FERGUSON AND CARL SEND ROCKS TO TRIUMPH
Down 4-3 at the end of three innings, the Blue Rocks went ahead for good in the fourth. A few pitches into the frame, Geulin Beltre guided an arcing flyball over the right field wall in the corner for a solo homer against Frederick starter Tim Berry to tie the game at four. Jose Bonilla followed with a walk. Angel Franco pushed a sacrifice in front of home plate to move Bonilla to second. With one out, Orlando Calixte crushed a ball to left center field for an RBI double and a 5-4 lead.
The Rocks pitching staff locked it down from there. Wilmington starter Andy Ferguson pitched 3.2 perfect frames into the seventh inning. Edwin Carl came on in the seventh and bolted down the save. He went 2.1 perfect innings as well, including 5 strikeouts in a row. The two combined to retire 19 consecutive Keys batters to close out the contest.
Wilmington jumped ahead in the first inning when Calixte led off with a home run to nearly the same spot that Beltre hit his dinger. That opened the scoring at 1-0. With one out, Lane Adams singled to reach base. With two outs, Cheslor Cuthbert pushed him to third with a base knock of his own. A punch single from Nick Van Stratten brought Adams around for 2-0 edge.
The Keys would score four of the game's next five runs over the course of the second and third innings. With two outs in the second, Torsten Boss was plunked with a Ferguson pitch. A double to the right field alley from Mike Flacco made it 2-1. Garabez Rosa knotted the game at two with a poke directly thereafter.
Trailing 3-2 in the third, the Keys jumped in front. Glynn Davis and Brenden Webb started the frame with back-to-back singles. Standing at third and second respectively with two outs, Steve Bumbry smoked a two-run double to left field as Frederick seized the lead at 4-3.
The Rocks continue this series with the Frederick Keys on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Wilmington will go with RHP Matt Ridings (6-1, 2.25) against Frederick RHP Tyler Wilson (6-6, 4.04). Broadcast coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. as studio host Rob Cunningham brings fans the Rocks Report Pre-game Show, presented by Wawa, on 89.7 WGLS-FM and online at wgls.rowan.edu.
PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:
With a win over Frederick on Tuesday, the Blue Rocks hold a 1.5-game lead over the defending CL champion Keys. The Blue Crew has owned at least a share of first place on every day but one since August 7. Wilmington, Frederick and Potomac are all separated by less than six games for the division's second-half playoff spot. The four-time Carolina League champion Blue Rocks are attempting to make their first playoff appearance since pacing the loop with 84 wins in 2009.
Wilmington concludes its regular-season schedule with 8 of its last 12 games against its brothers from the North. The Rocks own a 31-21 (.596) mark in intradivisional competition.
The Blue Rocks magic number to clinch a playoff berth is 11, with the Frederick Keys 1.5 games back in the standings. Any combination of Blue Rocks wins and Keys losses totaling 11 by regular-season's end will mean a playoff berth for Wilmington for the first time since 2009. To put it in perspective, if the Rocks were to play.500 at 6-6, the Keys would have to post a 8-4 (.666) record to overtake the Rocks for a playoff berth. Wilmington is 10-8 against the Keys this season, including a 5-3 mark at Harry Grove Stadium.
The Blue Rocks have clinched at least a .500 mark against the Keys at Harry Grove Stadium this year with a 5-3 record. Before a dreadful 1-9 mark at the Grove last year, the Blue Rocks have held their own in Frederick, MD. From 2007-2010, the Rocks held a 23-17 record and had at least a .500 mark in each of those four seasons at the Keys home park.
If the Blue Rocks stay on pace with their current winning percentage, they are slated to finish with 65 wins, the lowest single-season total since the 2005 Blue Rocks posted a 60-80 mark.
Brett Eibner's strikeout rate is currently on a historic pace. Eibner's 153 strikeouts ranks third on the franchise's single season record list. He is four behind second-place Gary Coffee (157 Ks, 1997) and six behind first-place Donnie Ross (159 Ks, 2001).
Edwin Carl's save was just the eighth of his career and his first since Aug. 22, 2011 while with Idaho Falls at Billings.
Orlando Calixte's leadoff homer was his first tater since he went yard on July 6 at Lynchburg against Chasen Shreve. The 20-year-old had gone 37 games and 153 at-bats before his solo job in the first. Also, the homer was the Blue Rocks fifth leadoff shot and the first by someone other than Whit Merrifield. Merrifield's last one came off Miguel Celstino at Salem on July 22.
Andy Ferguson has been a great addition to the Rocks rotation but he has had trouble against the Keys. In two outings, he owns a 1-1 record and a 7.50 ERA over 12 innings. He has allowed 16 hits with no walks. Against the rest of the Carolina League, he is 2-1 in 39.1 innings. He has allowed 10 runs for a 2.29 ERA. The other six teams have hit .237 against him and have struck out 42 times, while dishing out only seven walks.