SAL1 Greensboro Grasshoppers

Greensboro game notes

Published on May 29, 2008 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greensboro Grasshoppers News Release


Today's Game

Greensboro Grasshoppers (28-24)

vs. West Virginia Power (19-32)

Starting Pitchers

LHP Jay Voss (0-2, 3.00)

vs. RHP R.J. Seidel (1-3, 4.86)

Quick Stats

GBO Team Batting Average: .237 (15th)

GBO Team ERA: 3.90 (7th)

WVA Team Batting Average: .247 (10th)

WVA Team ERA: 4.63 (15th)

Game Information

Start Time: 7:00 p.m.

Ballpark: NewBridge Bank Park (7,599)

Location: Greensboro, N.C.

Today's Game: Is Game 1 of a four-game series against the West Virginia Power and the fifth game of an eight-game homestand... The Hoppers are 3-1 in their current homestand.

Home Cookin': Greensboro has won eight of its last nine home games to move its home record to the .500 (13-13) mark for the first time since April 23... After opening the season with a 5-3 record at home, the Hoppers dropped nine straight games at NewBridge Bank Park...Greensboro has since lost just one game at home, the first game of a four-game series to Delmarva... Greensboro's current win-trend at home also includes a four-game sweep of Lakewood on May 12-15... In the Hoppers' last nine game, Greensboro has hit for a .261 average and has a 3.33 ERA compared to the 6.66 ERA its opponents have combined for; opposing batters are out-hitting the Hoppers with a .268 average.

Pitcher of the Week: 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... For his aforementioned accomplishments, Kaminska was selected as the South Atlantic League's co-pitcher of the week alongside Delmarva's Cole McCurry... McCurry had a 2-0 record with a 0.75 ERA; both of his outings were against the Hoppers.

Hit 'Em While They're Down: Although it may be a bit unsportsmanlike, the Greensboro Grasshoppers are looking to close the gap between themselves and Northern-Division-leading Lake County by taking advantage of a slumping West Virginia squad that enters tonight's series-opener on the heels of a four-game losing streak... The Power hold the league's third-worst record at 19-32, trumping only Rome (18-33) and Lexington (15-36).

Walking Notes: Greensboro is the only team not to give up more than five free passes in a single game this season in the South Atlantic League... Four teams have walked seven in a game, second-fewest, and three teams have issued a league-high, 10 walks in a game... The Hoppers' have issued a league-low, 116 walks this season, and have taken the second-most, being walked 183 times... Only Greenville, with 187, has been walked more times... OF Tom Hickman leads the team with 31 walks.

Over-POWER-ing: 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... In Greensboro's 40 games against the Power, the Hoppers have been out-scored 202-158.

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 an 11-20 (.355) record, including an 8-13 (.381) 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.

Excellent PEN-manship: Greensboro's bullpen has tossed 18 2/3 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run... The Hoppers' pen last allowed an earned run with two outs in the seventh inning of Greensboro's 2-0 loss on May 23 to Lakewood... Since the, the Hoppers have allowed 13 hits, two runs (both unearned), issued one walk and struck out 18 opponents... The 18 2/3 stretch without allowing an earned run is the longest of its kind for the Hoppers this season; their previous long was 13 1/3 consecutive innings without allowing a single run, earned or unearned, from April 29 through May 1.

Starting Fresh: RHP Corey Madden's consecutive scoreless innings streak of 18 2/3 frames ended May 23 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... He followed that performance by improving to 3-0 in the series-finale against Delmarva on Tuesday... Madden's ERA dropped to 0.91 after two scoreless innings of work.

Parcell Post: In eight attempts, Greensboro closer Garrett Parcell has collected eight saves this month; for the season he's 14-for-15 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 stands atop the leader board with his 22 relief appearances and is tied with Charleston's Jonathan Ortiz for second in the league with his 14 saves; both are two saves behind Asheville's Randall Taylor.

Petey Picks Up The Pace: Since returning to Greensboro after spending 12 days at High-A Jupiter, OF Bryan Petersen has hit for a .438 average and has two home runs... Petersen has hit in each of his four games since rejoining the Hoppers, extending his Greensboro hitting streak to six games... 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; he now has a .280 average with the Hoppers.

Last Time Out: Greensboro had four batters with multiple hits in the series-finale victory over Delmarva... 3B Matt Dominguez finished the afternoon going 3-for-3 from the plate with three runs scored... Bryan Petersen, Torre Langley and Mike Stanton each had two hits for the Hoppers; Petersen and Stanton also hit their sixth and eighth home runs of the season, respectively... On the mound, Brett Durand turned in his fourth quality start of the season, Greensboro's 11th, and the bullpen closed out the contest by not allowing an earned run in third straight game against the Shorebirds.

Take A Seat--If You Can Find One: Through the first 52 games of the season, Greensboro is tied for second place in the South Atlantic League's Northern Division, but ranks first in attendance... The Hoppers have had six sell-outs and have welcomed 154,930 fans to NewBridge Bank Park through its first 26 home games... Greensboro's total attendance is tops in the league as is its average attendance of 5,959 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.

Up Next: The Hoppers return to the open road for two games at Kannapolis and three games against Lexington... This season, Greensboro is 2-2 against the Intimidators; both teams have swept mini-two-game series' at the other teams' ballpark... The Hoppers are hitting just .161 against Kannapolis this season and have a 2.25 ERA; the Intimidators have a .229 average and a 1.75 ERA... All-time, the Hoppers are 25-23 against Kannapolis which includes a 9-14 record at Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium.

Tonight's Starter: LHP Jay Voss (0-2, 3.00) is making his third start of the season tonight... Voss spent the first 43 games of the season on the disabled list and returned to make his 2008 and Greensboro debut on May 18... Voss pitched three innings and allowed three runs on five hits in his first outing while suffering the loss; opponents in that game had a .417 average against him... In his last start, Voss recorded his first career quality start but was tagged with another loss after an unearned run scored in the third inning... In nine innings of work this season, Voss' teammates have provided no run with the southpaw on the mound... With Voss pitching, the Hoppers have been out-scored 3-0.

2007 Recap: In 15 games, 11 starts, Voss was tagged with a 0-7 record and a 7.63 ERA in 48 1/3 innings of work for the Jamestown Jammers... Voss allowed 78 hits and 45 runs (41 earned) while striking out 35 batters; opponents knocked Voss around with their .364 average against the southpaw.

Career Notes: Voss was drafted in the eighth round of the 2007 draft and spent his first season in Jamestown.

- Voss' 2008 Stats: 0-2, 3.00 ERA, 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, BB, 3 K

- Voss' Last Win: None

- Voss' Last Loss: May 23, 2008 @ Lakewood (0-2 to Moises Melendez)

- Voss' Last Complete Game: None

- Voss' Career High Strikeouts: 5 (August 27, 2007 @ Mahoning Valley)

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South Atlantic League Stories from May 29, 2008


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