Rocks See Five Game Winning Streak End

Wilmington, DE- Daniel Tillo and Cameron Bishop squared off in an old-fashioned pitchers' duel on Saturday at Frawley Stadium as neither Frederick or Wilmington could muster a run over the first six innings. It was the Blue Rocks that finally broke through for two against Bishop in the seventh, but the Keys got the last laugh, plating five runs in the eighth en route to a 5-3 victory. The loss ended Wilmington's season-high five-game winning streak.

Tillo went back out for the eighth, but showed signs of fatigue by allowing a one-out infield single to Robbie Thorburn. Sean Miller then worked a walk, and the Rocks went to their bullpen.
Rito Lugo entered and promptly yielded singles to Zach Jarrett, J.C. Escarra and Trevor Craport. Jarrett's hit got Frederick on the board while Escarra's tied the game and Craport's put Frederick ahead to stay. One out later Yeltsin Gudino put the cherry on top of the Keys' crooked number with his run-scoring infield single.
The rally spoiled Wilmington's two-run seventh. Dennicher Carrasco brought home the first run of the night, on a double to left and then Kyle Kasser added an RBI-single to center.
Cameron Ming got four outs without allowing a run to earn the win. In the ninth the Rocks got a run-scoring double with two outs from Sebastian Rivero and loaded the bases, before Luis Perez got the final out to pick up his third save.
Wilmington wraps up its second-half opening four-game homestand on Sunday against Frederick. First pitch is slated for 1:35 p.m. Tickets are available online at BlueRocks.com and fans who can't make it to the ballpark can catch all the action with the Voice of the Blue Rocks, Cory Nidoh, on 89.7 WGLS-FM.
PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:
Wilmington lost for just the second time this season when taking a lead into the eighth inning.
The Rocks were six outs away from turning in their ninth shutout of the season on Saturday and their second straight. Wilmington got its eighth shutout of the year on Friday, which is more than the team had in the entire 2018 season. Three of the Blue Crew's blankings this season have come at the hands of Frederick. Wilmington also held the Keys without a run on May 14 and 15. Frederick's five-run eighth halted a string of 17.2 straight scoreless innings--the club's second-longest shutout stretch of the year.
Entering Saturday six had been the magic number on the mound for Wilmington this season. The Blue Crew lost for just the sixth time in 30 tries when their starting pitcher made it through at least the sixth frame. Conversely, Wilmington is just 22-20 when the starter is pulled in the sixth inning or sooner. The starting staff had carried the Rocks in this series until the eighth inning on Saturday. In three games Frederick has yet to scratch together a run while the trio of Kris Bubic, Marcelo Martinez, and Daniel Tillo were toeing the rubber. Bubic and Martinez each tossed six shutout frames while Tillo posted seven goose eggs on Saturday, before yielding two baserunners and departing. The Wilmington bullpen allowed both inherited runners to score.