Rocks Use Strong Start for Win

Wilmington, DE - A good start by both the offense and starting pitcher Andres Machado aided the Wilmington Blue Rocks (53-42/14-11) in a 6-4 win over the Potomac Nationals (40-52/7-16) Monday night at Frawley Stadium. The Rocks used a four-run opening inning while Machado twirled six-plus innings of work to earn the victory. Nate Esposito paced the offense with three hits and also drove in a run. With the win, the Blue Rocks improve to a season-best 11 games over .500 and move within one game of first place in the Northern Division.  

The Blue Rocks opened up the game with a four-run explosion and sent nine men to the plate. Chris DeVito got the Rocks on the board first on a fielder's choice before Wander Franco and Nate Esposito singled home a run each to make it 3-0. Roman Collins capped the scoring, driving in a run on a fielder's choice to round out the four-run barrage.
Machado cruised through four innings of work before the P-Nats cut the deficit in half in the fifth inning. Rhett Wiseman tripled home a run and Edwin Lora drove in the second run of the inning with a groundout to make it a 4-2 game. Wilmington quickly got the two runs back in their half of the inning. Brandon Downes smashed a leadoff triple and scored on a DeVito RBI groundout to make it a 5-2 contest. Franco followed a batter later and launched his third homer of the season to put the Blue Crew up 6-2.
Potomac tried to rally back in the seventh inning. With two outs, Potomac strung together three straight hits, including a RBI single from Wiseman and run-scoring double by Lora to make it a two-run lead for Wilmington, 6-4. 
Machado picked up his sixth win of the season and worked 6.2 innings, allowed four earned runs on seven hits, walked two and struck out seven. Lefty Matt Tenuta finished off the final 2.1 innings, earned the save, and continued the impressive scoreless innings streak for the Blue Rocks' bullpen which now stands at 29 straight shutout innings.

Offensively, six different Blue Rocks picked up a hit while Espostio paced the Blue Rocks offense with three hits and drove in a run.
The Blue Rocks conclude their week-long homestand on Tuesday, July 18 with their season finale against the Nationals. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. with RHP Scott Blewett (5-6, 3.97 ERA) making the start for the Blue Rocks while RHP Luis Reyes (5-10, 4.66 ERA) starts for the P-Nats. Fans can listen to the action with Matt Janus and Cory Nidoh
PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:
There is no question that the Blue Rocks start the marathon in a sprint most games. The Rocks struck for four runs in the first inning on Monday night, making it the 10th time Wilmington has scored in the opening frame in July. Overall, the Rocks have scored 60 runs in the first, the most runs scored in any inning this season. It is no surprise that when the Rocks score first, they win more often; they have posted a 36-14 record when striking first in a contest, opposed to being 17-28 when opponents strike the scoreboard first.
D.J. Burt continued his on-base streak to 15-games on Monday night with a base hit in the sixth inning. The streak is the longest active on-base streak on the Wilmington roster. The second baseman had his 10-game hitting streak snapped with a hitless performance on Friday, but picked up a pair of walks of which he leads the team with 58 on the season. In the last month alone, Burt has raised his batting average nearly 20-points, rallying his .202 batting average on June 13 to a .227 mark after Monday's game.
The bullpen has been the backbone of the Blue Rocks the past six games. The relievers continued their impressive 29 scoreless innings streak into the Potomac series, and have dominated over the last six games. On Monday night, Matt Tenuta finished off a great start from Andres Machado by striking out five batters and not allowing a hit in 2.1 innings On Saturday, Colin Rodgers, Franco Terrero, and Walker Sheller owned the last five innings of work and totaled seven strikeouts.
With the win against Potomac on Monday night, the Rocks have now won four straight games and eight of their last 10 against the P-Nats. In that span, the Rocks have outscored their opponent 41-30, winning five of six one-run affairs. During the 25 games played, 16 have been decided by two runs or less with the Rocks taking 11 of them. Overall, the Rocks own a 16-9 record against the P-Nats on the season.
THEY SAID IT, Jamie Quirk:
"Coming right out of the gate and jumping on (Potomac was big on Monday night). Jecksson Flores gets a double, nice error by their first baseman that opened the flood gates. We added on four runs in the first, that's always a good breather and we continued on. Andres Machado was very good. He was very aggressive, working quick, pitching well, throwing strikes. He did a very nice job, got us into the seventh inning. Matt Tenuta was outstanding as well.
"(On difference of Machado in last two starts) controlling his pitch count. He stayed aggressive, I'm sure the four runs (in the first inning) helped him. He stayed aggressive, he didn't mess around, he didn't try to trick anybody, he just said here is my stuff. His fastball was very good (on Monday) and he kept attacking, put (Potomac) on the defensive. That's what we have talked about. His good games are like that. He pitches great out of the windup but has some trouble when he gets in the stretch. When he is out of the windup, he is very good.
"Yes (throwing majority fastballs was the game plan). He has a good one and it keeps him aggressive. We talked about it with Nathan Esposito and said hey, attack. When you attack, you want to use your fastball. He is much better when he does that. That was our plan, to get the fastball going, pound it, make your pitches and keep staying after it.
"(Nathan Esposito's) offense has been very good. He plays a lot against left handed pitching, that's when I get him in there and DH Chase Vallot. He is killing left handed pitching. He knows what he is: a base hit kind of guy. He doesn't worry about trying to do too much, just line drives all over the place. He has been a great surprise offensively. It really helps that I know how he handles the pitching staff, that's not a problem, but when he hits like that against lefties, it's a big help."
Nathan Esposito, Catcher
"I was seeing the ball well (Monday) and was trying not to do too much. Just get my barrel on the ball and it worked out for me (on Monday). Honestly, I don't really even notice (that he hits well against left handed pitchers). I guess that has been mainly this year, but I didn't even realize that. They show me the ball on that side of their body, away from me, so it's a little easier to hit it.
"Andres Machado throws hard and we all know that. (Monday) we really tried to get it down in the zone. The off-speed was honestly not an issue for me, I wasn't worried about him spotting up his slider or changeup. I just really wanted to get ahead and dominate with the fastball as best we can. He did and all that secondary stuff we started to use at the end of his outing and it worked out really well for him. I like to call fastballs with him and he likes to throw them. We can get down in the zone. I know I keep saying that but that is so important. I can tell you what's coming and if it's down in the zone, you aren't going to hit it more times than not. He likes to throw his fastball and when we get it done and on certain sides of the plate, he's happy, I'm happy and it works out.
"Like I said earlier, our bullpen has just been great for us. I see a guy tonight, especially Tenuta (on Monday), and I have no fear. I know he is going to come in, throw strikes. He has conviction inside of him. All the time, he wants to bury a pitch. I'm cool with that because everything is down in the zone and they just keep coming in. They are doing a great job.
"At this point in the year, we have played (Potomac) so many times. We know their batters, and we know most of their pitchers a little bit. You can tell right when the guy comes out if he is not making adjustments, if he is struggling at the plate. It is pretty evident that he is not going to hit a certain pitch on that day. I think if you just keep going with it and don't get too fancy, stick to the game plan, I think it works out."
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