SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

Game Notes (May 24)

May 24, 2019 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


The Power concludes their four-game series with the Greensboro Grasshoppers this evening at Appalachian Power Park, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. RHP Clay Chandler (4-2, 2.91 ERA) is on the bump for West Virginia.

----------------------------------

POWER OUTLASTED BY GRASSHOPPERS: Greensboro jumped out to an early 4-0 lead against Deivy Florido in his third start with West Virginia, while the Power tried to claw back late but came up just short, falling 6-5 to the Grasshoppers Thursday evening at Appalachian Power Park. Greensboro plated two in the first and two in the third before West Virginia could answer, pushing three across in the home half of the third on Ryan Ramiz and Jarred Kelenic's pair of RBI singles to close the gap to 4-3. The Power snared a short-lived lead in the fourth, as Joseph Rosa doubled in J.R. Davis and Johnny Slater sent him around with a base knock to vault West Virginia in front 5-4. However, the Grasshoppers tacked on one more against Florido in the fifth before nudging an unearned run across in the sixth that ended up marking the difference. John O'Reilly worked the final 1.1 innings to pick up his second save of the year.

KELENIC IS KELE-CLICKING AGAIN: Following a 10-game stretch where the Mariners' number-two prospect boasted just a .167 average and drove in two runs while seeing his average dip below .300, Kelenic has found his groove once again at home. In the first three games of this series with Greensboro, the outfielder is 4-for-10 with two homers, a triple, three RBI and four runs scored. Six of Kelenic's team-leading nine home runs this season have come in Charleston, W.Va., contributing to the outfielder's .386 clip at home vs. a .227 road mark.

HEREEEEEEE'S JOHNNY: Slater has given the Power's offense a shot in the arm over the last few games. After posting a career high-tying three-RBI night Wednesday with a double and a triple, the University of Michigan product notched his second straight multi-hit effort with 2-for-4 evening, a double and an RBI Thursday. Three of Slater's last eight at-bats have gone for extra bases. He also gunned down a runner at the plate for his first outfield assist last night.

A NICE CHANGE OF PACE: Since moving from the rotation to the bullpen, Josias De Los Santos has settled into a very serviceable reliever role with West Virginia. The 19-year-old spun his second consecutive four-inning relief outing Thursday night, allowing just two hits and one unearned run while striking out three. As a member of the Power bullpen, De Los Santos is 0-1 with a 1.13 ERA in his two outings compared to his 0-2 record with a 7.30 mark as a starter.

ROSA RISING: Over his last seven games, Rosa has started to climb out of his mid-season funk. After going 0-for-14 from May 10-14, the infielder has hit safely in six of his last seven games, boasting a .375 (9-for-24) clip in that span, the highest average on the team. Rosa collected his 12th multi-hit game of the season, and third three-hit affair, Thursday night. The New York resident maintains the South Atlantic League's 10th-best on-base percentage at .390.

ALMIGHTY ANCHIA: Jake Anchia has been on quite the tear recently, averaging .350 (14-for-40) in his last 11 games with five homers and 14 RBI. The backstop has reached base safely in 10 of those 11 games, dating back to May 8, during which he has raised his average from .200 to .234, an increase of 34 points. Anchia has the second-most homers on the team with seven (Kelenic, nine), as well as tied for the fifth-most in the South Atlantic League.

HOME COOKED: West Virginia has dropped its last six games at home, dating back to their three-game brooming at the hands of the Kannapolis Intimidators. In those six games, the Power has scored a maximum of seven runs (three times), but dropped all three contests, moving their record from a sterling to 6-0 to a pedestrian 6-3 when tallying seven runs or more in a game. West Virginia has not fallen in more than six consecutive home games since June 2-15, 2014, when the Power was handed eight straight home defeats by Kannapolis, Greensboro and Delmarva.

GOOD RIDDANCE: Friday's series finale will be the last time the Power and the Grasshoppers play in the first half. West Virginia will be glad to see Greensboro depart, as the team is averaging a paltry .209 against their Northern Division foes and holding a 6.71 ERA, while the Grasshoppers have roared to a .312 average and a 3.43 ERA against the Power.

THE SCRIPT HAS BEEN FLIPPED: After posting the second-lowest ERA (2.59) in the league in April, West Virginia's pitching staff has been battered around to the tune of a 5.28 mark in May, the highest ERA in the South Atlantic League in that span. The Power's starting rotation has taken the brunt of this avalanche, with their ERA ballooning from 2.63 to 4.57 in the season's second month, an increase of 194 points.

POWER POINTS: Davis swiped his second stolen base with West Virginia... The Power turned a season-high three double plays... West Virginia was 5-for-8 with runners in scoring position... Kelenic recorded his third outfield assist.

Check out the Charleston Dirty Birds Statistics



South Atlantic League Stories from May 24, 2019


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