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CarL1 Winston-Salem Dash

Mother's Day Dash vs. Hillcats Game Notes

May 8, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release


Bring your green hat!: The Dash are streaking! After going 23 straight games without winning consecutive contests, Winston-Salem won its second in a row by virtue of its 5-3 victory over the Hillcats last night. The Dash scored four runs in the first inning and held off Lynchburg late to take a 2-1 lead in the four game series. Prior to last night's game, the Dash had not won consecutive games since winning four in a row from April 9-13. Today Winston will look for its first series victory since April 15-17 against Kinston and also end its five-series losing streak.

Good Foursight: Last night the Dash won thanks to a big first inning. Winston-Salem got a three run home run from Andy Wilkins and later added an unearned run on Kyle Shelton's RBI double. The four runs marked the highest-scoring first inning for the Dash all season.

House of Kyle: Kyle Shelton is starting to come out of his post-Southern League hangover. The utility man spent a week with AA Birmingham before being returned to the Dash on April 29. Shelton then went 17 straight at bats without recording a hit, dropping his batting average over 100 points. Since picking up a hit in the sixth inning on Friday, however, Shelton is 3 for 5 with an RBI double and an intentional walk.

Start Me Up: Hector Santiago's start last night (6 IP, 2 R) continued a good run for the Dash rotation. Aside from Joe Serafin's outing on Wednesday (3 IP, 5 R), none of the team's starters have allowed more than two runs in a game since Saturday, April 30. Leaving out Serafin's start, the starters have posted a combined ERA of just 1.88 (9 ER, 43 IP) and an opposing batting average of .261 (45 for 172).

Andre the Giant: Andre Rienzo picked up his first decision of the season in Friday night's win. After throwing five innings and allowing two runs (one earned), Rienzo put himself in line for the win. Statistically, Rienzo has been Winston-Salem's best pitcher so far this season, registering a 2.27 ERA in six starts. The Sao Paolo, Brazil native eight ninth in the Carolina League in ERA and sixth in strikeouts (36). He leads the Dash in both of those categories.

Same Green & Gold, Different Hill City Kitties: Tonight the Dash continue their series with the new-look Lynchburg Hillcats. This marks the first series between the teams in 2011 and the first time Winston-Salem has played Lynchburg since it became affiliated with the Atlanta Braves. For the previous 12 seasons, the Braves' Carolina League affiliate was Myrtle Beach, but with the Rangers moving in this season Atlanta had to look elsewhere to house their Advanced-A team. Last year against the Braves-laden Pelicans had the worst record in the Carolina League (58-82) but won nine of 20 games against the Dash, who had the best record in the league (81-58). Winston-Salem is sad to see the Cincinnati Reds leave the Carolina League. With their affiliate in Lynchburg last year, the Dash won 16 of their 20 matchups including the first nine of the season.

See Nick. See Nick Run: Nick Ciolli hit his second triple of the season in the second inning of Friday night's win. He drove in two runs with the hit, his first multi-RBI at-bat of the season. The triple also came with a runner in scoring position and two outs in the inning. The Dash have struggled in similar situations so far this season, hitting only .253 with RISP and two outs. Winston-Salem scored another run with two outs in the third inning, when Daniel Wagner scored from third on a wild pitch with Ian Gac at the plate.

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer: The Dash have played mostly close games this season. Twenty-four of the team's 29 games have been decided by three runs or fewer and the team has had a lead in 22 games this season. Winston has played 12 one-run games and nine two-run games. The Dash are 5-7 in one-run games and 4-5 in two run contests. At this rate, the Dash would play 101 one- or two-run games over the course of the season.

Today's Opposing Starter: RHP Arodys Vizcaino (1-2, 3.72) makes his sixth start of the season and his second against the Dash in this series. Vizcaino is coming off a back injury that forced him to leave his last start early; he threw one perfect inning on Thursday (three strikeouts) and he is expected to go two innings today before being replaced by RHP Willie Kempf (2-1, 7.11). Vizcaino entered the season ranked by Baseball America as the seventh-best prospect in the Atlanta Braves system after a 2010 season that saw him go 9-4 with a 2.39 ERA in low-A Rome (14 starts) and 0-0 with a 4.61 ERA (three starts) in Myrtle Beach. He was acquired from the Yankees in December of 2009 in a trade that sent Vizcaino, Melky Cabrera, and Mike Dunn to Atlanta in exchange for Javier Vazquez and former Winston-Salem Warthog Boone Logan. The Dominican throws his fastball 92-94 mph and was clocked in spring training this season at 101 in a game against the Cardinals. Baseball America states that his best pitch is a "hammer" curveball and he also has a good changeup. Vizcaino's biggest question mark is his ability to stay healthy. He was shut down with a right elbow injury for two months last year with a partially torn elbow ligament that did not require surgery. The 20-year-old was originally signed by the Yankees for $800,000 in 2007 and was viewed as one of the best international prospects available that year.

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