WILMINGTON, DE (6/28/26) — The Wilmington Blue Rocks defeated the Frederick Keys, 4-2, Sunday afternoon at Frawley Stadium.
Wilmington improved to 37-37 overall and 6-3 in the second half. The Blue Rocks sit second in the South Atlantic League North Division after splitting the six-game series with Frederick. The Keys fell to 46-27 overall and 5-4 in the second half.
This time, it was Wilmington that jumped out to an early lead. In the second inning, Elijah Green laced a 105 mph double after Jacob Walsh drew a walk. Then up stepped Randal Diaz, who had just one hit in the series entering the game. Diaz ripped a line drive into the right-center field gap, scoring Green and Walsh to give the Blue Rocks a 2-0 lead.
Blue Rocks starter Yoel Tejeda Jr. did an excellent job preserving the advantage. Frederick scored its lone run against him in the third inning, but the right-hander turned in another strong outing, tossing five innings while striking out seven and allowing just four hits and two walks.
Tejeda didn't just shine on Sunday. Throughout the entire series, the 6-foot-8 righty had Frederick's lineup figured out. Across 10.2 innings in his two starts on Tuesday and Sunday, Tejeda struck out 14 batters while allowing just one earned run.
"Honestly, just being a little more detailed," Tejeda said about his recent success. "I feel like I've done a better job of being more specific with what I want to work on in my bullpen sessions, and I'm seeing the results."
After throwing a high pitch count through the first two innings, Tejeda said he focused on slowing the game down.
"The first couple innings took a lot of pitches," Tejeda said. "I just didn't want to fall into everything that was going on. I was able to reset, trust my stuff and keep attacking."
Manager Mitchell Boe was impressed with the way his starter battled through an uneven beginning.
"He battled today," Boe said. "It wasn't like he was just dominant. He had to earn it today, which was really cool to watch. He tightened it up, got through it, and that was the biggest thing we needed to see from him."
In the seventh inning, Yasmil Bucce launched his fourth home run of the season to tie the game at 2-2 and give Frederick new life. But just as they had done several times throughout the series, the Blue Rocks answered immediately.
In the bottom half of the inning, Wilmington loaded the bases after Teo Banks singled. Yeremy Cabrera then worked a seven-pitch walk to force home Banks and put the Blue Rocks back in front. One batter later, Jacob Walsh hit a ground ball to first base that was turned into an out, but Eli Willits crossed the plate before the play was completed to extend the lead to 4-2.
"I think just sticking with it," Banks said. "Trying to pass it to the next guy behind me and just putting the work in."
Banks also credited Wilmington's resilience after bouncing back from Saturday night's extra-inning loss.
"There's no give-up in this group," Banks said. "We're going to give it all we've got until the last pitch."
In the ninth inning, Jacob Roberts struck out the side to seal the victory and earn his second save with Wilmington. Roberts has now thrown 11.2 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to June 10. After being called up just 19 days ago, the right-hander has quickly become an integral part of the Blue Rocks' bullpen.
Boe said the competitive six-game set gave him a chance to see just how resilient his club can be.
"It was a grind," Boe said. "Every game was close and it felt like it had a playoff atmosphere. The players responded really well. They never shied away from those close games. They got after it."
The Blue Rocks will begin a six-game road series against the Hudson Valley Renegades on Tuesday.