CarL1 Down East Wood Ducks

August 13 Transactions and Game Information

August 13, 2019 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Down East Wood Ducks News Release


Today the Texas Rangers announced the following transactions affecting the Down East Wood Ducks:

+ OF Franklin Rollin reinstated from 7-day IL

- LHP John King placed on 7-day IL

After an off day, Monday, the Woodies travel to Fayetteville, tonight, to begin a three-game set with the Woodpeckers. Down East left-hander Sal Mendez (6-0, 2.00) will square off with fellow lefty Parker Mushinski (0-0, 2.64) for Fayetteville. First pitch is set for 7 p.m., and the broadcast will begin at 6:50 p.m. on 960AM The Bull, and online at 960thebull.com as well as on the MiLB First Pitch and TuneIn Radio Apps. Complete game Notes are attached.

LAST TIME OUT: The Wood Ducks let an early 3-0 lead slip away, but were able to battle back and take the rubber game from the Keys, 9-7. Sam Huff hit his 12th homer of the season for the Woodies, while Sherten Apostel drove in four runs offensively. Noah Bremer recorded a quality start, giving up three runs over six innings, to earn the win. Michael Matuella earned his fourth save of the season with a scoreless ninth.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: Down East is 5 wins from tying the 1990 Port Charlotte Rangers for the most wins in a single season by a TEX High-A affiliate (85), and 12 wins from tying the 1989 Gastonia Rangers for the most wins in a single season by any TEX affiliate (92). The Woodies are currently on pace to finish with the highest winning percentage (.672) for a full-season TEX affiliate, a record also held by the 1989 Gastonia Rangers (.657).

CLUTCH GENE: Curtis Terry's walk-off home run, Tuesday, was the Woodies 8th walk-off victory this season, and fourth walk-off homer. Down East has now won four times when trailing after eight innings, in addition to going 9-4 in extra innings and 28-16 in one-run contests.

STRIKING FIRST: The Wood Ducks have outscored opponents 72-35 in first innings this season, and have struck first in 75 of their 119 games this season, going 61-14 (.813) when scoring first on the year. Down East has also scored first in 14 of their last 19 contests.

TERRY ON A TEAR: Curtis Terry hit his eighth home run for the Wood-ies Saturday against Frederick, and has now hit safely in 38 of his last 42 games, including 15 multi-hit games. He is currently riding a 12-game hitting streak (18-44, .409, 4 HR, 12 RBI) and is now sporting a 1.004 OPS since joining Down East, June 21. He also tallied a 12-game hit streak (19-44, .432) to close the Month of July, Terry now has 23 home runs on the season combined with his time in Hickory, and was named the Carolina League Player of the Month for the Month of July.

SLUGGING SHERTEN: Sherten Apostel hit his first home run for the Wood Ducks, Saturday, and 16th overall on the season, and followed it up with a four-RBI performance Sunday. He has now reached base safely in 14 consecutive games, posting a .341 average and a .460 OBP over that stretch, which dates back to July 25.

MAGNIFICENT MENDEZ: Sal Mendez has been excellent for the Wood Ducks this season, especially since joining the starting rotation. Mendez leads the Carolina League with a 2.00 ERA, and as a starter that mark is just 1.54. Eight of Mendez' 13 starts have been quality outings, and he has given up just five earned run in 36.2 innings (1.23 ERA) in six starts since the beginning of July.

SUPER SAM: Sam Huff saw his 24-game on-base streak snapped in game two on Thursday. Over the stretch he had batted .325 with an OBP of .423 to go along with five home runs, and 10 RBI dating back to July 9. Huff's 19 game hitting streak was the second longest in the Carolina League this year, trailing only Wilbis Santiago (LYN) with 21.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRENGTH: It hasn't just been the Wood Ducks who have performed well this season, the Rangers organization as a whole has been among the best:

1. Tampa Bay Rays 425-319 .571

2. TEXAS RANGERS 395-299 .569

3. Los Angeles Dodgers 409-323 .569

LIGHTING THE MATCH: Michael Matuella has been surging for the Wood Ducks out of the bullpen as of late. Over his last 11 appearances he has worked to a 0.92 ERA (2 ER/19.2 IP), striking out 29 over his last 16 appearances. Over that stretch he has lowered his season ERA from 5.31 to 3.29.

COLE CRUISING: Cole Uvila struck out a career-high five batters in 2.2 perfect innings in relief, last Tuesday against Carolina, and repeated the feat in just two innings of work against the Keys, Saturday. This season Uvila boasts a 13.22 K/9 (71 K/48.1 IP), and has struck out three or more batters in 13 of his 30 appearances this season.

THE FUTURE IS HERE: Sam Huff clubbed a game-tying home run in the seventh inning of the SiriusXM Futures Game on Sunday to take home MVP honors. Huff becomes the second Ranger all-time to take home the award, joining Joey Gallo (2014). Huff has now hit 12 home runs for the Wood Ducks and 27 overall on the season.

A HALF FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS: The Down East Wood Ducks became just the sixth team in Carolina League history to finish a half with a winning percentage of .700 or better, while their 50 wins are the second most in any half in league history:

1. 1980 Peninsula (1st) 51-19 .729

2. 2019 DOWN EAST (1st) 50-20 .714

T3. 1982 Peninsula (2nd) 49-20 .710

T3. 1983 Lynchburg (1st) 49-20 .710

5. 1994 Wilmington (1st) 48-20 .706

6. 1980 Peninsula (2nd) 49-21 .700

SHOWTIME: Former Wood Duck Emmanuel Clase was called up to the Rangers, last Friday, and made his MLB debut Sunday, working 1.2 scoreless innings in a win over Detroit. Clase becomes the ninth Down East player to make it to The Show. He joins Ricardo Rodriguez ('17), C.D. Pelham ('18) and Peter Fairbanks ('19) to go from Advanced-A to the Ma-jors in a single season. Clase struck out 11 and did not allow an earned run over seven innings with the Woodies.

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.

Check out the Down East Wood Ducks Statistics



Carolina League Stories from August 13, 2019


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