SAL1 Charleston RiverDogs

Grasshoppers Jump Out Early, Dump R'Dogs, 6-2

Published on September 3, 2010 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston RiverDogs News Release


CHARLESTON, SC -- A four-run opening frame paced the Greensboro Grasshopper to a 6-2 victory over the Charleston RiverDogs in front of a sell-out crowd of 5,660 fans in South Atlantic League action at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park on Friday night.

With the win, Greensboro moves to one game above .500 at 34-33 in the second half, 66-71 overall. Charleston finds itself in the middle of a four-game losing streak, their longest such skid since dropping five consecutive contests from Aug. 7 - Aug. 12. The loss brings Charleston to 31-36 this half, 62-74.

The loss also clinches a losing season at The Joe with a record of 31-36, marking just the third losing campaign in the 14-year history of the park, and first since 1999.

Greensboro wasted little time getting on the board, jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first against Charleston's Wilton Rodriguez (0-1). After Jose Duarte walked to open the game and stole second base, Chad Cregar blasted his 16th double of the year all the way to the wall in right center field to plate Duarte, giving Greensboro a 1-0 advantage.

Cregar then moved to third on Kyle Skipworth's bloop single to centerfield. Kyle Jensen's team-leading 26th double plated Cregar to boost the lead to 2-0. Christian Yelich's RBI groundout pushed the score to 3-0 Greensboro. Chris Wade followed that with a RBI fielder's choice to finish the scoring.

Rodriguez, who made two starts for Charleston at the end of the 2009 season, allowed just one more hit after the first in working 4.2 innings, while surrendering four runs with four walks and three punchouts.

Michael Pasek's RBI single to centerfield moved the Greensboro lead to 5-0 in the top of the sixth.

The RiverDogs finally got on board thanks to Taylor Grote's bloop single to shallow left that plated Emerson Landoni from third in the bottom of the sixth, cutting Greensboro's lead to 5-1. The run broke an 18 inning scoreless streak for the offense.

A wild pitch from Chris Shafer later in the inning allowed Rob Lyerly to move home from third, bringing Charleston within three, 5-2 Greensboro, going into the seventh.

Greensboro added some cushion back to the lead when, Wade's single to center scored Yelich from second in the top of the seventh for a 6-2 Grasshoppers margin. Yelich, the Florida Marlins first round selection (23rd overall) in this June's draft, knocked his first SAL double to left-centerfield to reach base.

Grasshoppers' starter Jose Alvarez (10-3) earned the victory to tie for third-most in the SAL, permitting two runs in 5.1 innings of three-hit ball, while issuing a pair of walks with two strikeouts in his first start since July 22. Sandy Rosario penned the final 3.0 hitless innings with six strikeouts to notch his sixth save.

The second game of the four-game series between the RiverDogs and the Grasshoppers is set for Saturday at 7:05 p.m., with Charleston sending right-hander Brett Marshall (4-2, 2.50) to face off against Greensboro right-hander Robert Morey (1-2, 3.43).

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South Atlantic League Stories from September 3, 2010


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