CarL1 Down East Wood Ducks

April 28 Game Information

Published on April 28, 2019 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Down East Wood Ducks News Release


Today the Wood Ducks (15-8) close out their series with the Woodpeckers (13-10) with a 1 p.m. finale at Grainger Stadium. The Woodies send righty Jason Bahr (1-0, 1.76) to the mound tomorrow as they go for the sweep. He will be opposed by Fayetteville righty J.P. France (0-3, 6.92). It's Sunday Funday at Grainger stadium featuring pregame autographs, and postgame kids-run-the-bases, presented by Cricket Wireless. The broadcast will begin at 12:50 p.m. on 960AM The Bull, and online on 960thebull.com as well as on the MiLB First Pitch and TuneIn Radio apps. For tickets and more information visit woodducksbaseball.com or call (252) 686-5172. Complete game notes are attached.

LAST TIME OUT: With one out in the ninth inning, Ryan Dorow lifted a walk-off home run to left field to knock off Fayetteville, 3-2. It was Dorow's third home run of the year, and his second go-ahead shot in the ninth inning. Yanio Perez also blasted his second long ball of the season in the second inning. Noah Bremer gave up two earned runs in six innings for his second quality start of the season. Joe Barlow struck out the side in the top of the ninth inning, earning his second win of the year.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: The walk-off home run was the first walk-off win by the Wood Ducks since August 16, 2018 when they beat the Mudcats on a walk-off sacrifice from Leody Taveras. It was the first walk-off home run since May 9, 2018 when Chuck Leblanc also beat Carolina. Down East is now 5-0 when tied after seven innings, and they are 3-0 when tied after eight innings of play this season.

REID BREEDS SUCCESS: The Wood Ducks are now 4-0 when Reid Ander-son starts a game this season, the best amongst the starting rotation. He fired six shutout innings Friday night to lower his ERA to just 0.44, which would rank first in the league if he had enough innings to qualify. He has been effective low in the zone leading to a GO/AO rate of 2.64. Down East is also now 4-0 when Noah Bremer starts, and 3-0 when Jason Bahr toes the slab.

NOT SO HOME SWEET HOME: Despite being tied for the league lead in wins, the Wood Ducks are now just 9-7, compared to a 6-1 mark on the road. At home this season the Woodies are batting .230, with an OPS of .648, and an ERA of 3.13. On the road the Woodies boast an average of .279 to go along with an OPS of .767, and an ERA of 1.62.

YONNY SETS THE TABLE: Yonny Hernandez reached base on two bunt singles last night, and has now hit safely in eight straight games. within that span, Hernandez has reached base 17 times in his last six games. He has increased his average from .263 to .339 over that span, and now boasts an on-base percentage of .469 which ranks second in the Carolina League.

COLE CRUISING: Cole Uvila has been outstanding in his four appearanc-es since being called up to Down East last week. He has combined to strike out nine in six innings, allowing four walks, while he has yet to give up a hit or a run.

NO GOOD WOOD FOR 'PECKERS: Entering the series, Fayetteville was av-eraging over five and a half runs scored per game. However, over the last two nights they have been held to just two runs total. They have gone 7-for-55 at the plate (.127) in the series.

RAGS AT THE HELM: Corey Ragsdale takes over as skipper for the Wood Ducks in 2019. Ragsdale will remain the Rangers Minor League Field Coordinator, while assuming a managerial seat for the first time since 2015, when he led the Hickory Crawdads to a South Atlantic League Championship, the second of his career.

MOVING ON UP: Emmanuel Clase made his first appearance for Double-A Frisco on Tuesday, firing a scoreless eighth inning, picking up a strikeout, to earn the hold, and fired another 1.1 scoreless on Thursday for the Roughriders. He is the first Wood Duck to earn a promotion this season. In six appearances for the Wood Ducks, the righty went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA and picked up a save. He allowed just four hits and a walk in seven innings of work, striking out 11. He held opponents to a .167 average while posting a WHIP of 0.71.

SHOWTIME: Former Wood Duck Brett Martin made his MLB debut for the Rangers Friday night, firing a scoreless ninth inning in a 7-2 loss to the Astros. Martin needed just nine pitches to get through the inning, recording three ground ball outs. The left-handed reliever becomes the fourth Wood Duck in franchise history to make their Major League de-but, joining Ricardo Rodriguez, Jeffrey Springs, and C.D. Pelham. Martin pitched for the Woodies in their inaugural season in 2017, helping Down East to a share of the Carolina League Championship.

AND THE AWARD GOES TO: The 2019 Wood Ducks are a heavily decorated bunch. Tyler Phillips was recognized as the Rangers Nolan Ryan Pitcher of the Year after posting an 11-5 record and a 2.67 ERA in Single-A Hickory. He struck out 124 while walking just 14 in 128.0 innings. Demarcus Evans was named the organization's Reliever of the Year. In 35 appearances out of the Crawdads bullpen, Evans pitched to a 1.77 ERA and struck out 103 batters while walking just 27. He also converted all nine save opportunities. Infielder Ryan Dorow earned the Rangers defensive player of the year honors. He started games at all four infield positions, in addition to a game in the outfield, committing just 9 errors in 418 chances for a fielding percentage of .978.

TOP-30 in Kinston: With the promotion of Julio Pablo Martinez to Down East on April 17, the Woodies now have eight Top-30 prospects as ranked by MLB Pipeline: 2. J.P. Martinez, 4. Anderson Tejeda, 5. Bubba Thompson, 6. Leody Taveras, 14. Tyler Phillips, 19. Diosbel Arias, 20. A.J. Alexy, and 24. Demarcus Evans.

Check out the Down East Wood Ducks Statistics

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Carolina League Stories from April 28, 2019


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