SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

West Virginia Power: Game Notes (August 21)

Published on August 21, 2018 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


West Virginia wraps up its four-game series against the Charleston RiverDogs tonight, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. from Appalachian Power Park. RHP Hunter Stratton (5-5, 4.57 ERA) toes the rubber for the Power.

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POWER BLANKS CHARLESTON AGAIN: Max Kranick turned in another phenomenal performance at Appalachian Power Park, and was backed by a repeat offensive surge as West Virginia shut out the Charleston RiverDogs for the second straight night, this time by a score of 9-0, Monday evening. Kranick dealt over the first six innings, allowing just three singles and striking out five batters. Joel Cesar pitched the final three frames, ceding a pair of hits while fanning two and walking one. The Power's offense came alive against Nolan Martinez with a five-run fourth inning. Travis Swaggerty started the big frame with a single to left. After Calvin Mitchell worked a walk, Raul Hernandez singled to load the bases. Rodolfo Castro brought in the first run of the night with a fielder's choice ground out. Martinez then walked Robbie Glendinning and Luke Mangieri to plate a run before hitting Jesse Medrano and tallying West Virginia's third run of the inning. Lolo Sanchez capped the scoring with a two-run single to left. Swaggerty tacked on the Power's sixth run with a solo shot to left-center in the fifth against Daniel Ramos before Glendinning came home on a wild pitch in the sixth. Deon Stafford joined the fun with a solo homer of his own in the seventh, while Mangieri finalized West Virginia's offensive output with an RBI double down the left-field line.

0+0 = ZERO: Kranick and Cesar combined to record West Virginia's 10th shutout win of the season Monday, and the club's second consecutive blanking of the RiverDogs. The Power has posted consecutive shutouts one other time this season (June 8 doubleheader at Hickory). The Power's 10 shutout victories are tied with Delmarva, Greensboro, Kannapolis, Lexington and Rome for fourth-most in the league, while their .625 winning percentage is third-highest.

FEELING 22: Dating back to the sixth inning of the Power's series opener against the RiverDogs, West Virginia's pitching staff has not allowed a run over its last 22 innings against Charleston. That stretch is the longest scoreless streak of the season for the Power, snapping an 18-inning span from the sixth inning June 7 against Lexington through the end of the Power's doubleheader sweep at Hickory June 8. The Power has not tossed more than 22 scoreless innings since July 12-14, 2016, versus Augusta, when West Virginia blanked the GreenJackets in three straight games.

KKKKKRANICK: Kranick was brilliant over his six innings of work Monday night. The right-hander collected his third quality start of the season and set down 10 of the final 11 batters faced. Kranick's five punch outs tied him with Travis MacGregor for the team lead in strikeouts with 74. In 10 starts at Appalachian Power Park this season, the Valley View (PA) High School product has a 2.66 ERA (15 ER/50.2 IP) with a 4-3 record compared to an 0-2 record with a 6.66 mark on the road. Kranick has not allowed a run in six of his 16 starts with West Virginia this season.

THE BIG INNING: With its five-run fourth inning Monday, West Virginia tallied its 10th "big inning" (scoring five or more runs in a frame) of the season. The most runs the Power have scored in a single inning this season is seven, which the team has accomplished twice (April 14, 7 in the 9th at Hickory and April 21, 7 in the 8th vs. Asheville).

SURGING STAFFORD: Stafford has been hitting very well since coming off the disabled list August 4. The Power backstop went 2-for-4 with a home run and a double Monday, notching his 20th multi-hit game of the season. Since returning from the shelf in early August, Stafford is averaging .295 (13-for-34) with four home runs and 12 RBI.

HE'S GOT SWAG: Swaggerty launched his first South Atlantic League home run in the fifth inning Monday against Ramos. The Pirates' 2018 first-round pick now has five home runs in professional baseball. Prior to his 2-for-5 effort Monday evening, Swaggerty was 0-for-9 in the Charleston series with three strikeouts. Swaggerty and Stafford's homers upped the Power's season total to 80, eighth-most in the South Atlantic League (Asheville leads the pack with 139).

PLAYOFF PUSH: With West Virginia's win yesterday and Kannapolis splitting its pair of games against Greensboro, the Power shortened the I's lead to two games in the race for the South Atlantic League's Northern Division Wild Card spot. If West Virginia wins tonight and Kannapolis falls in both games, the Power would be just 0.5 games back. The Power has 13 games remaining in the 2018 season with one series left against an above-.500 team (Rome, 8/23-26).

POWER POINTS: Five of West Virginia's final 13 games are against the Charleston RiverDogs (August 31-September 3 in S.C.)... The Power is 23-0 when their offense scores eight or more runs in a game... Monday marked West Virginia's fourth win by nine or more runs this season... The Power is 25-15 when their starter goes six innings or more in a game... Hernandez's .442 August average is the fifth-highest mark in MiLB (Colton Welker, .488, High-A Lancaster).

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