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SAL1 Greensboro Grasshoppers

Greensboro Grasshoppers Game Notes

May 9, 2008 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greensboro Grasshoppers News Release


Today's Game

Greensboro Grasshoppers (18-15)

vs. Lake County Captains (20-13)

Starting Pitchers

RHP Colby Miller (1-5, 6.25)

vs. LHP Kelvin De La Cruz (1-2, 2.12)

Quick Stats

GBO Team Batting Average: .247 (8th)

GBO Team ERA: 3.80 (9th)

LCO Team Batting Average: .237 (14th)

LCO Team ERA: 3.09 (2nd)

Game Information

Start Time: 7:00 p.m.

Ballpark: NewBridge Bank Park (7,499)

Location: Greensboro, N.C.

Captain Killer: INF Adam Howard has played in three of Greensboro's five games against Lake County this season and has been campaigning for some more playing time against the Captains... In his three games, Howard is hitting .583 (7-for-12) and has a 1.167 slugging percentage... Of his seven hits, Howard has a double and two home runs.

May Flowers: Since turning the calendar page to May, the Hoppers have collected a team .298 batting average and have six individuals hitting .300 or better and three better than .400... SS Ozzie Martinez has paced the way with his .467 average at the plate; he's followed closely by Adam Howard (.458) and Ryan Curry (.400)... Turning in .300 or better performances have been Hunter Mense (.368), Emilio Ontiveros (.308) and Danny Garcia (.300)... Garcia currently leads the team this month with 3 home runs and a .800 slugging percentage and Tom Hickman leads the Hoppers with his .545 on-base percentage... Six of Greensboro's pitchers, all from the bullpen, have not allowed a run this month in 22.0 combined innings of work.

DEEP Sea Fishing: Greensboro came back with a boat-load of home runs Thursday, clubbing seven in 15-innings of action... C Torre Langley reeled in the Hoppers first home run of the night in the second inning of game one... Danny Garcia, Adam Howard and Bryan Petersen followed in suit by each hitting two... Garcia blasted a two-run shot and a grand slam in the first game; it was his second career multi-home run game and his second career grand slam... In all, Garcia collected a career-high 6 RBI, the most single-game career RBIs for any member of the Greensboro roster... Howard collected his third career multi-home run performance in game one as well; Peterson earned his first multi-homer outing in the second game.

Excellent PENmanship: The Hoppers bullpen has combined for 1.54 ERA during the month of May and the solid performances continued last night... The regular bullpen staff was used to toss 7.0 innings between the two games... Jeremiah Haar came in to throw a perfect ninth inning to bring game one to and end while A.J. Battisto and Don Czyz tossed 6 of game two's 7 innings without allowing a single run... RHP Stuart Alexander made an unconventional appearance from the pen as he started the continuation of game one... The game originally started on May 2 with Hector Correa on the mound... The game was suspended after one inning of play and Alexander started where Correa left off... Alexander tossed 7.0 innings and allowed three earned runs in what technically will be classified as his first career relief appearance... Along with Alexander's performance, starter Brett Durand has also made an extended relief appearance this month... Without Alexander and Durand's numbers, the Hopper's normal bullpen staff has a 0.36 ERA during the month of May having allowed just 1 earned run in 25.0 innings of work.

Wizard of OZ: Hoppers' SS Ozzie Martinez continues to tear through the South Atlantic League and has seen his batting average rise to .344... His current average would rank him seventh in the league if he met the 2.7 PA/team game minimum and gives him the second-best batting average by a right-handed batter; Asheville's Michael Mitchell is batting .347 from the right side... In his last 5 games, Martinez leads the team with his .538 (7-for-13) average and has scored 4 runs, driven in 2 and blasted a home run... His average over the last 5 games is second in the South Atlantic League only to Lakewood's Joel Naughton (.545)... Martinez has hit for a .476 average in Greensboro's last 10 games which also ranks second in the league over the same span to Savannah's Casey Craig (.522).

Missing the Open Highway: Greensboro suffered its seventh consecutive home loss Thursday and dropped to 5-10 when playing at NewBridge Bank Park this season... Although the Hoppers won the first game, statistically speaking the game counted as a road match since it was a continuation of a suspended road game... Greensboro posted a 5-3 record during its first homestand of the season and has gone 0-7 since... On the road, the Hoppers are hitting and pitching better and have a 13-5 record... Greensboro last won at NewBridge Bank Park on April 14 in a 3-2 win over Asheville.

