Rocks Win Game One of the Battle of the Blues

On the night of Tuesday, June 28, the Wilmington Blue Rocks played the first of six straight games against the Jersey Shore BlueClaws, which kicked off the second of three regular season series that these teams will play against each other.

The skies remained clear of any precipitation, as the weather was as perfect as a Summer night could be for a baseball game. However, the skies did not remain free of baseballs, as there were 12 total hits in the game.

After a scoreless first inning, Jersey Shore was the first team to strike after Casey Martin homered in the top of the second. The BlueClaws went into the bottom of the frame with a 1-0 lead, but they were unable to end the inning on top.

When it was the Blue Rocks’ turn to strike, first baseman Drew Mendoza gave his team the lead with a two-run homerun off of Jersey Shore’s Matt Russell. It was Mendoza’s fifth homer of the season.

The third inning was similar to the first, as neither team could put any scores up on the board. In the top of the fourth frame, though, the BlueClaws tied the game after Casey Martin drove in teammate D.J. Stewart for his second RBI of the night and the team’s second score.

Despite Martin and the BlueClaws’ efforts, the Blue Rocks regained control of the game after Drew Mendoza scored his second run of the day. He scored off of a Ricardo Mendez single that got through the gap into right field.

Michael Cuevas, who was the Blue Rocks’ starting pitcher of the day, pitched for six innings. Even though he gave up some early game scores, Manager Mario Lisson was confident enough to leave him on the mound.

“[Cuevas] was competing well,“ Manager Lisson. “He got the opposing batters to ground the ball into double plays, which helped get us out of some innings. He was really competitive tonight."

Cuevas ended his day with two strikeouts and only two earned runs over his six innings pitched.

When Drew Mendoza returned to the plate for his third at-bat of the game, he continued to have himself a day by registering his third RBI and third hit. This time, it was a triple that brought Israel Pineda home, which gave the Rocks a 4-2 lead with three innings left in the game.

The seventh, eighth, and ninth innings were all scoreless. Mendoza had one last at bat in the eighth inning with an opportunity to “hit the cycle” with a single, but he popped out and ended his day 3-4 at the plate.

Even though Mendoza could not complete the cycle, he was still a major reason why the Blue Rocks won this game. His three hits, three RBI’s, and two runs were all influential in the final 4-2 result.