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CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Rocks Snap Scoreless Streak, But Lose Series Finale 5-4

June 7, 2016 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Winston-Salem, N.C. - The Wilmington Blue Rocks (19-37) scoreless streak lasted 21.1 innings before Chad Johnson snapped the streak with a fourth inning two out double, but the Rocks could not complete the rally from an early 4-0 hole, dropping the series finale 5-4 to the Winston Salem Dash (24-35). The Blue Crew had trouble manufacturing offense and they let a golden opportunity slip away in the seventh inning when they loaded the bases with nobody out and got just one in. It came back to hurt them in the ninth inning when they once again loaded the bases and scored a run without a hit, but Austin Bailey grounded out to second to end the game and the series.

The boys from Frawley sent Josh Staumont out to the mound to try and give the offense a chance to get going, but the righty allowed a two out single to Marcus Davis with men at first and second to give the Dash a 1-0 lead. They poured two more on in their next at bats when Mason Robbins doubled home a pair, once again with two down, to push the advantage to 3-0. They made it 4-0 in the third on a sac fly before Johnson finally ended the season's longest drought for the Blue Crew.

Elier Hernandez used his speed to get on to start the inning, reaching on a groundball to short. He remained at first base after a lineout and a strikeout, but Johnson was able to stroke a two-bagger to centerfield and Hernandez used his wheels to score all the way from first and cut the deficit to 4-1. However, another Robbins double regained the four run lead for the home team as the Dash led 5-1 after four.

However, the Rocks refused to go away and did some more damage with two down in the sixth inning. This time it was Bailey singling with a pair out of the way before Brandon Downes doubled to center to make it 5-2. The Blue Crew then loaded the bases in the seventh without putting the ball in play, but were only able to score a lone run on a Wander Franco sacrifice fly. That proved pivotal because they loaded the bases with one out in the ninth inning without the benefit of a hit, but after another free pass brought them to within one, Hernandez struck out swinging and Bailey grounded out to second to end the game.

Staumont takes the loss and drops to 1-6 on the year while giving up all five runs (four earned) in four innings. Matt Cooper evens his record at 4-4 thanks to 5.2 innings of two run baseball. The Rocks will have Wednesday off before starting a seven game homestand with the first four games coming against the Salem Red Sox. That game will feature LHP Foster Griffin (1-2, 6.62) for the Blue Crew against the Sox's RHP Travis Lakins (5-2, 5.55). For tickets call the Blue Rocks ticket office at 302-888-BLUE or get tickets online at BlueRocks.com. Fans interested in listening to the game can tune in to WGLS-FM 89.7 or go to BlueRocks.com for all the game action.

Pebbles of Knowledge

The Wilmington Blue Rocks were shutout on Sunday by a score of 4-0 before enduring the same fate by a 6-0 defeat on Monday night. The 18 innings in a row were the longest of the season and the drought lasted all the way until the top of the fourth inning on Tuesday night. Chad Johnson did the honors of snapping the scoreless streak, blasting a double with two down to get the monkey off of the Rocks backs. The 21.1 innings eclipsed the previous mark of the year of 16 innings without a run between May 17 and May 18. They were unable to score in the final eight innings in a 3-1 loss to the Frederick Keys and followed that up by going scoreless through their first eight frames on May 18 against the Carolina Mudcats before scoring three in the bottom of the ninth in an exciting 3-2 walk-off win.

While Johnson opened up the scoring for the Blue Crew, he was not done. He added a hit later in the contest and finished the game 2-for-4 with the RBI double. The catcher has had his fair of bad slumps this season, but may have found his stroke. He is in the midst of a season long six-game hit streak and is piling up the extra base hits in that span with three doubles and his only triple of the year. Overall in the last six games, Johnson is 9-for-22 with the four extra base hits, seven RBI and a run scored. He has also walked twice during the streak and struck out just once.

Wander Franco seems to be hitting his stride at the end of the first half of the season. The third basemen produced a 1-for-3 night at the plate on Tuesday and drove in a pair while adding a double and a walk. He now has hits in six of his last seven games. The third basement also has three multi-hit games in his last five starts and is 11-for-27 in his last seven contests, raising his average 28 points (.201 to .229). The hits are not cheapies either. Three of the 11 hits are doubles in that time frame and he has driven in five while scoring thrice as well.

If there is one stat that explains why the Rocks lost the final three games of their series against the Dash it is Runners in Scoring Position. In their series opening win in the suspended game, the Blue Crew went 3-for-9 in the ever important category, highlighted by a four run ninth inning. However, after that impressive performance, it all fell apart. The boys from Frawley proceeded to go 0-for-23 in their next three games against Winston-Salem. Their worst night came on Tuesday. In that contest, the Rocks has 13 chances to collect a base knock without runners at second or third, but came up empty in every single opportunity.

They Said It

Blue Rocks Manager Jamie Quirk

"We were smarter at the plate. I don't want to say patient. It's not about that. When the guy wasn't throwing strikes we didn't bite and it helped us load the bases a couple time and almost pull even late."

"We are still looking for that big hit. It's really been the one thing that's eluded us all season. I'm sure everybody's frustrated when it bunches together like this, but that's the anxiety part that we've got to deal with and handle when we're hitting with runners in scoring position. You can talk about it but you can't get into the batters box for them. You can preach about it but it's not something you can teach."

"That's what A-ball is all about learning to hit in clutch spots and learning to drive in runs. Some guys take longer to learn and some guys never do. That's where we are. We've got to fight through the anxiety and understand what we're doing, slow ourselves down and come through."

"(Luis) Rico pitched very good. He was outstanding. Our program with him dictates he goes multiple innings for us and he's been nothing but good since he got here."

"Chad (Johnson) has made up his mind to not get beat by fastballs. He's being aggressive instead of passive and is getting the bat head out and pulling balls. It's an aggressive swing rather than the passive one he had for a few weeks there."

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Carolina League Stories from June 7, 2016


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