CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Rocks Triple Down in Suspended Game for 6-2 Win, Shoot Blanks in Second in 4-0 Loss

Published on June 5, 2016 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Winston-Salem, N.C. - The Wilmington Blue Rocks (19-35) wasted little time in dispatching the Winston-Salem Dash (22-35) in the resumption of Saturday's suspended game, ripping a pair of triples in a four run ninth to take the first game of Sunday 6-2. However, the good times did not last as the offense was stunted in the regularly scheduled game by Dash starter Spencer Adams who tossed a complete game shutout, scattering eight hits as the Rocks dropped the game 4-0.

After Joshua Banuelos' first dinger of the season tied the game 2-2 on Saturday to give the Rocks a chance to come back and win, they did just that thanks to a couple of three baggers. Austin Bailey broke the stalemate with an RBI triple (his second Sunday in a row with a late inning run scoring triple) and pushed the Blue Crew ahead 3-2. Robert Pehl immediately plated Bailey with a single up the middle and after a Banuelos walk, Chad Johnson pulled the ball to right for a triple of his own and advanced the lead to 6-2, which is how the Rocks took the first game.

New addition to the roster, left-handed pitcher Jake Kalish, tossed a scoreless eighth and scoreless ninth to grab the win in his first appearance at the advanced-A level and moved to 1-0. Manny Martinez gave up all four runs in the ninth frame for the loss and drops to 1-3 on the season. Zach Lovvorn is still winless on the year despite dropping his ERA after receiving yet another no-decision thanks to six innings of two run work.

Although the Blue Crew offense seemed to have it all together with the four runs in the ninth inning of the resumed game, Dash starter Adams halted all the momentum in the regularly scheduled affair on Sunday. Adams was masterful out on the mound, needing just five pitches to record the first three outs. That paved the way for the Dash offense, which posted a four spot in the bottom of the first inning off of Corey Ray. It was all the help Adams needed. He tossed all nine innings for the Dash, ceding just eight hits and throwing 95 pitches in the complete game shutout.

The series resumed on Monday with LHP Colin Rodgers (1-3, 4.18) returning to the rotation for the Blue Crew and RHP Brandon Brennan (0-4, 5.97) opposing him for the Dash. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and 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 roster has had several different looks over the last couple of weeks, but none so more than on Friday and Saturday. It all started when Matt Alvarez was transferred to Triple-A Omaha on Friday. Then on Saturday things really started to pick up as Luis Villegas was shuffled up to Triple-A Omaha as well. Kyle Kubat was then sent down to Low-A Lexington and the revolving door continued to spin as catcher Nick Dini (1-for-3 on Sunday) arrived to join the Rocks in Winston-Salem along with reliever Jake Kalish. The Kalish move immediately paid dividends when he pitched two scoreless frames in getting the win in the first game on Sunday. However, the Rocks had one more move; before he even threw a pitch in Triple-A, Alvarez was recalled to the Blue Crew and immediately proved his worth, firing a scoreless inning on Saturday night before the game was stopped. Alvarez has been great lately for the Rocks, He is 3-0 in his last eight appearances and 2-for-2 in save opportunities. His ERA over that span is 1.49 and over his last 12 outings, which consist of 17.1 innings pitched, the righty has posted an ERA of 1.05.

Joshua Banuelos had hit a home run at every single level of his professional career, but through his first 18 games as a member of Wilmington he had been unable to deposit any long balls over the fence. That streak was snapped in the top of the third inning on Saturday night when Banuelos crushed a pitch over the left field wall for a two run home run. The dinger tied the game at twos and was much needed as the Rocks could not come up with any other offense before the game was halted. The long ball essentially served as a game saving home run, which the Blue Crew took full advantage of, scoring four runs once the game resumed on Sunday and taking the 6-2 victory. It was Banuelos' first home run in his last 23 games and the first time he hit a homer since April 19 as a member of the Lexington Legends. The first basemen now has nine blasts in his three seasons of professional ball and is batting .182 as a member of the Blue Crew with four RBI.

