Rocks Rally in Eighth, but Frederick Follows Suit to Take Late Victory
WILMINGTON, Del. - Down 2-0 heading into the eighth inning on Tuesday night, the Blue Rocks scored three times to take their first lead of the ballgame at 3-2. Not to be outdone, Frederick pushed across two of their own in the top of the ninth, as the Keys ended up taking a 4-3 victory at Frawley Stadium. Wilmington fell to 45-37, while Frederick advanced to 38-45. Tanner Witt delivered the decisive blow in the top of the ninth, producing a pinch-hit, two-run triple that gave the Keys a lead they would not relinquish.
Frederick got the scoring started in the top half of the third. Anthony Caronia got things going with a single, and was followed by a double from Tad Gold. With runners on second and third with nobody out, Matthew Strahm got Brenden Webb to strike out. The Keys would get on the scoreboard with the next batter, though, as Adrian Marin skied a ball to right field. Caronia scored on the sacrifice fly, but the Rocks would escape the frame on the play when Gold was caught between bases and eventually tagged out at third base.
The Keys doubled their lead thanks to the long ball in the top of the sixth. The inning started promisingly for Strahm, as he struck out Webb to begin the frame. Marin was the next batter, and he would get to the lefty with a solo homer to left field, giving Frederick a 2-0 advantage. Strahm did not allow another run in the sixth.
Wilmington put together a miraculous eighth-inning rally to take the lead. Cam Gallagher began the frame with a walk, and was followed by a single from Logan Moon. With Dominique Taylor at the plate, Frederick reliever Jimmy Yacabonis threw a wild pitch that advanced each runner, and then promptly walked Taylor to load the bases. Dexter Kjerstad would be next, and before he could complete his at-bat, Austin Wynns allowed a passed ball that plated Gallagher. Kjerstad would eventually produce a sacrifice fly to tie the game. The next man up was Carlos Garcia, and he hit a fly ball to center field that Josh Hart dropped. Taylor scored on the error, and the Rocks exited the eighth holding a 3-2 lead.
Down to their final strike in the top of the ninth inning, Frederick put together a late rally of its own. With two men on and two down, Tanner Witt was sent up as a pinch-hitter. Witt came away with the biggest hit of the game, producing a two-run triple that gave his team the lead once again at 4-3. Cody Wheeler made the lead stick for the Keys in the bottom of the ninth, and Frederick took the series opener.
The Blue Rocks and Keys are back at it on Wednesday with game two of their three-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m., and fans can listen to the broadcast on 89.7 WGLS-FM.
PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:
Since getting the call to the Advanced-A level in June, Matthew Strahm has been a great addition to the Wilmington pitching staff. If there is one area the lefty continues to struggle with, however, it's keeping the ball in the park. Tuesday marked Strahm's second start and fifth appearance overall with the Rocks this season. With the homer he allowed to Adrian Marin in the sixth inning, Strahm has now yielded long balls in three of his five games with the Blue Crew. The first dinger he gave up came in his Advanced-A debut on June 16 against Salem. The next time he was taken yard was on June 26 against Potomac, which was also his first start of the season. Marin took him deep for the third home run issued by Strahm with Wilmington, with Tuesday also marking a career-high in innings pitched for the North Dakota native with six.
Despite the loss, Wilmington put together another incredible eighth-inning rally on Tuesday. Down 2-0 heading into the frame, the Rocks scored three times to take the lead. The Blue Crew recorded two hits and two walks in the eighth, and they were also the recipient of a wild pitch, a passed ball, and an error to help their cause. In their last home game, July 3 against Lynchburg, the Blue Rocks entered the eighth inning down 6-1. Wilmington scored eight times, the most runs produced in a single frame this season for the Rocks, to take a 9-6 lead that night, and they would go on to win by that same score.
Tuesday's loss is especially jarring considering the sheer dominance Wilmington has shown against the Keys this season. Heading into the contest, the Rocks held a 7-1 record against Frederick at Frawley Stadium this season, including six straight wins on the riverfront. The last time the Keys won a game in the First State was back on April 17, when they came away with a 6-4 victory. The dominance for the Blue Crew over their closest geographical rival stretches outside of Frawley, as Wilmington still holds a 13-7 overall record in the season series despite the loss on Tuesday.
Tuesday was a busy day off the field for the Rocks, as the team experienced some major roster movement. A day after seeing Ramon Torres get called up to Double-A Northwest Arkansas, Wilmington had to say goodbye to Frank Schwindel as well. Schwindel got the call to Double-A earlier in the day, leaving the Rocks as their leader in extra-base hits (32), and RBIs (32). He also exited as the Carolina League leader in doubles with 28. On the flip side of the coin, the Blue Crew welcomed three new additions to the squad. Zach Lovvorn, Humberto Arteaga, and Elier Hernandez all got the call from Low-A Lexington, making Tuesday their first day on the job with the Blue Rocks. Hernandez actually found himself in the starting lineup against the Keys, going 0-for-4 in his Advanced-A debut.
THEY SAID IT:
Manager Brian Buchanan:
"One strike away, (Luis) Rico just left some of those pitches up and (Tanner Witt) just hit that one in the gap. We're fortunate to be in that spot in the first place. I thought we might be able to steal that game from them but we just left some pitches up there in the ninth."
"I don't think (David Hess) was so much better as we were worse. We swung at a lot of pitches out of the strike zone and we took a lot of strikes on fastballs. If you're going to take fastballs for strikes and swing at curveballs in the dirt you're going to have a long night. He pitched to our weaknesses. We were chasing stuff and taking fastballs. He threw the ball well for what we were doing with it. We just didn't have a very good approach at the plate."
"We took some pitches (in the eighth), got some guys on base and then the (wild pitch) and a few hits here and there and we end up taking the lead there in the eighth. We felt like we were out of it the whole game and then to get that little rally there in the eighth. We just couldn't hold on."
"(Elier Hernandez) swung the bat well. He was swinging the bat well in Lexington and that's why he's here. That ball to center he hit pretty well too. He was swinging the bat well in Lexington and he swung the bat well here in his first game."
Outfielder Logan Moon:
"We had two strikes and two outs (in the ninth), that's tough. (Witt) pinch hit and Rico was throwing good all at-bat, all inning…I'm so far away in the outfield, I know what pitch it was but he put a good swing on it and it was a little too far for me and Dominique (Taylor) to get to. That's tough. We came back in the ninth and they bring in (Cody Wheeler) and we just couldn't string anything together."
"We're used to (guys getting called up). In Spring Training you play with seven different guys each day, you might not even play with the same guy twice. We're used to it. (Ramon Torres and Frank Schwindel) definitely deserved it, but we're not trying to replace anybody. It's a, 'next guy up,' type of mentality. We've got some new bats in this locker room that can swing it as well so we're not too worried about it, it's just a coincidence that today we didn't swing it as well."
"I played with (Hernandez) in advanced Instructional (League) last year. He can swing it so that's one of the guys who's going to step up for us."
"It does seem like…a bad outing for our pitching staff is a couple of runs. It's nice to have those kinds of arms on this team that can go out there and shut the door for a long time. Offensively, we just need to step up and start scoring a couple more runs. A little more situational hitting, maybe just an inning starter would help. We'll be fine. It's baseball, that's how it works sometimes. We've been hitting the ball well, just at people. We've just got to keep swinging and it will start to fall."