CarL1 Down East Wood Ducks

August 23 Game Information

Published on August 23, 2019 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Down East Wood Ducks News Release


Following Thursday's rainout, the Wood Ducks (34-23, 84-43) head to Wilmington tonight for a three-game series against the Blue Rocks (31-28, 75-53). Left-hander Sal Mendez (6-1, 2.34) will take the mound for the Wood Ducks, opposed by Blue Rocks lefty Austin Cox (2-3, 3.19). First pitch for Friday is set for 7:05 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.

LAST TIME OUT: Prior to their rain-out on Thursday, the Down East Wood Ducks were held without a hit through the first 6.1 innings of play, and finished with just two on the night, in a 7-0 loss to Fayetteville. Francisco Villegas fired a season-high four scoreless innings out of the bullpen striking out five. Curtis Terry and Yanio Perez accounted for the two hits for the Woodies, who did not get a runner past second base. Sherten Apostel also accounted for two of the three walks for the team.

HOW 'BOUT A ROUND OF APPLAUSE: Four Wood Ducks earned End-Year recognition the Carolina League announced Thursday. Pitchers Sal Mendez and Joe Kuzia were named to the All-Star team along with Sam Huff who was selected as the DH. Corey Ragsdale was named the Carolina League Manager of the Year. Huff was also named the Texas Rangers Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America.

CLUTCH TIME!: The Wood Ducks walk-off win, Saturday, was the Wood Ducks ninth of the season, and the third in the month of August. Down East is now 30-17 in one run games this season, and 13-5 when tied after eight innings of play.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: Down East is one win from tying the 1990 Port Charlotte Rangers for the most wins in a single season by a TEX High-A affiliate (85), and eight 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 (.667) for a full-season TEX affiliate, a record also held by the 1989 Gas-tonia Rangers (.664). Also, no team in Kinston baseball history has ever won 90 games in a season.

A WEEK TO REMEMBER: Yanio Perez was named the Carolina League Player of the Week for August 12-18, after hitting two home runs and driving in nine, while going 10-20 in five games played. Perez hit a grand slam on Thursday against Fayetteville, and followed it up with a two-run shot against Wilmington on Friday. He capped the week with a game-win-ning two-run single in the eighth on Sunday. He is the eighth Wood Duck to receive a weekly award this season. Perez is riding a seven game hitting streak, going 13-27 (.481) over that span.

SUPER SAM: Sam Huff belted his 13th home run for the Wood Ducks, Wednesday, which ties him for fifth in the Carolina League this season. Huff ranks fourth in OPS (.799), and is ranked second in SLG (.460).

SLUGGING SHERTEN: Sherten Apostel blasted two home runs for the Wood Ducks Tuesday to give him four with Down East, and 19 on the season. He has now reached base safely in 22 consecutive games, posting a .333 average and a .476 OBP with 17 walks over that stretch, which dates back to July 25. His streak is the longest active in the Carolina League.

TERRY ON A TEAR: Curtis Terry hit his tenth home run for the Woodies Sunday against Wilmington, and has now hit safely in 44 of his last 49 games, including 15 multi-hit games. Over the stretch he posted two separate 12-game hitting streaks, and currently has reached base safely in 21 consecutive games, batting .333 with an OBP of .448 over that span. He was named the Carolina League Player of the Month for the Month of July.

ARIAS ABOARD: Diosbel Arias has tallied nine hits over his last seven games, and now ranks fifth in the Carolina League with 121 hits on the season. He also is among league leaders in walks (53, T-6th), RBI (56, T-8th), and total bases (163, T-8th).

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

1. TEXAS RANGERS 434-329 .569

2. Tampa Bay Rays 464-363 .561

3. LA Dodgers 455-357 .560

TOUGH AUGUST: After pitching to a team ERA of 2.62 through the first four months of the season, the Down East staff has taken a step back in August, working to a 4.53 mark. The Wood-ies have allowed 69 walks in 154 innings, while opponents are hitting .258 against them. The Woodies have also given up 15 home runs in 18 games, after allowing just 43 homers in their first 109 games.

COLE CRUISING: Cole Uvila struck out a career-high six in three scoreless innings Thursday in Fayetteville. Uvila had also struck out five in two of his previous four outings. This season Uvila boasts a 13.50 K/9 (78 K/52.0 IP), and has struck out three or more batters in 14 of his 32 appearances this season.

SELF-ADVOCATE: Josh Advocate struck out a career-high six batters, Saturday, in three scoreless innings in relief. He has now struck out 5+ batters in each of his last three outings. The right-hander has struck out 35 in his last 26.0 innings (12.12 K/9), and has struck out three batters or more 13 times in 32 outings 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 13 home runs for the Wood Ducks and 28 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 Jonathan Hernandez made his Major League debut for the Rangers, Wednesday, tossing 2.1 scoreless innings, and earing the win in relief. Hernandez becomes the tenth Down East player to make it to The Show. Hernandez pitched for the Woodies in 2017 and 2018, combin-ing to go 7-8, 2.86 in 24 games (23 starts), striking out 141 in 122.2 innings or work. Seven former Wood Ducks have made their Rangers debut this season, including Peter Fairbanks and Emmanuel Clase who began the 2019 season in Down East.

RAGS AT THE HELM: Corey Ragsdale returned to the manag-ers chair this season for the first time since 2015 when he led the Hickory Crawdads to their first ever South Atlantic League title, and was recognized as the Rangers Bobby Jones Player Development Man of the Year. Ragsdale was named the Carolina League Manager of the Year, Thursday, becoming the first Manager of the Year in Kinston since 2011 when Aaron Holbert skippered the Kinston Indians. He is also the 14th Kin-ston manager all-time to receive the honor, joining the likes of Torey Lovullo (2004), Eric Wedge (1999), Joel Skinner (1997), Mike Hargrove (1987), and Grady Little (1985) who all went on to manage at the Major League level.

Check out the Down East Wood Ducks Statistics

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