Zimmer Fails to Make It Through First as Rocks Fall
June 7, 2013 - Carolina League (CarL1) - Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release
Winston-Salem, NC - The Winston-Salem Dash sent 10 men to the plate in the opening inning on Friday, scored five runs and chased Wilmington Blue Rocks starter Kyle Zimmer after just two-thirds of an inning. That was all the offense Dash pitcher Chris Beck would need, as the right-hander tossed a complete game five-hit shutout, and Winston-Salem topped Wilmington 5-0. The loss dropped the Rocks to just a single game above .500 (31-30) and increased their deficit to 4.5 games in the CL North with just nine contests remaining in the season's first half.
Winston-Salem did not waste any time, greeting Zimmer with three straight hits in the bottom of the first. Joey DeMichele and Chris Curley each singled while Kevan Smith's double gave the Dash a 1-0 edge. After Zimmer struck out Jeremy Farrell, Courtney Hawkins reignited the Winston-Salem charge with a two-run double off the wall in dead-centerfield. Zimmer got another strikeout and seemed poised to limit the damage when he quickly got two strikes on Mark Haddow, but the righty hit Haddow in the left hand. He then walked Grant Buckner and yielded a chopper back through the middle off the bat of Adam Heisler that plated a pair and ended his night.
It was the shortest outing of Zimmer's young professional career.
Beck (6-6) did the rest. He struck out seven and walked none. Wilmington managed just five hits for the night and would put only two men in scoring position all evening. Both times Beck needed just a single pitch to get out of the jam. He induced a 5-4-3 double play off the bat of Kenny Swab to wiggle out of a first and third one-out jam in the fifth and then got Alex Hudak to dribble back to the mound and strand Swab at second in the eighth. The right-hander faced just two batters over the minimum in recording his first shutout of the season.
The Rocks continue their three-game series in Winston-Salem on Saturday at 7 p.m. Wilmington will send southpaw John Lamb (4-5, 4.75) to the mound, while the Dash will counter with righty Jake Cose (0-1, 7.20).
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