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CarL1 Down East Wood Ducks

July 26 Game Information

July 26, 2019 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Down East Wood Ducks News Release


The Wood Ducks (21-13, 71-33) continue their home stand tonight against the Wilmington Blue Rocks (18-16, 62-41) at 7 p.m. when left-hander John King (2-2, 1.98) takes the mound to face off with Wilmington righty Jonathan Bowlan (4-1, 2.31). It's Mother Earth Friday at Grainger Stadium, complete with postgame fireworks presented by WNCT. The pregame show will begin at 6:50 p.m. on 960AM The Bull, and online at 960thebull.com as well as on the MiLB First Pitch and TuneIn Radio Apps. For tickets and more information visit woodducksbaseball.com or call (252) 686-5172. Complete game notes are attached.

LAST TIME OUT: The Wood Ducks swept a double-header from the Carolina Mudcats, winning 3-2 in game one, and 1-0 in game two. With the Woodies down to their final out in the first game, JP Marti-nez lifted a game-tying home run to right field to force extras. Then in extras, Sam Huff came through with his third walk-off of the year with a single up the middle. Tim Brennan threw a complete game shutout in game two, giving up just three hits in seven innings, and improving to 3-0 through three starts. The only offense in the ballgame came from a Josh Altmann solo home run in the fourth inning.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: The walk-off win for the Woodies was their sixth of the season. Down East is now 9-4 is extra-inning games, and 25-13 in one-run contests.

NO RUNS FOR YOU!: The Wood Ducks 1-0 win over the Mudcats, Thursday, was their 17th shutout win of the season, and sixth 1-0 victory. Down East boasts a 2.63 team ERA this season which leads all of Minor League Baseball, while their 17 shutouts are also tied for the most in MiLB with the Quad Cities River Bandits in the Midwest League.

BASHIN BUBBA: Bubba Thompson tripled, homered, and drove in a career-high three runs Sunday. Since coming off the injured list, he has hit safely in eight of his last nine games 10-31 (.323) over that stretch with two home runs, six RBI and four stolen bases. Thompson hit eight home runs in 84 games played, stealing 32 bases for the Hickory Crawdads in 2018.

SUPER SAM: Sam Huff has now hit safely in 13 straight games going 15-39 (.385), with four home runs, 7 RBI, 9 walks, 12 strikeouts dating back to July 9. Huff joins Curtis Terry and Yanio Perez as Wood Ducks to have hitting streaks of 10 games or more this season. All three streaks have come in the second half of play.

TERRY ON A TEAR: Curtis Terry has now hit safely in 26 of his last 29 games, including ten multi-hit games. He is now sporting a .942 OPS since joining Down East, June 21. Within that stretch was a 12-game hit streak (19-44, .432) which came to an end last Saturday, Terry now has 19 home runs on the season combined with his time in Hickory.

MAGNIFICENT MENDEZ: Sal Mendez has been excellent for the Wood Ducks this season, especially since joining the starting rotation. Mendez leads the Carolina League with a 2.05 ERA, and as a starter that mark is just 1.54. Seven of Mendez' 11 starts have been quality outings, and he has given up just three earned run in 25 innings (1.08 ERA) over four starts in July.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRENGTH: It hasn't just been the Wood Ducks who have performed well this season, the Rangers organization as a whole has been among the best

1. Tampa Bay Rays 347-255 .576

2. TEXAS RANGERS 328-245 .572

3. Pittsburgh Pirates 333-267 .555

CUP OF JOE: Joe Kuzia has been tremendous out of the bullpen for the Wood Ducks since joining the club May 9. He has converted 15 of 16 save opportunities in addition to picking up a trio of wins in relief. Kuzia put together a 19-inning scoreless streak from 5/19-6/26. Overall this season he boasts an ERA of 0.79 and a WHIP of 1.02. Kuzia now ranks second in the Carolina League in saves, with all 15 coming since May 26. Kuzia has not allowed a run in 21 of his 24 appearances this season.

THE FUTURE IS HERE: Sam Huff clubbed a game-tying home run in the seventh inning of the SiriusXM Futures Game on Sunday to take home MVP honors. Huff becomes the second Ranger all-time to take home the award, joining Joey Gallo (2014). Huff followed it up by hitting a home run his first game back in Myrtle Beach, and clubbed another Friday against Lynchburg, and one more Sunday against Winston-Salem.

HOW 'BOUT A ROUND OF APPLAUSE: The 3,250 fans at Grainger Stadium Wednesday mark the most at a game this season, and third most in Wood Ducks history. Down East had a record 4,217 at the inaugural game, April 10, 2017, and drew 3,491 July 3, 2018.

A HALF FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS: The Down East Wood Ducks became just the sixth team in Carolina League history to finish a half with a winning percentage of .700 or better, while their 50 wins are the second most in any half in league history:

1. 1980 Peninsula (1st) 51-19 .729

2. 2019 DOWN EAST (1st) 50-20 .714

T3. 1982 Peninsula (2nd) 49-20 .710

T3. 1983 Lynchburg (1st) 49-20 .710

5. 1994 Wilmington (1st) 48-20 .706

6. 1980 Peninsula (2nd) 49-21 .700

DEWD ON THE MOVE: Former Wood Duck right-hander Pete Fairbanks was traded by the Rangers to the Tampa Bay Rays last Friday. Fairbanks made his MLB debut for Texas June 9, appearing in eight games at the big league level. In return the Rangers received second baseman Nick So-lak, who is now the 10th ranked prospect in the system by MLB Pipeline.

SHOWTIME: Former Wood Duck Pedro Payano made his Major League debut for the Rangers, June 6, becoming the eighth Wood Ducks to make it to The Show. Payano delivered a scoreless sixth inning against the Twins. He joins Ricardo Rodriguez, Jeffrey Springs, C.D. Pelham, and Brett Martin, Joe Palumbo, Pete Fairbanks, and Locke St. John. Down East has also had a player go from Adv.-A to the majors in one year in each of the three seasons (Rodriguez-'17, Pelham-'18, Fairbanks-'19).

RAGS AT THE HELM: Corey Ragsdale takes over as skipper for the Wood Ducks in 2019. Ragsdale will remain the Rangers Minor League Field Coordinator, while assuming a managerial seat for the first time since 2015, when he led the Hickory Crawdads to a South Atlantic League Championship, the second of his career.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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