SAL1 Greensboro Grasshoppers

Greensboro game notes

Published on June 7, 2008 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greensboro Grasshoppers News Release


Today's Game

Greensboro Grasshoppers (33-28)

vs. Kannapolis Intimidators (26-35)

Starting Pitchers

RHP Brett Durand (6-2, 4.73)

vs. RHP Levi Maxwell (4-1, 1.23)

Quick Stats

GBO Team Batting Average: .245 (13th)

GBO Team ERA: 3.86 (7th)

KAN Team Batting Average: .236 (16th)

KAN Team ERA: 4.44 (13th)

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 two-game series against the Kannapolis Intimidators and the first game of a five-game homestand.

Clean Sweep: The Grasshoppers return to Greensboro after posting a perfect 5-0 record on their last five-game road trip... Greensboro began the trip with a two-game sweep of Kannapolis before taking three straight on the road against Lexington... The Hoppers' current five-game win streak matches a season high for consecutive wins and has helped pull Greensboro to within three and a half games of Northern Division-leading Lake County with nine games left in the first half.

Summer in the City: The temperature in Greensboro is not the only thing getting hot... Currently, the Hoppers have a league-best, 5-1 record in the month of June and are leading the league with their .313 batting average... The Hoppers also lead the league in home runs on the month with eight.

Home Run Hitters: Greensboro currently leads the South Atlantic League with its 62 home runs this season, five more than any other team in the league... The Hoppers have added 20 of those in their last 12 games, including at least one in each game.

Streaky Business: OF Bryan Petersen's 14-game hit streak is the longest by a Grasshoppers player this season and is also tied with Lakewood's Dominic Brown for the longest active streak in the South Atlantic League... Petersen hit safely in the two games prior to getting promoted to Jupiter, and has collected at least one it in each of his 12 games since returning to the Greensboro roster on May 24... Petersen also leads the league with his 10-game home hit streak.

Still in the Hunt: With nine games remaining in the first half for Greensboro, the Hoppers are currently three and a half games behind division-leading Lake County... The Hoppers play their final nine games against teams that are currently under .500, including Kannapolis (26-35), Lexington (19-41) and West Virginia (26-34).

Hurting at Home: Greensboro has suffered from a 13-17 home record this season while posting a 20-11 record away from NewBridge Bank Park... As a team, the Hoppers have a .244 home batting average and are being led by Matt Dominguez's .375 mark although he has only seen action in seven home games... Bryan Petersen has paced the team at home for most of the season with his .330 average, nearly 80 points better than his average on the road... Nine of Greensboro's 15 position players have better averages at home, but the pitching staff has a 4.15 ERA at NewBridge Bank Park and has allowed 14 more home runs than on the road.

Intimidation Factor: The Hoppers have posted a 4-0 mark against Kannapolis on the road this season, but have failed to earn a home victory in their two attempts... Both teams are unbeaten on the road against the other and are win-less at home.

Hickman's Home Run, Home Run History: OF Tom Hickman has hit six home runs this season and they've all come in just three games... The Rome, Ga., native has had three multi-home run performances this season including his latest in Greensboro's 7-3 victory over Lexington on Friday at Applebee's Park.

All-Stars: Greensboro had three relief pitchers named to the South Atlantic League Northern Division all-star roster Monday... Right-handed pitchers A.J. Battisto, Cory Madden and Colby Miller were all selected to the team and will be joined by Edwin Rodriguez and John Duffy on the coaching staff; athletic trainer Julio Hernandez will also be serving in a similar role for the squad.

Weeding Out The Weak: With nine days left in the first half, six 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, Rome, Kannapolis, Savannah and Greenville have been eliminated from competing for the Southern Division crown... Entering today's games, Augusta is on the brink of being eliminated from the Southern Division which would make it a two-team race to the finish between Asheville (44-18) and Charleston (41-20); West Virginia and Lexington are a loss or Lake County win away from ending their first-half title hopes.

Take A Seat--If You Can Find One: Through the first 61 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 182,637 fans to NewBridge Bank Park through their first 30 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 20th in average attendance... The Sacramento River Cats, Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, lead all of Minor League Baseball with an average of 9,587 fans.

Up Next: Greensboro continues its five-game homestand with a three-game set against the Lexington Legends... The Hoppers and Legends squared off for three games prior to their current series with Kannapolis, with Greensboro sweeping all three games.

Tonight's Starter: RHP Brett Durand (6-2, 4.73) is making his 12th start of the season tonight... After joining the squad on April 8, Durand made a start that same night and pitched 5.0 scoreless innings to pick up his first win of the season... In his second start, Durand struck out a season-high six batters, one shy of his career high, and recorded the first quality start, 6.0 innings pitched and two earned runs, of his career... Durand struggled during the course of his next two outings, giving up five earned runs on eight hits in each appearance while not factoring in either decision, but got back on track with a 5.0 inning performance in which he allowed just one earned run against division-leading Lake County... Durand appeared on May 5 against Hagerstown out of the bullpen in 3.0 innings of work for the Hoppers; he earned his fourth win of the season in that outing... Durand had a career performance on June 2 as he lasted seven innings on the mound and held Kannapolis scoreless on just four hits while striking out five.

2007 Recap: In his first professional season, Durand threw just 35.1 innings and picked up a 1-2 record while pitching for the Gulf Coast League Marlins... He saw action in nine games, starting seven and finishing one, and struck out 36 batters... Entering the season, his longest outing was 5.0 innings, which he did on three occasions.

Career Notes: Was drafted in the 11th round of the 2007 First Year Draft and pitched for the Gulf Coast League Marlins... He earned his first professional victory on Aug. 15, 2007 while playing on the road against the GCL Cardinals... In his first victory, Durand tossed 4.0 scoreless innings of relief and struck out six batters.

Road Work Resume: Durand has posted a 3-1 record at NewBridge Bank Park this season with a 4.97 ERA in six starts... Durand has allowed 16 earned runs and eight home runs in 29 innings of work at home while striking out 20 batters.

- Durand's 2008 Statistics: 6-2, 4.73 ERA, 59.0 IP, 67 H, 37 R, 31 ER, 11 HR, 10 BB, 40 K

- Durand's Last Win: June 2, 2008 @ Kannapolis (7-1 over Skogley)

- Durand's Last Loss: May 17 @ Delmarva (1-3 to Sean Gleason)

- Durand's Last Complete Game: None

- Durand's Career High Strikeouts: 7 (August 21, 2007 vs. GCL Dodgers)

Check out the Greensboro Grasshoppers Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from June 7, 2008


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