Recent Transactions: (5/8) RHP Kyle Kaminska was transferred to Greensboro's roster from extended... (5/7) RHP Brad Stone became the first member of the 2008 Greensboro Grasshoppers roster to earn a promotion... The Florida Marlins promoted the third-year pro from Low-A Greensboro to High-A Jupiter on Wednesday after he collected a 3-0 record with a 1.89 ERA in 11 relief appearances for the Hoppers... Stone began his career with Jamestown in 2006 before being promoted to Greensboro on July 2... He spent the entire 2007 season in Greensboro and after 11 appearances this season, Stone takes a career 7-9 record and a 2.11 ERA to Jupiter... Stone has seen action in 74 professional games--all from the bullpen.

First & Worst: Greensboro's .289 batting average during the month of May is currently the best in the South Atlantic League... On the opposite end of the spectrum, Lake County is at the bottom of the Sally cellar with its .194 average... Greensboro has also slugged a league-best, 15 home runs this month, 5 more than any other team.

Noteworthy: OF Tom Hickman has safely reached base in his last 14 games... During that span Hickman has a .435 on-base percentage despite having just a .190 batting average.

Up Next: Greensboro continues its current eight-game homestand with a four-game series against Lakewood beginning Monday, May 12... The Hoppers are 16-12 all-time when facing the BlueClaws despite being out-scored 120-115... At home, Greensboro holds an 8-4 record against Lakewood... The last time Lakewood dropped by NewBridge Bank Park, July 21-24, 2007, the Hoppers snatched all four games for a series sweep.

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.

- Durand's Last Complete Game: None

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

Tonight's Starter: Colby Miller (1-5, 6.25)

Colby Miller is making his eighth appearance of the season tonight and his seventh start... Miller made a brief 1.0 inning relief appearance in the Hoppers' second game of the season on the road in Augusta and has made four starts since... Miller started Greensboro's home-opener on April 7 and lasted 5.0 innings in which he surrendered four runs, three earned, on six hits while striking out five batters... After suffering five straight losses, Miller finally received some run support and picked up his first win of the season in his last outing, May 4 at Hagerstown.

2007 Recap: Pitching for Shreveport of the Independent American Association, Miller posted a 6-9 record with a 3.18 ERA in 20 games... Miller pitched five complete games and tossed 10.0 innings on Aug. 17 against Pensacola... Of his five complete games, three where complete game shutouts... His three complete game shutouts came on: June 24 in Game 2 of a double-header against Fort Worth, July 25 at Sioux Falls and August 22 against El Paso... Over the course of the season he twice threw back-to-back complete games... On May 27 he struck out a season-high nine (9) batters on the road against Pensacola in just 6.0 innings of work...

Career Notes: Miller is in his ninth professional season and returns to affiliated ball after pitching for Shreveport of the Independent American Association in 2007... Miller finished the 2007 season with a 6-9 record and a 3.18 ERA... Miller was originally drafted by the Minnesota Twins in 2000 and was signed by the Marlins as a free agent earlier this year... Miller reached as high as Double-A during three consecutive seasons including the entire 2004 and 2005 seasons... For his career, Miller entered the season with a 42-49 record with a 3.61 ERA and has struck out 10-plus batters on three occasions.

Downtown GBO: Colby is making his second road start... In his lone road start to date, Miller went 5.2 innings and allowed two runs on eight hits while striking out six batters... Away from NewBridge Bank Park, Miller has a 0-1 record with a 2.70 ERA... Miller has also made one relief appearance on the road.

- Miller's 2008 Starts: 1-5, 6.25 ERA, 30.2 IP, 38 H, 23 R, 22 ER, 5 HR, 7 BB, 25 HR

- Miller's Last Win: May 4, 2008 @ Hagerstown (11-5 over Colton Willems)

- Miller's Last Loss: April 23, 2007 vs. Kannapolis (1-3 to Levi Maxwell)

- Miller's Last Complete Game: August 22, 2007 vs. El Paso (W, 8-0 over Greg Wiltshire)

- Miller's Career High Strikeouts: 12 (August 4, 2003 vs. Lakeland)

Check out the Greensboro Grasshoppers Statistics



South Atlantic League Stories from May 9, 2008


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