CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Wilmington Blue Rocks Game Notes

Published on June 11, 2013 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


SLOW STARTS PROVE COSTLY: For the fourth consecutive game the Wilmington Blue Rocks dug themselves a huge early hole and never recovered. Blue Crew starter Sam Selman failed to record a single out as Salem sent 12 batters to the plate and posted an eight- run first frame, on its way to a 9-0 victory on Monday night. The loss was Wilmington's fourth in a row and it dropped the Rocks to two games below .500 (31-33) for the season.

ROUGH FIRST INNING: Selman's night started poorly as third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert booted a grounder in his direction to lead-off hitter Felix Sanchez. Devin Marrero followed with a seeing-eye single to right that put runners at the corners. The Wilmington starter then lost his command, issuing consecutive walks, the second of which forced in Salem's first run of the game. Another error by Cuthbert extended the Salem lead to 2-0. Henry Ramos then opened things up by sending a three-run bomb over the left-field fence to put his team on top 5-0. Stefan Welch did not give Selman (4-5) time to breathe, restarting the rally by singling back through the box. He came around to score on David Renfroe's subsequent double to right. That would be the final batter for Selman, who turned in the shortest outing of the season by a Wilmington starter. He was replaced by Malcom Culver who eventually let Renfroe score on Marrero's RBI grounder to short. The eight runs allowed were the most yielded in a single inning by the Blue Rocks all season. The previous high was a seven-run fourth inning by Carolina on Memorial Day.

SLUMPING STARTERS: Wilmington's starting pitching has not fared well over the first four contests of this six-game road trip. Kyle Zimmer, John Lamb, Kyle Smith and Sam Selman have combined to post an 0-4 record with a 21.52 ERA. Zimmer and Selman failed to make it through the opening inning in their starts, while Smith turned in the worst outing of his professional career. For the season, the Wilmington rotation has posted a 4.50 earned run average.

SOUTHPAW STRUGGLES: The Rocks fell to 2-10 in games when the opponent starts a left-handed pitcher. Henry Owens has faced Wilmington three times this season, earning three victories and yielding just two runs in 16 innings pitched. Overall, the Blue Crew are batting just .219 against southpaws, 31 points lower than their team- batting average versus right-handed pitchers.

GOOSE EGGS GALORE: The Rocks were shutout for a Carolina League-high eighth time this season. No other team in the CL has been blanked more than three times in 2013. Salem is the fourth different squad to hold the Wilmington offense scoreless for a full game on the year.

ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END: Lane Adams lost his 15-game on-base streak in Wilmington's 9-0 loss. Adams went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts on Monday. The outfielder batted .346 with a homer, six doubles, nine RBIs and 13 walks over the course of the streak, which started on May 23.

LIKING LIFE ON THE ROAD: Jared Schlehuber continues to excel on the road. The first baseman went 1-for-3 with a walk in Monday's loss to extend his road-hitting streak to 12 games. Schlehuber is batting .393 on the road as opposed to just .147 at Frawley Stadium. Monday's effort raised Schlehuber's overall batting average back to .300. He is the only player on the team to carry an average of .300 or better.

BULLPEN SUCCESS: The Wilmington bullpen provided one of the lone bright spots on Monday. Malcolm Culver, Antonio Cruz and Robinson Yambati combined to work eight innings, allowing just a single unearned run. Over the last four games, Rocks relievers have combined to work 22.1 innings while allowing only three earned runs. On the season, the Blue Crew bullpen has posted a scant 2.90 ERA.

LOOKING AHEAD...: The Rocks will send right-hander Kyle Zimmer to the hill on Wednesday against Salem. Zimmer is the jewel of the Kansas City farm system. The fifth- overall selection in the 2012 Draft is the top-rated prospect in the Royals organization according to Baseball America. He also sports the best command and best curveball among all Kansas City minor leaguers according to that same publication. Zimmer is an excellent athlete who excelled in basketball and water polo in high school. He was primar- ily a position-player in high school and during his freshman season at the University of San Francisco, but it did not take him long to pick up on the art of pitching. He has four pitches, including a four-seam fastball that is consistently clocked between 94-98 MPH as well as a deceptive over-the-top curve. Zimmer has failed to make it through the fifth frame in seven of his last 10 starts, including a career-worst two-thirds of a frame outing on Friday at Winston-Salem when he yielded five runs. He is personally winless, while the Rocks are just 1-11 when their Opening Day starter hits the hill.

Tonight's Probable Starters

WIL: RHP Tyler Sample (0-1, 0.87) vs. SAL: RHP William Cuevas (1-6, 7.31)

A former third round draft pick by the Royals in 2008, Tyler Sample joined the Rocks from extended spring training on May 29. Since that time, he has made two starts and one relief appear- ance, allowing one earned run on nine hits over 10.1 innings. Despite posting a 0.89 ERA over that stretch, he has walked more than a batter per frame (11BB/10.1IP). In his third tour of duty with the Blue Crew, the right-hander spent all of 2012 on the Rivefront. Splitting time between the rotation (15 starts) and the bullpen, Sample posted a 1-9 record and a 5.84 ERA over 28 games. Walks were often a problem for the right-hander, who issued 53 over 98.2 innings. Those problems also presented them- selves during Sample's first year at Advanced-A ball. Pitching mostly as a piggybacker with the 2011 Blue Crew, he finished fifth in the CL in walks (58), placed second in losses (12) and led the circuit in runs allowed (95). Taken by the Royals in third round of the 2008 draft out of J.K. Mullen Prep School (CO), Sample was an All-State selection as a senior, and was also named a Third Team Rawlings Preseason-All American. William Cuevas makes his 11th start of the season and his first against the Blue Rocks. In his last start on Thursday against Winston-Salem, the righty tossed a season-high six innings, allow- ing four runs on three hits in a no-decision. Cuevas has lost two of his last three outings, and is tied for the Carolina League lead in losses with six (Kyle Zimmer and John Lamb are among those who also have six). Meanwhile, he has given up four runs or more in half of his 10 starts. Spending his first year at Advanced-A, Cuevas is coming off an outstanding 2012 campaign with Lowell of the New York Penn League. Utterly dominant from the start, Cuevas started his season by throwing 13 consecutive scoreless innings, finishing two-thirds of an inning short of the club record for a start of a Spinners career. Over 15 games (six starts) he posted an 8-2 record, and set a single-season franchise record with a 1.40 ERA. For his efforts, Cuevas was named the Red Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Month for July. Originally from Aragua, Venezuela, the 22-year-old was signed by Boston as an international free agent in July 2008. He throws a fastball (88-93), curveball and a straight changeup. Upcoming Probable Starters and Schedule Wednesday, June 12 at SAL 7:05 p.m.

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Carolina League Stories from June 11, 2013


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