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SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

West Virginia Power: Game Notes (May 31)

May 31, 2018 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


The Power conclude their series with Lexington with a doubleheader Thursday evening at Whitaker Bank Ballpark. First pitch is set for 5:35 p.m. with RHP Gavin Wallace (3-0, 3.86 ERA) on the mound in game one, followed by RHP Cody Bolton (1-0, 0.00 ERA) in game two and below.

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POWER UPENDED BY LEXINGTON, 12-6: Despite a valiant comeback effort with a four-run fifth, the Power were unable to respond a second time after Lexington plated six unanswered runs to run away with a 12-6 win in the series opener at Whitaker Bank Ballpark Tuesday evening. The Legends got to Domingo Robles early and often, chasing the Power starter after 5.1 innings during which he allowed 10 hits and nine runs (five earned), both career-highs for the lefty who saw his quality start streak end at four. West Virginia gave Robles an early cushion in the second, as Ben Bengtson and Lolo Sanchez each socked run-scoring singles to put the Power up 2-0, but Lexington responded with a pair of homers from Seuly Matias and Travis Jones to take the lead, 3-2, after three. They extended the lead with a three-run fourth to make it 6-2, but West Virginia rebounded in the fifth. Sanchez cranked his second home run of the season to close the gap to 6-3, Oneil Cruz singled up the middle, moved to third on a pickoff throwing error by MJ Melendez and scored on a wild pitch, Rodolfo Castro singled, Calvin Mitchell doubled him in and Brett Pope brought in Mitchell with a base knock to tie the game at six. However, the Legends broke through with three more in the sixth and the seventh to put the game away, as Tad Ratliff earned his first MiLB win with 2.1 scoreless innings of relief.

MULTI-HIT MITCHELL: Mitchell's 2-for-5 showing Tuesday marked his 15th multi-hit game of the season. The Pirates' 15th-best prospect per MLB.com is one of two Power batters with double digit multi-hit efforts in 2018 (Cruz, 12). Mitchell has hit safely in nine of his last 12 games, and in 17 of his 24 May contests, although his May average is .278, 86 points below his torrid .364 April clip. Overall, Mitchell's .320 stroke is sixth-best in the SAL. Mitchell has found more success on the road in 2018, boasting a .365 clip (18G) compared to a .288 stroke at home (29G).

HOLY HOMERS: After going homerless across their four-game series against Kannapolis, Sanchez broke the Power's drought with his second home run of the year, and first to actually leave the ballpark. West Virginia's 45 homers still stand at third-best in the league behind Asheville (50) and Lexington (54). Every active Power batter has at least one home run in 2018.

WHITE SMOKE! A NEW POPE: Pope has gotten off to a hot start since his promotion to the Power. After going hitless in his first game, Pope has recorded a hit in his last seven contests, averaging .500 (11-for-22) with a home run and four RBI. The only SAL batter faring better than Pope since May 22 is Hagerstown's Luis Garcia, who is averaging .536 (15-for-28) with a home run and seven RBI over nine games. Pope has also played exceptional defense for West Virginia, committing two errors in 22 total chances over 61.1 innings between second and third base.

BACK IN CRUZ CONTROL: Cruz recorded his 12th multi-hit game of the season Tuesday with a 2-for-5 effort, second-best on the team (Mitchell, 15). In the month of May, Cruz is averaging a team-best .323 (30-for-93) mark, 108 points higher than his .215 April clip, while stroking three homers and 10 RBI and posting an .OPS of .879. The infielder has been clutch with RISP and two outs, boasting a .304 average with a home run and 11 of his 27 RBI.

A TURN FOR THE WORSE: On May 15, the Power sat at 22-14, winners of seven of their last eight games and just 2.5 games back in the first half Northern Division standings. Since then, West Virginia has dropped nine of its last 12 games, including three straight series to Lexington, Columbia and Kannapolis, and are now 7.0 games back. During this stretch, the Power are hitting .244 (90-for-369) while the pitching staff has posted a 3.90 ERA (43 ER/99.1 IP).

WILY WEIMAN PROMOTED: Blake Weiman was exceptional in 2018 for the Power. The left-hander hurled two perfect innings in Friday's 5-0 win over Kannapolis, striking out a pair and bringing his season ERA down to 1.29 over 14 appearances. These sterling frames came one outing after he had the best relief appearance of his season, twirling a career-high four scoreless innings on May 21 in Columbia, where he stranded four baserunners in extras. The Kansas product did not allow a run in his final 10.1 innings, during which he had 13 strikeouts. The Power won the last six games Weiman appeared in. Weiman held the lowest BB/9IP in the SAL at 0.64, while his 7.71 baserunners/9IP was fourth-lowest when he was promoted. Joel Cesar was activated off the disabled list as the corresponding move.

POWER POINT: Mason Martin is mired in a 5-for-47 (.106) slump in the month of May with 24 strikeouts.

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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