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SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

West Virginia Power: Game Notes (June 12)

June 12, 2018 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


Winners of six of their last eight games, West Virginia continues its four-game series with the Augusta GreenJackets tonight at SRP Park, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. RHP Gavin Wallace (4-0, 3.20 ERA) is on the mound and below.

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ROBLES DOMINATES, POWER HANGS ON FOR 5-4 WIN: Domingo Robles held a no-hitter through 5.1 innings and Oneil Cruz went 2-for-5 with three RBI as the Power took the series opener, 5-4, over the Augusta GreenJackets Monday evening at SRP Park. Robles allowed his first hit in the sixth on a squibber to the left of the mound from Heliot Ramos. Overall, the southpaw went seven strong innings, ceding just one run on a wild pitch in the seventh, and striking out eight to earn his fourth victory of the season. West Virginia scored first for the seventh time in their last eight games with a three-run second against Jason Bahr, as Kyle Watson collected the first RBI with a fielder's choice to third, while Cruz stroked a two-run double into the right-field corner to make it 3-0. In the fifth, Cruz picked up his third RBI of the evening with a single before Deon Stafford brought in Ryan Peurifoy with a fielder's choice to the shortstop. After Robles' stellar outing, Ike Schlabach spun a 1-2-3 eighth, but ran into trouble in the ninth, surrendering a lead-off walk to Orlando Garcia before Shane Matheny singled and Rob Calabrese clubbed a three-run homer to make it a one-run game. Schlabach was lifted for Beau Sulser, who worked around a one-out single to Nick Hill and slammed the door on Augusta's rally, notching his first save in the process.

ROLLING ROBLES: With his 5.1 no-hit innings Monday, Robles recorded the longest no-hit bid of his career. Until Ramos singled in the sixth, Robles had set down nine consecutive GreenJackets. The Dominican native has five quality starts in his last seven outings, including four consecutive in May. Robles has tossed seven innings three times in 2018, tying his career-high that he set last season with rookie-advanced Bristol. In June, the 20-year-old possesses a 0.90 ERA through two starts, hurling 10 innings and surrendering just five hits while striking out nine batters this month.

STREAKING: Ben Bengtson extended his hitting streak to 12 games with his first-inning single Monday against Bahr. Bengtson holds the longest active hitting streak on the Power. The infielder is averaging .310 (13-for-42) with six RBI in that span. The Concord, New Hampshire, native is one of three West Virginia sluggers to string together a hitting streak of 10 games or more in 2018 (Cruz, 10 and 14; Calvin Mitchell, 13). The Hartford product has increased his season average from .169 to .224 during this stretch (55 points).

PUT YOUR WINDOWS DOWN AND CRUZ: With his three-RBI effort Monday, Cruz recorded his 17th multi-hit game of the season, second on the team to Mitchell (19). The shortstop also collected his team-best ninth multi-RBI game of the season, and the Power's 11th three-RBI individual effort overall. Cruz's team-leading 36 RBI are second-best in the Pirates organization to Will Craig (Double-A Altoona), while his .292 season average is tied for seventh. Since May 1, the Pirates' 13th-best prospect per MLB.com is averaging .336 (46-of-137), the fifth-best mark in the SAL in that stretch, with four home runs and 19 RBI. Cruz has relished hitting in the leadoff spot, posting a .383 (36-for-94) clip with two homers and 13 RBI (24 games). He also has a .371 average in 35 at-bats in the first inning.

MASHING MITCHELL: Mitchell's fifth-inning single Monday continued a torrid stretch for the South Atlantic League All-Star. The San Diego native has hit safely in 19 of his last 23 games, and in 27 of his last 35 contests since May 1. Overall, Mitchell's .329 stroke is second-best in the SAL, trailing Kannapolis' Laz Rivera (.350), and in the Pirates organization to Jason Martin of Double-A Altoona. Mitchell has found more success on the road in 2018, boasting a .356 (36-for-101) clip (25 games) compared to a .305 (36-for-118) stroke at home (33 games).

NUMBERS MEAN EVERYTHING: With West Virginia's 5-4 win and Kannapolis' cancelled contest with Delmarva, the Power's elimination number in the first half is now five. Any combination of Kannapolis wins and West Virginia losses that adds up to five would eliminate the Power from postseason contention in the first half.

HEY NOW, YOU'RE AN ALL-STAR: Stafford and Mitchell were named South Atlantic League All-Stars last Tuesday, with the pair set to represent the Power at this year's Midsummer Classic in Greensboro, N.C., on June 19 at First National Bank Field. Stafford received his second consecutive All-Star nod, while Mitchell secured his first mid-season accolade. Stafford is the first Power catcher to garner an All-Star selection since Reese McGuire in 2014.

POWER POINTS: The Power have not homered in their last five games... West Virginia is now 10-10 in one-run games.

ON THE AIR: West Virginia Power games can be heard on The Jock 1300 & 1340 AM in the Kanawha Valley, online at wvpower.com and on the TuneIn Radio App. David Kahn and John Kocsis will handle play-by-play duties in 2018.

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