SAL1 Greensboro Grasshoppers

GBO Game Notes

Published on April 30, 2008 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greensboro Grasshoppers News Release


Today's Game

Greensboro Grasshoppers (12-12)

@ Lake County Captains (16-8)

Starting Pitchers

RHP Brett Durand (2-0, 5.14)

vs. RHP Chris Archer (1-2, 2.60)

Quick Stats

GBO Team Batting Average: .237 (14th)

GBO Team ERA: 3.81 (7th)

LCO Team Batting Average: .249 (6th)

LCO Team ERA: 2.68 (2nd)

Game Information

Start Time: 12:05 p.m.

Ballpark: Classic Park (7,273)

Location: Eastlake, Ohio

Road Work Resume: Tuesday's loss was the first time the Hoppers have lost on the road since April 17... Away from NewBridge Bank Park, Greensboro is now 7-4 on the season, a record that ties the best road start in franchise history; the 7-4 record road record was originally set in 2005, the team's inaugural season... As a team, the Hoppers are batting .234 on the road with 18 doubles and five home runs while the pitching staff has a 3.59 ERA and is holding opponents to a .250 average at the plate... Greensboro opened the season by taking three-of-four games from Augusta on the road and followed with a 4-2 road trip in which they split a four-game series in Greenville and swept a two-game set in Kannapolis... The Hoppers have not lost a road series this season.

Series Insight: Greensboro and Lake County are playing for the 25th time today with the winner taking the advantage in an all-time series that is locked at 12-12... Today's game is the second of 12 between the two teams this season and the second of eight in Eastlake, Ohio... On the road, the Hoppers have a 6-6 record against the Captains and last visited Classic Park for four games on July 17-20, 2007... Greensboro dropped the first two games of the four-game series, but recovered to take the final two games by shutting out Lake County 3-0 and 2-0, respectively... The current series marks the first time the Hoppers have visited Classic Park in April... The only time these two teams have played in April came last season when the Hoppers and Captains played a four-game set in Greensboro on April 9-12; Greensboro won the series three games to one.

Last Time Out: Greensboro fell behind early, but battled back to tie the game at three in the top of the fourth inning before giving up four runs on five hits in bottom half of the game en route to a 7-4 loss... The bullpen combined to pitch 4.0 innings of no-hit baseball while RF Mike Stanton and 3B Ben Lasater collected their third and seventh home runs of the season, respectively... Stanton led the efforts for Greensboro going 2-for-3 from the plate; LF Hunter Mense also collected two hits.

E! Insider: Greensboro had just its sixth errorless game of the season Tuesday, but still lost... The Hoppers are 3-3 when committing no errors in a game this season, but have the same winning percentage, posting a 9-9 record when committing one or more errors a game.

Losing Daze: A recent six-game losing streak has sent the Hoppers from the top of the SAL Northern Division to four games back of first place Lake County and in a tie for fourth place... During the current six-game skid, the Hoppers are batting .225 (51-of-227) and the pitching staff has a 5.50 ERA (36 ER/58 IP); the opposition has a .279 (65-of-233) batting average with a 3.20 ERA (21 ER/59 IP) during that same span.

Left the Park on Lefty: Mike Stanton's fourth inning home run that tied the game Tuesday was the first home run that any Greensboro batter has hit off of a left-handed pitcher this season... Entering the game the Hoppers had 15 home runs--all of them came off of right-handed pitchers... Ben Lasater added Greensboro's second home run of the night in the eighth inning-it was the Hopper's 16th of the season off of right-handed pitchers.

Living Large: Listed at 5 foot, 10 inches, Ozzie Martinez is the second smallest guy on the Greensboro roster; however, his recent work at the plate tells a much taller tale... Martinez leads the Hoppers over the course of the team's last 10 games with his .400 (8-for-20) batting average and has stepped his game up even more with a .455 (5-for-11) batting average in Greensboro's last five games... Martinez's .455 average over the course of Greensboro's last five games is the eighth best average in the South Atlantic League over that same time span... Asheville's Michael Mitchell, listed at 5-11, leads the league over the past five games with his .522 (12-for-23) average.

Fine-point Pen: Right-handed reliever A.J. Battisto continued to dominate opposing batters by coming out of the bullpen Tuesday and throwing 2.0 innings of no-hit baseball... Battisto extended his current streak and has now not given up a run in 14.1 innings of work... He has allowed just one run on the season, which came in his 2008 debut against Augusta... Battisto currently sports Greensboro's lowest ERA at 0.55... RHP Corey Madden also hails from the Hoppers pen and has not allowed a run in his last five appearances (6.0 IP), but more impressive is his team-leading, 21 strikeouts in just 14.0 innings of work; Stuart Alexander also has 21 strikeouts (24.1 IP)... Madden has struck out 11 batters in his last five appearances and has struck out multiple batters in all but one of his appearances this season.

