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SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

West Virginia Power: Game Notes (July 20)

July 20, 2018 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


West Virginia continues its four-game series with the Lexington Legends tonight at Whitaker Bank Ballpark, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. RHP Travis MacGregor (1-2, 2.59 ERA) takes the slab.

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FOUR HOMERS BURY WEST VIRGINIA: Cody Bolton was roughed up in his first career start against the Lexington Legends, allowing three of the Legends' four homers over the first three innings as they cruised to a 10-1 win in the series opener Thursday night at Whitaker Bank Ballpark. Kyle Isbel was the first to homer off Bolton, leading off the game with a solo shot in his first at-bat as a Legend. In the second, Manny Olloque went deep to make it 2-0 Lexington before Cristian Perez yanked a three-run shot to left in the third to push it to a 5-0 edge. West Virginia was able to get to Daniel Lynch in the fourth, striking for one run on a fielding error by Perez that sent Rodolfo Castro in to score. He and Calvin Mitchell had led off the frame with back-to-back singles before Jesse Medrano hit the grounder right through Perez's legs that plated Castro. The Power had a chance for a lot more in that frame, but Lexington was able to snuff out Mitchell stealing home before gunning down Medrano as he tried to advance to third on Ben Bengtson's base knock. Sergio Cubilete relieved Bolton in the fourth and quieted the Legends for two innings, but Marten Gasparini ended their scoring drought with a two-run homer in the sixth, the team's fourth of the night. Lexington tacked on three more in the eighth to cap their night, as Cubilete spun a season-high tying five innings.

ROUGH MONTH: Bolton surrendered five runs on six hits while striking out three and walking one over three innings of work. He allowed three home runs in a game for the first time in his career and has now lost three straight decisions, also for the first time as a professional. In the month of July, Bolton is 0-3 with a 7.50 ERA (15 ER/18 IP) in four starts, despite recording two quality outings and 20 strikeouts to three walks. Prior to this stretch, the Tracy High School product was 3-0 with a 1.03 ERA through five starts as a member of the Power.

HARSH HOMERS: West Virginia's four home runs allowed Thursday was one shy of its season-high five, which they gave up against the Greensboro Grasshoppers on June 1 at First National Bank Field. Bolton became just the second Power pitcher to cough up three homers in a game, as Evan Piechota did so on June 1. The Legends are now just the second team in the South Atlantic League to reach the 100-home run plateau (Asheville, 111). In contrast, West Virginia has now ceded 75 home runs to opposing teams, the sixth-highest mark in the South Atlantic League. The Power have given up a lead-off home run in back-to-back contests for the first time this season.

404 ERROR MESSAGE: West Virginia's defense committed another error Thursday, upping its season total to 121, the fourth-highest total in the South Atlantic League (Rome, 127; Lexington, 124; Greenville, 122). West Virginia has a .964 fielding percentage, tied with Rome and Greenville for the second-worst mark in the league (Lexington, .963). Oneil Cruz leads the league in errors with 28.

POWER BATS STRUGGLING: After boasting a torrid .375 clip in June, Cruz is struggling to find his swing in July. The shortstop is batting .183 (11-for-60) in the month and is just 3 for his last 27 at-bats with seven strikeouts. Meanwhile, Mitchell is posting a miniscule .182 (10-for-55) stroke in July and is 4 for his last 33 at-bats with 10 strikeouts. As a team, West Virginia is 6-11 in July and has notched a .210 mark this month, the worst average in the league, while its 4.75 ERA is second-highest on the circuit (Asheville, 5.19).

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Power is in the midst of their longest road trip of the season, spanning eight games in eight days between Lexington, Kentucky, and Kannapolis, North Carolina, with West Virginia playing its final series against the Legends and the Intimidators in each of these four-game sets. The Power will play 17 of their next 24 contests away from Appalachian Power Park before closing out the season with 11 of their last 19 games at home.

SAL ALL-STAR GAME RETURNS TO CHARLESTON: The West Virginia Power and the City of Charleston will host the 2019 South Atlantic League All-Star Game, the team announced Thursday, July 12. 2019 will mark the second time Appalachian Power Park has played host to the SAL's Mid-Summer Classic, with the first time occurring back in 2009. The City of Charleston hosted the All-Star Game for the first time in 1989, when the team was named the Charleston Wheelers. The 2019 South Atlantic League All-Star Game will take place on Tuesday, June 18, 2019.

POWER POINTS: The Power's nine-run defeat at the hands of Lexington is their largest losing margin to the Legends this season... Fabricio Macias swiped his first base in affiliated Minor League Baseball Thursday... West Virginia went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, stranding five men on base. As a team, the Power is hitting .249 with RISP this season... Robbie Glendinning was added to the Power's roster Thursday, while Chris Sharpe was placed on the DL.

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