SAL1 Greensboro Grasshoppers

Greensboro Game Notes

Published on May 26, 2008 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greensboro Grasshoppers News Release


Today's Game

Greensboro Grasshoppers (26-24)

vs. Delmarva Shorebirds (27-22)

Starting Pitchers

RHP Alejandro Sanabia (0-1, 3.60)

LHP Zach Britton (4-3, 2.98)

Quick Stats

GBO Team Batting Average: .235 (15th)

GBO Team ERA: 4.02 (9th)

DEL Team Batting Average: .252 (8th)

DEL Team ERA: 3.60 (6th)

Game Information

Start Time: 5:00 p.m.

Ballpark: NewBridge Bank Park (7,599)

Location: Greensboro, N.C.

Today's Game: Is Game 3 of a four-game series against the Delmarva Shorebirds and the third game of an eight-game homestand... The Hoppers are 1-1 in their current homestand.

Orange-boro Blast: Donning their orange hats, orange jerseys and orange sox together for the first time Sunday, the Greensboro Grasshoppers defeated Delmarva, 2-1, thanks to two, two-out, solo home runs by Bryan Petersen and Mike Stanton... The win was the first for Greensboro in its last five games as the Hoppers snapped a four-game losing streak.

Kaminska's Moundsmanship: In his last 11 innings of work Greensboro's Kyle Kaminska has not allowed an earned run... His streak started on May 15 when he tossed six hitless innings against Lakewood... He picked up right were he left off when he took the mound Sunday, mowing through the first five batters before Delmarva's Matt Angle ended Kaminska no-hit streak at 7 2/3 innings... In his last two starts, Kaminska has a 2-0 record with a 0.00 ERA while allowing just one unearned run and striking out 10 opposing batters... Opponents have collected just four hits off Kaminska for a .100 average in his last 11 innings on the mound.

Starting Fresh: RHP Corey Madden's consecutive scoreless innings streak of 18 2/3 frames ended Friday against Lakewood when the reliever allowed his first run since an April 12 home appearance against Asheville... Madden showed no signs of making a habit out of letting opponents score on his watch as the Anchorage, Alaska, native lowered his ERA to 0.98 after an inning of work in Sunday's win; he earned his seventh hold of the season by pitching a one-hit eighth inning.

Parcell Post: In seven attempts, Greensboro closer Garrett Parcell has collected seven saves this month; for the season he's 13-for-14 in save opportunities... Parcell has been a mainstay on the South Atlantic League leader board in saves and relief appearances... Currently the Norco, Calif., native is tied atop the leader board with his 21 relief appearances and is second in the league with his 13 saves, one behind Charleston's Jonathan Ortiz and Asheville's Randall Taylor.

Slump Buster: Sunday's win snapped a four-game funk for the Hopper's that saw the team suffer from a .185 batting average... And while the Hoppers' 3.27 ERA over the course of their losing streak didn't look out of the ordinary, it's was tough to pick up a win when their opponents combined for a 1.50 ERA during the same span... The Hoppers were close in all four games, dropping three by just one run and the other by two, but failed to get the bats bangin' when they needed them most as Saturday's one-run loss saw Greensboro strand 10 runners on base.

Petersen Picks Up: Greensboro's Bryan Petersen continued to perform well in a Hoppers uniform after spending 12 days at High-A Jupiter... Petersen has collected three hits since returning, including seventh home run of the season (two home runs were with Jupiter)... His three hits in the last two games has extended his mini hit streak to four games as he left the Hoppers on May 12 with a two-game hit streak in tact... Petersen left Greensboro with a .260 batting average after playing in 33 games for manager Edwin Rodriguez and hit for a .128 average with two home runs in 11 games after making the jump.

Take A Seat--If You Can Find One: Through the first 50 games of the season, Greensboro is tied for fourth place in the South Atlantic League's Northern Division, but ranks first in attendance... The Hoppers have had six sell-outs and have welcomed 144,293 fans to NewBridge Bank Park through its first 24 home games... Greensboro's total attendance is tops in the league as is its average attendance of 6,012 fans... The Hoppers' average attendance is second-best in all of Single-A and ranks seventh among all Single- and Double-A teams... In all of Minor League Baseball, Greensboro currently ranks 22nd in average attendance... The Sacramento River Cats, Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, lead all of Minor League Baseball with an average of 9,620 fans.

Bird Droppings: The Delmarva Shorebirds have dropped four losses on Greensboro so far this year... Delmarva's four victories over the Hoppers are the most by the Shorebirds against Greensboro in a single season... Previously, the most wins by ‘Birds against Greensboro in a single season was three; achieved in both 2005 and 2006; last season Delmarva won just two of its eight meetings against the Hoppers.

Less is More: This season the Hoppers have had a hard time performing in front of the masses... When playing with more than 4,000 fans in the stadium, the Hoppers have posted a 10-20 (.333) record, including a 7-13 (.350) mark at NewBridge Bank Park... Oddly enough, Greensboro plays well for the select few that make it out to the ballpark... With fewer than 4,000 fans in attendance, the Hoppers have a 16-4 record which includes a 3-0 record at home.

Sally's At Home: Nine of the South Atlantic League's 16 teams have losing records in their own ballparks this season while 10 teams have posted winning road records; nine of which have a better record on the road than they do at home... In all, 12 teams have better road records than they do at home.

Drafting Dominguez: Greensboro 3B Matt Dominguez has unofficially reached base in all five games he has played since returning from the disabled list... In Thursday's 5-4 loss to Lakewood, Dominguez collected career-highs in hits (3) and runs scored (2); he finished the night going 3-for-4 from the plate... In his first game back, May 20, Dominguez scored after reaching on a fielder's choice.

Up Next: Greensboro continues its eight-game homestand with a four-game set against the West Virginia Power... All-time the Hoppers are 14-26 against the Power, including a 5-12 mark last season... At home, the Hoppers are 7-16 against West Virginia and have never won a home series against the Power... The last time these two teams met, Sept. 1-3, 2007, West Virginia swept a three-game series at home.

Tonight's Starter: RHP Alejandro Sanabia (0-1, 3.60) is making his second start of the season tonight and his first ever appearance at NewBridge Bank Park... In his 2008 and Greensboro debut, Sanabia pitched five innings against the Lakewood BlueClaws and allowed two runs in the loss.

2007 Recap: In 15 appearances (all starts) for the Jamestown Jammers, Sanabia posted a 2-6 record with a 5.13 ERA... He threw just 66 2/3 innings, averaging just over four innings a start... In his longest outing of the season, Sanabia threw seven innings and allowed just two hits for his second and final win of the season on Aug. 30... Sanabia struck out a career-high eight batters in his first win of the season on Aug. 12.

Career Notes: Sanabia was selected in the 32nd round of the 2006 First Year Player Draft by the Marlins... In his first pro season, Sanabia had a 3-1 record and a 3.24 ERA in 16 2/3 innings of work in the Gulf Coast League.

- Sanabia's Career Stats: 5-7, 4.75 ERA, 26 G, 15 GS, 83.1 IP, 85 K

- Sanabia's Last Win: August 30, 2007 @ Batavia (5-0 over Jonathan Stambaugh)

- Sanabia's Last Loss: May 21, 2008 @ Lakewood (3-2 to Drew Naylor)

- Sanabia's Last Complete Game: None

- Sanabia's Career High Strikeouts: 8 (August 12, 2007 @ Staten Island)

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South Atlantic League Stories from May 26, 2008


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