
May 25 Game Information
May 25, 2019 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Down East Wood Ducks News Release
The Wood Ducks (32-17) and Mudcats (29-19) will play game two of their four game series tonight at 5 p.m. Lefty Sal Mendez (1-0, 2.45) will make the start for Down East, opposed by Carolina righty Noah Zavolas (2-2, 3.33). The broadcast will begin at 4:50 p.m. on 960AM The Bull, and online on 960thebull.com as well as on the MiLB First Pitch and TuneIn Radio Apps.
LAST TIME OUT: The Wood Ducks took the lead in the tenth inning against the Mudcats on a balk and a wild pitch, but Carolina came back with three runs in the bottom of the tenth and walked-off Down East, 6-5. Anderson Tejeda and JP Martinez each blasted solo home runs for the Woodies to get them out to a 2-0 lead, while Diosbel Arias ripped a double in the eighth to tie the score at three. Cole Uvila struck out four in two innings in relief, getting out of a bases loaded jam in the sixth, while Demarcus Evans fanned five, and also escaped the bases loaded in the ninth. John King struck out a career-high nine over five innings, but allowed three runs to come across as a result of a fly ball lost in the sky in the fifth.
FIRST THINGS FIRST: The loss was the Wood Ducks second walk-off de-feat of the year, and first loss in five extra-inning games. The Wood Ducks struck out a season-high 18 batters in the game.
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 Wednesday'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 44 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 .254 to go along with an OPS of .718, and an ERA of 2.52, 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.
KING OF THE HILL: Wood Ducks lefty John King has been excellent through three starts this season. He allowed four earned runs through 18 innings, and has struck out 18, while walking just one. Against Carolina on Friday, King matched a career-high with nine strikeouts. Despite King's two quality starts, the Wood Ducks have scored a combined eight runs in three games, and as a result he has endured three no-decisions.
STRIKEOUT MACHINES: Joe Barlow has racked up the strikeouts this season for the Wood Ducks out of the bullpen. He has recorded 40 strikeouts in 21 innings, and has struck out multiple hitters in 13 of his 15 outings, including a season-high six strikeouts on Sunday. Demarcus Evans has also been on a strikeout frenzy, fanning 38 in 20.2 innings this season. He has multiple strikeouts in 13 of his 16 appearances, including a season-high six against Potomac last Wednesday, followed by five against Carolina Friday.
HOME RUN HAPPY: After starting the year slowly in the power depart-ment, the Wood Ducks have now hit eight home runs in their last five games, including three games with multiple home runs. Down East now is tied for third in the Carolina League in home runs with 31.
MORE LIKE KAROLINA: The Wood Ducks struck out a season-high 18 against the Mudcats Friday, and now have fanned 60 Carolina hitters in five games this season, an average of 12 per contest. The Mudcats lead the league in strikeouts with 536, after setting league records in strike-outs in each of the last two seasons.
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.
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 25, 2019
- Dash Plate Season-High 17 Runs in Saturday's Win - Winston-Salem Dash
- Schreiber and Shaver Homer as Fayetteville Breaks Skid - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- Nationals Squeak Past Keys - Frederick Keys
- P-Nats Fight Lightning to Beat Keys in Duel - Potomac Nationals
- Fayetteville Supplies the Power, Outlasts Hillcats in Lynchburg - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Lynch, Blue Rocks Shut Down Pelicans on Saturday - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Wood Ducks Escape with Series Tying 6-4 Victory Versus Carolina - Carolina Mudcats
- Lynch Extends Scoreless Streak to 22 Innings in Win - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Martinez Blasts Wood Ducks Past Mudcats Saturday - Down East Wood Ducks
- May 25 - Carolina Mudcats Game Information - Carolina Mudcats
- Former Dash Catcher Zavala Called up to White Sox - Winston-Salem Dash
- Winston-Salem Dash: Game Notes (May 25 at Salem) - Winston-Salem Dash
- May 25 Game Information - Down East Wood Ducks
- Myrtle Beach Pelicans Game Notes: May 25 at Wilmington - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Segovia and Los Pescados Prevail in Extras as Carolina Defeats Down East 6-5 in Ten - Carolina Mudcats
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.
Other Recent Down East Wood Ducks Stories
- Wood Ducks Drop Season Finale
- Wood Ducks Fall in 2024's Penultimate Game
- GreenJackets Blank Woodies, 4-0
- Woodies Edge GreenJackets, 6-5
- Woodies Beat GreenJackets, 4-3

