CarL1 Winston-Salem Dash

Dash Game Notes

Published on May 24, 2011 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release


Tuesday, May 24, 2011, 6:05 p.m. | Lynchburg City Stadium | Lynchburg, VA

Webcast available on www.wsdash.com 15 minutes before first pitch

Game No. 45 | Road Game No. 20 | 2011 Home Record 11-14 | 2011 Road Record 8-11

RHP Ryan Buch (-,-) @ LHP Chris Masters (3-2, 2.70)

Sac Attack: The Dash dropped the opening game of their six-game road trip last night 2-1 to the Hillcats in 11 innings. Andre Rienzo and Arodys Vizcaino both pitched well and stifled the other team's offense until Lynchburg scored in the fifth inning to take a 1-0 lead. The Dash were down to their final out in the ninth inning, but Eliecer Cardenas' wild pitch to Ian Gac scored Tyler Saladino from third base to tie the game, which eventually went to extra innings. Both teams went scoreless until Joe Leonard hit a sacrifice fly in the 11th to bring home pinch runner Todd Cunningham from third and win it for the Hillcats in a walk-off. It was Lynchburg's first walk-off win of the season and the third time a team has walked off with a win against the Dash. The loss was Winston-Salem's sixth in eight games.

My Sao Paolo Pal: Andre Rienzo had his second consecutive quality start last night and his third overall this season with a fine effort against the Hillcats. Rienzo allowed one run on five hits and one walk over six innings while striking out eight. The Brazilian has picked up in the Carolina League where he left off in the South Atlantic League last season. In his last ten starts for low-A Kannapolis, Rienzo did not allow more than two earned runs in any of his last ten starts. He has allowed two earned runs or fewer in eight of his first nine starts as a member of the Dash, making his ERA 1.95 (24 ER, 110.2 IP) in his last 19 starts dating back to last season.

No Time and a Half: The Dash worked overtime for the ninth time this season, by far the most extra-innings games played by any Carolina League team this season. Salem and Myrtle Beach are tied for the second most extra-innings games with four. Across minor league baseball, only the Jupiter Hammerheads (FSL) have played more extra-innings games this season than the Dash with ten. Last night's loss snapped the team's four-game winning streak in extra-innings games. The team won extra-innings contests on April 24, May 14, 15, & 18 before last night's 11-inning defeat. Winston's previous most recent extra-innings loss was on April 20th at Myrtle Beach.

I'm Not Thinking RBI: It has been a while since the Dash have truly driven in a run. The team's lone score last night was the result of a wild pitch bringing in a man from third. The Dash's last RBI came in the fifth inning of Sunday's series finale with the Salem Red Sox. Winston has gone 14 consecutive offensive innings without driving in a run, a span of 50 batters. The Dash are hitting .109 (5 for 46) in this stretch.

The Book on Buch: Tonight RHP Ryan Buch (rhymes with "Duke") makes his Advanced-A debut for the Dash. The Philadelphia-area native made eight starts for low-A Kannapolis to start the season, going 4-3 with a 3.65 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 44.1 innings. He throws three potential plus pitches: a low - to mid-90's fastball, a 12-6 curveball that has been described by some as a plus-plus offering, and a changeup. Buch was rated by Baseball America as the 90th best prospect in the 2009 draft, but he fell to the 253rd overall pick where the White Sox snatched him as an eighth-rounder. Before attending Monmouth University, Buch played at Conwell Egan Catholic High School, the same alma mater as former Dash manager and current Charlotte Knights skipper Joe McEwing.

Hitting the Cycle: During this series with the Hillcats, the Dash finish their first cycle through the Carolina League schedule. Winston has now hosted and visited every other team in the eight-squad circuit. The Dash should be relishing their visit to City Stadium. Lynchburg owns the worst record in the Carolina League at 16-26 and is far and away the least successful team in its own ballpark. The Hillcats are just 6-12 at home and are one of just two teams without double-digit home wins (the other being the Potomac Nationals, who have played only 12 home games this season). The Dash took three of four from the Hillcats at BB&T Ballpark two weeks ago, sparking a five-game winning streak and nine-game stretch that saw the team win eight of nine.

Quality's In: The Dash have had a terrific stretch of starting pitching as of late. The regular starters have combined to produce a quality start in nine consecutive games (discounting Santos Rodriguez' two spot starts). The Dash have quality starts from their starters in 11 of the last 14 games and the rotation has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 20 of the last 24 contests, posting a 3.11 ERA (47 ER, 136 IP) in that stretch.

Keeping ‚¬Ëœem Close: The Dash have played mostly close games this season. Thirty-six of the team's 44 games have been decided by three runs or fewer and the team has had a lead in 33 games this season. Winston has played 17 one-run games and 13 two-run games. The Dash are 8-9 in one-run games and 6-7 in two run contests. At this rate, the Dash would play 95 one - or two-run games this season.

Filling up at the Gac Station: Ian Gac's two home run game Wednesday was the first multi-homer game for any Dash player this season and the 11th of his career. His second home run gave him 140 career dingers in nine professional seasons. Gac leads the Carolina League in homers and is on pace to hit 41 this season. He appears well on his way to surpassing his previous career-high of 22, a number he reached while playing for Bakersfield in 2009. Gac is second in the CL in RBI (31), first in games (44), fourth in at bats (163), first in slugging percentage (.583), first in extra-base hits (24), first in runs scored (34), first in total bases (95), and first in best HR/AB ratio (1/12.54).

Today's Opposing Starter: LHP Chris Masters (3-2, 2.70) makes his sixth start and tenth appearance of the season tonight against the Dash. He faced Winston-Salem out of the bullpen at BB&T Ballpark earlier this month and allowing one run on four hits in 5.1 innings with five strikeouts and two walks. All of his decisions have come as a starting pitcher; his ERA is better as a reliever (1.42) than it is as a starter (3.29). Despite the shifting roles, Masters has put up fine numbers this season, striking out 40 and allowing just 31 hits in 40 innings. Though he shares the same name as professional wrestler "The Masterpiece" on WWE Raw, the Hillcats' Masters registers his KO's on the field instead of the ring. Drafted in the 11th round in 2009, Masters pitched well in his rookie year with short-season Danville (8-4, 1.42 ERA in 13 G, 11 GS with 85 K and 9 BB in 69.2 IP). He finished the year fifth in all of minor league baseball in ERA as well as second in the Appalachian League and first in the Braves organization. In August of 2009 he went 5-1 with a 0.24 ERA in six starts and was the organization's "Pitcher of the Month." Last year, Master did have the same success as he did in the year priorm going 3-11 with a 4.30 ERA in 27 games (27 starts), though he did strike out 123 batters in 136 innings. A native of Marietta, Georgia, Masters attended Western Carolina University where he ranked sixth on the school's career strikeouts leader list with 241. He was the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week a school-record six times in his three-year stint in Cullowhee. He led the Catamounts with 99 strikeouts in his senior season, but finished the season with a 5.59 ERA. In 2008, Masters pitched in the prestigious Cape Cod Summer League, where he played on the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox with Dash 1B Andy Wilkins. The Braves got an early look at Masters while he was still in high school, as when he was in high school, he was selected to go to Turner Field for the Braves 400 Club, an organization that honors the top 18 metro-Atlanta high school baseball stars. He was recognized as one of the top eight pitchers in the state of Georgia as a senior and made the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's All-Cobb County First Team twice. Masters throws 92-93 mph fastball, a palmball-grip changeup, and a slider.

Check out the Winston-Salem Dash Statistics

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Carolina League Stories from May 24, 2011


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