The Wilmington Blue Rocks played their fifth game of a six-game set against the Brooklyn Cyclones. This day was special at the ballpark as it was Mr. Celery’s birthday. The Blue Rocks celebrated by securing a 3-2 win.
The Blue Rocks got a good four-inning start from Seth Shuman, who is still recovering from an injury. Shuman gave up three hits, two runs, and one walk, and struck out four. He made just one mistake during his start, but it was a costly one to Omar De Los Santos, who hit a two-run home run over the left field wall.
The star of this game for Wilmington was center fielder Johnathon Thomas. With Brooklyn starting lefty pitcher Felipe De La Cruz, manager Mario Lisson decided to give Thomas the start.
“He has done a good job against [lefties],” Lisson said. “Overall, the last month he has been better and more consistent at the plate. We are gonna give him every chance we can.”
So far this season, Thomas has hit below the Mendoza line against righties but has hit in the .260s against lefties.
Thomas rewarded Lisson early in the game with a six-pitch leadoff at-bat that ended with him hitting a ball into the left centerfield gap to get to third base easily.
“I did not know I hit it that far,” Thomas said. “When I was rounding first and I saw it, I said I am gonna keep going.”
Phillip Glasser followed that with a fly ball into centerfield that was deep enough to score Thomas from third, giving them a 1-0 lead.
The Blue Rocks went down after the De Los Santos home run. However, they mounted a comeback thanks to three players: Glasser, Viandel Pena, and Murphy Stehly. Glasser led off the bottom of the fifth with a single and got to second after a balk. Pena scored him with a single into center. Stehly then hit a soft line drive double that scored Pena to take the lead.
“I did not hit it very hard, but it found the grass,” Stehly said. “It got the winning run in, you just gotta put the ball in play.”
Elijah Nunez, who played left and Thomas both had great days in the outfield. Thomas specifically made a phenomenal leaping catch on a ball where he had to cover a lot of ground.
“Him and Nunez, that is a big part of their game,” Lisson said. “Their tools show how good of fielders they are. Those things are gonna get them closer to the big leagues.”
Thomas knows that defending his position is a big part of his game. He is supremely confident on any ball that is hit.
“Off the bat, I think I can get anything,” Thomas said. “As long as I did not hit the ball before I got to the ball, I knew I was gonna catch it.”
The bullpen came in and did what they have been doing this series, with the exception of Thursday, shutting down the Cyclones’ offense.
“They are giving us confidence,” Lisson said. “Especially offensively, they give us a chance to stay in games. We know even when we are down we have the ability to come back because they keep us in it.”
Richard Guasch specifically had a good two innings for the team. He had three strikeouts and earned the win. In July, he had a 1.80 ERA, and things are starting to click for him. Matt Cronin got the save for the squad, bringing his save total to five on the season.
The Blue Rocks are now one game away from being back to .500 and play just one more game before the All-Star break.
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