Game Notes (June 8)
June 8, 2019 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release
The Power continues their four-game series with the Greenville Drive Saturday evening at Appalachian Power Park, with first pitch set for 6:05 p.m. RHP Josias De Los Santos (0-3, 3.81 ERA) heads to the hill for West Virginia.
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MOYERS STIFLES DRIVE IN 4-2 WIN: Steven Moyers fired seven strong innings and Nick Rodriguez went 3-for-4 to help the Power double up the Greenville Drive, 4-2, Friday evening at Appalachian Power Park. Moyers retired the first six batters he faced before Greenville got to him in the third, plating a run on a Jonathan Ortega RBI single for a 1-0 edge. West Virginia answered in the sixth against Chase Shugart, with Ryan Ramiz igniting the frame with a leadoff double. Rodriguez moved Ramiz to third base on a fielder's choice and Keegan McGovern drove him home with a double to right to tie the game at one. The Power pounced on reliever Hunter Haworth in the seventh, tallying three runs on a pair of RBI singles from McGovern and Rodriguez and a fielder's choice groundout by Onil Pena. Benjamin Onyshko notched a hitless eighth to pave the way for David Ellingson, who had to battle through a rough ninth to close out the game. The Georgetown product served up a one-out homer to Alan Marrero and allowed the go-ahead run to climb aboard, but he set down Tyler Esplin on a groundout to short to pick up his third save of the year.
SWEET AS HONEY: Since May 13, Bobby Honeyman has become one of the hottest hitters in the South Atlantic League. In that 23-game stretch, Honeyman has hit safely in 19 of those contests while posting a .299 average with one homer and 11 RBI. His .299 clip is tied for 13th-best in the league and 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.
A QUALITY GUY: Moyers turned in his third consecutive quality start for West Virginia last night, as well as his fifth in his last six outings. With his quality outing yesterday, Moyers surpassed Clay Chandler for the most quality starts among the Power's pitching staff with eight. In his last three starts, the left-hander has given up seven earned runs over 20.2 innings of work, good for a 3.05 ERA, with 14 strikeouts. His eight punchouts last night were one shy of his career high, which he has accomplished twice this season (April 13 vs. Augusta and May 17 at Greenville).
MASHING MCGOVERN: McGovern has become a lethal part of West Virginia's lineup over his first eight games with the team. The University of Georgia product has hit safely in each of his last five games, and has reached base safely in all eight contests he has played in (only one without a hit). The slugger has a .310 average with one homer and four RBI thus far in his short stint with the Power.
SAVE ME: Though it was not a clean outing, Ellingson racked up his third save in as many tries with West Virginia in last night's 4-2 win over Greenville. The Power reliever has notched saves in back-to-back appearances (June 2 at Asheville), as well as secured three of the team's last four saves. As a group, West Virginia's bullpen now has 13 saves on the year, tied with Hagerstown for the third-lowest total in the South Atlantic League (Greenville, 12 and Lakewood, 11).
FINDING HIS FOOTING: Saturday starter Josias De Los Santos has slipped into a nice groove in the South Atlantic League over his last four appearances (three relief outings, one start). Since May 18, the 19-year-old has tossed 16 innings (four straight four-inning outings) and ceded just two earned runs, equating to a 1.13 ERA. De Los Santos has allowed just eight hits and three walks while striking out 13 batters in this stretch.
MIRED IN A TOUGH STRETCH: After posting the second-best record in team history through 24 games in April (17-7), the Power has gone 13-24 and been one of the worst teams, statistically speaking, across all of Minor League Baseball. Since May 1, West Virginia's team ERA is 5.43, the second-worst mark in MiLB from the Double-A level down (Salem Red Sox, High-A, 5.59 ERA), while their 24 losses are tied for fourth-most and their 13 wins are tied for 10th-lowest. The Power's .224 average in this span is eighth-lowest in Minor League Baseball as well.
DIVISIONAL STRETCH TO FINISH: Despite not being in the playoff hunt, the Power has the chance to play spoiler for those teams still fighting for the first half Northern Division playoff spot. West Virginia closes out the first half playing seven of their final nine games against Northern Division foes, with all of those contests coming against teams the Power has not faced yet this season (Hagerstown and Delmarva).
POWER POINTS: The Power struck out 10 batters last night, piling up double-digit strikeouts for the 29th time this season... Rodriguez slotted in his first three-hit game of the season, as well as his fourth-multi-hit game with West Virginia... The Power went 3-for-17 with runners in scoring position (.176) Friday night, stranding eight men on base.
South Atlantic League Stories from June 8, 2019
- Braves offense stalls again in defeat - Rome Emperors
- Keuchel Slated to Start in Rome Monday - Rome Emperors
- Guance, Matson Stifle Suns as 'Birds Roll - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Los Perros Santos Score Early, Pile on Late to Take Game Three - Charleston RiverDogs
- McConnell's Multi-Hit Effort Not Enough in 8-2 Loss - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Los Perros Santos Blank Tourists in One-Sided Affair - Asheville Tourists
- June 8th Doubleheader Postponed, Doubleheader Scheduled for Sunday - Augusta GreenJackets
- Saturday's Games Washed Out - Hickory Crawdads
- Rain Wreaks Havoc Again, Interrupts Columbia's Doubleheader vs. Hickory - Columbia Fireflies
- Fireflies Game Notes: June 8 Doubleheader at Hickory (Games 60 & 61) - Columbia Fireflies
- Game Notes (June 8) - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Hagerstown Suns Game Notes - Hagerstown Suns
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