SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

Power Game Notes

Published on August 3, 2012 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


Lakewood BlueClaws (22-19, 48-62) at West Virginia Power (22-19, 45-66)

Game 112 | August 3, 2012 | Appalachian Power Park | Charleston, WV

Radio: ESPN Radio 104.5 FM & 1490 and wvpower.com Air Time- 6:45 p.m.

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP

RH Gabriel Arias (3-5, 4.24) vs. RH Nick Kingham (3-7, 5.13)

Arias: Allowed 1 R on 5 H with 4 K and 1 BB over 4.2 IP in 7/29 ND vs. WVP (4-1 Power)

Kingham: Allowed 1 R on 2 H over 4.0 IP with 4 K and 2 BB in 7/29 ND @ LWD (4-1 WVP)

POWER REPLAY: West Virginia lost 9-7 to Hagerstown last night. Each team scored twice in the first and the Power took a 6-2 lead in the second. The Suns rallied back for a 7-6 edge, but West Virginia evened the score with a run in the bottom of third. Neither starting pitcher made it out of the third inning. Matt Skole hit a solo home run off Power reliever Zac Fuesser in the top of the fourth and the Suns plated one more in the top of the fifth. Hagerstown's bullpen combined to retire the final 19 batters in order to secure the win and help the Suns earn a split of the four game series.

BRING ON THE BLUECLAWS: West Virginia will host Lakewood over the next four days. The Power have won ten of 15 with the BlueClaws this year, but still trail the all-time series 57-51. West Virginia is 6-2 at Appalachian Power Park this season against Lakewood and 29-33 at home all-time in the set. Both teams are 22-19 in the second half and sit a game behind Hagerstown in the standings.

ONE STILL GOING AND ONE STOPPED: Francisco Diaz rides a seven game hitting streak intact heading into his next contest. Diaz is 11 for his last 19 and has driven in six during this streak, which is his longest of the season. Eric Avila was called upon to pinch hit last night in the ninth and popped out to second base, snapping his season-best 11-game hitting streak.

K IS FOR KINGHAM: Nick Kingham leads the team with 89 strikeouts over 94.2 innings pitched. Zack Von Rosenberg led the Power in 2011 with 114 over 125.2 innings, Kyle McPherson had 124 in 117.2 innings in 2010, and Gabriel Alvarado had 96 over 114.0 innings in 2009. Should Kingham stay in the rotation on schedule every fifth day, he is on pace to make six more starts. That puts the right-hander on pace to match Von Rosenberg's strikeout total from last season, which was third most in team history.

HIT ME: Alen Hanson and Gregory Polanco rank first and second in the league with 131 and 130 hits apiece, respectively. No Power player has led the South Atlantic League in hits since Lorenzo Cain's 2006 club record 162.

BYE BYE JULY: The Power finished July with a 17-12 record, tied with Asheville for the best mark during the month. West Virginia had its' best offensive month, batting .289 over 29 games, and held its' best ERA in any month this year at 3.80, two full runs lower than April's season-high 5.80 ERA.

PROMO CHECK- AUGUST 3: The Power will host WVU Night tonight, part of the BIG 12 promotional series. Tonight's game features an appearance by West Virginia University legend Pat White and the reigning MissWest Virginia.

POWER POINTS: Zack Dodson was placed on the Temporary Inactive List by Pittsburgh on Tuesday. The Pirates then promoted Emmanuel De Leon from State College to fill Dodson's spot on the active roster. De Leon made 16 appearances for the Power before being transferred to State College on May 26... Jose Osuna hit nine home runs in July and set a new franchise record... Gregory Polanco finished the month of July with a flourish, driving in four runs Tuesday to push his month-long total to 30 runs batted in and set a new club record.

AROUND THE ORGANIZATION: Pittsburgh was idle on Thursday and travels to Cincinnati to start a three game weekend series tonight. The Reds lead the Pirates by 3.5 games in the National League Central... Indianapolis romped 13-1 against Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre... Altoona fell 9-6 at Trenton... Bradenton was shutout 7-0 by Lakeland. The Marauders were held to six hits, five if which were singles, in the loss... State College lost 4-2 to Hudson Valley for the second straight night.

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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