Rocks Hold Off Pelicans in Game One, Outlast Them in Game Two for Sweep, 8-4/3-1
Myrtle Beach, S.C.-The Wilmington Blue Rocks (17-31) received five-RBI from Wander Franco in Game One of the doubleheader against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (26-23) on Sunday as they held off their hosts for an 8-4 win in the opener. Game Two was even closer, going into the tenth inning tied 1-1, but Austin Bailey ripped a two-run RBI triple in the top of the frame to provide the difference and lift the Rocks to their first doubleheader sweep of the season.
After an uneventful first inning in Game One, the rocks got on the board in a hurry in the second frame. Brandon Downes led off with a double and scored two batters later on an single by Bailey. After the Pellies tied it in the bottom of the second, the Blue Crew cracked right back with three in the third. An RBI single by Alfredo Escalera regained the lead before Franco smashed a two run double to extend the advantage to 4-1. That lead moved to 5-1 in the next frame when Humberto Arteaga's infield single plated Elier Hernandez. It could have been 6-1, but Chad Johnson was thrown out at home trying to steal a run.
The Pellies made it a game in the fourth inning when their first two men got on and then the Blue and White's defense got sloppy. A wild pitch by starter Foster Griffin pushed men to second and third before Trey Martin's single made it a 5-3 game. Martin took second on the throw home and attempted to steal third two batters later. Johnson tried to nab the potential base stealer, but the throw got away from him and rolled into left field, allowing Martin to score Myrtle Beach's fourth run of the game.
Brennen Henry came in to pitch the sixth inning and kept the Rocks in the lead, providing time to gain some breathing room in the seventh thanks once again to Franco. Having already driven in two runs in the game, Franco strolled to the plate with two men on and clobbered a 1-2 pitch over the wall in left for a three run shot, jolting the Blue Crew ahead 8-4. Jake Newberry replaced Henry in the bottom of the seventh and although he let the first two men reach, the righty settled down and got the next three batters to seal the 8-4 victory in the non save situation.
The boys from Frawley came back out in Game Two and immediately doubled down on what worked in Game One. Cody Jones reached to start the affair thanks to an error and came home with the first run of the game on Escalera's two-bagger a couple of batters later. Zach Lovvorn was on the bump for the Rocks and mowed down Pellies through the first three innings, not giving up a hit while holding the 1-0 lead. He finally ceded back-to-back base knocks to begin the fourth and the defense once again failed the Blue Crew and allowed Myrtle Beach to tie the game.
After a lineout to Downes in left resulted in the first out of the inning, he misplayed the next ball hit to him as the Pelicans loaded the bases with one out. The following batter hit a ground ball to Franco at third. He immediately came home with it to get the lead runner, but when catcher Luis Villegas tried to turn the double play ball and fire to first, the throw went wild, allowing a run to come home and knot the game at ones. Lovvorn though got the next batter on a comebacker and escaped the inning without any further damage.
However, both Lovvorn and Pelicans starter Zach Hedges refused to blink and the game stayed tied at ones, eventually going into extra frames as both starters had to be replaced. The game remained deadlocked at one and it looked like the Pellies were going to earn the split when they loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the ninth. However, Matt Alvarez, who was on the mound of Wilmington, struck out the next batter and induced a short popup to left to get out of the inning and keep the game going.
That is when Bailey played the hero. Franco singled as the leadoff man in the inning and was bunted over to second. He moved to third after a wild pitch, but Joshua Banuelos could not drive him in. That left it up to Villegas who stayed patient and worked a walk to put runners on the corners with the two down for Bailey. The switch-hitter ripped a 1-1 pitch into the gap in right, driving home not just Franco from third, but Villegas from first as well and pushing the Rocks ahead 3-1. Alvarez came back out for the tenth and although he walked the first batter, he compelled a double play to the next man up and a lineout to short ended the marathon and gave the Blue Crew their first doubleheader sweep of the season.
Griffin got his first Advanced-A win in Game One of the doubleheader by allowing four runs in five innings and moved to 1-2 on the year with the Blue Crew. Martinez record evens up with the loss and is now 3-3 while Game Two's winning pitcher was Alvarez for his work in the ninth and tenth and he improves to 3-2 while James Farris winds up at 1-2 with the loss.
The two teams will complete the four game series on Monday when the Blue Crew's RHP Corey Ray (1-0, 4.76) will go up against RHP Trevor Clifton (2-3, 2.25) in the finale. First pitch is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. and 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
Wander Franco turned a good Game One of the doubleheader into a great Game One with a single swing of the bat. Entering the seventh inning, Franco had two RBI to his name thanks to a third inning double. However, he had a chance to drive in more in the seventh at a time when the Rocks needed it, clinging to a 5-4 lead. Franco fell behind in the count 0-2 before watching a ball and then taking the 1-2 pitch clear over the left field wall for a three run homer. It gave Franco five RBI on the day to tie a career high. The last time Franco drove in five was back on August 20, 2012 in his first professional season when he was a member of the Dominican Royals. He went 2-for-2 in that game with a double, three walks, a hit by pitch and of course the five RBI. He also now has three multi-hit games in his last five starts and is the team leader in home runs (four) and RBI (27).
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are the only team in the Carolina League that Wilmington has a winning record against. The Blue Crew are 6-1 this season against the Pellies, taking three of four at Frawley Stadium a couple of weeks back before taking the first three of this series at the Pelicans home. TicketReturn.com field is also the only ballpark where the Rocks are above .500 on the year, currently sitting at 3-0. The boys from Frawley are batting .248 against the Pelicans this year, which is 12 points higher than their season average, but it is the pitching that is carrying the day. In five games against the South Carolina team, the Rocks pitching staff is sporting a nifty 1.95 ERA compared to their season mark of 4.48. They have also shut out the Pellies twice in their six wins as the staff and in one of those wins, Game Two of the doubleheader, they allowed just one unearned run in ten innings.
Zach Lovvorn pitched well enough to win in Game Two of the doubleheader, but the offense only mustered one run while he was out on the mound. The righty from Alabama is still winless this season and his record sits at 0-6, but he has been great out on the mound practically all year and was so again on Sunday. He did not allow a hit until the fourth inning and allowed just one run in six frames of work, with the one run an unearned run as he dropped his ERA to 3.86. Lovvorn punched out five Pelicans in the start and issued just one free pass to bring his strikeout to walk ration to 42:13. Sunday was his tenth outing and his eighth start, and he has allowed three or fewer earned runs in every appearance in 2016 with one exception.
By taking Game One 8-4 and Game Two 3-1, the Rocks earned their first doubleheader sweep of the year. Coming into the game they had played three doubleheaders, getting swept once and splitting the other two. They are also now 2-3 in extra inning games, including 2-0 against the Pelicans. Their first extra inning victory of the year came back on May 8 when Franco singled home a run in the 11th inning for a 6-5 Rocks win. The Blue and White are also now 5-6 in games decided by two runs and it is the first time this year they have won a game when tied in the final two regulations innings.
The season turnaround for Matt Alvarez continues for the right-hander. He got into serious trouble in the ninth inning when the game was tied and the bases were loaded with one out, but he hung tough once again. He was able to strike out Rashad Crawford for the second out and then induced a shallow popup to left off of the bat of Gleyber Torres to keep the Rocks out of the loss column. After Bailey's two-run triple put the Blue Crew ahead, he came out in the ninth and retired the side for his third win on the season. He is now 3-0 in his last seven appearances and 2-for-2 in save opportunities. His ERA over that span is 1.62 and over his last 11 outings, which consist of 16.1 innings pitched, the righty has posted an ERA of 1.12.