CarL1 Winston-Salem Dash

Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes (April 18 at Potomac)

April 18, 2019 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release


The Dash open up a seven-game road trip with the first of a four-game set against the Potomac Nationals on Thursday in Woodbridge, Va. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m..

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WINSTON-SALEM DASH (6-8) at Potomac Nationals (6-8)

LHP Kyle Kubat (1-0, 2.45 ERA) vs. LHP Nick Raquet (1-1, 4.50 ERA)

7:05 p.m. - Pfitzner Stadium (Woodbridge, Va.)

Game #15 (Away Game #8)

BATTENFIELD SHINES IN 2-1 LOSS

Winston-Salem starter Blake Battenfield shined in seven innings of work, but the Wilmington Blue Rocks pulled out a 2-1 victory over the Warthogs on Wednesday night at BB&T Ballpark. With Winston-Salem sporting its retro Warthogs jerseys, Battenfield pitched seven strong innings, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out five. Battenfield's seven-inning effort marked the longest outing by any Winston-Salem pitcher this season. However, the Blue Rocks scored two unearned in the third to take the rubber match.

A HOT START FOR LA PANTERA

Luis Robert, who is ranked the 38th-best prospect in all of baseball per MLB Pipeline, was named the Carolina League Player of the Week for April 4-14, the league office announced on Monday. Robert is off to a hot start to 2019. In 12 games played, he is 24-for-51 with five homers, 16 RBIs and a batting line of .471/.518/.902. He has also already posted 10 multi-hit games this year. The 21-year-old leads the Carolina League in batting average, hits, home runs, slugging percentage, OPS, extra-base hits and total bases. Robert was inked to a $26 million signing bonus by the White Sox in May of 2017. It was the second-largest bonus given to an amateur, behind only Yoan Moncada's deal with the Boston Red Sox ($31 million). Robert posted an .813 slugging percentage in big league Spring Training this year.

YOUNGEST IN FULL-SEASON MILB

Justin Jirschele is the 48th manager in Winston-Salem's franchise history, and he is the first former Dash player to become the team's skipper. Despite celebrating his 29th birthday on Monday, Jirschele is still the youngest manager in full-season Minor League Baseball this year. He previously served as the manager of the Low-A Kannapolis Intimidators, helping the team reach the playoffs in 2017 and 2018. Before joining the coaching ranks, Jirschele, the son of Kansas City Royals third base coach Mike Jirschele, played in the White Sox system from 2012-2015. Justin played for the Dash in 2014 and 2015.

THE HOTTEST FROST THERE IS

Thanks to a 2-for-4 performance on Wednesday, Tyler Frost extended his hitting streak to eight games, which is the longest streak of its kind this season for a Dash batter. Among his two hits yesterday, Frost smashed a 404-foot homer to left-center, good for his first High-A blast. Throughout the hitting streak, Frost is 12-for-34 with the aforementioned homer, four doubles and a triple. The 23-year-old was a 15th-round pick by the White Sox in 2017 out of Gonzaga University. Last season, Frost led Low-A Kannapolis with 18 long balls.

HELLO, PFITZ

Winston-Salem kicks off a four-game set at Pftizner Stadium on Thursday, marking the first of three trips to Woodbridge, Va., this season. This will be the last season that the Nationals High-A affiliate will play at Pfitzner Stadium, as the club will move to Fredericksburg starting in 2020. A new state-of-the-art facility will be located at Celebrate Virginia South on Carl D. Silver Parkway near the Fredericksburg Expo & Convention Center in Fredericksburg. Last week, Potomac traveled to Winston-Salem to kick off the 10th anniversary season at BB&T Ballpark, splitting a four-game set from April 11-14.

A FAMILIAR FACE IN THE ROTATION

Left-hander Kyle Kubat, who pitched for the Dash in 2017 and 2018, takes the hill in the first game of Winston-Salem's four-game set against Potomac. In his second outing of the season last Saturday, Kubat allowed just two hits against the P-Nats in six innings of work en route to his first victory of the year. Kubat was acquired by the White Sox in a trade from the Kansas City Royals for cash considerations in March of 2017. The southpaw has been put in the rotation full time after spending a majority of last season in a reliever role. Kubat was primarily a starter with the University of Nebraska, where he finished in the top 10 in innings pitched in Cornhuskers history by the time he graduated.

DASH DOTS

Winston-Salem played one series at Potomac last year, taking three of four from May 25-28.

Check out the Winston-Salem Dash Statistics



Carolina League Stories from April 18, 2019


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