CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Rocks Unable to Complete Third Straight Rally, Drop Finale 6-5

Published on June 12, 2016 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Wilmington, DE - The Wilmington Blue Rocks (21-39) fell behind the Salem Red Sox (40-23) for the third night in a row and once again tried to muster a late rally, but this time it fell short as they dropped the series finale 6-5. Chad Johnson continued to hit the ball hard for the Blue Crew, launching his second home run of the season and second homer of the series in the almost comeback.

While Rocks starter Matt Tenuta and Sox starter Trey Ball traded zeroes through the first portion of the game, it looked like one run might be the difference. Salem took advantage in the fifth inning when Joseph Monge started the frame with a single. He immediately stole second and moved to third on a fly ball. After a groundout to short with the infield in kept him at third, Yoan Moncada's single up the middle broke the stalemate and gave the Sox a 1-0 lead.

After a quiet bottom of the fifth from the Blue Crew, Salem broke the game open with three runs in the sixth. The big swing of the inning was a two run triple by Danny Mars who came home just one batter later on a sacrifice fly by Jordan Betts and the Sox went ahead 4-0. They tacked on another one in the seventh off of reliever Luis Rico when Rafael Devers tripled home a run. Chad Johnson's long ball in the bottom of the seventh cut the lead to 5-1, but the Sox used another triple from Mars to boost the lead, which turned out to be pivotal.

Mars tripled off of Rico to begin the eighth and came home on a single by Betts to push the lead to 6-1. The Rocks tried to mount another rally in the eighth and made some noise by scoring a run on a single by Elier Hernandez. However, Brandon Downes came to the plate with men at first and second and one out and grounded into a 5-3 double play to end the threat with the score 6-2. The home squad refused to go away and loaded the bases in the ninth inning for Humberto Arteaga who hit a sac fly to cut the lead to 6-3. Escalera backed up the sacrifice fly with a single to left to make it a two-run game at 6-4. It looked like the game might end when Franco popped up a ball to shallow left-center, but the wind forced the ball to drift an extra 25 feet and it fell in safely, plating a run and bring the Blue Rocks to within 6-5. However, with runners at the corners and the Blue Crew down to their last out, Hernandez swung and put a charge into the ball with a shot to center, but the wind caught it and the ball fell into the glove of Monge for the final out of the game.

Despite a good start to the outing, Tenuta (3-4) receives the loss by allowing four runs in 5.2 innings pitched while Ball moves to 3-3 on the season in a win. The boys from Frawley next host the Winston-Salem Dash for a three game set as RHP Josh Staumont (1-6, 5.1) will take on RHP Matt Cooper (4-4, 3.22). 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

In games two and three of the series against the Salem Red Sox, the Wilmington Blue Rocks waited until the seventh inning to mount their comeback. On Friday they scored four runs in the seventh to turn a 2-0 game into a 4-2 lead and on Saturday they flipped a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 advantage. They waited even longer on Sunday to try and rally, holding until the ninth inning. Staring at a 6-2 deficit, the Rocks scored three runs in their final at bats and had the tying run at third and the go-ahead run at first before Elier Hernandez hard out to center ended the game. The Rocks have made it a theme of the season series against the Blue Rocks, constructing two successful comebacks on June 10 and 11 while falling just short in three other comeback bids, scoring two runs in the ninth on May 14 before losing 8-7 in ten innings, and scoring four in the top of the ninth on May 15 while falling 10-9.

Although the Rocks have lost three of the eight games they have played against the Salem Red Sox this series, the series is about as close as it can get. Through the eight games the Red Sox are outscoring the Blue Crew by a lone run. The Sox have scored 47 runs in the eight games while the boys from Frawley have plated 46. The two teams split the four game set at the Rocks home and by taking two of four against the Southern Division leading Sox, the Blue Crew denied them the chance to clinch and Salem no longer has the best record in the Carolina League, trailing Lynchburg 40-22 to 40-23.

The middle of the lineup seems to have found their swings. While Humberto Arteaga went hitless for the second game in a row, outfielder Alfredo Escalera's hot streak has moved him ahead of the Rocks All-Star in batting average. The native of Puerto Rico went 2-for-4 on Sunday, picking up a double and driving in a run while also working a walk. He has hit safely in seven of his last nine games while reaching in eight of those affairs. In that span his average his jumped from .256 to .277 thanks to going 14-for-37 in the last eight games. The three-hole hitter has racked up multiple hit games in five of those contests including two three-hit outings. He has scored four times, driving in five, in addition to collecting three doubles and also walking three times.

The Blue Rock with the best day at the plate on Sunday though was the man who hits behind Escalera, Wander Franco. Franco went 4-for-5 on the afternoon and drove in a run during the ninth inning rally. The third basemen's average was as low as .188 back on May 24, but it now sits at .239 thanks to a hot streak the last couple of weeks. The Dominican Republic native has hit safely in 13 of his last 17 games and is 24-for-69 (.348) in that timeframe. Seven of those games have resulted in multiple hit outings with two three hit games and one four hit affair. He has also driven in 14 runs during the streak, scoring eight times and adding seven doubles.

They Said It

Blue Rocks Manager Jamie Quirk

"It was great. We're playing the best team, we won two in a row, treading water, that's what we talked to the guys about. They just keep coming and it's nice. Some days they're outmanned but they're never out hustled and we keep busting our butts. That's what's rewarding for them, a win isn't always the most important thing, it's how you go about it. They kept going right at it until the last out and I guarantee the other dugout was a little nervous at the end."

"(Matt Tenuta) has been working really hard with (Charlie Corbell) on his side sessions. They changed his arm angle a little bit and he's keeping the ball down and it worked today. He had confidence in it and he's feeling it, just needed a little adjustment. He pitched down much better (Sunday) than he has in his last four or five outings. It's always nice to see results, that's what everything is predicated on, is results. He felt good about himself and he was very solid (Sunday)."

"(Chad Johnson) has been swinging well for about two and a half to three weeks, he's doing much better. Just talked to him about how you can't erase what's already there. He was struggling, he was down to .160. I just said you have to be aggressive. He was just feeling for the ball and I said when you decide to swing, swing. He's been really swinging the bat well. It's so much about confidence in this game when you're constantly beat up and you don't get success it beats you down. The mental toughness started showing and he started being more aggressive. He's starting to pull balls now. Two homeruns in this series, it's just a matter of being aggressive and confidence is starting to come."

"(Elier Hernandez) is just working hard. It's adjustments. The one bad thing about this game is when you have a bad start you're constantly looking up and seeing .190 or .200 and that wears on you. You have to forget about that and worry about the next at bat and then the next at bat. He is doing a great job at that. He is gradually climbing, he dug himself a hole he can't do anything about that. He's working hard; he'll be there at the end. We talk about that important start because it can bury you or it can give you a little leeway. He's working hard every day and I have faith at the end of the year you'll look up and you'll forget about April and May."

Check out the Wilmington Blue Rocks Statistics

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



Carolina League Stories from June 12, 2016


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