STATE COLLEGE SPIKES (32-34) @ AUBURN DOUBLEDAYS (41-26)Thursday, August 30th - 7:05 PM
Falcon Park - Auburn, NY
Game # 67 / Road Game #35
RHP Moises Robles (4-8, 3.80) vs. LHP Kyle Walter (1-5, 5.75)
SPIKES STARTING PITCHER: RHP Moises Robles will make his 13th start of the year this evening when he takes the mound for State College. He comes into this start with a record of 4-8 and a 3.80 ERA. The native of the Dominican Republic has a decision in each of his previous 12 starts. Over his 64.0 innings of work, he has allowed 28 runs on 68 hits while walking nine and striking out 34. Robles had a rough outing in his last start, allowing six runs on eight hits in only 4.1 innings of work against the Williamsport Crosscutters, but had won his three prior starts. Over that span he allowed only one run in 21.2 innings of work. The former reliever is 1-1 in two starts against Auburn this season. but has allowed only one run in 11.1 innings of work. The right-hander was acquired by the Pirates in the 2007 Minor League Rule V Draft from the NY Mets, where he spent his previous three seasons playing for the Mets' Domican Summer League team. In 2006, he appeared in 19 games, only one of which was a start, and allowed only two earned runs over 30.0 innings of work for a minuscule 0.60 ERA. Prior to this season, Robles had made only six starts in his three professional seasons.
DOUBLEDAYS STARTING PITCHER: LHP KYLE WALTER was selected in the 18th round of the 2006 MLB draft out of Bucknell University. The Mifflinburg, PA native comes into tonight's game with an 1-5 record and a 5.75 ERA over his 13 starts. In 56.1 innings of work, he has allowed 36 earned runs on 60 hits while walking 32 and striking out 44. Walter has been solid over his last three outing, lasting five innings or more in each of them, while allowing two runs or less. In his lone appearance against the Spikes this season, Walter allowed six runs on five hits in only 1/3 of an inning of work. The Spikes eventually lost that game 12-11 after having two separate six run leads. Last season, Walter went 0-3 with a 4.37 ERA in 11 starts for Pulaski of the Appalachian League. For his career, Walter is 0-7 and still in search of his first professional victory. At Bucknell, Walter was one of the most prolific hitters in Patriot League History after learning All-League honors four straight seasons. In 2006, the outfielder split time as a pitcher and went 0-1 in seven appearances. Over 10 innings he struck out 13 batters.
WHAT'S ON TAP: The Spikes open up a four game road swing with two in Auburn before heading to Mahoning Valley for a pair this weekend. The Spikes come into tonight's action 3-7 in their last ten games and 8.5 games behind the Doubledays with only nine games to play. Conversely, the Doubledays are 7-3 in their last ten and have taken a commanding six game lead over the Mahoning Valley Scrappers in the Pinckney Division. The Doubledays are an astounding 30-11 against their division foes.
LAST NIGHT'S GAME: The State College Spikes lost a marathon of a game to the Batavia Muckdogs on Wednesday evening, falling in 11 innings by the score of 7-6. In a game that lasted over four hours, the Spikes committed six errors that lead to three unearned runs. Justin Byler provided the offensive fireworks for State College, collecting three hits in his third straight game while driving in a pair as well.
TRAGIC NUMBER: The State College Spikes come into tonight's game trailing the Auburn Doubledays by 8.5 games in the race for the Pinckney Division crown with only nine games remaining. If the Spikes lose one more game this season, they will officially be eliminated from playoff contention. The Auburn Doubledays have a magic number of three, so a combination of three more Doubledays wins or Mahoning Valley Scrappers losses will give Auburn their sixth straight division crown.
E FOR EFFORT: One of the hallmarks of the Spikes this season has been solid defense, as the team was among the league leaders in fielding percentage throughout the season and double plays turned. However last night the Spikes committed six errors in their 7-6 loss and have committed 16 errors in their last six games, and 37 errors in the month of August.
JUSTIN-CREDIBLE: Spikes infielder Justin Byler has been swinging the hottest bat in the New York-Penn League over the last 10 games. Byler is hitting .424 (14-for-33) with four home runs and 11 RBI in the last ten games, and an astounding .588 (10-for-17) with two home runs and seven RBI over the last five games. Byler has had three hits in each of his last three games. This hot streak comes on the heels of a 5-for-22 stretch. Byler is on pace to set the Spikes franchise record in at-bats, games played, runs scored, doubles, home runs, and RBI. All of those records are currently held by former Spikes all-star Nathan Southard.
MORE BARK, MORE BITE: Spikes outfielder James Barksdale has made the most of his late season opportunities. The 15th round selection in 2006, had only 35 at-bats during the months of June and July, but has seen his playing time increase dramatically in the month of August. Barksdale is hitting .400 (12-for-30) with seven runs scored and five RBI in 11 games during August after hitting .257 (9-for-35) for the first two months of the season.
DOUBLE UP THE DOUBLEDAYS: The Spikes have played some of their best ball against the Auburn Doubledays this season. State College is 4-2 in six games with Auburn, with one of the losses coming in heartbreak fashion as the Spike blew two separate six run leads on August 4th. In the six games against Auburn, Justin Byler (.333), Marcus Davis (.318), Miles Durham (.318), Brian Friday, (.333), and Austin McClune (.318) are all hitting above .300. On the mound, Moises Robles has gone 1-1 in two starts, but his ERA is a miniscule 0.79 in his two starts.
ALRIGHT AGAINST THE LEFT: With the Doubledays starting two southpaws in the quick two-game series, in addition to having 11 lefties on their roster, the Spikes will face a number of hurlers from the south side in these two games. Luckily, a number of the Spikes batters have had a great deal of success against southapaws including Marcus Davis who is hitting .327 (16-for-49) against lefties with 11 of his 16 hits going for extra bases. Spikes backstop Nick Stillwagon (9-for-27) has also hit two of his three home runs this year against lefties. Austin McClune who has been struggling of late, will look to turn things around during this series as he is hitting .353(18-for-51) against left-handers. Daniel Rios is 0-for-11 against lefties this season and Bobby Spain is hitting .171 (6-for-35) as well.
SLUMPIN': The dog days of summer have had their effect on a number of the Spikes regulars as several players have been struggling down the stretch. OF Marcus Davis is only 5 for his last 30 and has 10 strikeouts during this stretch. OF Austin McClune has been in a more prolonged slump. Dating back to August 8, he is hitting only .122 (6-for-49) and has not driven in a run.
AROUND THE ORGANIZATION: PITTSBURGH (59-73) lost to the Cincinnati Reds 8-0 at PNC Park. Reds hurler Aaron Harang tossed a complete game shutout, allowing only two hits while walking one and striking out eight ... INDIANAPOLIS (69-69) beat Columbus 1-0 behind Marty McLeary's 7.0 scoreless innings, allowing only four hits. Neil Walker went 1-for-3 and is hitting .182 at AAA ... ALTOONA (69-65) lost to Reading, 8-2. Brad Corley went 1-for-4 and Pat Bresnehan, who was making his AA debut, pitched two scoreless innings of relief ... LYNCHBURG (54-78) lost at Potomac, 5-1. Todd Redmond allowed five runs over seven innings to drop his record to 7-11 ... HICKORY (65-66) had the day off.
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