CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Wilmington Offense Falters Yet Again

Published on June 29, 2011 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Wilmington, DE - For the third time in their last five games the Wilmington Blue Rocks failed to score a run. Pete Ruiz tossed seven shutout frames and his bullpen took him home in a 2-0 victory by the Salem Red Sox on Wednesday night at Frawley Stadium.

Ruiz (4-3) turned in three 1-2-3 innings against the Rocks. The right-hander fanned five and walked only one as he kept Wilmington at bay. Despite his success, the Blue Crew did manage three scoring chances against the Salem starter.

Wilmington put its first runner in scoring position of the night in the third. Gerard Hall got the team's first hit with a bunt-single. He advanced to third with two away and Carlo Testa at the plate. The right fielder jumped ahead of Ruiz, 3-0, but a green-lighted Testa flied out on the next pitch.

In the fifth, the Rocks got their first extra-base hit of the game. Ryan Eigsti sent a one-out double to the right-center gap. He moved to third on a grounder to second by Hall, and was stranded there when Deivy Batista popped out to end the frame.

Wilmington saw its best opportunity of the night go by the wayside in Ruiz's final inning of the contest. John Whittleman opened the seventh with a smoked single to center. He moved to second when Yem Prades was hit by a pitch. Joey Lewis followed with a sacrifice bunt that put two men into scoring position with only one out. Ruiz worked his way out of the jam though by fanning Eigsti and getting Hall to bounce back to the mound.

Ruiz's counterpart, Noel Arguelles, matched him pitch for pitch through four innings on Wednesday, but the Cuban left-hander ran into trouble in the fifth. Arguelles (2-3) surrendered a leadoff single to Alex Valdez, and then watched him circle all the way to third on a stolen base and a throwing-error by Eigsti. That set up Derrik Gibson's RBI single, which gave Salem a 1-0 advantage.

Gibson, who was a two-time Delaware High School Player of the Year at Seaford, finished the night, 3-for-3 with the run batted in and a pair of doubles. Bryce Brentz gave Salem some insurance when he launched a solo bomb to right-center in the sixth.

Chris Martin made his Salem debut on the mound in the eighth and fanned a pair over two frames to earn the save.

The Rocks look to get the offense going when they host Salem again on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. Wilmington ace Jake Odorizzi (5-3, 2.61) faces Sox southpaw Chris Hernandez (5-5, 2.96). Broadcast coverage begins at 6:35 p.m. as studio host Adam Dobrowolski brings fans the Rocks Report Pre-game Show, presented by Wawa, on 89.7 WGLS-FM and online at wgls.rowan.edu. For tickets call 302-888-BLUE or visit bluerocks.com.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

The Royals announced multiple roster moves for the Blue Rocks before the game on Wednesday. The MVP for the Carolina League in this year's All-Star game, infielder Rey Navarro, and the league's leading hitter at .319, Nick Francis, have both been promoted to Double-A Northwest Arkansas (TEX). Navarro departs with slashes of .285/.337/.484/.820 and a team-best 41 RBIs. After entering the season with nine career home runs over 379 games, he leaves Wilmington with a team-high-tying eight in just 72 contests. Francis, who played in 18 games for the Naturals from May 15-June 4, crushed after getting sent back down to Wilmington. In 19 games back with the Blue Crew, he assembled slashes of .406/.453/.681/.1.134.

In their places Wilmington activated catcher Ryan Eigsti from the Triple-A Omaha roster and outfielder Nick Van Stratten from Northwest Arkansas. Eigsti had spent two stints in Wilmington already this season. He was in the line up on Wednesday, going 1-for-4 with a double. Van Stratten has not played in Wilmington since he was a teammate of Eigsti's on the Blue Crew's 2009 team. The outfielder saw action in 42 games during that season's second half. That was the last half-crown captured by Wilmington.

Whit Merrifield ended a five-game hitless streak on Wednesday. The outfielder legged out an eighth-inning infield single to finish his night, 1-for-4. Merrifield had made outs in his previous 21 at-bats.

Noel Argulles turned in the longest outing of his professional career. The southpaw lasted 6.2 frames allowing just two runs on six hits while striking out four and walking none. He suffered his first loss of the season at Frawley Stadium. In eight home starts Arguelles is 2-1 with a scant 1.06 ERA.

The Wilmington Blue Rocks were the last team in the Carolina League to be shutout in 2011. The Blue Crew scored at least a single run in its first 45 games. Over their last 30 contests, the Rocks have been blanked seven times. Only the Kinston Indians and the Potomac Nationals have failed to plate a run in more contests.

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Carolina League Stories from June 29, 2011


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