Winston-Salem Dash: Game Notes (August 3 vs. Carolina)
August 3, 2019 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release
Looking to bounce back from a series-opening loss, Winston-Salem continues its three-game set against the Carolina Mudcats on Saturday. First pitch is set for 4 p.m..
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WINSTON-SALEM DASH (19-22, 57-48) vs. Carolina Mudcats (18-24, 57-54)
LHP Konnor Pilkington (2-8, 5.96 ERA) vs. RHP Matt Smith (4-8, 3.29 ERA)
4 p.m. - BB&T Ballpark (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
Game #106 (Home Game #54)
MCCLURE LOGS QUALITY START IN LOSS
Kade McClure earned a quality start by allowing just two runs across six innings, but the Dash ultimately fell 2-1 to the Carolina Mudcats on Friday night at BB&T Ballpark. Winston-Salem struck first against Carolina starter Christian Taugner in the bottom of the first. To lead off the frame, Steele Walker smacked a triple into right field. The next batter, Mitch Roman, blooped a single into left field to score Walker and make it 1-0. The Mudcats responded in the top of the second. With two outs, Pat McInerney belted a solo homer to left field, knotting the score at one. Carolina claimed the lead in the next inning. Starting a two-out rally, Mario Feliciano doubled off the top of the wall in left field. Tristen Lutz then bounced a single into left field, scoring Feliciano to make it 2-1.
VAUGHN PROMOTED TO THE DASH
Infielder 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, earned his first career promotion to High-A Winston-Salem, the White Sox announced on Wednesday. Prior to joining the White Sox system, Vaughn had an incredible career at Cal. As a sophomore in 2018, the first baseman won the Golden Spikes Award as the best amateur baseball player in the United States and the Pac-12 Player of the Year. Vaughn posted a .402/.531/.819 batting line, while hitting 23 home runs and striking out just 18 times. Vaughn is the highest drafted player in Cal history.
FIRST-ROUNDERS IN WINSTON
Since 2014, the Dash have had the White Sox first-round pick (or picks) in five out of the last six years, with the lone exception coming in 2017 when Jake Burger finished out his season with Low-A Kannapolis. Here is the full look over the years:
2014: LHP Carlos Rodon (3rd overall)
2015: RHP Carson Fulmer (8th overall)
2016: C Zack Collins (10th overall) and RHP Zack Burdi (26th overall)
2018: INF Nick Madrigal (4th overall)
2019: INF Andrew Vaughn (3rd overall)
LOOKING TO PUT THE "K" IN KONNOR
Left-hander Konnor Pilkington will make his 14th start for Winston-Salem on Saturday. Pilkington, who was named the White Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Month for April, is 1-7 with a 6.58 ERA in eight second-half starts. However, his last first-half start was spectacular, as he carried a no-hit bid into the sixth against the Mudcats before having it broken up by a single from Ryan Aguilar. His no-hit bid (5.2IP) on June 15 was the longest for a Dash pitcher since Dane Dunning went 6.1 no-hit frames at Myrtle Beach on April 11, 2018, before giving up a hit. A former third-round pick out of Mississippi State, Pilkington has allowed one run or fewer in eight out of 19 starts this year between Low-A Kannapolis and Winston-Salem. More information is available on page 3.
THE GIVE AND TAKE OFFENSIVELY
The offense has been up and down for Winston-Salem in the second half. Over the first 41 games of the second half, Winston-Salem has scored just 158 runs, equating to about 3.9 runs per game. Despite some early offensive struggles to start the second half, the Dash are the only team in the Carolina League that is in the top three in batting average (3rd, .253), on-base percentage (1st, .334) and slugging percentage (2nd, .385). Meanwhile, the Dash are third in homers (75).
NOT MUCH SEPARATION
Outside of three games, the Dash have only played contests where the margin of victory or defeat was less than four runs in the second half. Here is the breakdown of the Dash's record in those 38 games:
One-run games: 5-10
Two-run games: 5-5
Three-run games: 5-3
Four-run games: 3-2
MAN OF STEELE
Despite recording the final out on Friday, Walker is 10-for-29 with a homer and four RBIs during the Dash's homestand. In 38 games since the All-Star Break, the former second-round pick is posting a .468 slugging percentage.
Carolina League Stories from August 3, 2019
- Dominant First Inning Propels Sox to 9-4 Victory - Salem Red Sox
- Jacob Meyers Promoted to Double-A Corpus Christi - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- Sepulveda Plays Hero, Birds Down Woodpeckers - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Pelicans Muscle Past Woodpeckers to Control Series - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- Six-Run First Fuels Salem over Lynchburg - Lynchburg Hillcats
- P-Nats Win Fifth in a Row in Ten-Inning Thriller - Potomac Nationals
- Pozo Homer Gives Wood Ducks Walk-Off Win - Frederick Keys
- Pozo Blasts Walk-Off Homer To Knock Off Keys - Down East Wood Ducks
- Carolina Unable to Overcome Early Deficit in 6-4 Loss to Dash - Carolina Mudcats
- Pilkington, Bats Push Dash Past Mudcats - Winston-Salem Dash
- August 3 - Carolina Mudcats Game Information - Carolina Mudcats
- August 3 Game Information - Down East Wood Ducks
- Myrtle Beach Pelicans Game Notes: August 3 at Fayetteville - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Winston-Salem Dash: Game Notes (August 3 vs. Carolina) - Winston-Salem Dash
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