SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

Power Game Notes

Published on August 14, 2012 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


Greensboro Grasshoppers (25-25, 71-49) at West Virginia Power (28-22, 51-69)

Game 121 | August 14, 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 Jake Esch (0-1, 7.94) vs. RH Nick Kingham (5-7, 4.74)

Esch: Surrendered 4 R on 4 H with 0 K and 2 BB over 1.1 relief IP on 8/09 @ ROM (9-8 Hoppers)

Kingham: Allowed 2 R on 3 H over 5.2 IP with 4 K and 2 BB in 8/09 Win @ LEX (8-3 Power)

POWER REPLAY: West Virginia rallied to beat Greensboro 9-6 on Monday evening. The Grasshoppers took a 1-0 lead on a home run by Matt Smith in the second innings and added four in the top of the fourth of Power starter Zack Von Rosenberg. West Virginia scored three in the fourth and three in the fifth to take Von Rosenberg off the hook and push the Power out to a 6-5 lead. West Virginia added three insurance runs in the seventh before Greensboro closed the scoring with a run in the ninth. Orlando Castro pitched three shutout innings of relief for the victory. Eric Avila had three hits and drove in four runs to key the comeback.

TWO TO GO: West Virginia continues its' final series of the regular season against Greensboro tonight. The Power lead the all-time series with the Grasshoppers 61-44 dating back to 2005, though the Grasshoppers won the 2011 series 10-9 and have taken seven of 12 this year. Greensboro clinched a playoff berth by winning the SAL Northern Division title in the first half of the 2012 season.

KINGHAM OF THE HILL: Nick Kingham will face Greensboro for the third time this season. The right-hander is 1-1 this year against the Hoppers with an ERA of 0.96 over two starts. Kingham took a loss on May 8 at Greensboro after allowing six runs, one of which was earned, over three and a third. On July 24, he pitched six shutout innings at NewBridge Bank Ballpark for the win. Kingham leads the Power in ERA, strikeouts, and innings pitched and his 23 starts is tied for the most in the league this year.

CROWDED FIELD: Fiveteams remain within three games of first place in the SAL's Northern Division in the second half, but the Power current have sole possession of first place. West Virginia has a half game lead over Hagerstown and a full game lead over Hickory. Lakewood is now two games back after a Monday loss while Greensboro is three back of the lead. Head-to-head matchup records are the first tie-breaker to determine the division champion in the event that overall records are even. The Power have beaten the BlueClaws in the season series, lost to the Suns, and could still split with the Hoppers and Crawdads.

EVENED UP: Monday's victory moved West Virginia to an even 28-28 at home this season with 13 games left at Appalachian Power Park. In each year since the Power became a Pirates affiliate in 2009, the team has finished within one game of .500 at home. The 2009 team was 33-34, the 2010 club went 34-35, and last season's edition was 34-33.

HOMER HISTORY: For the first time in Power franchise history, four players have hit 15 or more home runs in a single season. The club has had more players reach double digits in past seasons (7 in 2010 is the current record), but only the 2007 team received more home runs from it top four sluggers (70 including Stephen Chapman's single season Power record of 24).

STREAK NEWS: Francisco Diaz has hit safely in his last 11 games and is hitting .529 during this streak that began on July 13 with 18 hits in his last 34 at bats. Gregory Polanco's has hit safely in each of his last nine games. Elias Diaz has exactly one hit in each of his last six games.

POWER POINTS: Dan Gamache's four hit game on Saturday was the first of his career and fifth by a Power player this season... Power pitching coach Willie Glen left the club over the weekend to celebrate the birth of his first child. Pittsburgh has sent Rehab Coordinator Miguel Bonilla to Charleston to serve as the team's interim pitching coach while Glen is on paternity leave.

AROUND THE ORGANIZATION: Pittsburgh fell 5-4 to the LA Dodgers. Pittsburgh fell five games behind Cincinnati in the NL Central with the loss.. Indianapolis, Altoona, and Bradenton were all idle on Monday...State College is off for the NYPL All-Star Break.

ON THE AIR: All 140 West Virginia Power games can be heard on ESPN 104.5 FM and 1490 AM in Charleston, WV 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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