SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

Power Game Notes

Published on August 20, 2012 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


Charleston RiverDogs (23-32, 62-60) at West Virginia Power (31-25, 54-72)

Game 127 | August 20, 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 Corey Black (1-1, 4.22) vs. LH Mike Jefferson (4-7, 5.20)

Black: Allowed 3 R on 2 H with 7 K and 2 BB over 4.2 IP in 8/15 Loss @ ASH (6-0 Tourists)

Jefferson: Surrendered 6 R on 6 H over 4.2 IP with 4 K and 2 BB in 8/15 ND vs. GBO (7-6 Power)

POWER REPLAY: West Virginia beat Kannapolis 5-1 on Sunday to conclude their four game series. Nick Kingham pitched six innings of two-hit, one run ball and Joan Montero pitched three shutout frames for his first South Atlantic League save. Jose Osuna hit a solo home run in the second to start the offense off early. Eric Avila added a solo home run to key a three-run fifth and Osuna doubled in Alen Hanson in the seventh to cap the scoring. Four players had multi-hit games to back Kingham's sixth win this season.

FOUR! EricAvila has hit a home run in four straight games and five times during his eight game hitting streak. The Power third baseman is the second player in Power franchise history to hit one out in four consecutive games and the first Pirates prospect to do so. Caleb Gindl is the only other player to homer in four straight, accomplishing the feat from August 19 through 22 against Ashville at Appalachian Power Park during the 2008 season. Gindl was named SAL Player of the Week for his efforts, and Avila has been honored by the league in the same fashion for his efforts from August 13-20 (.423 with five home runs and nine runs batted in).

STILL STREAKING: Jose Osuna's hitting streak has reached 11 straight. This is Osuna's sixth streak of six or more games, most of any player on the team, and is his second that has reached double digits. The Power first baseman is batting .298 over his last ten games with two home runs and seven runs batted in.

POLANCO SHELVED: West Virginia placed Gregory Polanco on the Disabled List prior to Saturday's game against Kannapolis. Polanco has not played since sustaining an ankle injury on August 9 at Lexington while trying to beat out a ground ball. The move was made retroactive to August 16 and the All-Start outfielder is eligible to return on August 24.

RESTOCKING THE RELIEF CORPS: Pittsburgh utilized the open roster spot created by putting Gregory Polanco on the Disabled List to bolster the Power bullpen. Justin Ennis was promoted back to West Virginia from State College on Saturday. Ennis began the season with the Power and appeared in seven games before being transferred to State College on May 11. While with the Spikes, the southpaw did not factor in any decisions and held an ERA of 6.00 over eight games.

BRING ON THE BABY BOMBERS: West Virginia and Charleston will square off six times over the next ten days, including a three game series starting tonight at Appalachian Power Park. The RiverDogs own a 23-20 edge in the all-time series dating back to 2005. West Virginia has a record of 10-9 at home in this series and has gone 10-14 since 2005 at Charleston's Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park.

A GAME AND A HALF BACK: West Virginia, Hagerstown, and Hickory all won on Sunday, so the Power remain tied with the Crawdads and are a game and a half back from the Suns.

FYI: Head-to-head matchup records are the first tie-breaker to determine the division champion in the event that second half records are even. The second and third tie-breakers are based on records against divisional opponents.

POWER POINTS: Francisco Diaz went 0-4 on Saturday and saw his month-long 12 game hitting streak stopped. During that span, Diaz batted .500 with 19 hits over 38 at bats and drove in seven runs... Alen Hanson has walked eight times this month, six of which have come over his last five games.

AROUND THE ORGANIZATION: Pittsburgh outlasted St. Louis in 19 innings, winning 6-3. The game lasted six hours and seven minutes and helped the Buccos take the series... Indianapolis dropped a 5-3 final at Syracuse... Altoona lost 4-2 at New Hampshire... Bradenton lost 10-6 against Jupiter... State College lost 5-4 to Williamsport at Historic Bowman Field.

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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South Atlantic League Stories from August 20, 2012


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