CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Teaford Dominates, Moustakas Crushes

Published on May 18, 2009 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Salem, VA - A meeting with the ex went Wilmington's way on Monday as the Blue Rocks (18-19) defeated the Salem Red Sox (20-18) at Memorial Stadium, 5-2. Starter Everett Teaford (4-1) faced just one over the minimum in assembling the best outing of his season. He struck out five over six scoreless innings. Mike Moustakas delivered a big blow, bombing a three-run homer in the sixth to give his team a 4-0 cushion, his team-leading seventh. The newest Blue Rock, Juan Abreu, struck out the lone man he faced to record his second save. Wilmington leveled its record at 2-2 against the Red Sox. The Blue Rocks had a brief two-year affair away from Kansas City with Boston as its parent club from 2005-06.

For a while, it was a pitchers' duel. The lone run through five innings came in the visiting second. Paulo Orlando reached on a bunt base hit, stole second, took third on a Clint Robinson right-side groundout and scored on a Kyle Weiland (1-4) wild pitch for a 1-0 game. Teaford, who celebrated his 25th birthday on day one of this 10-game road trip, made sure that single score would stand up. He allowed three total men on base and each reached with two outs. Che-Hsuan Lin worked a two-out walk in the second, but Teaford picked him off. The same fate befell Matt Sheely after a two-out single in the third. Lin reached on a two-out error in the fifth, but was stranded when Jered Stanley struck out swinging.

During that time, Weiland dominated. He retired 11 straight Blue Rocks from Orlando's bunt single until Adrian Ortiz began the sixth with a single. Derrick Robinson sacrificed him to second and a key at-bat followed. Weiland lost his control, twice nearly hitting Johnny Giavotella in the head. Ultimately, the Blue Rocks second baseman worked a walk, bringing up Moustakas, the top prospect in the Royals' organization. The powerful slugger took a 1-0 fastball middle-in out of the yard to right for a 4-0 margin.

The offensive surge did not stall there. Two batters later, David Lough smacked a line drive to straightaway center. Lin raced back and poorly played the ball off the wall. Not only did he come too close to the wall itself, allowing the ball to bound past him, but he also bobbled a fielding try and offered a subpar throw in. Lough, who Lin gunned down at second base in the second inning when he attempted to turn a single into a double, never broke stride and crossed the plate to make it 5-0. It was scored a triple and an error.

Reliever Chris Chavez worked a 1-2-3 seventh, but ran into trouble in the eighth and ninth. Aaron Reza broke up the shutout with a sacrifice fly in the eighth, scoring Luis Exposito. In the ninth, Mike Jones doubled to right with one down and Jason Place followed with a comeback single. After Exposito popped out to third in foul ground, Lin singled the first pitch thereafter to shallow right. It scored one and brought the tying run to the plate.

Manager Brian Rupp made a move to the hard-throwing Abreu, who took a loss without recording an out on Friday, issuing a walk before allowing an extra-inning walk-off homer. After nearly hitting Stanley with a heater up and in on the first pitch and missing away on his second for a 2-0 count, Abreu rallied with tremendous mental resolve to strike out the Salem designated hitter swinging.

Game two of the four-game series will pit Wilmington's Opening Day starter Alex Caldera (0-2, 4.36) against Salem southpaw Jose Capellan (2-1, 6.61). The game will get underway at 7:05 p.m. on Tuesday.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

Mike Moustakas' second home run in as many games put him in a tie for the third-most big flies in the Carolina League. His three RBIs brought his season total up to a team-best 30, good for fourth in the loop. He finished the day 2-for-4 in stretching his hitting streak to a new team-best nine. "The Moose" has knocked in 12 of his RBIs during that time.

Jeff Bianchi failed to keep pace with the youngster, taking a rare 0-for-4 collar to snap his hitting streak at eight.

Everett Teaford's outing lowered his ERA to 2.56, sixth in the circuit and tops among Wilmington starters.

David Lough went 3-for-4 with a triple, two stolen bases and a run scored as the DH. Lough owns a seven-game hitting streak that has lifted his batting average from .289 to .316, hitting .407 (11-for-27) over that span.

As the DH this year, Lough is hitting .371 (13-for-35) with four extra-base hits and six RBIs. Six other Blue Rocks have also filled the DH slot this year, but not with anywhere near the same level of production. Those six men have combined to hit a paltry .144 (14-for-97) with only two extra-base hits and seven collective RBIs.

Kyle Weiland, a ranked prospect for Boston, has gone 0-2 with a 10.61 ERA against Wilmington this year, accounting for each of the Blue Rocks' two team wins versus Salem. Against the rest of the CL this season, Weiland is 1-2 with a 6.75 ERA.

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Carolina League Stories from May 18, 2009


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