Rocks Magic Runs Out, Unable to Rally as They Drop Rubber Match 3-1
Wilmington, DE-The Wilmington Blue Rocks (11-28) could not muster their second straight ninth inning rally as the Frederick Keys (18-22) scored all the runs they needed in the bottom of the first inning, taking the rubber match of the three game series 3-1. Matt Tenuta allowed three of the first four batters to score, but settled down to go eight strong innings for a career high on a night where the offense produced just one run on two hits.
Tenuta's night got off to a rocky start. The first pitch he threw hit the leadoff batter and he got the next man out on a popup before walking Wynston Sawyer on five pitches. That set the table for Aderlin Rodriguez who worked the count to 2-1 before launching a three run home run over the left field wall for a quick 3-0 Keys lead. Tenuta retired the next two batters on a groundout and a popout to end the inning and he would find his groove from there.
He tossed three more scoreless frames to try and let the Rocks get back into the game, which they attempted to do in the bottom of the fourth. Alfredo Escalera turned on a 2-0 pitch and lefted it deep down the left field line. The flyball hit the top of the wall in the left field corner and Escalera coasted into second with a double. The hottest hitter on the team, Humberto Arteaga, came up next and sliced a pitch into right-center for the RBI single. However, with the Blue Crew down 3-1 the offense was unable to get any more on the board the rest of the inning.
Tenuta kept putting up zeroes, but Keys' reliever Tanner Scott retired the side in order in the fifth and sixth before facing the minimum in the seventh as the Blue and White remained behind 3-1 Tenuta went back out in the eight inning and despite allowing a two out single, retired Jonah Heim on a popup for the third and final out of the frame. The boys from Frawley could not protect their home turf though, going down in order in the bottom of the eighth and doing the same in the ninth to drop the rubber match 3-1.
Tenuta was the hard luck loser, falling to 2-2 on the season while Scott moved to 3-1 on the year after relieving for spot-starter David Richardson. Richardson went the first four innings and gave up just the one run for the Keys and Tanner Chleborad pitched the final two perfect innings for his first save. The Rocks will host the Carolina Mudcats for four games starting on Friday at 7:05 p.m. RHP Josh Staumont (0-4, 5.72) will be on the mound for the Blue Crew against RHP Matt Withrow for the Keys. Fans interested in seeing the game live can contact the ticket office at 302-888-BLUE or get their tickets online at BlueRocks.com. Those interested in listening to the game can tune in to WGLS-FM 89.7 or go to BlueRocks.com for all the game action.
Pebbles of Knowledge
Before Thursday's game against the Frederick Keys, Matt Tenuta had never gone more than seven innings. Now that streak is no more. Tenuta went eight full frames for the Wilmington Blue Rocks and gave up just three runs while setting a new career high in innings. He ceded just seven hits and struck out two with a pair of walks and hitting a batter. It was the second time this season a Blue Rock starter went eight innings after Ashton Goudeau did so against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans on May 5 in a 4-0 win. The only Blue Crew member to throw a complete game though was Pedro Fernandez when he did so against the Pelicans in Game Two of a doubleheader on May 7. The three runs allowed by Tenuta though came on a home run to Aderlin Rodriguez, which was the eighth home run of the season allowed by Tenuta, the most in the Carolina League.
Humberto Arteaga began the season in the two hole and got off to a rough start. He was then moved around the lineup before settling back in the two hole and since being reinserted into the spot he has taken off. Arteaga drove in the only run of the game for the Blue and White with a single in the fourth inning and ended up 1-for-3 on the evening with the RBI and a stolen base. In his last seven games, Arteaga is 13-for-30 with four doubles, a triple, six RBI, six runs scored, a walk, and a stolen base while picking up multiple hits in five of the games.
Arteaga is not the only boy from Frawley to contribute at the top of the lineup. Alfredo Escalera continued to produce from the leadoff spot and did so yet again on Thursday night. Escalera walked in his first plate appearance and doubled in his second at bat, which set the table for Arteaga's RBI single. Escalera finished the evening 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored. The outfielder is batting 31 points higher than his season average as the leadoff man (.276) with four runs scored, two walks, an RBI and a stolen base in seven games.
