SAL1 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

Game Notes: Kannapolis Intimidators (White Sox) at Lexington Legends (Royals) - May 13, 2013

Published on May 13, 2013 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers News Release


KANNAPOLIS INTIMIDATORS (14-19) at LEXINGTON LEGENDS (17-19)

Monday, May 13, 2013 - 7:05 p.m.

Whitaker Bank Ballpark - Lexington, Ky.

Game #34 (14-19) - Away Games #21 (10-10)

RHP Jake Cose (2-3, 2.14) vs. RHP Bryan Brickhouse (1-3, 2.41)

Today's Preview: The Intimidators (A, White Sox) head up to Whitaker Bank Ballpark for the first of two series this month against the Legends (A, Royals). Kannapolis is coming off a 3-games-to-1 series win at Asheville, the team's first series win since April 8-10. All three of the team's series wins have come on the road, where the Intimidators are 10-10. Lexington is 10-9 at home this season. Kannapolis is sixth in the SAL Northern Division, 6.0 games behind first-place Hagerstown while the Legends are sixth in the Southern Division, 5.0 games back of first-place Savannah.

New Royalty: The Lexington Legends are in their first year as an affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The team had been the Class A farm team for the Houston Astros since 2001, when the Legends joined the league. Lexington is the only Sally League squad to change affiliations in the last three seasons. The Royals last had an affiliate on the circuit in 1999-2000 when the then-Charleston (WV) AlleyCats served as KC Jr. Their previous SAL affiliate was the Charleston Royals from 1980-84. The Boll Weevils/Intimidators franchise is 13-7 all-time against Royals farm teams.

Intimidating Starter: Jake Cose, 22, make his seventh start of the season and third on the road. He leads the Intimidators and ranks 11th in the league with a 2.14 ERA (8 ER/33.2 IP). Cose last allowed an earned run on April 23, and he has gave up just two unearned run in his last two starts, including 7.0 scoreless innings at Charleston on April 28. He has failed to get through the fifth inning just once this season, and has allowed one earned run or less in five of his six starts. Cose struck out a season-high eight batters over 6 2/3 innings in his most recent outing, a hard-luck loss to the Grasshoppers on May 6 in which he allowed two unearned runs on five hits. The White Sox selected Cose in the 27th round of the June 2011 draft out of San Joaquin Delta (Calif.) Junior College.

Legendary Starter: Bryan Brickhouse, 20, makes his seventh start of the year, third at home. He is coming off 6 2/3 scoreless innings at Lakewood in which he allowed just four base runners (2 hits) while striking out a season-high nine batters. After opening his season with three straight losses, the 2011 third-round pick has gone 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA (4 ER/18.2 IP) in his last three outings. In 2012, he went 3-3 with a 6.62 ERA in 11 starts between Adv. Rk. Idaho Falls and Class A Kane County. Brickhouse is a former high school teammate of Jameson Taillon, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2010 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Micah on the Move: On Saturday, leadoff man Micah Johnson put Kannapolis on the board with a 2-run single in the third inning before stealing second base for his Minor League-leading 32nd stolen base of the season. He is 32 for 38 (.842) stealing bases. In the 4-game series against the Tourists, Johnson hit .533 (8-15), scored nine runs, drove in four, and stole seven bases while being caught twice. He went 2-5 on Sunday, upping his average to .317 (38-120), 10th in the SAL. He leads the league with 33 runs scored and with five triples. The Sox selected him in the ninth round last June.

Hot on the Corner: Michael Johnson has picked up the pace at the plate, taking advantage of more consistent playing time in his last six games. He has hit safely in six straight games since May 4, batting .471 (8-17) in that span. After not playing the entire Savannah series to open the month, he has appeared in every game since, spending his last four games played on third base. Johnson has played five different positions this season, including first- and second-base, shortstop & left field.

High Hits: Intimidators hitters feasted against the Tourists on Sunday to the tune of a season-high 19 hits. The team's previous high in 2013 was 15, accomplished twice, most recently at Delmarva on April 9. Jason Coats paced the Intimidators with four hits, going 4-5 with a go-ahead home run in the fifth inning along with a double, 3 RBI and two runs scored. Kyle Robinson and Zach Fisher each went 3-5. Six I's recored multi-hit games as all nine starters collected at least one hit. The last time Kannapolis logged more than 20 hits in a game came June 22, 2012, when the Intimidators beat the Shorebirds, 12-3, thanks to a 20-hit performance, the team's season-high last year.

Chasin' Jason: Outfielder Jason Coats' career-high 4 hits on Sunday was the second 4-hit game by an Intimidators player this season. Kale Kiser opened his season with 4 hits at Lakewood on April 4.

About Last Night: Kannapolis pounded out a season-high 19 hits en route to a 10-7 win over Asheville and its first series win since April 8-10. All nine Intimidators hit safely, including six players who logged miulti-hit games, led by Jason Coats, who went 4-for-5 and finished a triple shy of the cycle. Zach Isler tossed 4 1/3 scoreless relief innings to pitch up the win, allowing one base hit along the way. After a quiet start, the Intimidators scored three runs in the fourth and fifth innings.

Legendary Prospects: Lexington's roster features eight of the Kansas City's Top 30 Prospects according to Baseball America, including: (2) Bubba Starling, OF; (5) Raul Mondesi, SS; (10) Miguel Almonte, RHP; (15) Cameron Gallagher, C; (17) Bryan Brickhouse, RHP; (23) Fred Ford, OF; (25) Colin Rodgers, LHP; and (26) Christian Binford, RHP.

Broadcast Information: Tonight's game can be heard live on the Lexington Legends broadcast online at lexingtonlegends.com.

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South Atlantic League Stories from May 13, 2013


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