SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

Game Notes (June 9)

Published on June 9, 2019 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


The Power concludes their four-game series with the Greenville Drive Sunday afternoon at Appalachian Power Park, with first pitch set for 2:05 p.m. South Atlantic League Midseason All-Star RHP Clay Chandler (6-2, 3.18 ERA) takes the mound for West Virginia.

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POWER FALLS TO DRIVE 8-2: Charlie McConnell notched a multi-hit game, but the Drive touched up Josias De Los Santos for six runs over four innings and handed the Power an 8-2 loss Saturday evening at Appalachian Power Park. Greenville struck first in the second inning, as Triston Casas led off the frame with a base hit before moving to third on a pair of wild pitches and scoring on Brandon Howlett's sacrifice fly. West Virginia responded in the home half of the third, with Nick Rodriguez stroking an RBI single to center that plated McConnell to tie the game at one. However, De Los Santos came unglued from there, allowing two runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth before being relieved for Dayeison Arias while the Drive compiled a 6-2 lead. Arias wiggled out of the fifth-inning jam and handed the ball to Deivy Florido, who managed four solid innings out of the pen despite ceding two runs in the eighth. Jake Anchia had the other run-scoring knock for the Power, slashing a single to left that brought in Bobby Honeyman in the fifth.

SWEET AS HONEY: Since May 13, Honeyman has become one of the hottest hitters in the South Atlantic League. In that 24-game stretch, Honeyman has hit safely in 20 of those contests while posting a .297 average with one homer and 11 RBI. His .297 clip is 15th-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.

ALL-STAR ARIAS: Despite allowing his inherited runner to score in the fifth inning, Arias spun another scoreless frame Saturday night, stretching his streak of not allowing an earned run to 18.2 innings across 13 appearances. In this stretch, the South Atlantic League Midseason All-Star has finished seven games and picked up one hold and one save. He has fanned 23 batters compared to five walks while only surrendering three unearned runs on eight hits and holding opposing hitters to a .117 average against him. No other pitcher in the South Atlantic League who has thrown as many innings as Arias has holds a spotless ERA during this time frame.

MULTI-HIT MCCONNELL: McConnell logged his 12th multi-hit game of the season Saturday night with his 2-for-3 effort. The Power outfielder now has three multi-hit affairs in June, and has hit safely in five of his last eight contests. McConnell's .276 June average is currently his best monthly average of the season, sitting 65 points above his May clip (.211). The Northeastern University product also swiped his team-leading sixth stolen base Saturday night.

MASHING MCGOVERN: Keegan McGovern has become a lethal part of West Virginia's lineup over his first nine games with the team. The University of Georgia product has hit safely in five of his last six games, and has reached base safely in eight of the nine contests he has played in (only two without a hit). The slugger has a .273 average with one homer and four RBI thus far in his short stint with the Power.

CAN HE TOP IT?: After being named a South Atlantic League Midseason All-Star last Tuesday, Clay Chandler went out and delivered the best start of his career against the Hickory Crawdads. The Paducah, Ky., native spun a career-high 8.1 innings while allowing two runs on five hits, striking out five batters and walking one. Chandler picked up his sixth win of the season, the most of any member of West Virginia's staff, as well as his seventh quality start, one shy of the most on the team (Steven Moyers, 8). Chandler hurled the longest start by a Power pitcher since Brian Leach twirled 8.2 innings against Bowling Green on August 27, 2009. The 25-year-old's 73.2 innings are the most by any pitcher in the South Atlantic League this season, while his six wins are tied with three other hurlers for second-highest.

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 13-25 and been one of the worst teams, statistically speaking, across all of Minor League Baseball. Since May 1, West Virginia's team ERA is 5.51, the second-worst mark in MiLB from the Double-A level down (Salem Red Sox, High-A, 5.62 ERA), while their 25 losses are tied for third-most and their 13 wins are tied for ninth-lowest. The Power's .223 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. Following the series finale with Greenville, West Virginia closes out the first half playing their final seven games against Northern Division foes, with all of those contests coming against teams the Power has not faced yet this season (Delmarva and Hagerstown).

POWER POINTS: The Power did not commit an error for the 21st time this year... West Virginia went 2-for-8 with RISP.

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South Atlantic League Stories from June 9, 2019


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