Austin Bailey has a thing for triples on Sundays. He hit a run scoring three-bagger on Sunday in the top of the ninth inning to break a 2-2 tie against the dash. The hit ended up as the game-winning stroke with the Rocks taking out the dash by a 6-2 margin. It was Bailey's second late-inning RBI triple in his last eight days. He sent the boys from Frawley on their way to victory last Sunday down in Myrtle Beach with a tenth inning triple to right, pushing them ahead 3-1. On that occasion it broke a 1-1 tie in a game that was originally scheduled for seven frames. However, the switch-hitter continues his Jekyll and Hyde season at the dish, batting .107 against lefties with no extra base hits and RBI while clubbing righties at a .286 clip with six doubles, two triples and 14 RBI.

Humberto Arteaga is as hot as any Blue Rock at the moment. Although the shortstop went 0-for-5 in the suspended game, he picked the swing right back up again and went 2-for-4 in the regularly schedule contest. The second-year player is 11-for-23 in his last five games and has scored four runs while driving in a pair. He leads every day players in batting average and sits at .280 on the season thanks to a torrid pace as of late. He has been blistering hot with hits in 19 of his last 22 games. Over that stretch he is batting .398 (35-for-88) with six extra base hits, 11 RBI and 11 runs scored. He also now has seven multi-hit games in his last 12 affairs.

They Said It

Blue Rocks Manager Jamie Quirk

"We came through with that rally in the ninth inning (of the resumed game) which was huge. The thing I liked most was we didn't settle. We get the RBI triple from (Austin) Bailey but then we kept adding on runs. Those are the type of things that can win you games, because you can't count on your bullpen shutting them down every time. We've done that at times. Gotten a lead and then not added to it, but we kept attacking in that ninth inning."

"We made a lot of first pitch outs against (Spencer Adams) which allowed him pitch the game on his terms and not on our terms. I mean he barely had to throw 90 pitches. It's one thing to be aggressive, and we went into the game knowing he was a strike-thrower. But you've got to get quality strikes to swing at and we just weren't waiting for those type pitches."

"Guys were asking if they should take a strike and I said no, wait for a good pitch to hit. But we just kept swinging at his pitches and never put any pressure on him. Give him credit too. He pitched really well."

"We were back against the wall there with (Corey) Ray. We needed some innings from him and had to get (Derek) Gordon going in the first inning there and it sure looked like we were in trouble. He couldn't find his curveball, which has been a good pitch for him, and had to work more off his fastball. But give him credit he adjusted and was able to settle in and pitch really well over the final four innings... Doing something like that speaks volumes about what he's made of. He knew we needed innings from him and to his credit he sucked it up, got it together and saved our bullpen."

"(Bailey) is much more comfortable batting left handed. Statistics show it. It's tough maintaining quality swings from both sides of the plate, that's why switch hitting is so tough. But give him credit, he has been clutch for us."

"(Humberto Arteaga) has been outstanding. That play he made defensively between the five-six hole with the underhand throw across the diamond is as good as you'll see all season. He's getting hits and he's playing phenomenal defense. We can't ask for much more."

Blue Rocks Infielder Humberto Arteaga

"I have my confidence back. It was a big problem for me in the first month. I was kind of lost at the plate. But now I'm seeing the ball better and hitting it better as a result. I'm really glad to go up there and know what I'm capable of and then getting it done now."

"It was hard when I was struggling and honestly, yeah, I was losing focus sometimes, especially on the preparation right before the game. We talked about that and I've learned that in preparation right before the game I've got to be in beast mode and I have been and the results speak for themselves."

"Defense is a huge part of my game. I take a lot of pride in being viewed as a good defensive player. I have a lot of fun working hard on infield drills so I can go out there and make plays and earn my pitchers' trust."

"I have to give (Adams) credit cause he pitched a very good game, but we also helped him out. We were too anxious at the plate. We just swung and chased some pitches and let him get outs without working for them."

"In the past month we've been fighting more and putting together big innings. I know what kind of team we have and we didn't show that early. But everybody is starting to step up and I'll tell you this, it's going to be a fun second half for us."

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Carolina League Stories from June 5, 2016


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