Game Notes (June 11)
June 11, 2019 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release
The Power continues their three-game series with the Delmarva Shorebirds Tuesday evening at Appalachian Power Park, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. RHP Damon Casetta-Stubbs (2-5, 8.22 ERA) toes the slab for West Virginia.
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POWER STUNS 'BIRDS 5-4: Jake Anchia's eighth-inning grand slam capped a four-run comeback to stun the Delmarva Shorebirds, 5-4, Monday evening at Appalachian Power Park, and halt Delmarva's chance at clinching the first-half Northern Division crown. The 'Birds struck first on the third pitch of the game, as Robbie Thorburn launched a leadoff home run against Ryne Inman to give Delmarva a 1-0 lead. Inman battled back to fire a pair of scoreless frames before ceding a second run in the fourth on consecutive doubles by Seamus Curran and Nick Horvath. The Shorebirds padded their edge with back-to-back homers in the fifth from Cadyn Grenier and J.C. Encarnacion to jump out to a 4-0 lead. Sal Biasi relieved Inman in the sixth and kept Delmarva at bay, notching three scoreless innings and allowing just three hits, while the Power jumped on the board in the sixth with a leadoff long ball from Charlie McConnell. Down 4-1 in the eighth, Bobby Honeyman and Onil Pena laced a pair of singles against Matthew Hammonds, who then walked McConnell to load the bases before being removed in favor of Delmarva's closer, Tim Naughton. Naughton served up a 2-0 fastball to Anchia, who crushed it 437 feet and 105 MPH off the bat to vault West Virginia ahead for good. David Ellingson spun a 1-2-3 ninth inning to pick up his fourth save of the year in as many opportunities.
BEING CLUTCH IS A CATCHER THING: Anchia's grand slam is the Power's second bases-clearing blast of the season, following Dean Nevarez's grand slam May 26 vs. Lexington in West Virginia's five-run comeback win. The Nova Southeastern product tied a bow on the Power's fourth comeback win of the season, as he posted the team's 10th home run in the seventh inning or later this year. Anchia also notched the first grand slam of his Minor League career (11 total home runs), as well as his second four-plus RBI night of the season (5, May 9 vs. Augusta). In total, Anchia and Nevarez have combined for all four of West Virginia's four-plus RBI affairs. The Power has not hit two grand slams at home in a single season since 2014, when Erich Weiss (April 13 vs. Lexington), Elvis Escobar (May 25 vs. Lakewood) and JaCoby Jones (June 15 vs. Delmarva) each went yard with the bases juiced at Appalachian Power Park.
ALMIGHTY ANCHIA: With his grand slam in the eighth inning yesterday, Anchia extended his hitting streak to a season-best six games, dating back to June 1. In this stretch, Anchia is averaging .364 (8-for-22) with two homers and seven RBI. The backstop's hitting streak is the Power's eighth of six games or more this season.
SWEET AS HONEY: Since May 13, Honeyman has been one of the hottest hitters in the Power's lineup. In that 26-game stretch, Honeyman has hit safely in 22 of those contests while posting a .296 average with one homer and 11 RBI. His .296 clip is the highest on the Power in this span. Honeyman has also compiled two eight-game hitting streaks since mid-May, posting one from May 13-20 and May 24-June 2 with identical .344 averages.
HOMER HAPPY AT HOME: Anchia and McConnell's bombs tallied West Virginia's 53rd and 54th home runs of the season, third-most in the South Atlantic League (Greensboro, 66 and Hickory, 70). Appalachian Power Park has been quite the hitter-friendly environment for the Power, as the sluggers have pounded 35 balls out of the ballpark in 33 games, tied with Greensboro for second-most in the league (Hickory, 45).
JULIOOOOOOOO IS BACK: Prior to Monday's game against Delmarva, the Seattle Mariners announced a slew of roster moves affecting the West Virginia Power, including the activation of outfielder Julio Rodriguez from the injured list, where he had been saddled since April 16 due to a hairline fracture in his wrist (per the Seattle Mariners). In his first game back, Rodriguez went 1-for-2 with a scorched double to left and a pair of walks. The Mariners' fifth-best prospect per MLB.com is now averaging .364 in 10 games with the Power to go along with three RBI and four doubles.
MORE ROSTER TURNOVER: Besides Rodriguez's return to the starting lineup, the Mariners also unveiled three other moves dealing with the Power's roster Monday:
+ INF Utah Jones assigned to West Virginia from the AZL after being taken in the 29th round of the draft
- INF Cesar Izturis Jr. transferred to Short-Season Everett from West Virginia
- OF Keegan McGovern promoted to High-A Modesto from West Virginia
POWER POINTS: The Power did not commit an error for the 23rd time this year, and notched their fourth straight game without a miscue (36 consecutive innings)... West Virginia went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, stranding nine men on base... Ellingson has recorded a save in each of his last three appearances, totaling 13 for the Power this year.
South Atlantic League Stories from June 11, 2019
- Shorebirds Fall to Power, Still Clinch North - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Suns Complete Doubleheader Sweep with Walk-Off Win - Hagerstown Suns
- Lexington Drops Game Two to Augusta - Lexington Legends
- Jackets Rattle off 4th Straight Victory, Defeat Lexington 6-3 - Augusta GreenJackets
- Kannapolis Holds off Greenville, 5-4, on Tuesday - Greenville Drive
- Casetta-Stubbs Flings Six Scoreless in 1-0 Win - Charleston Dirty Birds
- BlueClaws Fall in Double-Header Tuesday at Hagerstown - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Bies Slams Door as RiverDogs Edge Braves, Cling to First-Place Spot - Charleston RiverDogs
- Fireflies Even Series by Trouncing Tourists - Asheville Tourists
- Fireflies Game Notes: June 11 vs. Asheville (Game 61) - Columbia Fireflies
- Game Notes (June 11) - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Lockridge, Smith to Participate in All-Star Home Run Derby - Charleston RiverDogs
- Hagerstown Suns Game Notes - Hagerstown Suns
- Hagerstown Suns Homestand Preview June 11-16 - Hagerstown Suns
- McKay Tabbed as Keynote Speaker for 2019 SAL All-Star Luncheon - Charleston Dirty Birds
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