Blue Rocks Drop Pitchers Duel

The Wilmington Blue Rocks (14-15) suffered their second loss of the series against the Brooklyn Cyclones (11-16) 2-1 in a classic pitcher’s duel.

For the Rocks, it was southpaw Dustin Saenz on the mound. After a one out single in the first, Saenz wouldn’t surrender another hit until the fourth.

After 5.2 scoreless innings, the Cyclones started a two-out rally in the sixth. With two on and two out, Omar De Los Santos put the ball in play and a throwing error by third baseman Nick Shumpert allowed the first run of the game to score to give the Cyclones a 1-0 advantage.

Saenz would close out the sixth to finish out his outing. Saenz went 6.0 innings, allowing one run, unearned, on three hits while striking out six and walking two.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Rocks would punch back. A leadoff solo home run off the bat of Caleb Farmer tied the game in a big way. That would be it for the Rocks though as the bats fell silent.

In the ninth, the Cyclones would start another two-out rally. With nobody on and two away, Jaylen Palmer ripped a single into left field. Palmer would then steal second and would be brought home on a go-ahead two-run double off the bat of Chase Estep.

In the bottom half of the ninth, the Rocks would go down in order to end the game. The loss drops the Rocks back below .500 as they head into the weekend for the final three games of the series.