SAL1 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

Game Notes: Kannapolis Intimidators (White Sox) vs. Lakewood BlueClaws (Phillies) - July 19, 2014

Published on July 19, 2014 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers News Release


KANNAPOLIS INTIMIDATORS vs. LAKEWOOD BLUECLAWS

44-52, 15-14 (Chicago White Sox) 38-60, 11-18 (Philadelphia Phillies)

Saturday, July 19, 2014 - 7:05 p.m.

CMC-NorthEast Stadium - Kannapolis, N.C.

2nd Half Game #30 (97 of 137)

RH Robinson Leyer (5-6, 3.28) vs. LH Matt Imhof (0-0, 0.00)

Today's Preview:Robinson Leyer makes his team-leading 19th start of the season for the Intimidators (A, White Sox) in the second game against the BlueClaws (A, Phillies), who took the first game of this 4-game series on Friday with a 5-4 win against the Kannapolis bullpen. Leyer, who has been one of the Intimidators most consistent arms in 2014, looks to continue a recent string of working deeper into games when facing Lakewood's Matt Imhof, a Phillies second round pick in the June 2014 draft who is making his Class A debut.

Sally League Standings: Kannapolis (15-14) has dropped eight of its last nine games since holding sole possession of first place in the SAL Northern Division second half standings and ranks fifth in the division, 4.0 games back of first place Greensboro. Lakewood (11-18) is last in the 7-team division, 8.0 games behind the Grasshoppers.

Intimidating Starter: Robinson Leyer, 21, faces a Philadelphia affiliate for the first time in his team-leading 19th start, which ties for the most in the SAL this season. He is coming off a career-long outing, working 7.2 innings in a July 13 loss to Asheville - the first time that he pitched into the eighth inning in his career. Leyer ranks 11th in the SAL with a 3.28 ERA. He dominated the month of June, going 1-1 with a 1.16 ERA (4 ER/31 IP) in five starts. In his one start at Asheville, he worked 7.0 strong innings at hitter-friendly McCormick Field, limiting the Tourists to a run on seven hits to earn a win. The younger brother of former Intimidator Euclides Leyer, he spent 2013 with Advanced Rookie Bristol, going 2-7 with a 6.35 ERA in 13 starts.

BlueClaw on the Bump:Matt Imhof, the Phillies second round pick (47th overall) in the June 2014 First-Year Player Draft out of Cal Poly, makes his Class A debut and fifth start of the season. He made his professional debut on June 27 with the GCL Phillies, tossing 3.0 scoreless innings. Imhof's next three appearances came with Short-Season Williamsport. He earned his first professional win July 13 against Tri-City with 5.0 scoreless innings, and is now 1-0 with a 0.60 ERA (1 ER/15.0 IP) with 13 strikeouts and five walks in four starts. The Hayward, Calif., native enjoyed a stellar career at Cal Poly, going 18-7 with a 2.69 ERA in 48 games (35 starts) over three seasons.

Last Time Out:Lakewood pulled ahead in the eighth and held on to beat the Intimidators 5-4 on Friday. Kannapolis hit three home runs over the first three innings but mustered just four hits on the night. Lakewood's Dylan Cozens doubled to open the eighth, moved to third on a groundout and scored on a Tyler Barnette wild pitch with two outs. Barnette (2-7) struck out four batters over 2.0 innings but gave up a run on one hit with a walk while being tagged with a loss. Julio Reyer (2-3) tossed 3.0 scoreless, hitless innings for the win, and Dan Child worked a perfect ninth for the save (1). Adam Engel, Jacob Morris, and Christian Stringer hit solo home runs in the first, second, and third innings, respectively. Lakewood pulled ahead, 4-2, with three runs on four hits in the top of the third. Zach Green's 2-run base hit cashed Andrew Pullin and Andrew Knapp. Green crossed the plate on a double by Willians Astudillo. The Intimidators knotted the game, 4-4, in the fourth on a Brett Austin RBI-groundout.

Engel Streaking: Adam Engel led off the first inning with a home run to extend his hitting streak to seven games, matching his season-long streak. Engel is batting .300 (9-30) in his last seven games (since July 11). Earlier this season, the former Louisville outfielder strung together hits in seven games from April 21-29, batting .303 (10-33).

Home Bittersweet Home: The Intimidators have now lost a season-high six straight home games dating back to July 3. Kannapolis dropped its series finale to Delmarva on July 3 and suffered a 4-game sweep at the hands of Asheville from July 10-13.

Broadcast: This season, all 70 home games and select road games are broadcast on the Kannapolis Intimidators Baseball Network available at IntimidatorsBaseball.com & on the TuneIn Radio App with Josh Feldman, now in his fourth season with the team.

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South Atlantic League Stories from July 19, 2014


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