SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

Power Game Notes

Published on August 4, 2011 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


Greensboro Grasshoppers (18-21, 58-51) at West Virginia Power (16-23, 51-56)

Game 108 | August 4, 2011 | Appalachian Power Park | Charleston, WV

Radio: Power Baseball Network and wvpower.com Airtime: 6:45 pm

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP

RH Rett Varner (5-5, 5.82) vs. LH Zac Fuesser (2-4, 3.14)

Varner: Allowed 3 R on 6 H with 2 K and 3 BB over 4.0 IP in 7/29 Loss vs. SAV (7-1 Gnats)

Fuesser: Allowed 3 R on 3 H with 4 K and 3 BB over 5.0 IP in 7/30 ND vs. LWD (5-4 Claws in 10)

POWER REPLAY: West Virginia beat Greensboro 1-0 on Wednesday evening. Eliecer Navarro and Colton Cain combined to blank the Grasshoppers, despite allowing nine hits. The duo combined to strike out 11 players, and Cain picked up the win in his second relief outing of the season. The game's lone run came in the bottom of the eighth inning when Eric Avila hit the first pitch from reliever Migual Mejia over the left field wall. Robert Morey made the start for Greensboro and pitched seven innings of shutout baseball while striking out seven.

SHUTOUT STATS: West Virginia pitchers worked their tenth shutout of the season last night to match the club record. The 2006 club recorded ten shutouts as well while the Power were still affiliated with Milwaukee. Since the association with the Pirates began in 2009, the Power have pitched 25 shutouts over two plus years, compared to 29 during the four year Brewer stint.

HOPPER HISTORY LESSON: West Virginia and Greensboro conclude this series tonight at Appalachian Power Park. The Power and Grasshoppers will have met 19 times by the end of the season, with 11 of the games to be played in Charleston, though the final four games will be played in Greensboro on August 22 through 25. West Virginia holds the all-time lead in the series with 54 wins over 89 games, including a 29-17 record at Appalachian Power Park.

LONG TIME COMING: Andy Vasquez's first inning home run last Friday was his first since May 14 against Kannapolis. The utility player went 210 at bats over 56 games between home runs, but did manage to hit six of his league-best ten triples. Elias Diaz's solo home run in the second inning Sunday was his first since May 19, spanning 44 games and 159 at bats.

GOODBYE JULY: The Power finished July with a 9-19 record, matching April for their fewest wins in any month this season. The .321 winning percentage was the third lowest for any month since West Virginia became a Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate in 2009 (April 2009 .286 and June 2010 .308). The club hit .242 during the last 31 days, and held a staff earned run average of 5.56, nearly three runs high than the Power's June ERA.

TRADED: The Pittsburgh Pirates have traded Aaron Baker, West Virginia's 2010 All-Star first baseman, to the Baltimore Orioles for first baseman Derrick Lee. Baker batted .253 for the Power last season with a team high 18 home runs and 79 run batted in. This season, he was hitting .282 with 15 home runs and 72 batted home for the Bradenton Marauders. Lee hit two home runs in his Pirates debut last night. The two-time MLB All-Star was batting .248 for Baltimore with 12 home runs.

VERGE OF HISTORY: Rogelio Noris has 24 career home runs for West Virginia over a season and a half in a Power jersey. Noris has matched Stephen Chapman for the most home runs in any player's Power career. Chapman hit a single-season record 24 home runs in a Power uniform in 2007.

POWER POINTS: Dan Grovatt has an eight-game hitting streak heading into tonight's game... Victor Black had an ERA of 0.00 after ten appearances in May and June. Since July 1, Black's earned run average is 7.82... West Virginia won for the fourth time this season when scoring just one run (4-10). The 2010 club went 0-13 in games when they scored just one run.

AROUND THE ORGANIZATION: Pittsburgh lost 1-0 to Chicago. The Cubs Starlin Castro hit a solo home run in the eighth to provide the difference... Indianapolis did not play... Altoona held off Binghamton 4-3... Bradenton edged Fort Myers 5-4.. State College beat Vermont 5-3.

ON THE AIR: All 140 West Virginia Power games can be heard on ESPN 104.5 FM and 1490 AM in Charleston, WV, across the state on the Power Radio Network, and online at milb.com. Adam Marco will call the action for each of the 70 home games this season, while the home team will provide coverage while the Power are on the road.

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