CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Rocks Unable to Solve Keys, Get Shutout 3-0 in First Game of Road Trip

Published on May 10, 2016 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Frederick, MD- Josh Staumont gave the Wilmington Blue Rocks (9-21) a chance to take down the Frederick Keys (13-18) in the first game of their seven game road trip, but the offense offered no support as the Rocks dropped the opener 3-0. Staumont went seven quality innings while giving up just three runs, but the Blue Crew bats managed just four hits in the game that took a mere 1:51 to complete.

The boys from Frawley got behind early and never were able to come back. Staumont got a little wild in the bottom of the first and threw in a run when he uncorked a wild pitch with a runner at third base. That put the Rocks behind 1-0 and the Keys catcher, Jonah Heim, did the rest of the damage. Heim lined his third home run of the season over the wall in left in the second and then drove in another with a single to center in the fourth. It could have been worse, but Brandon Downes gunned down a runner at home to preserve the 3-0 deficit.

That is as close as the Blue Crew would get though as Lucas Long kept them off of the board for eight inning and then turned the ball over to Mike Zouzalik who retired the side in order for his fourth save. Staumont was sacked with the loss and drops to 0-3 while Long grabs his first win of the season and moves to 1-1. The two teams go at it again at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday night from Nymeo Field as LHP Colin Rodgers (1-3, 3.51) goes on the mound for the Rocks while LHP John Means (3-0, 2.32) takes the hill for Frederick. Those wishing to listen to game can hear all the action by tuning in to 89.7 WGLS-FM or online at BlueRocks.com

Pebbles of Knowledge

Although the Rocks did get shut out for the third time this season, the loss was mercifully quick. The 1:51 of game time was the shortest nine-inning affair of the season for the Blue Crew and was shorter than three of the four seven-inning doubleheader games. Prior to Tuesday night's game, the shortest nine-inning tilt was 2:16 on May 5 against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. The contest was still 19 minutes longer than the franchise's shortest nine-inning game. That came on September 6, 1998 against the Prince William Cannons.

After starting the season in a prolonged slump, Elier Hernandez has seemingly started to turn things around. The Rocks outfielder has strung together hits in four consecutive games for his longest hitting streak of the season. He is 5-for-11 in the last four games with two doubles, three runs, and three walks while raising his average 25 points from .158 to .183. He has also hit safely in eight of his last ten games with four doubles in that span while going 9-for-37 with four RBI and four runs scored.

The Frederick Keys are an enigma that the Blue Rocks are currently unable to figure out. The Rocks have lost four straight to the Keys after getting swept in the most recent homestand by Frederick. The loss pushes the overall numbers to five defeats in a row away from Frawley stadium and it is the pitching that has cost the Blue Crew the most. Despite Josh Staumont's seven innings while surrendering just three runs, the overall numbers for the pitching staff is not good: the arms have posted a 5.31 ERA while Staumont is 0-1 against the Maryland club with a 6.52 mark. The offense has not helped either. During the seven games played between the two clubs, the Rocks have struck out 69 times and walked 23 compared to the Keys 51 whiffs and 47 free passes.

With the 3-0 loss, the Blue Crew has now lost five in a row on the road, which is the longest such streak away from Frawley on the season. The loss came on a shutout and is the third time this year the Rocks' offense has been unable to scratch across a single run. It is the second time in the last week as the boys from Frawley were kept off of the board on Saturday in Game One of their doubleheader against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans in a 4-0 defeat. This loss though was the first time the Rocks have been shutout over nine innings as both of the previous white washes occurred as part of doubleheaders. The good news for Rocks fans is that the Blue Crew has exchanged getting shutout with posting one of their own so if they continue the trend, they should put up an entire game of zeroes next.

They Said It

Blue Rocks Manager Jamie Quirk

"I was a little disappointed because I thought we came out pretty flat and let their pitcher get on a roll. We made a lot of quick outs and really made it pretty easy on their pitcher. They scored in each of the first two innings and got a lead on us and offensively we just never battled back. We really didn't show up at the plate and had a lot of poor at bats."

"I wish I knew what we were doing at the plate really. They just decided to come out and swing early and that led to a lot of ground balls. We just hit too many balls that didn't even get out of the infield. Not good contact too often and made it entirely too easy on their pitcher."

"Elier (Hernandez) drove that ball (on his double in the fifth). He hasn't gotten a lot of extra-base hits which has been a concern, but he got ahold of that one. He squared it up which is what we are looking for. Chad (Johnson) did the same on his in the eighth. We need those guys to do that."

"Our club doesn't get a lot of extra-base hits. That's been one of our biggest problems. When you're not getting into good counts to hit you end up hitting defensively which is what happened to us in this game."

"We are starting to get a little production from the bottom portion of the order. We had balance in our lineup in the Myrtle Beach series. We can't just string together outs in bunches like we were early in the season. We weren't as balanced (Tuesday) but Johnson got that double which gave us at least a chance at a run."

"(Josh) Staumont did okay. It was good development for him. He pitched into the seventh inning, which he had never done in his professional career. The positive thing is his pitch count allowed him to go seven innings."

"I wouldn't say he pitched to contact as much as he just pitched under control. He didn't have a ton of strikeouts but he did his job. His tempo was much better. He got the ball, got his sign and went. Sometimes when Josh pitches the game just slows down. He didn't do that (Tuesday)."

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Carolina League Stories from May 10, 2016


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