Game Notes (May 26)
May 26, 2019 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release
The Power continues their four-game series against the Lexington Legends this afternoon at Appalachian Power Park, with first pitch set for 2:05 p.m. RHP Damon Casetta-Stubbs (2-3, 7.82 ERA) takes the hill for West Virginia.
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POWER SNAPS SKID WITH 4-1 WIN: Ryne Inman hurled his second straight quality start while Ryan Ramiz and Bobby Honeyman each homered to lead the Power to a 4-1 win over the Lexington Legends Saturday night at Appalachian Power Park. Inman spun six shutout innings, scattering four hits and striking out seven men, while Legends starter Jon Heasley matched him until the sixth. On the fourth pitch of the frame, Ramiz blasted a 407-foot home run over the right-field fence for a 1-0 lead. Heasley walked Jarred Kelenic and Onil Pena, but picked off Kelenic at first base. Honeyman then scorched a 1-1 fastball for a two-run long ball, extending the Power's lead to 3-0. West Virginia tacked on their final run in the seventh, as Kelenic ripped an RBI triple down the right-field line to score Ramiz. Ben Onyshko fired two scoreless innings in relief of Inman and struck out four to snag his second hold of the season, while Bryan Pall worked around back-to-back two-out ninth-inning doubles to seal the victory.
HOMER HAPPY AT HOME: With Honeyman and Ramiz's pair of homers last night, West Virginia now has 27 homers in 25 home games this season, third-most in the South Atlantic League behind the Greensboro Grasshoppers (30) and the Hickory Crawdads (33). The Power's 41 overall dingers are also third-most in the league behind those same two teams. Honeyman homered for the first time since May 8, while Ramiz left the yard for the first time since April 25. The Power has at least one home run in four of the first five games of this homestand.
RETURNING TO FORM: After a rough four-start stretch for Inman from April 28 to May 15, the Atlanta native has started to find his footing again. In that dire span, Inman allowed 18 runs (10 earned) over 16.2 innings, posting a 5.40 ERA. Since then, the right-hander has fired back-to-back quality starts, beginning with a six-inning, three-run performance at Greenville May 20 before slotting in his shutdown outing Saturday night against Lexington. Overall, Inman now has three quality starts with West Virginia after recording his first scoreless start since April 23.
BIRTHDAY BOMBS FOR BOBBY: Honeyman smacked his fourth home run of the season on his 23rd birthday. With the long ball, Honeyman surpassed his single-season total from a year ago between Modesto and Everett, as he launched three homers in his first 64 professional games. The Stony Brook product has started to heat up of late, hitting safely in 11 of his last 13 games (May 13-present). He is averaging .306 (15-for-49) with five RBI and seven runs in that span. Honeyman also collected his third multi-RBI game of the season Saturday night thanks to his two-run bomb.
RAMIZ GETTING BACK ON TRACK: Ramiz notched his second home run of the year Saturday evening, and posted his first multi-hit game since May 14 with his 2-for-2 effort and a pair of walks. The New Jersey native has reached base safely in five of his last six games, recording hits in four of them. Ramiz now has eight multi-hit games this season, while his 26 free passes are sixth-most in the South Atlantic League.
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 five games of this homestand with Greensboro and Lexington, the outfielder is 5-for-15 with two homers, two triples, four RBI and five runs scored. The former first-round pick has thrived at Appalachian Power Park in 2019, boasting a .375 clip at home vs. a .227 road mark.
PILING UP THE STRIKEOUTS: West Virginia struck out 12 batters Saturday night, notching double-digit strikeouts for the 26th time this year. The Power has racked up 480 strikeouts as a team this season, sixth-most in the South Atlantic League, with the Delmarva Shorebirds leading the pack with 498 punchouts.
SMITH DEBUTS: Former West Virginia reliever Josh Smith made his MLB debut with the Cleveland Indians yesterday, spinning 1.2 scoreless innings and striking out three in the midst of a 6-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. Smith is the 84th former Power player to debut in the big leagues, and the seventh this season, joining fellow LHP Taylor Hearn, as well as RHPs Montana DuRapau and Geoff Hartlieb, outfielders Connor Joe and Harold Ramirez and infielder Cole Tucker. The 2012 25th-round selection is the sixth member of the Power's 2013 class to make their MLB debut.
POWER POINTS: The Power snapped their longest home losing skid of the season at seven games... West Virginia went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position, stranding five men on base... Kelenic stroked his third triple of the season, tied for ninth-most in the league... Onyshko has not given up a run in three of his last four appearances, and eight overall.
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