Blue Rocks Can't Overcome Four-Run Salem Seventh In 6-2 Loss To Red Sox
Salem, VA - The Blue Rocks were unable to withstand Salem's four-run seventh inning during a 6-2 loss at the hands of the Red Sox on Monday night at Salem Memorial Ballpark. Wilmington fell to 29-31 in the second half and to 62-66 overall. They remain tied with the Lynchburg Hillcats, but one game ahead in the loss column, for the C.L. North Wild Card spot.
Salem's four-run seventh broke a 1-1 deadlock and gave the Red Sox a comfortable 5-1 advantage. Matty Johnson's RBI single to right plated Jake Romanski with the first run. A batter later, Reed Gragnani doubled home Jose Vinicio with the second tally. The big blow was a two-run double by Jantzen Witte, which scored Johnson and Gragnani.
The Red Sox added an insurance run in the eighth inning on an RBI triple by Vinicio, which sent Romanski plateward from first.
Salem cracked the scoreboard first, taking a 1-0 lead on an RBI single by Witte in the opening frame. Carlos Asuaje doubled with one out and advanced to third on a Gragnani groundout ahead of Witte's base hit.
The Blue Rocks evened the score at one on an RBI single in the fourth inning by Zane Evans. Evans' base hit drove home Brett Eibner, who had doubled to lead off the inning.
Cody Stubbs homered for the 10th time this season to wrap up the scoring in the ninth and pull Wilmington within 6-2.
Kyle Martin (4-4, 3.89) picked up the win for Salem while Andrew Edwards (0-4, 7.53), who yielded five runs on six hits in three innings pitched, took the loss for Wilmington.
The Rocks return home to Frawley Stadium on Tuesday night to open up a five-game series with the Potomac Nationals. Wilmington will send righty Miguel Almonte (6-7, 4.80) to the mound in the series opener. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m. and fans can listen to the broadcast on 89.7 WGLS-FM. For tickets, call 302-888-BLUE.
PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:
Glenn Sparkman was excellent again for the Blue Rocks on Monday night in Salem. Sparkman threw five solid innings, yielding one run on seven hits in five innings pitched. He struck out six and walked one. Sparkman took a no-decision and remains victorious in his last five decisions dating back to July 4, which is a Blue Rocks season-high. Sparkman, the Carolina League's July Player of the Month, is 8-2 on the campaign with a sparkling 1.40 ERA. The 6-foot-2 hurler has given up 88 hits and 22 walks while striking out 113 in 116 innings pitched. Righties are batting .226 against Sparkman while lefties are hitting a mere .188. Sparkman began the campaign in the bullpen and was excellent there. He went 2-1 with a 2.28 ERA in 11 relief appearances while striking out 27 and walking seven in 23.2 innings pitched. After getting shifted to the starting rotation, he has been even better. As a starter, Sparkman is 6-1 with a 1.17 ERA in 17 outings. He has punched out 86 and issued 15 bases on balls in 92.1 innings pitched since his move to the rotation. Sparkman's miniscule 1.40 ERA places him atop the Carolina League leaderboard by a wide margin. Carolina's Ryan Merritt ranks second in the CL with a 2.62 ERA. Sparkman's Blue Crew teammate, Jonathan Dziedzic, is third with a 2.65 ERA.
With his ninth-inning home run, Cody Stubbs became the first member of the Blue Crew this season to hit 10 home runs. Stubbs had not homered since July 27 against Winston-Salem, when he took righty James Dykstra deep in the second inning. All 10 of the slugger's home runs have come against right-handed pitchers. Stubbs is batting .224 with eight doubles, three triples and 10 homers against right-handed pitching this year. Against southpaws, he is hitting just .125 with two doubles, one triple and no homers. Overall in 2014, Stubbs is hitting .224 with 10 doubles, four triples and 10 homers in 86 games.
Jack Lopez went 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout in his return from the Disabled List on Monday night. Lopez was placed on the DL on August 17, backdated to August 14, with a hand laceration. Prior to Monday, he had not appeared in a game since August 9. Lopez is hitting .218 this year with 19 doubles, one homer, 26 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. In a corresponding move, Logan Davis was transferred from Wilmington to Rookie-Level Idaho Falls. Davis had a .194 batting average and one triple in 12 games with the Blue Crew.
Wilmington has struggled mightily with Salem this year, particularly at Salem Memorial Ballpark. Monday's 6-2 loss to the Red Sox dropped the Rocks to 5-11 overall against Salem. Wilmington is 3-3 this year against the Red Sox at Frawley Stadium and just 2-8 at Salem Memorial Ballpark. Three of those losses in Salem have also come in walk-off fashion. Prior to Sunday's 5-4 extra-inning win, the Rocks' lone win in Salem came on May 6, when Hunter Dozier helped Wilmington to a come-from-behind victory with a go-ahead ninth-inning grand slam. Blue Rocks hitters are batting a combined .206 against the Red Sox this year, while Salem hitters are batting a collective .270 against Wilmington in 2014. The Red Sox have outscored the Blue Rocks in this year's head-to-head matchups, 57-45, while Wilmington has out-homered Salem, 6-5. Salem's pitching staff has a 2.11 ERA against the Blue Rocks while Wilmington's pitching staff has amassed a 3.20 ERA against the Red Sox.
Monday's 6-2 loss to Salem wrapped up a 3-4 road trip for the Blue Rocks. The Blue Crew took two-of-three in Myrtle Beach but lost three-of-four in Salem. Wilmington outscored Myrtle Beach, 10-7, but was outscored in Salem, 21-14. Barring a one-game playoff, Monday's contest was also the final road game of the regular season for the Rocks. Wilmington finishes the 2014 campaign with a 33-35 record away from Frawley Stadium. The Blue Crew has outscored its opponents, 264-250, on the road while posting a .242 batting average. Blue Rocks pitchers finished with a 3.51 ERA in 559 innings pitched away from Frawley.
THEY SAID IT:
Manager Darryl Kennedy:
"We had an opportunity there [in the seventh] to get some runs, at least one run. And then we got the bases loaded, still couldn't get anything. That gave them the momentum right there. They got a leadoff double, [Cam Gallagher] slips coming out [to field the ball]. Now it's first and third and it leads to a big inning there. That was the ballgame right there, that seventh inning. We didn't have much offense so you knew we were going to have to keep it close. Give them credit, they were able to get the big hits when they needed them and we didn't."
"We've got 12 pitchers, 13 position players, a couple of starters that are limited going into this. We're going to have to really manage the bullpen. That's the big key. It's nothing I haven't done before. In my mind, that's the biggest key to managing, knowing how to run the bullpen. I'll take the brunt of it and put it on my shoulders and we'll see what happens."
"[Glenn Sparkman] wasn't as sharp tonight, plus they fouled a lot of balls off. He got the two strikes but then those guys battled and battled. He ran up a lot of pitches there just with guys fouling the ball off. The great thing about Sparkman is he doesn't have to be on his game to still give you a chance to win. Five innings, only one run, he gave us a chance to win. That's all you can ask of a starting pitcher. He does that every night."
"I said it two nights ago, I said it last night. It's in our hands. We control our own destiny. That's all you can ask for when you play 140 games and you come down to the last nine games. If you can control your own destiny, that's all you can ask for, and that's what we've got to do.
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