The 3-1 loss on Thursday was the last game between the Blue Crew and the Keys. It did not go well for Wilmington. They lost nine of the 12 games and the numbers support the lopsided series. The offense batted just .221 while striking out 111 times in 107.2 innings with only 36 walks. The two hits the offense mustered on Thursday was also the lowest output of the season. The pitching staff's ERA in the series currently sits at 4.67 and one man is mostly to blame. Aderlin Rodriguez collected six extra base hits with three doubles and three home runs. He also now has 14 RBI in the month of May with 13 of them coming against the Blue Rocks.
They Said It
Blue Rocks Manager Jamie Quirk
"The positives from the game offensively were we got a runner on second there in the fourth inning with no outs and quickly got him in, which is something we haven't been doing a whole lot of this season. There wasn't a whole lot of good at bats, but it was good to see them battling and they're working on it. They show up every day and they play hard and those are all positives. The results are what they are. That just comes from hard work and keeping after it. You're not always going to get the results you want, but the work and the work ethic is there."
"They just need to be consistent. One or two days does not make a season. Yeah, we had a could of days there where we had 15 hits and ten runs and then 15 hits and nine runs back-to-back and it was nice, but in this game when you're playing every day you need to be more consistent. It's not high school where you're just playing on Friday and Saturday. It's about showing up every day and the consistency that comes with that to do your part. That's what we're working on and a couple of good days here does not mean you have it figured out. That's what Minor League Baseball is about; learning how to play 140 games and it keeps coming at you. You can't get too high when you're doing well and you can't get too down when you're struggling."
"The thing that stood out to me most with (Matt) Tenuta's start was that he hung in there. He gave up three in the first on the three run homer and it looked like it might be a long night for him, but then he gave us seven zeroes. He hung in there and got his rhythm. It could have gotten ugly there at the beginning, but he stepped up and gave us an eight inning start which was outstanding. The positives were he didn't quit on himself. He went out there and threw up seven zeroes and gave us a chance to win."
"He changed his rhythm after that tough start. He just couldn't find the zone. That happens sometimes at the start of the game. You'll notice a lot of good starting pitchers that their toughest inning is their first one. They come in from the bullpen and it's a different mound and they can't get in the right rhythm, can't get things started. He could not locate the ball in that first inning then after that he got in his rhythm and was great in the next seven."
"His pitch count let me toss him back out there for the eighth. Plus, he had never been into the eighth inning before. It's all a learning process and we knew he had never been back out for an eighth inning and these are things he needs to accomplish. He had never been there before so he can never say that again. He has now and he is going to learn from that and it was good."
Blue Rocks Starting Pitcher Matt Tenuta
"I was just falling off to the third base side of the mound in the first inning. Charlie (Corbell) and I had talked about that a lot so it was upsetting I did that again in the first, but I was just falling off of the mound and I wasn't able to really command my fastball, which was the problem in the first inning. The home run, I got behind 2-1 and had to put one over the plate and it ended up right over the middle and he put a good swing on it. We worked on that in between innings during the warm up pitches and tried to stay forward and through the ball and that definitely helped going forward."
"I make a line where my landing foot is and I look down at it when I bring my knee up to throw home in my warmup pitches to help with the muscle memory, just try to do that, but that's about it. I really just had to battle tonight cause even later I didn't completely have the best stuff."
"Tonight was the first night where I really commanded my curveball, which was nice. I've faced them three times now, and they're a great hitting team so it's definitely tough to face them. You can look at all the guys on our staff and it's definitely tough to strike them out. With two strikes they are battling, but I threw it well and I was able to get soft contact, especially with popups to second and right field so that was nice."
"It was tough to keep the pitches sharp, especially because the first inning I was so over the place. The one thing that the Royals really preach is three pitches or less and Ashton Goudeau was charting pitches today and he said I had 17 at bats with three pitches or less and that was crazy to me because I had never heard that before so that was exciting."