Cuevas Dominates In Blue Rocks Win

During the Wilmington Blue Rocks’ third matchup against the Aberdeen IornBirds, the Washington Nationals affiliate took home their first win of the series in a 2-1 victory that was dominated by strong pitching and low scoring from the Blue Rocks.

The first three innings were scoreless for both teams as starting pitcher Michael Cuevas held the Ironbirds at a standstill with six strikeouts during this time, allowing only three batters batter on base.

Wilmington also remained scoreless within the third, although shortstop Jordy Barely managed to steal his 20th base of the season after he singled on a ground ball to fellow shortstop Collin Burns and proceed to steal second and third.

The bottom of the fourth, however, was when the Blue Rocks put their first marks on the board. After Yasel Antuna walked to first, catcher Israel Pineda hit his third home run of the season to score two for the Blue Rocks.

Cuevas would go on to keep Aberdeen scoreless for all six innings he played, striking out seven players overall and throwing 56 strikes over 81 pitches. He would be marked the winner of the game while Aberdeen’s starting pitcher, Dan Hammer, was handed the loss for 5.4 ERA over the 15 batters he faced.

The top of the ninth would feature a quiet comeback attempt for the Iornbirds after an initial double from John Rhodes and a walk from T.T. Bowens put Rhodes in scoring position when third baseman Darell Hernaiz hit an RBI single to set the game 2-1. However, Aberdeen was unable to capitalize on this late-game momentum and the Wilmington Blue Rocks took the game overall.

The series now stands 2-1 in the IronBirds' favor, with Wilmington looking to tie things up during their next game on Thursday, June 23. First pitch will be at 6:35 p.m.