CarL1 Down East Wood Ducks

May 21 Game Information

Published on May 21, 2019 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Down East Wood Ducks News Release


The Woodies (31-14) and P-Nats (16-27) face off in game two of a four game series tonight at 7 p.m., when righty Reid Anderson (2-0, 3.03) takes the bump for Down East, opposed by Potomac right-hander Kyle Johnston (4-4, 4.78). It's Food Lion BOGO Night where fans who purchase a ticket can get a second one free when presenting their Food Lion MVP Card. The broadcast 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 App. For tickets and more information visit woodducksbaseball.com or call (252) 686-5172.

LAST TIME OUT: Ryan Dorow belted two home runs, and Yohel Pozo added one, as the Wood Duck blew out the Potomac Nationals, 14-2, Monday. Down East batted around in both the first and the fourth innings. On the mound, Jake Latz fired five scoreless innings, striking out seven to pick up the win. Demarcus Evans fanned the side in a perfect ninth inning. Every Wood Duck batter tallied a hit, while five enjoyed multi-hit games.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: The 14 runs scored and the 14 hits are the most for the Wood Ducks in a game since they scored 16 runs on 16 hits against Myrtle Beach in a 16-0 win August 25, 2018. The three home runs in a game are the most since the Woodies blasted six in a game May 2, 2018 vs Buies Creek.

DOROW'S DINGERS: Ryan Dorow enjoyed his first career multi-homer game yesterday to go along with a career-best six RBI. Dorow is now tied for seventh in the league in home runs, and leads the Wood Ducks. The Woodies third baseman has now hit six homers in 40 games, after hitting 12 home runs in 122 games last season.

ROAD WARRIORS: The Wood Ducks 18 road wins this season are the most in all of minor league baseball. They are 18-3 on the road, but just 12-11 at Grainger Stadium. At home the Woodies are batting .241, with an OPS of .663, and an ERA of 3.00, and scoring an average of 4.2 runs-per-game. On the road the Woodies boast an average of .261 to go along with an OPS of .726, and an ERA of 2.40, while scoring 5.2 runs-per-game. By comparison, the Woodies won 12 road games in the entire first half last season, and just 11 in the second half. The Woodies now have more road wins than Myrtle Beach (17), Salem (16), and Potomac (16) have total wins.

KING OF THE HILL: Wood Ducks lefty John King has been sensational through two starts this season. He allowed one earned run in six innings his first time out against the Dash on May 12, and then on May 18, fired seven innings on 71 pitches, allowing just one unearned run on two hits, while striking out eight, one shy of his career-high. Despite King's two quality starts, the Wood Ducks have scored a combined three runs in those games, and as a result he has endured a pair of no-decisions.

POZO PROVIDES THE PUNCH: Woodies catcher Yohel Pozo has heated up at the plate as of late. He is riding a 11-game on-base streak on which he has gone 17-40 (.425) with three home runs and 8 RBI. Over that stretch he has raised his average from .222 to .296, with hits in ten of the 11 games.

STRIKEOUT MACHINES: Joe Barlow has racked up the strikeouts this season for the Wood Ducks out of the bullpen. He has recorded 38 strikeouts in 20 innings, and has struck out multiple hitters in 12 of his 14 outings, including a season-high six strikeouts on Sunday. Demarcus Evans has also been on a strikeout frenzy, fanning 33 in 18.2 innings this season. He has multiple strikeouts in 12 of his 15 appearances, including a season-high six against Potomac last Wednesday.

HUFF IS HERE!: Sam Huff was promoted to Down East from Hickory May 9, and hit his first Carolina League home run Friday against the Dash, and then picked a walk-off single to send Down East to a 1-0 win Sunday. Huff also doubled four times in his first seven games played at the Adv.-A level. The 21-year-old catcher posted an OPS of 1.165 in Single-A, and led all of minor league baseball with 15 home runs at the time of his pro-motion. The Phoenix native is the 21st ranked prospect in the Rangers organization.

DOUBLE THE FUN: Emmanuel Clase, Peter Fairbanks, and Tyler Phillips have all gotten the promotion to Double-A Frisco so far this season. In his second Double-A start, Phillips struck out six, allowing just two earned runs in 6.1 innings on Monday, but suffered the tough luck loss. Fairbanks, in three games, has struck out eight in four innings, and has yet to allow a base runner. Clase has consistently hit 101 on the radar gun, but has allowed 10 ER in 9.2 IP so far with the Riders.

AMAZING APRIL: The Woodies 18-8 record in April is their best winning percentage (.692) of any month in team history, while the 18 victories equals the best month all-time (May 2018), when the Woodies went 18-11 (.621). The 10 games above .500 is also most in team history (previous high, +8, May 27, 2018).

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.

SHOWTIME: Former Wood Duck Brett Martin made his MLB debut for the Rangers April 19, firing a scoreless ninth inning in a 7-2 loss to the Astros. Martin needed just nine pitches to get through the inning, recording three ground ball outs. The left-handed reliever becomes the fourth Wood Duck in franchise history to make their Major League de-but, joining Ricardo Rodriguez, Jeffrey Springs, and C.D. Pelham. Martin pitched for the Woodies in their inaugural season in 2017, helping Down East to a share of the Carolina League Championship.

TOP-30 in Kinston: The Woodies now have eight Top-30 prospects as ranked by MLB Pipeline: 2. J.P. Martinez, 4. Anderson Tejeda, 5. Bubba Thompson, 6. Leody Taveras, 19. Diosbel Arias, 20. A.J. Alexy, 21. Sam Huff and 24. Demarcus Evans.

Check out the Down East Wood Ducks Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Carolina League Stories from May 21, 2019


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.

OurSports Central