CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Rocks Sweep Doubleheader, Extend Winning Streak To Six

Published on April 17, 2011 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Wilmington, DE - The Wilmington Blue Rocks extended their winning streak to six games thanks to a pair of wins over the Potomac Nationals in a doubleheader on Sunday at Frawley Stadium. The victories came in two very distinct fashions, but the end result was just as sweet for the Rocks, as they routed Potomac in game one, 6-0, and came from behind for a dramatic 6-5 win in the nightcap.

Wilmington spotted Potomac a four-run lead after the top of the second in game two. Starter Jake Odorizzi surrendered a pair of unearned runs in the opening frame thanks to an errant pickoff throw and a Nick Francis error in right. He then yielded two earned tallies in the second. The first scored on a double-steal when Eury Perez was stuck in a rundown with two outs, but beat first baseman Joey Lewis to second base, allowing Chris Curran, who started the play at second, to circle all the way around and score. Perez came home when Jeff Kobernus laced an RBI double to right.

Wilmington began its comeback in the home-half of the second, when Francis opened the inning with a solo homer to left-center. The Rocks added another single score in the third when Whit Merrifield singled, stole second and came home on Rey Navarro's bloop-single to left.

John Whittleman continued the rally in the fourth with a solo bomb to right that pulled Wilmington to within one. Jose Bonilla followed with a walk and starting pitcher Alex Caldera's day was done. Caldera, who spent two years on the Riverfront and was a mid-season All-Star in 2010, was traded to the Washington organization during the offseason. His homecoming got even unhappier when reliever Carlos Martinez entered and proceeded to quickly cough up the lead.

Carlo Testa greeted the right-hander with a single and Lewis proceeded to move the runners up to second and third with a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt. Potomac elected to bring the infield in up a run with one out against Adam Frost, but the infielder made the decision a moot point when he lofted a two-run triple over the head of right fielder Destin Hood. The clutch-knock gave Wilmington a 5-4 lead. Merrifield followed with an RBI sacrifice fly to provide some critical insurance.

Potomac would not go away quietly. The P-Nats cut the lead in half in the fifth off reliever Manauris Baez. Perez reached on an error but was retired on a fielder's choice grounder off the bat of Kobernus. J.P. Ramirez brought him home on an RBI double to right. The designated hitter also advanced to third when Navarro tried, but failed to cut down Kobernus at the plate. Baez (1-0) settled in though, getting Hood to ground out to third and fanning Steven Souza to preserve the one-run edge.

Potomac threatened again in the sixth, putting runners at first and second with only one out. Wilmington manager Brian Rupp went to his bullpen and brought in prospect Kelvin Herrera. The right-hander's first pitch resulted in a passed ball on catcher Jose Bonilla, moving the runners to second and third. But his next offering decided the game. Chris Curran laced a liner toward third that Frost made a diving grab on. The infielder then won a race with Stephen King to the bag for an inning-ending double play.

Herrera worked a scoreless seventh to nail down his first save of the season.

Game one lacked the heart-stopping drama of the nightcap, but that did not bother the Rocks. Wilmington scored the game's first run on a third-inning homer by catcher Ryan Eigsti. The Blue Crew added three more scores one frame later courtesy of a throwing-error by Souza at first base, and a two-run double by Lewis.

Wilmington added insurance in the sixth thanks to an RBI single by Eigsti and a run-scoring two-bag knock off the bat of Deivy Batista.

Truth be told, the third-inning homer was all the piggyback combo of Noel Arguelles and Michael Mariot needed. The duo combined for 10 strikeouts and just one free pass in their seven innings of work. Arguelles got the start and retired the first eight batters he faced. He left after four frames, having fanned five and yielded just two hits. Mariot (2-0) picked up right where the Cuban prospect left off, recording five whiffs of his own and allowing only one hit in three innings pitched to earn the win.

The Rocks will look to extend their winning streak on Monday when they welcome the Kinston Indians to town for the opener of a three-game set. First pitch is slated for 6:35 p.m. ET. Right-hander Elisaul Pimentel (0-0, 12.00) hits the hill for Wilmington against Kinston southpaw T.J. House (0-0, 6.75).

The game will be the first $1 Monday at Frawley Stadium, presented by TD Bank. With the purchase of one ticket for any Monday home game, fans will receive a second ticket for just $1. In addition, every Monday home game is a Dollar Dog Night, courtesy of Dietz & Watson. For tickets call 302-888-BLUE or visit bluerocks.com.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE: Entering this three-game series with Potomac, Wilmington catchers had thrown out just one-of-16 attempted base stealers in 2011. But over the last three days, Blue Rock backstops gunned down four of Potomac's seven theft attempts.

Speaking of thefts, Nick Francis was robbed of a home run in the fifth inning of Sunday's nightcap. The right fielder laced a soaring shot that seemed destined for the Potomac bullpen in left field, but Eury Perez raced to the wall, leaped and reached over the fence to grab Francis' long fly. It denied the power hitter of his first two home run game of 2011. Francis finished the twin-bill with two hits, two runs scored and an RBI.

Ryan Eigsti wasted little time making his presence felt in Wilmington. The catcher, who began the year on the disabled list with Northwest Arkansas, homered in his first at-bat of the 2011 season. Eigsti homered only three times in 324 at-bats with the Blue Rocks in 2009.

Joey Lewis got the better of his college teammate, Trevor Holder in the opener on Sunday. Lewis actually caught Holder when the two played together at the University of Georgia. Sunday's designated hitter, who has shifted to corner infield as a professional, went 2-for-3 in game one with a double and a pair of RBIs.

Rey Navarro's season-opening seven-game hitting streak came to a close in the opener. The infielder did reach safely on an error, but went 0-for-3 overall. He batted .533 (16-for-30) with six extra-base hits during the streak. His reward was a shift to the other side of the infield in the nightcap. Navarro played shortstop in game two, the position he played upon his arrival in the Kansas City organization last May. He shifted to second base when the Royals drafted his former Blue Rocks teammate Christian Colon in the first round of the 2010 draft.

Kelvin Herrera saved the day in game two. His five-out save started when he entered with two men on and one out in the sixth. It marked the first time Herrera had inherited runners in his four years of full-season ball. The right-hander, who pitched exclusively as a starter in 2009 and 2010, had not earned a save since 2007 when he pitched in the Dominican Summer League.

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Carolina League Stories from April 17, 2011


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