Furious Eighth-Inning Rally Gives Blue Rocks Comeback Victory
WILMINGTON, Del. - Down 6-1 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, the Rocks put together a miraculous comeback with eight runs in the frame, coming from way behind to win the rubber match against Lynchburg 9-6. Wilmington improved to 44-34 while Lynchburg dropped to 37-41. Mauricio Ramos smacked a solo homer in the first inning, and ended up with four RBIs total to lead the way offensively.
The Hillcats jumped on Eric Skoglund in the top of the first inning. Luigi Rodriguez led off the game with a double, and was brought home by Clint Frazier, who followed with a single. After another base hit by Bradley Zimmer, Skoglund would bear down and escape the inning without further damage thanks in large part to a ground ball double play.
The Rocks evened the score very quickly courtesy of the long ball. In the bottom of the first, Lynchburg starter Michael Peoples retired the first two men of the inning, but Ramos took him deep to left for a solo blast that tied the score at one. Peoples got Cody Stubbs to pop out to end the frame.
Lynchburg regained the lead in the top of the third inning. Luigi Rodriguez tripled to lead off the frame, then scored when Frazier produced a sacrifice fly, making it 2-1 Hillcats. Skoglund yielded another single to Zimmer, but got out of the inning with only that one run pushed across.
The Hillcats would score the next three runs of the game in the top of the fourth. After an Eric Haase single, Mike Papi delivered a two-run homer that stretched Lynchburg's lead to 4-1. Two more singles would follow, then later, with two down in the frame, Skoglund threw a wild pitch that plated Yhoxian Medina with Zimmer at the dish. Skoglund would go on to walk Zimmer, and that was where his night would end. Robinson Yambati came out of the bullpen and got Nellie Rodriguez to ground out to end the inning at 5-1 Hillcats.
Lynchburg added a run in the top of the seventh inning. Zimmer got the frame started with a single, but Yambati retired the next two batters. Haase provided some two-out magic, as he doubled to the wall to bring Zimmer home, making it 6-1 Hillcats.
The bottom of the eighth was where it all came together for Wilmington. After the Blue Rocks loaded the bases with nobody out, Ramon Torres singled to cut the lead to 6-2. Ramos would be next, and he emptied the bags with a three-RBI double to bring the Rocks to within a run. After a Stubbs fly out got Ramos to third, Frank Schwindel singled to tie the game. Jack Lopez followed with a fly out, then Alfredo Escalera singled to put runners on the corners with two away. With Cam Gallagher at the dish, pitcher Justin Brantley attempted a pick-off throw to first that he threw away, allowing Schwindel to score the go-ahead run. Later in the frame, Wilmington would again load the bases, this time with two down, and Carlos Garcia would put the final nail in the coffin with a two-run double that capped the scoring at 9-6.
The first-half champion Blue Rocks travel to Potomac on Saturday to begin a three-game series against the Nationals. First pitch in game one is scheduled for 6:35 p.m., and fans can listen to the broadcast on 89.7 WGLS-FM. The Rocks return to Frawley Stadium on July 7 when they open a three-game set against Frederick. For tickets, call 302-888-BLUE, or visit www.bluerocks.com.
PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:
The eight-run explosion in the eighth was the single-largest offensive output the Blue Rocks have experienced in a single inning all season long. Their previous high in terms of runs scored in a frame was seven, which they did on May 24 against Carolina at Frawley Stadium. With their heroics in the eighth, the Rocks also tied their largest come-from-behind win in 2015. Only once before had Wilmington come from five runs down to win a ballgame, and that was on June 4 against Frederick. The eighth inning on Friday could be considered a kind of payback as well. Back on May 11, Lynchburg handed the Blue Crew their largest fall-from-ahead loss of the year, when the Hillcats came from six down to defeat the Rocks in 11 innings.
In two starts after the All-Star break, Eric Skoglund has struggled for the Blue Rocks. A CL All-Star himself, the lefty got the loss in his first game after the break on June 28 at Frederick. He allowed five runs in as many innings in that start. On Friday, Skoglund couldn't even complete five frames, going only 3.2 innings, yielding five runs on nine hits in the process. He recorded a 2.74 ERA in 13 games before the break, but is now pitching to the tune of a 10.38 ERA in two contests in the second half. Aside from his final start prior to the break in which he threw one inning in a tune-up for the All-Star game, Skoglund failed to get through five only once before Friday. That lone start also came against Lynchburg back on May 11, when he gave up three runs on five hits in 3.2 innings.
Ramon Torres brought a brutal streak to an end on Friday. The switch-hitter entered the game with a stretch of 18 consecutive plate appearances without recording a hit. The last time Torres reached base via a knock was on June 26 when he singled against Potomac. He went hitless in his first two plate appearances on Friday, but then legged out an infield single in the bottom of the sixth to put an end to his struggles. Torres finished 2-for-4, but saw his batting average drop 17 points from .273 to .256 as a result of his hitless drought.
On the flip side of the coin, Mauricio Ramos has been a nightmare for opposing pitchers recently. The third baseman clocked a solo homer in the first inning on Friday, his first at Frawley Stadium this year. The long ball was his third in his last four contests, and his fifth since June 10. Ramos didn't hit his first dinger of 2015 until that June 10 game against Winston-Salem, but has found his power stroke since. He also added a three-run double before all was said and done. With a 2-for-4 performance on Friday, Ramos is now batting .449 over his last 13 games, with four homers, three doubles, a triple, 13 RBIs, and nine runs scored.
THEY SAID IT:
Manager Brian Buchanan:
"(Games like Friday night) don't come normally and I have been on the other side (of these comebacks) so it is good to be on the right side. That is for sure."
"Being down six to one (in the eighth inning) we started to see some pitches. (Delvy Francisco) walked the first two guys, we ended up stringing some hits together and before you know it we are up nine to six. That was a great inning for us. I don't think we didn't swung the bat too well until that point, but to get that win is huge."
"(Michael Peoples) threw ok. He (was able to) keep the ball down, but I don't know what it was, we couldn't string (hits) together. But he threw the ball well and was able to keep us off-balanced."
"(Friday night's game) definitely can build some confidence. Being able to come back like that and getting eight (runs) in one inning, anytime you can do that in any inning is a confidence builder."
"(Eric Skoglund) was just keeping pitches up, the pitches that they were hitting were up and out of the plate. Hitters in this league will hit those pitches. (Skoglund) didn't have his best stuff. He threw a couple of good pitches here and there but for the most part he was (not on) pretty much the whole night and they got him."
"(During the long eighth inning) I started to think about (Matt Alvarez) and I saw him playing catch. The inning was getting long and you do think about (your pitcher) in that time. We had a guy up in case something happened with (Alvarez) but he did well. He went out there and pitched well."
"(Robinson Yambati) threw the ball well. Compared to his last outing he kind of sprayed his fastball and was getting out of whack, but it was good to see him get back in there and lock it in. He gave up one run but it he threw the ball well."
Third Baseman Mauricio Ramos:
"I was trying to hit the ball well. (Delvy Francisco) threw me a fastball (that was) middle inside and let me strike the ball and just like that I got a (three RBI) double."
"(The eighth inning) was really amazing. We started on the bottom and then we were able to get four runs and then take the lead."
"(I had a good night with the bat, Michael Peoples) threw me a good fastball (in the first), I just was able see it well and knocked it out of the park."