CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Wilmington Loses Four of Seven During Seven-Game Stay at Frawley

Published on July 19, 2009 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Wilmington, DE - Poor defense and a subpar pitching performance by starter Mario Santiago cost the Wilmington Blue Rocks a shot at victory on Sunday, as they dropped an 8-5 decision to the Frederick Keys at Frawley Stadium.

Santiago's struggles continued, as he lost for the sixth time over his last seven starts. The right-hander allowed scores in four of the five frames he worked, including in each of the first four.

Frederick jumped out to an early 2-0 lead as each of the Keys' first four hitters enjoyed productive at-bats. Matt Angle opened the contest with a walk, which was followed by a Pedro Florimon single that put runners at the corners. Robert Widlansky brought the first run home on a sac fly to right, and Brandon Waring plated the other score with his double to left.

In the second, Wilmington's defense abandoned Santiago. The Rocks committed two errors in the inning, but the biggest miscue was the one that did not go down in the book as an error. Jamar Walton misjudged Pedro Florimon's fly ball to left, and the result was a two-run double. Florimon would eventually come around to score himself, as Frederick staked a 5-0 lead.

The advantage grew to six runs in the third, when Wally Crancer spanked a solo home run deep over the right-field fence with two outs.

Wilmington finally responded in the home third with RBI singles by Chase Fontaine and Derrick Robinson to cut the lead to 6-2.

But in the fourth Frederick added another tally off Santiago on another Widlansky sac fly. That would be the last run surrendered by the Wilmington starter, who got the hook after the road fifth. Only three of the seven runs Santiago surrendered were earned, but the damage still added up to his league-worst 11th loss of the season.

He was replaced by Ray Liotta who gave up an earned run for the first time in over 18 innings on Billy Rowell's double and Ryan Eigsti's errant pickoff attempt in the sixth.

Wilmington finished the afternoon with a season-high four errors.

The Rocks tried to climb their way back into contention down the stretch. They plated a pair in the bottom of the sixth on a run-scoring single by Walton, and an RBI groundout off the bat of Eigsti.

Then in the seventh, the Blue Crew added one more. Derrick Robinson singled, stole second, and scored on Johnny Giavotella's line drive up the middle. Giavotella stole second and third, but was stranded on back-to-back strikeouts.

The Rocks would threaten once more in the eighth. Seratelli walked with one out and went to third on an Eigsti double. But both runners would be left in scoring position, as Fontaine and Derrick Robinson fanned to end the frame. Wilmington went down one-two-three in the ninth.

Frederick pitcher Sean Gleason (2-3) earned the win. The right-hander scattered four runs over six innings.

Wilmington gets a night off on Monday before embarking on a six-game two-city road trip on Tuesday. The Rocks open the journey in Myrtle Beach with a 7:05 p.m. tilt against the Pelicans.

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Carolina League Stories from July 19, 2009


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