
May 23 Game Information
May 23, 2019 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Down East Wood Ducks News Release
The Woodies (32-15) go for a series win against the Potomac Nationals (17-28) tonight at 7 p.m. when they send left-hander Francisco Villegas (0-2, 5.1) to the mound to face off with Potomac lefty Nick Raquet (2-5, 6.39). It's Thirsty Thursday at Grainger Stadium, where fans can purchase $1 Busch Light and Natural Light, presented by Budweiser. The broadcast will begin at 6:50 p.m. on 960AM The Bull, and online on 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.
LAST TIME OUT: The Wood Ducks batted around twice against the Potomac Nationals on Wednesday, en route to a 12-4 victory. Five Wood Ducks enjoyed multi-hit games, including Yonny Hernandez, who reached base five times out of the leadoff spot. Ryan Dorow clubbed his fourth home run of the series, while Yohel Pozo tallied a pair of doubles. Jason Bahr picked up the win, firing 5.1 innings and allowing just one run, while striking out five.
FIRST THINGS FIRST: The Wood Ducks are now 10-1 in day games this season, and 11-3 against left-handed starting pitching. The 12-4 win was the second time in three days that the Woodies scored in double-figures, plating 14 runs on Monday.
DOROW'S DINGERS: Ryan Dorow enjoyed his first career multi-homer game Monday, to go along with a career-best six RBI. He then hit a home run again on Tuesday, and hit another long ball in yesterday's ballgame. Dorow is now tied for second in the league in home runs, while leading the Wood Ducks. The Woodies third baseman has now hit eight homers in 42 games this season, after hitting 12 home runs in 122 games in 2018.
ROAD WARRIORS: The Wood Ducks 18 road wins this season are the third most in all of minor league baseball. They are 18-3 on the road, but just 14-12 at Grainger Stadium. At home the Woodies are batting .241, with an OPS of .681, and an ERA of 3.12, and scoring an average of 4.4 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 (17), and Potomac (17) 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.
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.
YANIO ABOARD: Yanio Perez has now reached base in 10 consecutive games, batting .273, with an on-base percentage of .385 over that stretch. In the process he has raised his overall batting mark from .192 to .221.
HUFF IS HERE!: Sam Huff has picked up right where he left off when he was promoted from Hickory on May 9. The slugger has blasted two home runs for the Wood Ducks to give him 17 long balls overall this season, which places him in the top five in all of minor league baseball. Huff also hit a walk-off single in a 1-0 win over the Dash on Sunday. The 21-year-old catcher posted an OPS of 1.165 in Single-A, and led all of mi-nor league baseball with 15 home runs at the time of his promotion. 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 four games, has struck out ten in five innings, and has yet to allow run. 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.
Carolina League Stories from May 23, 2019
- Second Straight Remillard Walk-Off Carries Dash over Woodpeckers - Winston-Salem Dash
- Wood Ducks Fall Short To Potomac, Settle For Series Split - Down East Wood Ducks
- Solter Strong Again as Hillcats Earn Series Split - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Rocks Wrap up Road Trip with Win and 6-2 Record - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Teel, Franco Come Through for P-Nats in Win over Wood Ducks - Potomac Nationals
- RHP Brian Glowicki placed on the 7-day Injured List - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- May 23 - Carolina Mudcats Game Information - Carolina Mudcats
- Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes (May 23 vs. Fayetteville) - Winston-Salem Dash
- Keys Tie It in the Ninth, Win It in the 11th to Capture Series Victory over Pelicans - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Reyes Walks It off for Frederick - Frederick Keys
- May 23 Game Information - Down East Wood Ducks
- RHP Erich Uelmen transferred to Myrtle Beach from Extended Spring Training - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Myrtle Beach Pelicans Game Notes: May 23 at Frederick - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
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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