CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Wilmington Blue Rocks Game Notes

June 22, 2013 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


ROUGH START: The Salem Red Sox sent 15 men to bat over the first two innings result- ing in seven runs, as the Wilmington Blue Rocks fell to their Southern Division counter- part 9-2 on Friday night at Frawley Stadium. Brandon Jacobs led the way for the Red Sox, hitting a pair of homers and accounting for nearly half of his team's RBI total. With the loss, the Rocks fall to 0-1 in the second-half and have now lost nine of their last 11.

KELLEN CAN'T REKINDLE HIS STARTING MAGIC: Issues commanding his fastball spelled trouble for Wilmington hurler Kellen Moen, who allowed season-highs in runs (seven) and hits (eight) on Friday. Making just his second start of 2013, the seven runs was the most allowed by Moen since June 26, 2012 when the right-hander was pitch- ing for Low-A Kane County. Meanwhile, the loss was his first since August 17, 2012. This year the former Oregon Duck is 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA (nine innings/six runs) as a starter, while he is 1-0 with a 3.62 ERA as a reliever.

SOUTHPAW STRUGGLES: A problem for Blue Rocks hitters in the first-half, Wilmington continues to struggle against left-handed starting pitchers. Facing Salem southpaw Mickey Pena, the Rocks mustered just one run and three hits off Pena over five innings. This season, Wilmington is a collective 2-11 against CL left-handers, while four of those losses have come against the Red Sox duo of Pena and Henry Owens, who are a combined 4-0 against the Blue Crew. Owens and Pena have also combined to post a 1.29 ERA against Wilmington.

FOUR IS THE MAGIC NUMBER: Last in the Carolina League in runs entering the second-half, the Blue Rocks were held to just two tallies by the trio of Mickey Pena, Matty Ott and Matt Price. A disturbing trend has developed over the last two weeks, when Wilmington has scored three runs or less in eight of its last 11 games. Meanwhile, nine of those games have ended in Blue Rocks defeats. As a club, the Rocks are just 6-27 when scoring three runs or less and 27-11 when posting four or more runs.

FRAWLEY STADIUM POWER: Dennis Raben launched his second home run as a member of the Blue Rocks and his 12th of the season if you count his previous 10 as a member of the independent Lincoln Saltdogs. Since joining the Wilmington ros- ter on June 13, the Floridian is hitting .278 (5-for-18) with two longballs and a pair of RBIs over five games. Raben's blast was also a rare home run for the Blue Rocks at Frawley Stadium. This season, Wilmington has hit only 13 dingers on the Riverfront, compared to 23 in other Carolina League ballparks.

TRENDING THE RIGHT WAY: Since late May, Robinson Yambati has been one of the Blue Rocks most consistent relievers. He proved it again on Friday, tossing a score- less inning while striking out two. Over his last eight relief appearances, the hard- throwing righty has allowed only two runs over 12.1 innings, while he has struck out 15. In the process, Yambati has cut his ERA by almost two points (5.65 to 3.67).

LOOKING AHEAD..: The Rocks will send left-hander Kyle Zimmer to the hill on Sunday 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 primarily 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 pitch- ing. 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 bounced back beautifully from a a career-worst two-thirds of a frame outing on June 7 at Winston- Salem by beating the Salem Red Sox five days later. The right-hander scattered two runs on six hits over six innings to earn the first Advanced-A win of his career. On the season, Zimmer has 20 strikeouts in only 14.2 innings pitched against the Sox. Overall, Wilmington is just 2-11 in games when its Opening Day starter toes the rubber.

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Carolina League Stories from June 22, 2013


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