SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

Game Notes (April 26)

Published on April 26, 2019 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


The Power carries a four-game winning streak into Friday's match-up with the Asheville Tourists, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. at Appalachian Power Park. RHP Logan Gilbert (1-0, 0.64 ERA) toes the rubber.

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RAMIZ AND ROSA GO DEEP IN 5-1 POWER WIN: Ryan Ramiz and Joseph Rosa launched back-to-back home runs in the first inning to give the Power an early 3-0 cushion, while Steven Moyers fired six scoreless innings and allowed just three hits to guide West Virginia to a 5-1 win in the series opener over the Asheville Tourists Thursday evening at Appalachian Power Park. Following Ramiz and Rosa's bombs in the first, the Power added one more in the fourth on a Cesar Izturis Jr. RBI single before capping their offense in the seventh when Onil Pena came around to score on a wild pitch from Riley Pint. On the mound, Moyers gave way to David Ellingson in the seventh, who worked two frames and ceded Asheville's only tally of the evening, while Dayeison Arias twirled a hitless ninth to seal the win.

LOVE SOME HOME COOKING: West Virginia has now won eight consecutive games at home, including back-to-back three-game sweeps against Lakewood and Columbia. The Power has not won more than eight consecutive games at home since they ripped off a 13-game home winning streak from July 17-August 15, 2017, defeating Greensboro in the series finale before sweeping Lexington and Delmarva in a pair of four-game sets, as well as Lakewood in a three-game series, and claiming the series opener against the Legends August 15. Moyers has especially loved pitching at home, as the southpaw has posted 13 scoreless innings in two home outings with 13 strikeouts compared to one walk.

STRONG STAFF: Moyers continued a strong series of pitching performances lately from the starting rotation Thursday. The lefty spun his second quality start of the season, striking out four over his six scoreless innings. Moyers' stellar outing followed Damon Casetta-Stubbs' dominant Power debut Wednesday, as the Washington native struck out four batters over his five hitless innings on just 55 pitches. The 2018 draftee's night succeeded a 5.1 inning, no-hit outing from Ryne Inman Tuesday, when he struck out 10 batters and walked two. Clay Chandler started the Columbia series off on a high-note as well, ceding just two hits over five innings with 10 punch outs as well Monday night. The Power rotation has not given up a run this homestand over 21.1 innings, ceding five hits and three walks while striking out 28 batters.

ROSA RISING: Rosa delivered again in a big way Thursday, smashing his second home run of the year in back-to-back fashion with Ramiz in the first inning off Frederis Para. The New York native is now averaging .365, which is good for fourth-best in the South Atlantic League. Rosa has reached base safely in 16 of his 18 games played this season, including his first six. He is also among the top sluggers in OBP (.453, third), hits (23, tied for seventh) and .OPS (.961, eighth).

CLICK, CLICK KELENIC: Jarred Kelenic has been on an absolute tear recently, currently riding a 12-game hitting streak (dating back to April 11), during which he is 23-for-49 (.469) with two home runs, seven doubles and 12 RBI. During this surge, his average has increased to .324 (+244 points). Kelenic's streak is currently the longest active streak in the South Atlantic League, and tied for the longest this season (Justin Dean, 12, Rome Braves). The Mariners' second-best prospect per MLB.com and Baseball America is also among the league leaders in walks (13, tied for fifth), hits (23, tied for seventh), OBP (.435, seventh) and doubles (7, tied for eighth). The Wisconsin native has reached base safely in each of his last 13 games (dating back to April 10).

LOOKING BACK AT BACK-TO-BACK: Ramiz and Rosa went back-to-back in the first inning of Thursday's 5-1 win, with Ramiz launching a 388-foot shot to right-center field, while Rosa cranked a 406-foot blast to straightaway right. The Power sluggers are the first duo to launch back-to-back home runs since Kyle Watson and Rafelin Lorenzo accomplished the feat on April 8, 2018, against Greenville at Appalachian Power Park during game two of a doubleheader.

IGNITING IZTURIS: Izturis Jr. has carried over his hot bat from McCormick Field to Appalachian Power Park, as he extended his hitting streak to eight games (dating back to April 12) Thursday night with his fourth-inning run-scoring single. During this stretch, the Power infielder is boasting a .500 (13-for-26) clip with seven RBI.

OFFENSE FINDING ITS GROOVE: With their five-run output Thursday, West Virginia's offense has now scored at least five runs in eight of its last nine games (nine of 10 if you count the suspended game April 20), including seven straight from April 15 to April 23. The Power holds an 8-2 record when scoring five runs or more in a contest this season.

POWER POINTS: Kelenic swiped his team-leading fourth stolen base of the season Friday night... The Power committed three errors in a game for just the second time this season (April 5 at Greenville)... Pena collected his ninth double of the season, tied for the most two-baggers in the SAL (Michael Gigliotti and Nick Hutchins, LEX and Curtis Terry, Hickory).

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South Atlantic League Stories from April 26, 2019


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