Wilmington, DE – Unseasonably cool temperatures, blustery winds and superior pitching turned Frawley Stadium into a Dante’s Inferno for batters on Tuesday night.  Fortunately for the Wilmington Blue Rocks, Mike Moustakas can hit regardless of conditions, and the third baseman’s eighth inning RBI double gave the Blue Crew a 1-0 victory over the Frederick Keys.
 
The Rocks’ winning rally started after Jamar Walton and Adrian Ortiz led the inning off with ground outs.  But Johnny Giavotella sparked a rally when he laced a single to left field.  Frederick outfielder Kraig Binick then made a critical mistake.  
 
As Binick went over to cut the ball off, it bounced away from him.  When he went to chase it down he made matters worse by falling.  Giavotella, who never stops hustling, easily reached second on the error, and was in scoring position when Mosutakas came up.
 
Another Frederick miscue led to the Wilmington run.  
 
Ahead of Moustakas in the count, 1-2, Keys’ pitcher Jake Stevens tried to paint the outside corner with a fastball.  Instead he caught a little too much of the plate.  The result was Moustakas slicing a ball down the left field line that landed just in fair ground.  Giavotella scored easily, and Wilmington was in front for good.
 
The eighth inning events were enough to earn the Rocks a win thanks to two men.  Danny Duffy and Kelvin Villa combined to hold Frederick without a run and to just six hits.
 
Duffy kept Frederick off the board for the second time this season.  He shut the Keys out in Maryland for 6.1 innings on May 8.  On Tuesday he was just as good, lasting six frames, surrendering five hits, and striking out five.  But the lack of run support left the left-hander with a no-decision.
 
His loss was Villa’s gain.
 
Villa (1-3) entered in the seventh and immediately made a mark by striking out the side.  In the eighth, he faced the minimum when Ryan Eigsti erased a Pedro Florimon single, by the shortstop out at second on a stolen base attempt.
 
Then, after Wilmington took the lead in the eighth, Villa blew the Keys away with a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his first victory of the season.
 
Wilmington’s win ruined a solid pitching performance by Frederick starter Brian Matusz.  Matusz pitched seven shutout frames of his own, allowing only four hits and punching-out five.  Stevens (2-1) took the loss.

If you like the daily news of the Raw Feed, SUBSCRIBE TODAY to the nation's only alternative professional sports magazine, SZ, with original features and great action photography in baseball, hockey, basketball, and football. Just $11.99 per year for an e-zine like you’ve never seen!