SAL1 Greensboro Grasshoppers

Greensboro Game Notes

Published on May 15, 2008 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greensboro Grasshoppers News Release


Today's Game

Greensboro Grasshoppers (22-17)

vs. Lakewood BlueClaws (19-20)

Starting Pitchers

RHP Kyle Kaminska (0-1, 11.57)

vs. RHP Drew Naylor (3-2, 2.04)

Quick Stats

GBO Team Batting Average: .246 (12th)

GBO Team ERA: 3.99 (9th)

LAK Team Batting Average: .253 (7th)

LAK Team ERA: 3.53 (5th)

Game Information

Start Time: 7:00 p.m.

Ballpark: NewBridge Bank Park (7,599)

Location: Greensboro, N.C.

Tonight's Game: Is the final game of both a four-game series against Lakewood and an eight-game homestand... After dropping the first four games of the current homestand to Lake County, the Hoppers are now on a four-game win streak.

Lucky Sevens: Greensboro has won its last three games, all against Lakewood, by scoring seven runs... This season, the Hoppers are 4-1 when plating seven runs... The Hoppers have also won seven straight games against Lakewood at home.

Mense'd Meat: OF Hunter Mense drove in a career-high three runs in Wednesday's afternoon affair, including Greensboro's game-winning run in the seventh inning... Mense went 3-for-4 from the plate and scored a run of his own... It was the second time in his career he's had three RBIs in a single game; he last recorded three RBIs on Aug. 11, 2006.

Hickman's On-Base Streak Ends: OF Tom Hickman's 19-game on-base streak came to an end Wednesday in front of 8,742 fans... Hickman went 0-for-4 from the plate... His consecutive games on base streak ends as the fourth longest streak in the South Atlantic League so far this season... During his streak, Hickman hit for a .211 average (12-for-57) and had a .446 on-base percentage that was aided by 22 walks.

Current Win Streak: Greensboro's current four-game win streak is the longest win streak the Hoppers have had this season and the longest since winning five consecutive games from Aug. 18-23 of last season... All four wins have come at home, marking the first time since Aug. 15-25 that the Hoppers have won four straight home games... Last season, Greensboro won seven straight home games from July 21-27, the most consecutive home wins in Hoppers' history.

Series-ly Speaking: Wednesday's 7-4 victory clinched Greensboro's first home series win since the Hoppers took three-of-four from Southern Division-leading Asheville on April 11-14... The series victory improves the Greensboro to 6-3-1 in series action this season, which includes a 4-0-1 mark on the road... The series win is the fourth straight series victory against Lakewood as the Hoppers have not dropped a series to the BlueClaws since being swept on the road on April 18-21... Greensboro is now 2-0-2 against Lakewood in series play at NewBridge Bank Park.

Parcell Package: RHP Garrett Parcell may have an 0-2 record, but his 10 saves are tied for tops in the South Atlantic League; as are his 17 relief appearances... Parcell has thrown just 16.2 innings this season, but has struck out 14 batters.

Series Insight: The Hoppers are being lead by a bullpen staff that has posted a 0.96 ERA in 9 1/3 innings of relief work in their last three games... During the current series, the Hoppers' bullpen has allowed just one run and walked two batters while striking out 14... Offensively, the Hoppers are being led by Hunter Mense's .556 (5-for-9) batting average and four RBIs... Newcomer Justin Jacobs is hitting for a .429 (3-for-7) average since joining the ballclub on May 12... As a team, the Hoppers are batting .282 and have a 3.00 ERA while the BlueClaws have a .240 average and a 6.38 ERA.

Having A Hay-day in May, Eh?: Greensboro has the league's second-best record in the month of May... The Hopper's 9-4 mark trails only Augusta's 11-2 May record... The Hoppers are batting .273, fifth-best in the league, and have a 4.46 ERA... In 13 May games, Greensboro has belted a league-leading 18 home runs, including the league's only 5-home run performance of the season... No other SAL team is averaging over one home run a game for the month.

Unbeaten: Manager Edwin Rodriguez's team has posted a perfect 20-0 mark when leading their opponents after nine innings... On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Hoppers have struggled by posting a 0-14 record when trailing after nine frames.

Bullpen Brilliance: The Hoppers bullpen has pitched 2 1/3 less innings than the starting rotation has during May... In 56 1/3 innings of relief work, the bullpen has a 1.76 ERA for the month and has allowed just 11 earned runs while striking out 53 batters... The starting staff has struggled, posting a 7.06 ERA in 58 2/3 innings of work while giving up 46 earned runs and striking out just 24 batters... Five of Greensboro's nine May victories have been credited to the Hoppers' bullpen; they have also collected four holds and five saves.

Walking Notes: The Grasshoppers are a bit greedy when it comes to both issuing and taking walks... The Greensboro pitching staff has issued a league-low 90 walks this season while the Hoppers' lineup has been patient at the plate, taking 152 walks, most in the South Atlantic League.

Up Next: Greensboro hits the road for an eight-game road trip through Delmarva and Lakewood beginning May 16... The Hoppers first head to Delmarva to face the Shorebirds... Greensboro is 15-8 against Delmarva all-time and both teams have scored exactly 105 runs... On the road, the Hoppers are 8-4 against the Shorebirds.

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 (0-1, 11.57) is making his second start of the season tonight... The Naperville, Ill., native made his 2008 debut against Lake County on Saturday, May 10 and allowed seven runs (six earned) on 11 hits in 4 2/3 innings of work.

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 2008 Starts: --- 0-1, 11.57 ERA, 4.2 IP, 11 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 1 K

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

- Kaminska's Last Loss: May 10, 2008 vs. Lake County (9-0 to Ryan Morris)

- Kaminska's Last Complete Game: None

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

Check out the Greensboro Grasshoppers Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from May 15, 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.

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