Two Homers Lead Blue Rocks to Victory During Final Game of Homestand
WILMINGTON, DE - The Blue Rocks got home runs from Zane Evans and Daniel Rockett on Monday night, and although Winston-Salem rallied late, the Rocks held on to win by a final of 4-3. The victory pushes Wilmington to 13-11, while the Dash fall to 11-13. The Blue Rocks finish their seven game homestand with a 5-2 record, taking two of three from the Myrtle Beach Pelicans in the first series, and grabbing three of four from the Dash thanks to Monday's win.
Wilmington starter Eric Skoglund picked up his second win of the season, as he threw six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out three. The losing pitcher was Winston-Salem starter Jace Fry. The lefty worked five innings, yielding three runs and nine hits, and only struck out a single batter.
The Rocks struck first in the bottom of the second inning with a pair of runs. After Mauricio Ramos began the frame with a fly out, Dominique Taylor and Logan Moon followed with singles. Kenny Diekroeger would bring in the first run of the night with another single that plated Taylor and moved Moon to third base, and then Rockett drove Moon in with a sacrifice fly for the two run advantage.
Winston-Salem would get a run back in the very next half inning, although they would kill their own rally in the process. Cleuluis Rondon would begin the inning with a single, and Ethan Wilson would mimic his teammate with a base hit of his own, moving Rondon to third base in the process. Adam Engel would be next, and he grounded into a double play that scored Rondon to make it a 2-1 contest. After Keenyn Walker reached on an error by Jack Lopez, Skoglund got Trey Michalczewski to fly out, ending the frame.
After a scoreless bottom of the third, the Dash tied the ballgame up in the top of the fourth. Keon Barnum led things off with a double, and advanced to third base on a fly out by Chris Jacobs. Barnum would score on yet another fly ball, this time from Omar Narvaez, and the sacrifice fly made the score 2-2. Nick Basto would fly out to center field to conclude the inning.
The Blue Rocks got the lead back thanks to their second long ball of the home stand in the bottom of the fifth inning. With the bases empty and two out, Zane Evans launched a ball over the left field fence for his fourth homer of the campaign. For Evans, it was his first home run since he went yard twice on April 26 against the Frederick Keys.
Skoglund held the Dash scoreless in the top of the sixth inning, and Wilmington rewarded him with another run in the bottom of the frame. The Blue Crew got their fourth tally of the night in very similar fashion to their third, as the first two men of the inning went down, and Daniel Rockett smashed a homer over the left field wall. The long ball was Rockett's first of the season, and it doubled the Rocks lead to 4-2.
The Dash made things interesting in the top of the ninth inning off Wilmington reliever Robinson Yambati. With the bases loaded and two out, Wilson worked a walk that brought in a run, making it 4-3. Yambati would settle down after that, striking out Engel on a called third strike to end the contest. The save marked Yambati's sixth in seven opportunities.
Wilmington hits the road on Tuesday after a seven game homestand. The Blue Rocks travel to Potomac to battle the Nationals in the first of a three game series. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., and fans can listen to the broadcast on 89.7 WGLS-FM.
PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:
Zane Evans stayed hot on Monday, hitting another home run for the Blue Rocks. The long ball marks the fourth of the season for Evans, and it came on the heels of a 4-for-4 day on Sunday, during which Evans knocked three doubles and produced two RBI's. Evans's four homers lead the team, as does his 11 extra-base hits and 14 RBI's. In his last 10 games, Evans is batting .410 with three homers and 12 RBI's.
Monday night marked the third time the Blue Rocks have homered twice in a game. The first time it happened was on April 10 in Myrtle Beach, when Bubba Starling and Evans went yard in their 8-3 victory. The second occurrence was thanks to one man, as Evans knocked a career-high two balls out of the park on April 26 at Frederick. On Monday, Evans went deep in the fifth inning, and Daniel Rockett hit one out in the sixth. Last year, Rockett did not hit his first home run of the season until June 21 at Myrtle Beach.
The Wilmington starting rotation has dominated the Carolina League thus far, and Monday night was no exception. Fresh off the longest outing of the season for a Rocks pitcher at seven innings earlier in the homestand, Eric Skoglund threw six frames on Monday, allowing two runs on seven hits. Blue Crew starters have combined to toss 128.1 innings, working to a 2.81 ERA. They have given up fewer hits (127) than innings pitched, and have struck out 108 batters while yielding only 23 walks all season long.
Bullpen pitcher Benino Pruneda walked Trey Michalczewski to begin the top of the sixth inning on Sunday, and after that, the Blue Rocks bullpen hurlers sat down 18 straight batters. The streak ended when Robinson Yambati gave up a lead-off double to Keon Barnum to begin the top of the ninth inning on Monday. During the streak, Wilmington bullpen pitchers struck out nine Winston-Salem batters between Pruneda, Estarlin Cordero, and Andrew Edwards.
THEY SAID IT:
Manager Brian Buchanan:
"They're having a good approach. They're getting good pitches to hit and they're putting good swings on it. [Daniel] Rockett and [Zane] Evans hit the home runs, they've been doing a great job."
"They don't give up [with two outs]. It just goes back to them staying within themselves, being patient, and not trying to do too much. It just goes back to having professional at-bats and getting the pitch to hit and doing what you can with it."
"It doesn't make my job any easier, I'd rather win 10-0. Just knowing that…if it's the eighth or ninth inning and we're down two or three that there's no panic, we've done it before. We'll continue to do it. There's not really a panic involved. A lot of time, in those situations, the pressure is on the pitcher, not the hitter. That's what we're trying to drive home; just relax and stick with your approach and the guy on the mound is the one in trouble, not you."
"[Andrew Edwards] did a nice job. We're trying to get him to throw down a little bit more. He's got such a good arm but he's been a little erratic but tonight was good."
"I think [Robinson Yambati] has [pitched in the ninth] enough this year to know what he needs to do. The last three outs are the hardest to get when you're in a save situation like that."
Outfielder Daniel Rockett:
"Zane's been doing it all season so we've kind of just been riding him a little bit. Last year it was kind of a curse because we didn't hit [our first homeruns] until the second half of the season. That bet [between me and Zane Evans] is long gone, we don't even think about that anymore."
"We know every game is pretty much going to be close. All season, it's been one or two runs games. We feel pretty comfortable going into the ninth, whether we're up or we're down. We just take it as the same approach, just trying to win the game."
"To be honest, I was just hoping it was a hit because I've been struggling. It was a good feeling. I sure hope [this gets me out of my slump]. I'm just trying to stay confident and just taking it one at-bat at a time and not trying to look at the stats and just concentrate on good at-bats and helping the team."
Catcher Zane Evans:
"I've got a new approach at the plate. [Abraham Nunez] has been working with me a lot. I'm just trying to stay up the middle and not do too much and it's really paying off. There tonight with two strikes I just choked up on the bat a little bit and was looking for a knock and got a homerun. It's part of the game, it's how it works. Whenever you don't try to hit a home run, it happens. I feel great up there."
"I'm seeing some pitches better now that the approach has changed. Before, I was yanking off [the ball]. I had a lot of head movement and just wasn't really seeing pitches and swinging at everything. Now, I'm able to see my pitch, and when I see it I can have a good swing at it."