Streaky Business: CF Bryan Petersen has currently reached base in all 13 home Hopper games this season; his home 13-game on-base streak is the longest active home on-base streak in the South Atlantic League this season... LF Hunter Mense, who is currently on a mini four-game hit streak, has reached base in his last eight home games.

Player Notes: INF Ben Lasater currently has the South Atlantic League's second-most runs batted in (20); his 20 RBI are tied for the most by a right-handed batter this season... Lasater's name also appears on SAL leader board with the second-most home runs (7)... OF Bryan Petersen enters today's game tied for fourth in the SAL with 19 runs scored... Greensboro closer Garrett Parcell is tied for the fourth-most saves in the SAL with a team-high five saves this season... RF Mike Stanton has 11 extra-base hits, good for fifth-most in the league this season... On the down side of the leader board, RHP Colby Miller has a league-high five losses and, along with RHP Brett Durand, has allowed the third-most home runs this season by giving up five.

Suspended in Time: The Hoppers trailed, 0-2, Sunday entering the bottom of the fifth inning and scored two runs by means of two walks and two hits, including a two-run single by 2B Danny Garcia.. The game was then suspended and will be resumed on May 4 when the Grasshoppers visit Hagerstown... The scheduled four-game series against Hagerstown was the only trip to NewBridge Bank Park for the Suns this season.

This Day in Hoppers History: Things may be looking up for the Hoppers who have posted a perfect 3-0 record when playing on the last day of April... The Hoppers have collected three straight wins by defeating West Virginia in 2005 (8-4) and 2006 (4-3) before earning a 7-5 win against Delmarva last season... Today is the third time Greensboro has played on the road in a April 30 game; the Hoppers also played on the road in 2005 and 2007.

Top Prospects: The Marlins' top pick in the 2007 draft (12th overall), Matt Dominguez, is the highest touted third-baseman on the Marlins' prospect list printed in Baseball America and enters his first full season of professional baseball after playing five games with the Gulf Coast Marlins and 10 games with Jamestown... In the same article, Dominguez was named the Marlins' best Minor League defensive infielder... Mike Stanton, the Marlins' second draftee in the 2007 draft, also split time between the Gulf Coast Marlins (8 games) and Jamestown (9 games) last season... Entering the season, Stanton ranks ninth on Baseball America's top 10 prospects for the Marlins and was tabbed the organization's best power hitter and best athlete in the minors.

Up Next: Following a four-game set with Lake County, the Hoppers head to Hagerstown where they will finish their suspended game from April 27 and play a four-game series at Municipal Stadium... Hagerstown took three straight games from Greensboro in their last meeting less than a week ago, but the Hoppers still lead the all-time series, 18-9... Since changing is nickname to the Grasshoppers in 2005, Greensboro has posted an 8-4 record at Municipal Stadium... The Hoppers' took three-of-four games from Hagerstown the last time they visited the Suns and are currently on a two-game win streak at Municipal Stadium.

Tonight's Starter: RHP Brett Durand (2-0, 5.14) is making his fifth start of the season tonight... After joining the squad on April 8, Durand made a start that same night and pitched 5.0 scoreless innings to pick up his first win of the season... In his second start, Durand struck out a season-high six batters, one shy of his career high, and recorded the first quality start, 6.0 innings pitched and two earned runs, of his career... Durand has struggled in his last two outings, giving up five earned runs on eight hits in each appearance while not factoring in either decision.

2007 Recap: In his first professional season, Durand threw just 35.1 innings and picked up a 1-2 record while pitching for the Gulf Coast League Marlins... He saw action in nine games, starting seven and finishing one, and struck out 36 batters... Entering the season, his longest outing was 5.0 innings, which he did on three occasions.

Career Notes: Was drafted in the 11th round of the 2007 First Year Draft and pitched for the Gulf Coast League Marlins... He earned his first professional victory on Aug. 15, 2007 while playing on the road against the GCL Cardinals... In his first victory, Durand tossed 4.0 scoreless innings of relief and struck out six batters.

On the Road: Durand has taken an exceptional liking to the downtown backdrop in Greensboro... At home this season in NewBridge Bank Park, Durand has posted a 2-0 record with a 1.64 ERA in two appearances... In 11.0 innings of work, Durand has allowed just two earned runs on six hits and struck out eight batters... He has managed to hold opposing batters to a .146 batting average.

- Durand's 2008 Starts: 2-0, 5.14 ERA, 21.0 IP, 22 H, 13 R, 12 ER, 5 HR, 3 BB, 16 K

- Durand's Last Win: April 13, 2008 vs. Asheville (12-2 over Sheng-An Kuo)

- Durand's Last Loss: August 21, 2007 vs. GCL Dodgers (5-0 to Johnathan Dutton)

- Durand's Last Complete Game: None

- Durand's Career High Strikeouts: 7 (August 21, 2007 vs. GCL Dodgers)

Check out the Greensboro Grasshoppers Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from April 30, 2008


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