It’s Heating Up in Wilmington - Homestand Recap vs Aberdeen IronBirds

The Wilmington Blue Rocks hosted the Baltimore Orioles’ High-A affiliate Aberdeen IronBirds at Frawley Stadium for the second time this season. Although Wilmington won three of the first four games, they spit the homestand matchup 3-3. It was an extremely hot start to the summer that came with a lot of runs, stand-out defensive performances, and the most home runs the Blue Rocks have hit at Frawley this season.

Game 1

The hot weather and coinciding low air density created the perfect atmosphere for an electric offensive outing Tuesday night. Both teams took advantage of the hitting weather, but Wilmington came out on top with a 12-7 win to kick off the series. Maxwell Romero Jr hit a home run in the fourth, and the Blue Rocks had ten runs and held the IronBirds to zero through the first five innings. Rodney Theophile got the start and the win (6.0 IP, 4 hits, 4 runs, 2 BB, 10 K), and has since been assigned to the Washington Nationals’ Double-A affiliate in Harrisburg.

Game 2

The temperature for Wednesday night’s matchup was equally, if not more, hot than the night prior, but the bats certainly weren’t. Wilmington fell 2-1 to the IronBirds under the start of Riley Cornelio, who allowed four hits and two runs and struck out four batters in five innings. Wilmington didn’t have any standouts on offense in Game 2 with only four total hits, but Matt Suggs put on arguably his best defensive performance at Frawley Stadium this season by catching two runners attempting to steal second base.

Game 3

Bryan Caceres shut out Aberdeen and held them to only three hits through five innings in the Blue Rocks 4-2 win Thursday night. Four relievers followed him including closer Matt Cronin, who earned the save with four strikeouts in 1.2 innings. Jeremy De La Rosa had one home run in the game, which was just a glimpse of what would come from him just a day later.

Game 4

The Blue Rocks’ 6-3 win was highlighted by the stunning start from Cade Cavalli and a shining offensive performance from Jeremy De La Rosa. Cavalli is spending time in Wilmington on a rehab assignment while he slowly but surely makes his way back to the majors following his injury and subsequent Tommy John surgery last year. He had three strikeouts and allowed zero hits in his three innings Friday night.

Offensively, De La Rosa managed to send two more baseballs out of the park. He went 3-for-4 with five RBIs, three runs, and a stolen base.

Games 5 and 6

Friday night’s win would be the last of the series for Wilmington, but Games 5 and 6 highlighted fundamental pieces of the roster that deserve some emphasis. Joe Naranjo joined the team on Monday as a free agent after being released from the Akron RubberDucks. He quickly made many contributions to the team offensively, but his defensive fundamental skills at first base shined in Game 5. Jose Atencio started in the 4-2 loss, allowing seven hits and four runs and striking out four batters in six innings.

Similarly, Viandel Pena, who has been a reliable member of the Blue Rocks throughout the season, stood out tremendously in Sunday’s Game 6. He went 3-for-4 at the plate, including a sliding effort to reach first, and carried that extra hustle over into his defensive efforts, making numerous showstopping plays Sunday afternoon. Luke Young took the mound for the matinee and pitched five innings, struck out four batters, and allowed five hits and three runs.

Moving Forward

Friday marked the beginning of the second half of the season, and the Greensboro Grasshoppers earned the first half South Atlantic League North title. The Blue Rocks are now on the road for six games against the Hudson Valley Renegades, and started the latter half of the season 1-2.