Hillcats Game Notes for May 31
May 31, 2009 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release
LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (31-17) vs. POTOMAC NATONALS (26-20)
May 31, 2009 -- 2:05 PM
Calvin Falwell Field @ Lynchburg City Stadium
LHP Chi-Hung Cheng (4-2, 3.98) vs. RHP Jeff Mandel (6-1, 2.20)
THE HILLCATS: Lynchburg dropped the middle-game of their three-game series with Potomac 4-2 last night in front of the biggest crowd of the season at City Stadium, as 5,366 came through the turnstiles...The loss snapped the Hillcats four-game win streak and shrunk their lead over Potomac to four games for first place in the Northern Division and the best record in the league...Tonight is the final game of a three-game set against Potomac and the sixth contest of a six-game homestand...
VS. POTOMAC: The Hillcats and Nationals are meeting for the third series this season...Lynchburg won both series including a set last weekend at Pfitzner Stadium...Last season the two teams split the season series 10-10 and the P-Nats were just one of two teams the Cats had a .500 record or better against last year...Lynchburg won the final five games against each other last season...In the all-time series Lynchburg has the edge 149-139 and they are 81-69 at City Stadium...After a 6-3 start this season against the P-Nats, the Hillcats have now won 11 of the last 14 games between these two teams...
I'M RUBBER, YOU'RE GLUE: This season Lynchburg is 3-2 in rubber matches and 7-6 in series finales...They have won the last two deciding games of series that they have played...
THAT'S WHY THEY PLAY THE GAME: Going by the number one would have thought the Nationals would have the best chance to win on Friday and the Hillcats would have last night...On Friday, the P-Nats sent RHP Brad Meyers to the mound with the league's best ERA (1.79) against Cats starter LHP Justin Wilson, who entered the game with the highest earned run average on the team (7.08)...But Lynchburg won on Friday 1-0...Last night the Hillcats sent RHP Ronald Uviedo to the mound (3.69 ERA) versus LHP Will Atwood (6.99 ERA)...The Nats won a night ago 4-2 despite the appearance of the match-up on paper...
NORTHERN EXPOSURE: The previous series against Salem was a series against a Southern Division opponent sandwiched between seven series against the Northern Division...The Hillcats are in the midst of playing 23 of 26 against the North...This series is the first of four series in a row 13 games) against Northern Division foes...
ON THE HOMESTAND: Lynchburg is 4-1 on the six-game homestand after their loss last night...They had not trailed during this stretch of games until Potomac took the lead for good last night in the sixth inning...After the first four innings a night ago the Hillcats were outscoring their two opponents on this homestand 20-3...
SERIES STREAK: The Hillcats have not lost a series since May 1st-3rd when they dropped two out of three at home to Kinston...That is also the only series they have dropped at home, where they are 6-1 in sets thus far this season...Since the series loss to the K-Tribe the Cats have gone seven series without a loss, going 6-0-1 over that stretch...
PESKY NATS: RHP Ronald Uviedo has lost three games this season in his 10 starts, all three losses have come at the hands of the Nationals...Despite the 0-3 record, he has not pitched poorly against Potomac, posting an earned run average of 4.32 in the three outings...Last night he came one out a way from earning a quality start...
DURHAM DIALED IN: UTIL Miles Durham extended his current hitting streak to eight games last night, matching his longest of the season...Over that time he is 13-for-33 (.394) with three doubles, two home runs, six RBI and eight runs scored...His two home runs on this current homestand both proved to be game winners...This is his second eight-game hitting-streak in the month of May...Since his average dipped to .238 on May 2nd, Durham has hit .351 (34-for-97) with eight doubles, six home runs, 20 RBI and 20 runs scored in 24 games played...
TODAY'S OPPOSING PITCHER: RHP Jeff Mandel was a 19th round selection of the Nationals in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft out of Baylor University...He primarily closed games for the Bears as a junior in 2006 and went 2-3 with a 4.40 ERA with eight saves in 23 games (five starts)...In his final season at Baylor in 2007 the righty went 7-8 with a 4.55 ERA in 17 games (16 starts)...He made his pro debut that year with Short Season Low-A Vermont and allowed one run in a two-inning appearance before moving up to full season Low-A Hagerstown...With the Suns he posted a 4-7 mark with a 6.71 ERA in 14 games (13 starts)...Last season he began the year back in Hagerstown and went 4-3 with a 5.21 ERA before a promotion to Potomac...With the P-Nats Mandel had a 6-6 record with a 3.68 ERA in 17 starts...This season with the P-Nats he has gone 6-1 with a 2.20 ERA in seven starts...He has made four starts against Lynchburg (two last season and two this year) and has posted a 2-2 mark with a 4.30 ERA...He made his last start against the Cats last Sunday and allowed just two hits in six scoreless innings to earn his sixth straight win after losing his first start of the campaign at City Stadium...
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Carolina League Stories from May 31, 2009
- Cats Take Rubber Match From P-Nats - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Pelicans Take Second Straight Series - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Wilmington Offense Fizzles in Loss - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Shirek Shines as Dash Take Finale Over K-Tribe - Winston-Salem Dash
- Mandel Roughed Up as P-Nats Fall to Cats - Potomac Nationals
- Winston-Salem Slips by Kinston 4-3 - Kinston Indians
- Matusz Shuts Out Red Sox - Frederick Keys
- Matusz Masterful in 6-0 Blanking of Red Sox - Salem Red Sox
- OF Valdez Placed on DL - Potomac Nationals
- Nationals Game Notes for May 31 - Potomac Nationals
- Hillcats Game Notes for May 31 - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Kinston Indians Game Notes for May 31 - Kinston Indians
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