Three-Run First Sinks Wilmington in Salem

Salem, VA- Three first-inning runs from the Salem Red Sox set the tone in a 7-0 loss for the Wilmington Blue Rocks on Wednesday at Haley Toyota Field. The setback ended Wilmington's three-game winning streak, but the Blue Crew are still five games clear of the Lynchburg Hillcats in the CL North standings, with 23 contests remaining in the season's opening half.

Rocks starter Jackson Kowar got a rude greeting from the home team. Ryan Fitzgerald put the Sox in front with an RBI single and then a pair of sacrifice flies from Garrett Benge and Marcus Wilson extended the advantage to 3-0.
Kowar (3-3) continued to battle and actually pitched pretty well the rest of the way. The righty lasted six innings, allowing five runs on six hits with five strikeouts and only one walk. He was victimized by a Pedro Castellanos solo homer in the third, and then yielded an RBI single from Wilson in the sixth. Wilson capped his big night with a two-run double off of Robert Garcia in the eighth.
Wilmington never solved the riddle that was Salem starter Emmanuel De Jesus, who surrendered just two hits over six scoreless frames. De Jesus (3-3) induced a pair of double-play grounders to aide his cause. The Rocks' best scoring opportunity came against Red Sox reliever Robbie Baker in the seventh. Dennicher Carrasco opened the frame with a double to left. He got to third with only one down, but could advance no further.
The Rocks wrap up their seven-day, eight-game road trip on Thursday at Salem. Left-hander Marcelo Martinez  gets the ball for Wilmington with first pitch slated for 7:05 p.m. Fans can catch all the action with the Voice of the Blue Rocks Cory Nidoh on 89.7 WGLS-FM. Wilmington returns to Frawley Stadium on Friday for a six-game homestand. Tickets are available at BlueRocks.com.
PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:
Shutouts have been a common storyline for the Blue Rocks of late. Over the last nine days Wilmington has held its opponent off the scoreboard three times and been unable to score a run once. The Blue Crew were blanked on Wednesday--the team's first shut-out loss since August 22 of last year. Wilmington actually had a chance at another shutout by its pitching staff on Tuesday, but allowed Salem to score a run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Rocks' five shut-out victories are second in the Carolina League, behind only Down East, which has held opponents off the board seven times in 2019.
Four has been the magic number for the Wilmington Blue Rocks offense in 2019. When the Rocks score four times in a game they are 16-2 on the year. Conversely, when Wilmington manages just three scores or fewer in an affair the team is only 12-16.
Wilmington has had an odd schedule to start the 2019 season. Wilmington opened the campaign with a series against Salem and then played 17 consecutive games against CL South opponents. The Rocks went 9-8 during that stretch. The Blue Crew will wrap up a stretch where they played 24 out of 26 against the CL North. The Rocks are 16-7 so far during this divisional-heavy portion of the slate and 16-9 on the year against CL North foes.