CarL1 Winston-Salem Dash

Winston-Salem Dash: Game Notes (August 23 at Potomac)

August 23, 2019 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release


After winning three consecutive series, the Dash now continue their road trip with the first of a three-game set at Potomac on Friday. Winston-Salem sits three games back of Fayetteville with 11 games remaining in the second-half Southern Division wild card race.

First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m..

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WINSTON-SALEM DASH (29-29, 67-55) at Potomac Nationals (30-28, 60-65)

LHP Konnor Pilkington (3-9, 5.54 ERA) vs. RHP Malvin Pena (5-9, 6.42 ERA)

Game #123 (Away Game #62)

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

SIX-RUN EIGHTH GUIDES DASH TO WIN

Thanks to a six-run eighth inning on Thursday night, the Dash outlasted the Lynchburg Hillcats 9-4 at City Stadium to earn a series victory. With the Hillcats lead 4-3 in the eighth inning, Justin Garza recorded two outs in the eighth inning before running into trouble. Carlos Perez smacked a double to left-center, and, after JJ Muno pinch ran for Perez, Jameson Fisher tied the game with a run-scoring single to right-center. Jonathan Teaney replaced Garza, and he proceeded to give up an infield single to Johan Cruz. After Tate Blackman drew a walk, Yeyson Yrizarri recorded an RBI walk to give the Dash a 5-4 lead. Then, Steele Walker followed by registering an RBI walk to make it a 6-4 contest. Tyler Frost capped the scoring with a three-run double to left to increase the lead to five.

THE FIRST-ROUNDER IS HERE

Andrew Vaughn, who was picked by the Chicago White Sox out of the University of California-Berkeley with the third overall selection in the 2019 Draft, joined the Dash's roster on July 31. In 20 games played with the Dash, the first-rounder has recorded at least one RBI in 12 games.

WALKER, REMILLARD NAMED ALL-STARS

Walker and former Dash utility infielder Zach Remillard earned CL Year-End All-Star honors, the league office announced on Thursday. Walker has won CL Player of the Week on two separate occasions this season (June 10-16 and July 29- August 4), and hit for the third cycle in Dash history on June 14 at Carolina. Before his promotion to Double-A Birmingham on July 31, Remillard was one of the most consistent players in the league. The former Coastal Carolina star led Winston-Salem with a .289 batting average.

WALKING ALL OVER CL PITCHING

Walker has been a steady presence at the top of the lineup. Over his last 20 games played, Walker is 30-for-81 with two homers, eight doubles, a triple and 15 runs.

KONNOR WITH A "K"

Left-hander Konnor Pilkington will make his 17th start for Winston-Salem on Friday. Pilkington, who was named the White Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Month for April, is 2-8 with a 5.76 ERA in 11 second-half starts. However, through three August starts, Pilkington is 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA. A former third-round pick out of Mississippi State, Pilkington has the longest no-hit bid of any Dash pitcher this season, when he began his outing against Carolina on June 15 with 5.2 no-hit innings before allowing a hit. Born on September 12, 1997, Pilkington is the youngest player on the Dash's roster.

GUNNING FOR THE PLAYOFFS

After winning seven out of its last nine games, Winston-Salem sits three games back of Fayetteville with 11 games remaining in the second-half Southern Division wild card race. This comes after finishing second in the first half with a 38-26 record. In the Dash's history (2009-present), Winston has had the best second-half record in the Southern Division five separate times. These years include 2009 (tied with Salem), 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2018 (tied with Buies Creek).

NOT A LOT OF SEPARATION

Outside of five games, the Dash have only played contests in the second half where the margin of victory or defeat was four runs or less. Here is the breakdown of the Dash's record in those 53 games:

One-run games: 6-13

Two-run games: 9-6

Three-run games: 8-4

Four-run games: 3-4

WELL-ROUNDED OFFENSIVELY

The Dash are the only team in the Carolina League that is in the top four in batting average (4th, .252), on-base percentage (1st, .332) and slugging percentage (2nd, .383). Meanwhile, Winston-Salem's 82 homers rank fourth in the Carolina League. Winston-Salem's 546 runs scored are second.

Check out the Winston-Salem Dash Statistics



Carolina League Stories from August 23, 2019


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