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SAL Wilmington Blue Rocks

Wilmington Wins Four of Six vs Cyclones

July 16, 2024 - South Atlantic League (SAL)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


The last time the Brooklyn Cyclones came to Wilmington was Opening Weekend. The Wilmington Blue Rocks put on quite the show to kick off the season and swept the New York Mets' High-A affiliate in the three-game series. Brooklyn returned to Delaware for the first time since then, and the Blue Rocks took the six-game series with four wins. From fireworks to home runs and a walk-off, this homestand was highly reminiscent of the teams' last meeting in Wilmington back in April.

Game 1

The Blue Rocks kicked off Game 1 of the homestand with Jarlin Susana as their starting pitcher. Susana, known for his high-velocity pitches, joined the team after spending the first part of the season with the Fredericksburg Nationals in Low-A. In his first outing for Wilmington, Susana recorded numerous pitches over 100 mph. He went five innings, allowed two runs and struck out five batters.

The Blue Rocks took the series opener 5-3, with productive offensive performances from Murphy Stehly (two runs, two hits), Joe Naranjo (one run, two hits, two RBIs), and Jeremy De La Rosa (two runs, home run).

Game 2

The first half of the Wednesday night matchup was a pitchers duel. Bryan Caceres faced Cyclones' ace Jonah Tong in the matchup. Holding his own through five innings, Caceres struck out four batters and allowed zero earned runs (one unearned scored while he was on the mound). Tong went six innings and struck out seven Blue Rocks batters, allowing only one run.

The Blue Rocks opened things up with a five-run seventh inning featuring RBIs from TJ White, Viandel Pena, and Jeremy De La Rosa. Wilmington took Game 2 with a 6-2 final score.

Game 3

Game 3 marked the first of two Blue Rocks losses this series, despite starter Jose Atencio's dominant performance on the mound and an early Blue Rocks lead. Atencio had his best start yet for Wilmington, recording seven strikeouts and allowing four hits and zero earned runs in seven innings.

Unfortunately, multiple fielding errors and a struggling bullpen resulted in five runs, and the Blue Rocks fell to the Cylones 5-1.

Game 4

While the homestand came with many wins and showstopping plays on offense and defense, Friday night was undoubtedly the most exciting of the series. Luke Young took the mound to start and struck out four batters in his five-inning outing, allowing six hits and two runs.

The bullpen held Brooklyn to those two runs, while Wilmington rode out the two runs they scored in the third courtesy of a TJ White home run and RBI single from Phillip Glasser that sent home Johnathon Thomas.

Locked at two apiece in the ninth, Jared McKenzie walked and advanced to second, and Maxwell Romero Jr called the game with a walk-off RBI single to send McKenzie home. The team celebrated the exhilarating ending and 3-2 win with an ice-cold water bath for Romero Jr and postgame fireworks.

Game 5

After an electric walkoff and coinciding fireworks on Friday, the Blue Rocks had much to live up to in Saturday night's matchup. Led by Johnathon Thomas and starter Seth Shuman, the team picked up another 3-2 victory and their fourth win of the series.

Thomas kicked off the offense with a lead-off triple in the first and finished the night with two hits and a run. Shuman, who continues rehab from Tommy John surgery, went his designated four innings. He allowed three hits and two runs and struck out two batters in the outing.

Game 6

It was a rough outing for the Blue Rocks and Riley Cornelio Sunday afternoon, and the scorching heat and looming thunderstorms added to the narrative. The Cyclones scored five, including a grand slam, against Cornelio in his three innings. The bullpen did well and held Brooklyn scoreless through the final six innings, but Wilmington wasn't able to come with anything offensively, and they lost the series closer 5-0.

On the Road and Looking Ahead

Now on a short break for All-Star Week, the Blue Rocks have some time before their upcoming roadtrip against the Aberdeen IronBirds. Following the loss on Sunday, Manager Mario Lisson talked to reporters about the team's plan moving forward.

"Just continue to do what we're doing, we're going to continue to develop."

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