De la Rosa Sparkles in Thunder Debut

Wilkins De la Rosa delivered, big time, in his first start in a Trenton Thunder uniform. The call up tossed six shutout innings in the Thunder's win over the Binghamton Mets.

Here's the official recap:

TRENTON DEFEATS BINGHAMTON 9-2 ON FRIDAY NIGHT FROM WATERFRONT PARK

Binghamton 2 8 1
Trenton 9 8 0

WP- Wilkin De La Rosa (1-0)
LP- Dylan Owen (0-3)
SV-
Time- 3:11
Att- 6,109

(Trenton, NJ)- LHP Wilkin De La Rosa tossed six shutout innings in his Double-A debut, and Trenton defeated Binghamton 9-2 on Friday night from Waterfront Park. Trenton hit two home runs in the victory, including a grand slam by Designated Hitter Jorge Vazquez. The win was Trenton's largest margin for victory of the season. Trenton also had its largest crowd of the season at Waterfront Park (6,109).

With the game scoreless in the third inning, Trenton (12-13) scored five runs in the frame to take a 5-0 lead. With the bases loaded and two outs in the inning, Trenton Left fielder Colin Curtis reached on an error by Binghamton Shortstop Ruben Tejada, which allowed a run to score to make it 1-0. Vazquez followed with a grand slam off of Binghamton Starting Pitcher Dylan Owen (0-3). The home run was Vazquez's fourth of the season, and his third four-RBI game of the season. The grand slam was the first by a Trenton player since Austin Jackson hit a grand slam at Reading on 5/21/08. Owen took the loss for Binghamton. He allowed four hits and five runs (all unearned) in six innings.

Trenton added four runs in the seventh inning to increase the lead to 9-0. Trenton Shortstop Eduardo Nunez extended his hitting streak to eight games with an RBI single for the first run of the frame. Later in the inning, Second baseman Reegie Corona connected on a three-run home run (1st of the season) off of Binghamton Reliever John Madden to make it 9-0. First Baseman Kevin Smith had his first three-hit game for the Thunder in the win.

De La Rosa (1-0) scattered five hits over six innings. He struck out nine and walked only one. The nine strikeouts were a season-high for a Thunder Starting Pitcher. De La Rosa had six strikeouts through two innings.

Trenton and Binghamton will play the middle game of the three-game series on Saturday night. RHP Zach McAllister (1-1, 2.53) will start for Trenton against Binghamton RHP Jose Sanchez (1-3, 8.68). Game time is set for 7:05 p.m.


BOXSCORE

De La Rosa up to Trenton

Got the following press release from the Trenton Thunder. Highly touted lefty Wil De la Rosa has been promoted to the Eastern League.

LHP WILKIN DE LA ROSA PROMOTED FROM TAMPA TO TRENTON
P.J. Pilittere transferred from Trenton to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

(Trenton, NJ)- The Trenton Thunder, Double-A Affiliate of the New York Yankees, have announced that LHP Wilkin De La Rosa has been promoted from Tampa (High-A) to Trenton. De La Rosa will start tonight against Binghamton (Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets). To clear a spot for De La Rosa on the roster, C P.J. Pilittere was transferred from Trenton to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Triple-A).

De La Rosa is 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA in three starts for Tampa this season. In 2008, the 6-foot left-hander made 32 combined appearances (11 starts) between Tampa and Charleston going 9-4 with a 2.11 ERA. The El Seibo, Dominican Republic native was converted from an outfielder to a pitcher prior to the 2007 season, and has a career .224 batting average. In his first season as a pitcher in 2007, the southpaw went 1-0 with a 2.63 ERA in 12 appearances with the Gulf Coast League Yankees. De La Rosa, who is a member of the 40-man roster, was signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on November 15, 2001.

Pilittere did not appear in a game with the Thunder. He had a .317 BA with a home run and five RBI in 12 games for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He appeared in 97 games for the Thunder in 2008, and batted .277 with three home runs and 48 RBI. He was selected to the Eastern League All-Star game, and led the Thunder to the Eastern League Championship. In 2007, he appeared in a career-high 100 games for the Thunder and hit .261 with two home runs and 34 RBI. Pilittere was originally selected in the 13th round of the 2004 draft from Cal-State Fullerton. He led Cal-State Fullerton to the 2004 College World Series Title.

Down on the Farm - 8/8

Before we get into how the Tampa Yankees are doing, kudos to them for holding Breast Cancer Awareness Night at GMS III Field on August 15. The players will be wearing blue jerseys with pink lettering, like that Joba guy once did, that will be auctioned off with partial proceeds going to the Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute.

On a lighter note, the team is also holding a Jimmy Buffett tribute night on the 16th.

