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CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Rocks Strike First, But Can't Keep Lead in Loss to Salem

July 23, 2015 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


SALEM, Va. - Despite scoring in the first inning for the fifth consecutive game, the Blue Rocks dropped a contest to the Salem Red Sox on Thursday by a score of 3-1. Wilmington fell to 51-46 while Salem moved up to 50-48. Elier Hernandez was responsible for the lone tally of the evening for the Blue Crew, but a two-run seventh for the Sox gave them a lead they would not relinquish.

As they had done in their four previous games, the Blue Rocks got on the board in the first inning. With the bases empty and two down, Mauricio Ramos was hit by a Ty Buttrey pitch. Ryan O'Hearn followed with a single to put two men on for Hernandez. The right fielder then produced a single of his own that brought Ramos in, giving the Blue Crew a 1-0 lead after half a frame.

The Red Sox tied the game with a run of their own in the fourth. After Luis Rico struck out the first two men of the inning, Kevin Heller drew a two-out walk. Heller would advance to second on a wild pitch with Cole Sturgeon at the plate, and Sturgeon would make it hurt with a single that plated Heller to knot the game at one apiece.

Salem took the lead for good with a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh. Yoilan Cerse was hit by an Evan Beal pitch to begin the frame, then was moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt from Jordan Procyshen. Jordan Betts would follow with a single that got Cerse to third, and the Sox took the lead as the next batter, Mauricio Dubon, produced a base hit of his own. Forrestt Allday gave the Red Sox some insurance with the third straight single of the inning which brought Betts home, making it 3-1 Salem.

The first-half champion Blue Rocks wrap up their three-game series against Salem on Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., and fans can listen to the broadcast on 89.7 WGLS-FM. The Rocks return to Frawley Stadium to open up a three-game set against the Lynchburg Hillcats on Saturday, July 25. For tickets, call 302-888-BLUE or visit www.bluerocks.com.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

For whatever reason, the Blue Rocks just cannot figure out the Salem Red Sox. With the loss on Thursday, Wilmington drops to 2-6 overall against their CL South foe, including a 1-4 record at Salem Memorial Ballpark. The Blue Crew offense has really struggled against Salem pitching this year, hitting .212 against the Sox with 10 extra-base hits. The one bright spot appears to be Carlos Garcia, who currently holds a .308 batting average against Salem in seven games against the Sox in 2015. Despite all the losses, the pitching staff has remained solid against Salem, turning in a 3.29 ERA though 68.1 innings pitched.

The Rocks only managed to produce one run on Thursday, even though they had plenty of chances to dent the scoreboard. Wilmington stranded eight runners in scoring position, and turned in an overall 1-for-12 effort with men on second and/or third base. This comes after a game that saw the Blue Crew leave five men in scoring position on Wednesday. The 12 men Wilmington left on base on Thursday fell two shy of their season-high mark, which came back on May 28 against Potomac when they left 14 on the base paths. The Rocks are now batting .266 with runners in scoring position this season, and they have left a total of 594 men on base throughout the 2015 campaign.

For the fifth consecutive game, the Blue Rocks scored in the first inning with a single tally in the top of the frame. Thursday also marked the 57th time the Blue Crew has scored before their opponents this season. Though they are 2-3 over the last five games in which they have scored first, the Rocks are 35-22 overall when cracking the scoreboard before their foes. When the opposition scores first, Wilmington is just 16-24. The Rocks are currently outscoring opponents 38-28 in the first inning, while their biggest inning has been the fourth when Wilmington is outscoring other teams 53-29. Wilmington, who is now 13-14 in the second-half, is outscoring their opponents by a 347-339 total.

Elier Hernandez and Ryan O'Hearn each recorded multi-hit games for the Rocks on Thursday, and that will be a big factor in any kind of Wilmington success in the second-half. Both players came up from Lexington looking to help a struggling Wilmington offense, but since their promotions both prospects have batted around the "Mendoza Line." Hernandez entered 2015 as the 22nd ranked prospect in the Royals' organization according to Baseball America, and he had a successful campaign at Low-A before his call-up. He batted .290 with 42 RBIs and 26 extra-base hits. In 15 games with Wilmington, though, the outfielder has produced just four doubles and five RBIs to go along with a .196 average. O'Hearn, the Royals' 25th-best prospect according to Baseball America, dominated the Low-A ranks before coming to the Rocks. The first baseman batted .277 in 81 games with the Legends while leading the team in homeruns (19), RBIs (56), hits (87), and total bases (155). O'Hearn has been swinging a better bat lately, with his last two contests seeing him produce multiple hits, including his first extra-base hit at the Adv.-A level in the series finale against Carolina on Tuesday. He had 30 extra-base hits at Lexington.

THEY SAID IT:

Manager Brian Buchanan:

"We had some chances, we just couldn't come up with a big hit, and that happens. (Luis) Rico threw the ball ok. He had that long one inning. With two outs we'd like for him to get out of that, but I think he threw 30 pitches in that one inning, and if a pitcher does that we've got to take him out. We didn't swing the bats all that great tonight. We left a lot of guys out there that we could have capitalized on."

"When you get back home, you've just got to work on (bunting). Get everyone out there early and get the (pitching) machine and turn it up pretty quick on them and have them bunt. We'll do that the next home stand. Early on in the year they were doing ok, and I think that was why we were winning some games, because we were getting those down. For whatever reason the past two or three weeks we haven't been able to do it. It's a little frustrating. It's one of those things that's kind of an attitude. When you're in there bunting, you've got to get it down. There's no real excuse for it. The pitches they are trying to bunt are good pitches to bunt. They're just not getting them down, so we've got to get that straightened away when we get back (to Wilmington)."

"All those hitters that come up here, and even the pitchers that have been in Lexington, they've got to know the (competition) a little bit. It is a little bit of an adjustment (between levels). At this level, guys are starting to throw their breaking balls. I don't think they throw any harder, it's just the location is what gets the hitters out. (Elier Hernandez and Ryan O'Hearn) are young guys, and they're going to come up here and it's an adjustment period just like when you move up to any level."

"(Every game is) important. Going into the second half, we want to try and win it. Every game is important, and we're just going to keep working at it. Guys are going have to start making some adjustments here and there to get guys in from third and get some big hits. Every game is important at this level. You want to try and win every game and develop guys so they're ready for the playoffs."

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