Wilmington, DE -- The Wilmington Blue Rocks (68-71/37-32) split their second doubleheader in as many days with the Potomac Nationals (73-62/36-32) with a narrow 1-0 loss in game one and a 3-2 win in game two. Both starting pitchers for Wilmington had stellar outings on the mound. In game one,
Wilmington, DE -- The Wilmington Blue Rocks (68-71/37-32) split their second doubleheader in as many days with the Potomac Nationals (73-62/36-32) with a narrow 1-0 loss in game one and a 3-2 win in game two. Both starting pitchers for Wilmington had stellar outings on the mound. In game one, Andres Sotillet turned in his second-career complete game with seven innings of work. The righty gave up only four hits, one run, and four walks while also striking out seven batters, his highest total in a Blue Rocks uniform. Game two saw the debut of Josh Dye. The 2018 draft pick earned his first Advanced-A win by going five full innings and only giving up three hits, one run, and one walk while also amassing six strikeouts.
GAME ONE
The first game of the series turned into a pitchers' duel for both teams. The only run of the ballgame belonged to the Nationals in the top of the fourth. Andruw Monasterio drew a full count walk and then stole second base to put a runner on second with no outs. After a Nick Banks pop out, Monasterio advanced to third on a wild pitch by Sotillet. David Masters struck out swinging for the second out of the inning. Telmito Agustin followed up with an infield single up the middle to drive in Monasterio and put the Nationals ahead 1-0.
The Blue Rocks had a chance to tie the game in the fourth inning when Blake Perkins led the inning off with a leadoff double and advanced to third on a groundout. However, a ground ball to the drawn in third baseman and a line drive to short ended the threat and inning for the Rocks. Sotillet tossed all seven innings and was the tough-luck loser as he allowed just the one run over seven innings of work.
GAME TWO
Wilmington battled back in game two of the doubleheader as the team got on the board in the bottom of the third. After Rudy Martin drew a two-out walk, Vance Vizcaino lined a single into center to score Martin and put the Rocks ahead 1-0. Potomac tied the game up in the top of the fourth. Ian Sagdal doubled to center to put a runner on second with two outs. Andruw Monasterio punched a bloop single into right that drove in Sagdal and tied the game at one run apiece.
The Blue Rocks regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth. With one out in the inning, Chase Vallot crushed a fly ball deep into left field for a no-doubt solo home run to push Wilmington ahead 2-1. Travis Jones followed up with a single to left before advancing all the way to third on a wild pitch. Oliver Nunez hit a sacrifice fly into center to score Jones and extend the lead to 3-1.
Potomac tacked on another run in the top of the sixth. Sagdal started the inning with a double up the middle, he later advanced to third on a wild pitch. After a groundout and a fly out, David Masters singled to right, scoring Sagdal and pulling Potomac within one, 3-2. Bryan Brickhouse entered the game in the top of the seventh and earned his 14th save of the season after drawing a fly out and two groundouts to shut the door and earn the win.
The regular season finale for the Blue Rocks and Nationals will be on Monday, September 3 at Frawley Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 12:05 p.m. with righty Ofreidy Gomez (6-10, 3.53 ERA) starts for Wilmington while fellow right-hander A.J. Bogucki (3-2, 1.01 ERA) starts for Potomac. Fans can listen to the game as Matt Janus and Cory Nidoh will have the call on 89.7 WGLS-FM.
PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE
Josh Dye became the third 2018 Royals draft pick to make an appearance in Wilmington this season. After Jackson Lueck made his debut on August 17 and Kyle Hinton debuted on September 1, Dye started game two on the mound for the Blue Rocks. The southpaw earned his first-career Advanced-A win with five innings of work, giving up only three hits, one earned run, walked one while also fanning six batters.
Former Blue Rocks catcher Meibrys Viloria became the 175th player in Blue Rocks' history to earn the call up to the big leagues on Sunday. The catcher became the first player since Mike Sweeney to make the jump from Advanced-A all the way to Kansas City. Viloria went 1-for-3 in his Royals debut with a two-run double in the bottom of the eighth to push their lead to 7-1 over the Baltimore Orioles.
The Blue Rocks played in their 11th doubleheader of the season on Sunday afternoon. With a loss in game one and a win in game two, the Rocks hold a 2-2-7 record in doubleheaders (Wins-Losses-Splits). The Rocks wrap up their five-game, three-day set and season on Monday with a finale against the P-Nats.
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