SAL1 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

Game Notes: Kannapolis Intimidators (White Sox) vs. Rome Braves (Braves)

Published on August 27, 2014 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers News Release


KANNAPOLIS INTIMIDATORS vs. ROME BRAVES

60-71, 31-33 (Chicago White Sox) 53-81, 29-35 (Atlanta Braves)

Wednesday, August 26, 2014 - 7:05 p.m.

CMC-NorthEast Stadium - Kannapolis, N.C.

2nd Half Game #65 (132 of 137)

LH Jordan Guerrero (6-1, 3.00) vs. RH Brandon Barker (5-1, 4.61)

Today's Preview: The Intimidators (A, White Sox) look for a third straight win as they face the Rome Braves (A, Atlanta Braves) in the second game of this 3-game series. Kannapolis is coming off a win on Tuesday, 5-4, in the series opener and now leads the season-series, 4-games-to-1, against Rome. The Intimidators are sending Jordan Guerrero to the mound against Rome's Brandon Barker. Kannapolis can clinch a series win with a victory today over the Braves.

Intimidating Starter: Jordan Guerrero, 20, makes his eighth start and 26th appearance of the season. The lefty is facing an Atlanta affiliate for the third time in his career. He spun a scoreless inning of relief on April 27 against Rome and also faced the Advanced Rookie Danville Braves July 7 2013 with Bristol, giving up three runs on eight hits over 5.0 innings in a loss. Guerrero is coming off his first loss of the season, allowing two runs on six hits over 5.0 innings. As a starter, he's 2-1 with a 3.41 ERA (12 ER/31.2 IP) in seven starts compared to 4-0 with a 2.65 ERA (11 ER/37.1 IP) in 18 relief appearances. The Moorpark, Calif., native is enjoying a solid August, with a 2.30 ERA (4 ER/15.2 IP) in four games (two starts). Guerrero was drafted in the 15th round of the 2012 first year player draft by the White Sox. He went 0-4 with a 3.93 ERA (15 ER/34.1 IP) in 12 games (five starts) over two seasons with Bristol.

Brave on the Bump: Brandon Barker, who turned 22 last week, makes his fourth start of the season and his 11th appearance with today's start against Kannapolis. Barker has won five straight decisions with Rome. Atlanta drafted Barker in the 16th round of the June 2014 First-Year Player Draft out of Mercer, and he made his professional debut with Advanced Rookie Danville, tossing 2.0 scoreless innings before earning a promotion to Rome in early July. He is 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA (8 ER/9.1 IP) in his three starts with Rome compared to 5-0 with a 3.00 ERA (6 ER/18 IP) in seven relief appearances.

Last Time Out: The Intimidators pulled ahead in its final at-bats in Tuesday's 5-4 win over Rome. Carl Thomore followed an intentional walk in the eighth inning with a tie-breaking RBI-single to cash Jacob Morris. Thomore finished 2-4. Kannapolis overcame a 3-1 deficit with three runs in the seventh when Chevy Clarke launched a solo home run, and Eddy Alvarez added a 2-run home run to put Kannapolis in front, 4-3. Reliever Connor Walsh tossed the last two innings for the Intimidators, earning the win despite also begin tagged with a blown save by allowing Rome to tie the game in the eighth. Starting pitcher Jeff McKenzie tossed 6.0 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) in a no decision.

Steady Eddy: Eddy Alvarez upped his average on Tuesday, going 2-4 with a home run (3). He has hit safely in 11 of 12 games with Kannapolis and is now batting .469 (23-49) since joining the Intimidators from the AZL White Sox. An Olympic silver medalist in short-track speed-skating at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Alvarez signed with the White Sox in June.

Chevy Revs the Engine: Outfielder Chevy Clarke continued to improve at the plate, going 2-4 with a home run on Tuesday. The former first round pick of the Los Angeles Angels in 2010, Clarke is batting .333 (9-27) in his last eight games after opening 0-21 in his first six games with Kannapolis. The long ball was Clarke's first since Aug. 2 with Advanced Rookie Great Falls against Billings.

Familiar Faces: Two current members of the Rome Braves has played for the Kannapolis Intimidators. Second baseman Ross Wilson, a White Sox 10th round pick in the June 2010 First-Year Player Draft, spent parts of the 2011 and 2012 seasons with the Intimidators. Wilson went 1-5 with a double and a run scored on Tuesday against his former team. He joined the Braves organization earlier this year after opening the season in the Marlins system between High-A Jupiter and AA Jacksonville. Also with the Braves is left-handed pitcher Sean Bierman, who opened this season in the Kannapolis rotation.

Broadcast Information: All 70 home games and select road games will be broadcast on the Kannapolis Intimidators Baseball Network, available at IntimidatorsBaseball.com and on the TuneIn Radio App with Josh Feldman, now in his fourth season as the Voice of the Intimidators. Tonight's pregame shows begins at 6:50 p.m. with first pitch at 7:05 p.m.

Check out the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



South Atlantic League Stories from August 27, 2014


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central