Game Notes (July 2)
July 2, 2019 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release
The Power continues their three-game series against the Hickory Crawdads Tuesday evening at Appalachian Power Park, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. LHP Steven Moyers (6-4, 4.03 ERA) toes the slab for West Virginia, while Hickory counters with RHP Tyree Thompson (3-3, 3.12 ERA).
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JULIO GOES DEEP IN 4-1 LOSS TO HICKORY: Julio Rodriguez smacked his fourth home run of the season to lead off the ninth inning, but West Virginia was outslugged by Hickory, 4-1, in the series opener Monday evening at Appalachian Power Park. For the fourth straight game, the Power allowed a run in the opening frame, as Melvin Novoa sliced a two-out RBI single off Devin Sweet for a 1-0 Crawdads lead. In the third, Novoa piled on two more runs for Hickory, blasting a two-out, two-run homer to push the lead to 3-0. Frainyer Chavez joined in on the two-out knocks in the fourth, stroking his own long ball and vaulting the 'Dads to a 4-0 cushion. Meanwhile, Rangers prospect Cole Winn dominated West Virginia over five innings, ceding just two hits and striking out five to pick up his first MiLB win. Jesus Linarez fired three scoreless frames before handing the ball to Kelvin Gonzalez, who battled back after serving up the leadoff homer to Julio to close out the win. In the loss, Sweet went six innings for the second time in his Minor League career and provided another serviceable start, striking out six and giving up four runs on seven hits. Bryan Pall fired two spotless innings out of the bullpen, conceding only one hit, while Elias Espino twirled a shutdown ninth.
RIP ROARING RAMIZ: Ramiz continued to stay hot at the plate Monday night, posting one of the Power's pair of multi-hit games against Hickory with a 2-for-4 effort. The outfielder is averaging .375 (6-for-16) during this homestand with a home run, three RBI and three runs scored. The Freehold, New Jersey, product notched his 14th multi-hit contest of the year.
JULIO DOING JULIO THINGS: Since returning from the injured list June 10, Julio has been a big part of West Virginia's offense. In that 19-game stretch, J-Rod is boasting a .292 clip, the second-best average on the team in that span (Bobby Honeyman, .299) with four homers and 10 RBI. The Dominican outfielder has hit safely in 14 of those 19 contests, including six multi-hit nights. Overall, the Mariners' fourth-best prospect (per Baseball America) has a .311 mark with the Power over 28 games.
THE LONG BALL: J-Rod's ninth-inning bomb is the Power's 69th of the season, third-most in the South Atlantic League (Greensboro, 80 and Hickory, 92). West Virginia now has 39 homers in 40 games at Appalachian Power Park in 2019, the fourth-highest home mark in the league (Asheville and Greensboro, 41; Hickory, 56). However, the Power's pitching staff has been quite susceptible to the long ball as well, as they have given up the league's most dingers (72).
DAVID ACTING LIKE GOLIATH: David Sheaffer has continued to cement himself as a productive piece in West Virginia's lineup. The utility man has reached base safely in 10 of his 12 games with the Power since joining the team June 13 from Triple-A Tacoma, and is averaging .341 with a home run, eight RBI and seven extra-base hits, along with a .945 OPS.
WHAT A QUALITY GUY: Tuesday starter Steven Moyers turned in his sixth consecutive quality start for the Power last time out on June 27 against Kannapolis, as well as his eighth in his last nine outings. With that quality outing, Moyers posted his 11th quality start of the year, the most among West Virginia's pitching staff. The last Power pitcher to have more than 11 quality starts in a season was Dario Agrazal, who notched 12 in 2016, the most by any West Virginia hurler in team history (2005-present). In his last six starts, the left-hander has given up 10 earned runs over 39.2 innings of work, good for a 2.27 ERA, with 36 strikeouts. The University of Rhode Island product has hurled at least six innings in 12 of his 15 starts this season, and has only ceded more than three runs in four of them. Moyers is second in the South Atlantic League in innings pitched (91.2; Clay Chandler, 94.0) and strikeouts (95; Luis Gil, 97).
A WHOLE NEW CREW: Prior to Monday's game with Hickory, the Seattle Mariners announced a slew of roster moves affecting the Power's roster:
+ INF Mike Salvatore signed a pro contract and was assigned to West Virginia (0-for-4 in pro debut Monday)
+ RHP Reeves Martin promoted to the Power from Short-Season Everett (Held a 6.23 ERA in four games for AquaSox)
+ RHP Matthew Willrodt assigned to West Virginia from High-A Modesto (third stint with WV; 0-1, 4.85 in 7G in SAL)
- INF Utah Jones assigned to Short-Season Everett (Hit .159 in 12G with Power; Homered in first game with Everett)
- RHP David Ellingson promoted to High-A Modesto (Went 3-3 with a 2.95 ERA, 4SV in 21 games with West Virginia)
- RHP Deivy Florido assigned to Short-Season Everett (Went 2-3 with a 4.95 ERA in 10 games with the Power)
POWER POINTS: West Virginia stranded six men Monday... J.R. Davis collected his 11th multi-hit game of the year.
South Atlantic League Stories from July 2, 2019
- Langrage Homers Again in Fireflies Loss - Columbia Fireflies
- Big Innings Lead to Suns Victory - Hagerstown Suns
- Series Now Even After Tourists Drop a Close One - Asheville Tourists
- RiverDogs Trounced by GreenJackets in Game Two - Charleston RiverDogs
- 'Birds Erupt Early, Get Even with 'Claws - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Bryce Bush Plays Hero in 5-4 Comeback Win - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Jackets Jump All over Charleston for 10-0 Victory - Augusta GreenJackets
- Claws Rally But Fall Short in 8-4 Defeat on Tuesday - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Moyers Carves up Hickory in 1-0 Power Win - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Fireflies Roster Move and Game Notes: July 2 vs. Greenville (Game 79) - Columbia Fireflies
- Hagerstown Suns: Game Notes - Hagerstown Suns
- Game Notes (July 2) - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Kannapolis Takes Opener 1-0 over Rome - Rome Emperors
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