Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes
July 30, 2014 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release
LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (20-18, 54-54) vs. WILMINGTON BLUE ROCKS (18-18, 51-53)
Wednesday, July 30, 2014 -- 7:05 PM
Calvin Falwell Field at City Stadium
RHP Jarett Miller (7-6, 3.76) vs. LHP Jonathan Dziedzic (5-5, 2.46)
LAST TIME OUT: The Hillcats beat the Wilmington Blue Rocks 4-2 last night...3B Kevin Ahrens broke up the scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth...He drove in CF Will Skinner with an RBI double and scored on 2B Emerson Landoni's RBI single...LHP Daniel Watts completed the first seven innings scoreless for Lynchburg using only 83 pitches...In the eighth, an error and a bunt single combined with an error put runners at second and third base with no outs...2B Jack Lopez then hit a two-run double to tie the score...The next batter sacrificed Lopez to third base and Watts came out of the game...RHP Mauricio Cabrera entered and hit his first batter...He then struck out DH Zane Evans as the runner at first stole second...Lopez tried to scored on the throw to second base, but the relay back to the plate was in time and the inning was over...LF Jose Martinez broke the tie with a two-out two-run double in the bottom of the eighth and the Hillcats took the lead back for good...RHP Alex Wilson pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning, collecting his 13th save of the season...Cabrera (1-0) earned the win and the loss went to RHP Andrew Edwards (0-1)...The Hillcats improved to 20-18 in the second half and are just a half-game behind the Potomac Nationals for first...They also lead the wild card standings...
VS. WILMINGTON: The Hillcats are 12-6 against the Blue Rocks this season...This is the final regular season series between these two clubs, and the Hillcats have already clinched the season series...The Blue Rocks are only hitting .204 against the Hillcats this season...They were no-hit twice by the 'Cats on June 26 and 27...The Hillcats have won six of the last seven and the one loss in this stretch was 1-0...3B Kevin Ahrens has crushed the Blue Rocks all year, batting .354 (23-for-65) over 18 games with six doubles, a home run, 11 RBIs, and 11 runs scored...His is one of two home runs the Hillcats have hit against Wilmington this season...The Blue Rocks have allowed a league-low 36 long balls this year...
IT WAS GETTING DUSTY, SO...: Sunday, the Hillcats completed their third sweep of the season....They took three from the Keys...All three sweeps have been in three-game series...They also swept Frederick in Lynchburg May 27-29 and the Blue Rocks in Wilmington June 25-27...The Hillcats are 0-1-1 after sweeps, splitting a series with Winston-Salem 2-2 at the turn of May into June and losing a series to Myrtle Beach at the end of June...
CLEANING UP ON THE ROAD: With the sweep in Frederick the Hillcats improved to 27-24 on the road this season...Meanwhile, they are just 27-30 at home...They are one of three teams in the Carolina League that is better on the road than at home this season...The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a remarkable 36-19 on the road (29-24 at home), and the Keys are 29-26 while away, and just 19-30 at Harry Grove Stadium...The Hillcats have 19 road games and 12 home games left...
MARTINEZ THE MACHINE: OF Jose Martinez went 1-for-4 Sunday extending his hitting streak to six games...He's batting .407 (11-for-27) with a home run, six RBIs, and four runs scored...The home run was his third with Lynchburg...He's batting .359 as a Hillcat ever since getting signed as a free agent by the Braves June 21, and has seven games with three or more hits...Has hit safely in 31 of 36 games and has only struck out 15 times so far...Has 20 RBIs and 21 runs scored...Martinez rattled off an 11-game hitting streak from June 22 - July 2 and a 10-game streak from July 10-20...No other Hillcat has multiple double-digit hitting streaks this season...
DOUBLE-VISION: 3B Kevin Ahrens went 1-for-3 last night with an RBI double and a run scored...It was his 32nd double of the season, which is now tied for the league lead with Frederick OF Michael Burgess, who is now playing with Double-A Bowie...Ahrens has been struggling to the tune of a .196 batting average in July, but he has four hits in his last four games, three of which are doubles...Has driven in five and scored three runs in that span...Ahrens has played in 102 games this season, tied for the third-most in the Carolina League...
THAT STARTING PITCHING THOUGH: The Hillcats are on a five-game winning streak, largely due to great starting pitching...The starters have five straight quality starts, and are averaging seven innings per outing...RHP Jarett Miller began this stretch by throwing a career-long 7.2 scoreless innings last Thursday in Lynchburg...The starters now hold a 1.53 ERA in this five-game stretch...They are 3-0...RHP Cody Scarpetta took a no-decision after leaving Sunday's game leading 2-1 after six...The bullpen blew the lead in the seventh...LHP Daniel Watts left last night's game tied 2-2 with one out in the eighth (one run was unearned)...
RALLY 'CATS: Last night was the first time the Hillcats haven't recorded a rally of more than four runs in an inning during this five-game winning streak...They scored four in the second inning Thursday, six in the first inning Friday, four in the second inning Saturday, and five in the eighth inning Sunday...Each rally broke a tied score and put the Hillcats on top for good...Last night, the 'Cats had a pair of two-run innings, including the game-winning rally in the eighth...The Hillcats are yet to trail during this streak...
TONIGHT'S OPPOSING PITCHER: LHP Jonathan Dziedzic was selected in the 13th round of the 2013 draft by the Kansas City Royals out of Lamar University (TX)...He had been drafted in 2012, 37th round to the Boston Red Sox, as well but did not sign...After signing with the Royals, he reported to short-season Idaho Falls...He went 2-0 with a 2.68 ERA in 12 appearances, 11 starts...He never pitched more than five innings and got stronger as the season went on posting monthly ERAs of 6.75 in June, 3.24 in July, 0.87 in August, and 0.00 in one September start...This year, the 23-year-old skipped Low-A and went straight to Advanced-A Wilmington...He is 5-5 with a 2.46 ERA, which ranks third in the league...Has allowed two or fewer runs in 15 of 18 outings...He is 1-1 against the Hillcats with a 3.21 ERA in three starts...has 85 strikeouts in 95 innings but only seven in 14 innings against Lynchburg...Has allowed just two runs over his last four starts, completing 23 innings for a 0.78 ERA...
Carolina League Stories from July 30, 2014
- Lopez, Santos Lead Blue Rocks to 4-2 Win over Hillcats - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Hillcats' Five-Game Streak Ends with 4-2 Loss - Lynchburg Hillcats
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- Pelicans Sweep P-Nats In 16-Inning Marathon - Potomac Nationals
- Local Ballfield Wins Major League Makeover - Winston-Salem Dash
- Rodon Debuts, Wendelken Stars in Dash Win - Winston-Salem Dash
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - Lynchburg Hillcats
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- Blue Rocks Game Notes: July 30, 2014 - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes (July 30 vs. Frederick) - Winston-Salem Dash
- LHP Carlos Rodon promoted to Winston-Salem - Winston-Salem Dash
- Potomac Nationals Game Notes vs. Myrtle Beach - Potomac Nationals
- Pelicans Game Notes: 12:05 p.m. at Potomac Nationals - July 30, 2014 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Salem Red Sox Game Notes - Salem Red Sox
- Mudcats Game Notes - Carolina Mudcats
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