who pitched for the first time since May 18.

That included a leadoff single to shortstop by his former Ole Miss teammate, Tim Ferguson, in the fourth. Ferguson, who batted in the clean-up position for the first time in 2011, took second on a wild pitch and third on Juan Graterol's groundout. Pomeranz bounced back though, striking out Alex McClure swinging to strand his fellow former Rebel 90 feet from home plate.

Reliever Francisco Jimenez (1-1) worked around a one-out single in the sixth before being tested on another one-out blow in the seventh. McClure sent his second triple of the season down the right-field line, prompting Kinston to draw its infield in. Joey Lewis then grounded out to shortstop before Deivy Batista struck out on a fastball away to end the threat.

Wilmington had left men in scoring position five times in six innings entering the eighth when Carlo Testa worked a one-out walk and Navarro made it matter. The second baseman hammered a first-pitch jack over both levels of signage in left field for his third homer of the season. The two-run shot lifted his season-long RBI total to team-high 30.

Sample worked around leadoff baserunners in the seventh and eighth, striking out three men in that time. Chapman issued a leadoff walk to Justin Toole in the ninth and dominated from there. The hard-throwing lefty hit 99 mph once on the in-house radar gun and sat at 93-94 according to the scoreboard as he struck out consecutive men thereafter. Tyler Holt then sent a fly ball to foul ground in right that Yem Prades caught as he collided with the half-wall of concrete to end the game.

The Blue Rocks' seven-game road trip concludes at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Right-hander Michael Mariot (5-0, 1.17) starts for the first time this season. His usual piggybacking partner, Noel Arguelles, will be pushed back until Friday as the rest of the rotation gets pushed back a day as well. Broadcast coverage begins at 6 p.m. as studio host Adam Dobrowolski brings fans the Rocks Report Pre-game Show, presented by Wawa, on 89.7 WGLS-FM and online at wgls.rowan.edu.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

The Blue Rocks won despite going 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

While they snapped their five-game losing streak, the Blue Rocks continued to toil offensively. Over their last six games, the Blue Rocks have scored just eight runs while hitting .138 (26-for-188) with just nine extra-base hits. That span includes a 4-for-36 (.111) mark with runners in scoring position.

After receiving their first two shutout losses of the season over a four-day span from Saturday to Tuesday, the Blue Rocks earned a shutout win for the first time since May 19 at Salem. The Blue Rocks won that game 1-0 despite getting one-hit by the Red Sox. Much like Wednesday, that hit was a homer to account for all of the team's scoring.

Jake Odorizzi lowered his season-long ERA to 2.05. He has struck out a league-high 74 men in 52.2 innings this season. He also paces CL starters in strikeout efficiency with his average of 12.65 whiffs per nine innings. The one-time top-ranked prospect for the Milwaukee Brewers, according to Baseball America, owns a 5.3:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (74K:14BB). After a pair of so-so starts to begin his tenure as a Royals farmhand, he has gone 4-0 with a 1.77 ERA during an eight-start span.

In similar fashion, Kevin Chapman's two strikeouts over his single frame lifted his season-long total to 38 in just 21.1 innings for a league-best (among relievers) 16.03 K / 9.0 IP ratio. He has walked just seven men for a 5.4:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He logged his first save since May 10.

Alex McClure finished the day with a pair of hits and his 10th stolen base of the year. He joined Whit Merrifield as the only Blue Rocks with double-digit swipes on the year and snapped an 0-for-16 hitting funk.

Rey Navarro's team-leading 18th multi-hit game of the season ties his total from all of last season in a Wilmington uniform (107 games). All three of his home runs this year and seven of his eight all-time as a Blue Rock have come on the road.

Check out the Wilmington Blue Rocks Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Carolina League Stories from June 1, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central