CarL1 Winston-Salem Dash

Doubleheader Dash Game Notes

Published on April 23, 2011 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release


WINSTON-SALEM DASH (6-7) vs. WILMINGTON BLUE ROCKS (9-4)

Saturday, April 23, 2011, 6:00 p.m. | BB&T Ballpark | Winston-Salem, NC

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

Games No. 14 & 15 ⌂ Home Games No. 5 & 6 | 2011 Home Record 2-2 ⌂ 2011 Road Record 4-5

Game One: RHP Cameron Bayne (2-0, 0.00) vs. LHP Noel Arguelles (0-0, 0.00)

Game Two: LHP Joe Serafin (0-0, 3.00) vs. RHP Jake Odorizzi (0-0, 3.86)

Saturday Night Double Feature: Because of last night's rainout, the Dash and Blue Rocks will play a doubleheader tonight beginning at 6 p.m. at BB&T Ballpark. Both games will be seven-inning contests, with game two beginning approximately 30 minutes after the first game ends. This marks the second doubleheader that Dash has played this season. Winston-Salem split a twin-bill ten days ago at Potomac.

Not Fair: Thursday night's series opener with Wilmington was a tough one to swallow for Winston-Salem. An early Blue Rocks burst coupled with a late controversial umpiring call sent the Dash to a 7-6 loss. Winston scored three runs in the first inning, only to see Wilmington score three in the second, three in the third, and one in the fourth to build a four-run lead. The Dash got to within a run thanks to a late rally and had the tying run on first with one out in the ninth inning. Austin Yount then proceeded to loop the first pitch he saw down the left field line. By some accounts, the ball appeared to hit the line, but the umpiring crew ruled it to be a foul ball, stunting the comeback attempt. Yount ended up striking out and pinch runner Kyle Colligan was caught stealing to end the game. The one-run loss was the third such defeat in the last four games for Winston-Salem.

Entering Wilkins County: Andy Wilkins appears to be over his early-season struggles. On Thursday night, the 1B/DH blasted his second home run in as many nights, a solo shot off the centerfield batter's eye. He also added an RBI single later in the contest. Impressively, both of Wilkins' homers have been hit against left-handed pitchers. It was the eighth career home run for the White Sox' fifth round draft pick from 2010. In his last six games, Wilkins is hitting .346 (9 for 26) with two home runs, two doubles, five RBI, four runs, and two walks.

What do tigers dream of when they take a little tiger snooze: Centerfielder Jared Mitchell is starting to get locked in at the plate after a slow start to the season. The former LSU Tiger went 2 for 5 on Thursday with a triple, two RBI, a run scored, and his first stolen base. Over his last five games, Mitchell is 8 for 22 (.364) at the plate with four doubles, a triple, five RBI, and four runs scored. He has raised his batting average 86 points since Sunday.

Blip on the Radar: Hector Santiago's start on Thursday snapped a terrific streak by Winston-Salem's starting pitchers to begin the season. Prior to Santiago's outing (4 IP, 7 R), the Dash's starting pitchers had allowed three runs or fewer in every game this season. In 11 of the first 12 games, Winston's starting pitchers allowed two or fewer runs (in the only exception, Terry Doyle allowed three runs in a six-inning complete game on April 13). Even with Santiago's start on Thursday, the Dash's starting pitchers own a collective 2.91 ERA.

Keeping ‚¬ËœEm Close: Winston-Salem continues to play close contests this season. Twelve of the 13 games the team has played this year have been decided by three runs or fewer. Ten games have been decided by one or two runs and two have been decided by three runs. Theoretically, the Dash could be 13-0 at this point in the season, as the team has held the lead in every game it has played this year.

Attention J-Mart Shoppers: Jose Martinez went 3 for 5 last night with a double and three runs scored to continue his excellent start to the season. He has picked up at least one base hit in all but one game this season and is a regular resident on the Carolina League statistical leaderboards. He is hitting .434, good for second in the CL. His 23 hits lead the league as do his seven doubles, 15 runs scored, and .492 OBP. He is fifth in total bases (32) and third in most plate appearances per strikeout (12).

Today's Game One Opposing Starter: LHP Noel Arguelles (0-0, 0.00) makes his third start of the season and his first against Winston-Salem. He has pitched four innings of two-hit shutout ball in both of his previous starts this season. Arguelles defected from Cuba along with Red Sox shortstop prospect Jose Iglesias in July of 2008 at the World Junior Championships in Edmonton, Canada. He spent the next 18 months trying out for several different major league clubs before the Royals inking him to a five-year, $6.9 million contract. Kansas City rested him for a couple months, but the organization decided to shut him down for the entire 2010 season after realizing he had suffered a shoulder injury due to his numerous workouts. He had surgery on his left shoulder in August of 2010. When healthy, his fastball tops out at 94 mph and sits in the low-90s. He also throws a slider, a curveball, and a changeup. Prior to defecting, the 21-year-old Arguelles pitched in Cuba's Serie Nacional for La Habana Vaqueros (Havana Cowboys) from 2006 - 08 and for the Cuban team at the 2007 Pan-American Junior Championships, where he won the gold medal game with eight shutout innings against Mexico.

Today's Game Two Opposing Starter: RHP Jake Odorizzi (0-0, 3.86) makes his third start of the season and his first against the Dash. He is in his first season with the Royals organization after serving as the centerpiece of the trade that sent major leaguers Zack Greinke and Yuniesky Betancourt to Milwaukee in exchange for Odorizzi, IF Alcides Escobar, RHP Jared Jeffress, and OF Lorenzo Cain. Baseball America ranked Odorizzi as the top prospect in the Brewers farm system prior to the trade, while Escobar held that spot in the previous season. He spent all of 2010 with low-A Wisconsin, going 7-3 with a 3.43 and 135 strikeouts in 120.2 innings. Odorizzi led the Midwest League with 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings last season and pitched the first eight innings of a combined no-hitter in his penultimate start. He entered this year ranked by MLB.com as the 37th-best prospect among all minor leaguers. Odorizzi features a fastball that ranges from 89-95 mph, a curveball, slider, and changeup. Milwaukee originally selected him as a supplemental first-rounder (32nd overall) in 2008 out of Highland (IL) HS. He elected to sign with the Brewers for just over $1 million rather than attend the University of Louisville, where he was being recruited to play football in addition to baseball. In his senior season, he was an All-League wide receiver on the gridiron and went 14-0 with a 0.08 ERA (1 ER, 89.2 IP) and 146 K/6 BB on the mound.

Check out the Winston-Salem Dash Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Carolina League Stories from April 23, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central