SAL1 Greensboro Grasshoppers

Greensboro Game Notes

Published on May 10, 2008 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greensboro Grasshoppers News Release


Today's Game

Greensboro Grasshoppers (18-16)

vs. Lake County Captains (21-13)

Starting Pitchers

RHP Kyle Kaminska (0-0, ---)

vs. LHP Ryan Morris (4-0, 2.84)

Quick Stats

GBO Team Batting Average: .245 (13th)

GBO Team ERA: 3.90 (9th)

LCO Team Batting Average: .241 (14th)

LCO Team ERA: 3.02 (1st)

Game Information

Start Time: 7:00 p.m.

Ballpark: NewBridge Bank Park (7,499)

Location: Greensboro, N.C.

Tonight's Game: Is Game 3 of a four-game series against Lake County and the third game of Greensboro's current eight-game homestand.

Wizard of OZ: Hoppers' SS Ozzie Martinez continues to tear through the South Atlantic League and has seen his batting average rise to .368, over 60 points higher than the already-respectable .306 average he posted in April... His current average would rank him fourth in the league if he met the 2.7 PA/team game minimum and would be the best batting average by a right-handed batter... In his last 5 games, Martinez leads the team with his .588 (10-for-17) average and has scored 4 runs, driven in 2 and blasted a home run... His average over the last 5 games is the best in the SAL during the same span.

5-Hit History: For just the fourth time in Grasshoppers history an opponent collected five hits in a single game... Lake County's Chris Nash went 5-for-5 from the plate Friday and fell just a triple shy of hitting for the cycle... Greensboro had allowed just three, 5-hit games in 448 games since becoming the Grasshoppers in 2005... Evan Tierce was the first to collect five hits against the Hoppers; he did so by going 5-for-5 on July 4, 2005 while playing for Charleston... Brandon Allen (Kannapolis) and Emmanuel Burriss (Augusta) both went 5-for-6 in their respective June 16 and June 22 games against Greensboro last season... Allen is now playing in neighboring Winston-Salem with the Warthogs; Burriss began the 2008 season at Triple-A Fresno before making his Major League debut on April 21... Yesterday, Burriss went 3-for-4 with a triple and an RBI for the San Francisco Giants in a 7-4 loss to Philadelphia.

Broken Bats: The Hoppers opened the season with a 5-3 record at home this season; they have since dropped eight straight games at NewBridge Bank Park... The eight-game home skid dates back to April 22 and the Hoppers have managed a meager .217 batting average during the eight losses... Greensboro's home record of 5-11 is the second-worst home record in the league; Lexington is 3-13... On the mound, the Hoppers have a 5.40 ERA during the eight-game streak... Opponents are batting .292 with a 3.12 ERA in Greensboro's eight-straight home losses.

Series-ly Speaking: Greensboro has lost just two series' all season, both of them have come as part of the Hoppers' current eight-game home losing streak, and they are in danger of dropping another tonight... A win for Lake County would give the Captains the series... The Hoppers currently have a 5-2-2 series record which includes a 4-0-1 series record on the road and a 1-2-1 series record at NewBridge Bank Park.

Oh K: As if the Hooppers weren't already having enough trouble at home, the Lake County bullpen struck out 7 of the first 10 batters they faced in Friday's games... In all, Greensboro suffered from 11 strikeouts while only Adam Howard and Ozzie Martinez avoided the dreadful walk back to the dugout.

Take Your Base: Lake County's Kelvin De La Cruz walked a career-high five batters in Friday's start, including two walks to LF Tom Hickman... Hickman's two free passes extended his current on-base streak to 15 games... Hickman's 15-game on-base streak is the fourth longest active streak in the South Atlantic League; Augusta's Brock Bond has the longest active streak at 18.

Letters From Home: OF Bryan Petersen has successfully reached base in every game he has played at NewBridge Bank Park this season... Petersen's home 15-game on-base streak is tied with Augusta's Brock Bond for the longest active streak in the league... Petersen's streak is the second longest streak in the South Atlantic League this season.

Debut Performance: RHP Kyle Kaminska is making his 2008 debut tonight... Kaminiska played in five games, four starts, last season for the Gulf Coast League Marlins and collected a 1-1 record with a 2.84 ERA... In 19.0 career innings of work, Kaminska has allowed three home runs and struck out 14 batters.

DEEP Sea Fishing: Greensboro came back with a boat-load of home runs Thursday, clubbing seven in 15-innings of action... C Torre Langley reeled in the Hoppers first home run of the night in the second inning of game one... Danny Garcia, Adam Howard and Bryan Petersen followed in suit by each hitting two... Garcia blasted a two-run shot and a grand slam in the first game; it was his second career multi-home run game and his second career grand slam... In all, Garcia collected a career-high, 6 RBIs, the most single-game career RBIs for any member of the Greensboro roster... Howard collected his third career multi-home run performance in game one as well; Peterson earned his first multi-homer outing in the second game.

Missing the Open Highway: Greensboro suffered its eighth consecutive home loss Friday and dropped to 5-11 when playing at NewBridge Bank Park this season... Although the Hoppers won the first game of a double-header Thursday, statistically speaking the game counted as a road match since it was a continuation of a suspended road game... Greensboro posted a 5-3 record during its first homestand of the season and has gone 0-8 since... On the road, the Hoppers are hitting and pitching better and have a 13-5 record... Greensboro last won at NewBridge Bank Park on April 14 in a 3-2 win over Asheville.

Recent Transactions: (5/8) RHP Kyle Kaminska was transferred to Greensboro's roster from extended... (5/7) RHP Brad Stone became the first member of the 2008 Greensboro Grasshoppers roster to earn a promotion... The Florida Marlins promoted the third-year pro from Low-A Greensboro to High-A Jupiter on Wednesday after he collected a 3-0 record with a 1.89 ERA in 11 relief appearances for the Hoppers... Stone began his career with Jamestown in 2006 before being promoted to Greensboro on July 2... He spent the entire 2007 season in Greensboro and after 11 appearances this season, Stone takes a career 7-9 record and a 2.11 ERA to Jupiter... Stone has seen action in 74 professional games--all from the bullpen.

Up Next: Greensboro continues its current eight-game homestand with a four-game series against Lakewood beginning Monday, May 12... The Hoppers are 16-12 all-time when facing the BlueClaws despite being out-scored 120-115... At home, Greensboro holds an 8-4 record against Lakewood... The last time Lakewood dropped by NewBridge Bank Park, July 21-24, 2007, the Hoppers snatched all four games for a series sweep.

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.

Tonight's Starter: RHP Kyle Kaminska (0-0, ---) is making his first appearance of the season tonight... The Naperville, Ill., native is in his second professional season and spent last year with the GCL Marlins.

2007 Recap: In five appearances, four starts, Kaminska compiled a 1-1 record with a 2.84 ERA... In his professional debut, Kaminska tossed 3.0 innings of relief and allowed just one run on one hit while striking out a career-high five batters to pick up his first professional win.

Career Notes: Kaminska was selected in the 25th round of the 2007 First Year Player Draft by the Marlins.

- Kaminska's Last Win: August 2, 2007 vs. GCL Nationals (4-1 over Patrick Arnold)

- Kaminska's Last Loss: August 8, 2007 @ GCL Mets (4-13 to Rogers Figueroa)

- Kaminska's Last Complete Game: None

- Kaminska's Career High Strikeouts: 5 (August 2, 2007 vs. GCL Nationals)

Check out the Greensboro Grasshoppers Statistics

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



South Atlantic League Stories from May 10, 2008


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