SAL1 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

Game Notes: Kannapolis Intimidators (White Sox) vs. Lakewood BlueClaws (Phillies) - July 20, 2014

Published on July 20, 2014 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers News Release


**For Immediate Release**

KANNAPOLIS INTIMIDATORS vs. LAKEWOOD BLUECLAWS 45-52, 16-14 (Chicago White Sox) 38-61, 11-19 (Philadelphia Phillies)

Sunday, July 20, 2014 - 5:05 p.m. CMC-NorthEast Stadium - Kannapolis, N.C. 2nd Half Game #31 (98 of 137)

LH Jeff McKenzie (1-2, 3.80) vs. RH Tyler Viza (3-13, 5.17)

Today's Preview:The Intimidators (A, White Sox) look for a leg up in this series when they host the BlueClaws (A, Phillies) in Game 3 of this 4-game series. Kannapolis is coming off an 8-4 win on Saturday to even the series at a game apiece thanks to a 13-hit performance. Jeff McKenzie carries a streak of nine scoreless innings into today's start, dating back to a July 9 loss at Greensboro. The lefty will duel Lakewood's Tyler Viza, who worked 4.0 innings against Kannapolis in the fogged out game May 9.

Sally League Standings: Saturday's win, along with Delmarva and Hickory losses, pulled Kannapolis (16-14) into a tie for third place with the Shorebirds and Crawdads in the SAL Northern Division second half standings, 4.0 games back of first place Greensboro. Lakewood (11-19) is last in the 7-team division, 9.0 games behind the Grasshoppers.

Intimidators Starter: Jeff McKenzie, 23, makes his fifth start for the Intimidators and first against a Phillies affiliate. He is coming off 6.0 scoreless innings in a no decision at Augusta on July 15, an eventual 12-inning loss, 7-6, for Kannapolis. McKenzie made two starts with Advanced Rookie Great Falls to open this season, going 1-0 with a 1.54 ERA before earning a promotion to Kannapolis on June 25. In six starts this season between the Voyagers and the Intimidators, he is 2-2 with a 3.30 (11 ER/33.0 IP). McKenzie worked a career-long 7.0 innings on July 9, allowing two runs on seven hits in a loss to the Grasshoppers. He made his professional debut in 2013, working in the Voyagers bullpen and going 4-0 with a 1.44 ERA (4 ER/25 IP) in 16 games, converting all six save chances. The White Sox drafted McKenzie in the 28th round of the June 2013 First-Year Player Draft out of Cal State Bakersfield, where he was college teammates with Intimidators infielder Tyler Shryock. McKenzie was named Western Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year and became CSU Bakersfield's first All-American baseball player by going 13-2 with a 1.88 ERA (24 ER/114.2 IP), six complete games (four shutouts) and 88 strikeouts in 2013.

BlueClaw on the Bump:Tyler Viza, 19, makes his 19th start of the season. He faced the Intimidators on May 9, pitching 4.0 scoreless innings in the fogged-out game. Because the game was cancelled, all stats from that night do not count. Since that outing, Viza has lost 11 of 12 starts and now leads the South Atlantic League with 13 losses. He suffered losses in nine straight starts from May 14 to June 28 and has taken a decision in each of his last 12 starts. He is winless on the road, going 0-7 with a 5.62 ERA in eight starts compared to a 3-6 record and 4.83 ERA in 10 starts at FirstEnergy Park. Viza is making his professional debut this season after the Phillies drafted him in the 32nd round of the June 2013 First-Year Player Draft out of Desert Vista High School in Phoenix, Ariz.

Last Time Out:Danny Hayes drove in three runs, and the Intimidators battled through early rain to beat the BlueClaws, 8-4, on Saturday. Hayes drove in three runs with three hits in each of his first three at-bats. He finished 3-for-3 with a triple and two walks. Matt Abramson (1-5) earned his first win of the season, tossing 3.0 relief innings and allowing two runs on three hits with three walks and a strikeout. Dylan Chavez tossed a scoreless eighth and ninth for his second career save (2). Kannapolis built an early 3-0 lead through the first three innings thanks to a pair of Hayes RBI-hits and a T.J. Williams home run (6). With rain falling, the BlueClaws overcame a 3-run deficit with two runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth to take a 4-3 lead. Kannapolis rallied in bottom of the fifth as Engel led off with a double and Stringer drove him in to tie the game, 4-4. Two batters later, Hayes cashed Stringer for a 5-4 lead. Engel, Stringer and Jacob Morris each drove in a run in a 3-run eighth to add insurance against the BlueClaws. Will Morris (1-2) took the loss, allowing two runs on three hits in 2.0 innings of work. Starter Matt Imhof, the Phillies second round pick (47th overall) in the June 2014 First-Year Player Draft, worked 3.0 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits in his Class A debut. Kannapolis starter Robinson Leyer lasted 4.0 innings, pitching mostly in the rain. He allowed two runs on four hits while striking out three and matching his season-high with four walks in a no decision.

Electric Engel: Adam Engel collected a season-high 4 hits on Saturday, tying his career-high. He was 4-5 with a double, triple, RBI and three runs scored while running his hitting streak to eight games, now a season-long, batting .371 (13-35) since July 11. Engel previously had a 7-game hit streak April 21-29.

Danny Draws Walks: Danny Hayes drew two more walks on Saturday amid his 3-3 performance at the plate, raising his league-leading total of walks to 55. The first baseman reached base safely in all five plate appearances and now ranks fifth in the SAL with a .402 on-base percentage. The White Sox 13th round pick in the June 2013 draft is now batting .300 (98-327) with seven HR and 49 RBI in 92 games.

Williams Wallops: Designated Hitter T.J. Williams ripped his sixth home run of the season on Saturday, a 2-out solo shot that just cleared the 20-foot tall wall in right field. He finished the game 2-4 with two runs scored while blasting his first home run since a walk-off bomb to beat Charleston on June 28.

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 20, 2014


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