It's been an up and down season for the Florida St. Leaguers, who have had a number of winning and losing streaks. Their current two game slide has left them 58-57, 21-24 in the second half. They obviously miss the pitching of Eric Hacker (Trenton) and Al Aceves (Scranton), who were a combined 6-3, 1.98 before being promoted. Zach McAllister's 6-6 record doesn't reflect just how well he's pitched. The right-hander has compiled a 2.17 ERA in his 12 starts. Overall, between Charleston and Tampa, McAllister is 12-9, 2.30 in 22 starts. Jon Hovis has excelled in the closer's role, recording 10 saves, and has an 8:1 strikeout to walk ratio.

Offensively, 1st baseman Kevin Smith leads the team with 50 RBI while posting a .283 average. DH Andres Perez has added 8 home runs and 41 RBI to a team that misses Edwar Gonzalez, who was promoted to Trenton after 27 games. Mitch Hilligoss, who hit in 38 straight games en route to a .310 season, has been a disappointment. The third baseman is batting just .241.

The Charleston RiverDogs battled a number of injuries to put together a fantastic 45-25 first half in the South Atlantic League. Things haven't gone so smoothly since, as the Dogs have put together just a 22-23 record. Granted, they have lost stars like starters McAllister and Jason Stephens to Tampa.

The big name on the RiverDogs is of course Jesus Montero. The 6'4" catcher fought off a bad May and came back strong, hitting .293 in June and .341 in July. He's topped that with a .387 average in 8 games in August. Montero has hit 13 home runs, 30 doubles, and driven in 69 runs in 430 at-bats. He's also done a good job of making contact, having struck out 69 times. He's also hit an impressive .350 with runners in scoring position and has an .844 OPS.

Montero is not alone, though. 3rd baseman Brad Suttle (.280-10-33, .828 OPS in 72 games), fellow catcher Austin Romine (.283-7-34 in 82 games), Justin Snyder (.290, 52 RBI), and Brandon Laird (17 HRs, 60 RBI) have all put together solid seasons.

Jon Ortiz has been a stud at closer, recording 28 saves, while striking out 73 batters in 52.2 innings. Starter Wil De la Rosa, a converted position player, has compiled a 7-3, 2.29 mark with 110 strikeouts in 90.1 innings. Dellin Betances and Lance Pendleton have each had solid seasons, with 7 wins apiece.

Tomorrow - the Staten Island and GCL Yankees

Down on the Farm - 8/8

Before we get into how the Tampa Yankees are doing, kudos to them for holding Breast Cancer Awareness Night at GMS III Field on August 15. The players will be wearing blue jerseys with pink lettering, like that Joba guy once did, that will be auctioned off with partial proceeds going to the Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute.

On a lighter note, the team is also holding a Jimmy Buffett tribute night on the 16th.

It's been an up and down season for the Florida St. Leaguers, who have had a number of winning and losing streaks. Their current two game slide has left them 58-57, 21-24 in the second half. They obviously miss the pitching of Eric Hacker (Trenton) and Al Aceves (Scranton), who were a combined 6-3, 1.98 before being promoted. Zach McAllister's 6-6 record doesn't reflect just how well he's pitched. The right-hander has compiled a 2.17 ERA in his 12 starts. Overall, between Charleston and Tampa, McAllister is 12-9, 2.30 in 22 starts. Jon Hovis has excelled in the closer's role, recording 10 saves, and has an 8:1 strikeout to walk ratio.

Offensively, 1st baseman Kevin Smith leads the team with 50 RBI while posting a .283 average. DH Andres Perez has added 8 home runs and 41 RBI to a team that misses Edwar Gonzalez, who was promoted to Trenton after 27 games. Mitch Hilligoss, who hit in 38 straight games en route to a .310 season, has been a disappointment. The third baseman is batting just .241.

The Charleston RiverDogs battled a number of injuries to put together a fantastic 45-25 first half in the South Atlantic League. Things haven't gone so smoothly since, as the Dogs have put together just a 22-23 record. Granted, they have lost stars like starters McAllister and Jason Stephens to Tampa.

The big name on the RiverDogs is of course Jesus Montero. The 6'4" catcher fought off a bad May and came back strong, hitting .293 in June and .341 in July. He's topped that with a .387 average in 8 games in August. Montero has hit 13 home runs, 30 doubles, and driven in 69 runs in 430 at-bats. He's also done a good job of making contact, having struck out 69 times. He's also hit an impressive .350 with runners in scoring position and has an .844 OPS.

Montero is not alone, though. 3rd baseman Brad Suttle (.280-10-33, .828 OPS in 72 games), fellow catcher Austin Romine (.283-7-34 in 82 games), Justin Snyder (.290, 52 RBI), and Brandon Laird (17 HRs, 60 RBI) have all put together solid seasons.

Jon Ortiz has been a stud at closer, recording 28 saves, while striking out 73 batters in 52.2 innings. Starter Wil De la Rosa, a converted position player, has compiled a 7-3, 2.29 mark with 110 strikeouts in 90.1 innings. Dellin Betances and Lance Pendleton have each had solid seasons, with 7 wins apiece.

Tomorrow - the Staten Island and GCL Yankees