SAL1 Greensboro Grasshoppers

Greensboro Game Notes

Published on June 1, 2008 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greensboro Grasshoppers News Release


Today's Game

Greensboro Grasshoppers (28-27)

vs. West Virginia Power (22-32)

Starting Pitchers

RHP Kyle Kaminska (2-1, 4.50)

vs. LHP Dan Merklinger (0-4, 5.50)

Quick Stats

GBO Team Batting Average: .237 (15th)

GBO Team ERA: 3.89 (7th)

WVA Team Batting Average: .248 (10th)

WVA Team ERA: 4.59 (15th)

Game Information

Start Time: 5:00 p.m.

Ballpark: NewBridge Bank Park (7,599)

Location: Greensboro, N.C.

Today's Game: Is Game 4 of a four-game series against the West Virginia Power and the final game of an eight-game homestand... The Hoppers are 3-4 in their current homestand after losing their last four games.

Down & Out: Greensboro used four pitchers and combined to strike out a season-high 16 batters Saturday... Starter Kyle Kaminska and reliever Don Czyz struck out six batters each; both established new single-game, career highs in doing so... Czyz struck out six of the seven batters he faced in the sixth and seventh innings before Corey Madden sat down all three Power hitters in the eight on strikes... Garrett Parcell faced three batters in the ninth inning and struck out one... Combined, Czyz, Madden and Parcell faced just one batter over the minimum through the final four frames of Saturday's loss.

Home Run Homestand: The Hoppers have homered in each of their last six games and have hit 11 home runs through the first seven games of their current eight-game homestand... Mike Stanton extended Greensboro's home run streak with a lead-off homer in the second inning of Saturday's 6-5 loss... Justin Jacobs (3) and Matt Dominguez (1) also joined in the home run festivities with a fourth-inning solo shot and a fifth-inning, two-run home run, respectively... Stanton is leading the charge for the Hoppers with his 10 home runs, which ties him with four others with the second-most home runs in the South Atlantic League this season-all five trail Hagerstown's Michael Burgess.

Long Ball Leaders: With three more home runs in Saturday's game, the Hoppers have now sent 54 Rawlings baseball's for the trip of their lives... Greensboro's 54 home runs are the most by any member club of the Sally League, leading Hagerstown by one... With Matt Dominguez hitting his first round-tripper of the year Saturday, only two of the 16 position players that have suited up for Greensboro have not hit a home run this season... Neither of them, Tyler Belcher or Jameson Smith, has ever hit a professional home run.

Over-POWER-ing: All-time, the Hoppers are 14-29 against the Power, including a 5-12 mark last season... At home, the Hoppers are 7-19 against West Virginia and have never won a home series against the Power... West Virginia's win on Saturday kept it that way as the Power improved to 6-0-2 in series play against the Hoppers at NewBridge Bank Park... Tonight, the Hoppers are trying to avoid their third sweep of the season at home and their first ever sweep at the hands of the Power in their own ballpark.

Fine-Point PEN: Greensboro's bullpen has tossed 32 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 then, the Hoppers have allowed 16 hits, two runs (both unearned), issued two walks and struck out 35 opponents... The 32-inning 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.

Do I Hear A 10?: OF Bryan Petersen continues to swing a hot bat since returning from High-A Jupiter... In seven games back he is 10-for-25 (.400) at the plate with three home runs... He has safely hit in all seven games to extend his current hitting streak to nine games.

Dominguez Goes Deep: The Marlins' top draft pick from 2007 went deep for the first time this season on Saturday and finished the game going 2-for-3 from the plate while driving in a career-high three runs... Since coming off the disabled list on May 20, Matt Dominguez has hit for a .382 average and has four doubles.

Weeding Out The Weak: With 15 days left in the first half, three teams have already been eliminated from contention of a first-half title... Lexington is the lone team out of the Northern Division race while Columbus and Rome have both been eliminated from competing for the Southern Division crown... Entering today's games, Savannah and Kannapolis are on the brink of being eliminated from the Southern Division.

Hoppertunity Knocks: Sitting five and a half games back of Northern Division-leading Lake County, Greensboro plays 15 of its final 15 games in the first half against teams that are currently under .500... With the door open for the Hoppers to make a possible move, Greensboro will have to take advantage of every opportunity as they complete a four-game series at home against West Virginia (22-32) before heading to Kannapolis (25-30) and Lexington (17-37)... The Hoppers then welcome Kannapolis and Lexington to NewBridge Bank Park before playing the final four games of the first half on the road against West Virginia... Currently this season, the Hoppers are only 2-5 against teams that are sitting on losing records.

Pitching Comparison: Through the first seven games of their current eight-game homestand, the Hoppers bullpen has pitched 30 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run and has no ERA while the starting staff has given up 27 runs (22 earned) in 32 1/3 innings for a 6.12 ERA... In the last seven games, Greensboro's starters have allowed 53 hits while the bullpen has scattered just 15 hits in 1 2/3 innings of less work.

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 11-23 (.324) record, including an 8-16 (.333) mark at NewBridge Bank Park... The percentages shrink as the attendance grows... With more than 7,000 fans in the ballpark, Greensboro has a 3-11 (.214) overall record with a 3-8 (.272) at home; the Hoppers are 0-3 with more than 7,000 fans on the road... 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.

Take A Seat--If You Can Find One: Through the first 55 games of the season, Greensboro is in fourth place of the South Atlantic League's Northern Division, but ranks first in attendance... The Hoppers have had seven sell-outs and have welcomed 176,542 fans to NewBridge Bank Park through their first 29 home games... Greensboro's total attendance is tops in the league as is its average attendance of 6,088 fans... The Hoppers' average attendance is second-best in all of Single-A and ranks sixth among all Single- and Double-A teams... In all of Minor League Baseball, Greensboro currently ranks 21st 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: RHP Alejandro Sanabia (0-1, 5.63) 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... Sanabia lasted just three innings in his second outing after giving up all four Delmarva runs... He did not factor in the decision as the Hoppers tallied eight more runs over the final six innings.

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 2008 Stats: 0-1, 5.63, 8.0 IP, 12 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 1 HR, 3 BB, 6 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)

Check out the Greensboro Grasshoppers Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from June 1, 2008


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