Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes (August 6 at Carolina)
August 6, 2015 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release
The Dash and Mudcats tangle in a crucial rubber match on Thursday at 7 p.m. from Five County Stadium. Winston-Salem leads Carolina by 2.5 games for the Southern Division's final playoff spot.
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WINSTON-SALEM DASH (24-15, 54-55) at CAROLINA MUDCATS (22-18, 56-53)
RHP Yency Almonte (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Rob Whalen (1-1, 2.13 ERA)
7 p.m. - Five County Stadium (Zebulon, N.C.)
Game #111 (Road Game #54)
MUDCATS RETURN FAVOR WEDNESDAY
One night after Winston-Salem recorded a wire-to-wire win, the Carolina Mudcats accomplished that feat on Wednesday. Carolina plated four in the first and cruised from there en route to a 7-1 victory at Five County Stadium. Carolina starter Seth Webster limited Winston to one run on seven hits over seven innings. The Dash's offense only pushed two men into scoring position. Brandon Brennan left in the fourth inning (right hand injury) and suffered the loss.
BACK TO 2.5 GAMES
Due to Wednesday's loss, the Dash's lead on the Mudcats for the final Southern Division playoff spot decreased to two-and-a-half games. Winston-Salem would clinch a spot alongside first-half champion Myrtle Beach in the Southern Division Championship Series by finishing the second half ahead of Carolina and Salem. The Red Sox are already nine-and-a-half games behind the Dash. After this rubber match, the Dash and Mudcats will meet for one more set, a three-game clash in the Triad from August 21-23.
ALMONTE'S DAY
With the series on the line, Winston-Salem turns to righty Yency Almonte, who will make his first start with the Dash. Almonte did make a lengthy relief effort in the continuation of a suspended game from June 2. Before his promotion on Tuesday, Almonte was 8-4 with a 3.88 earned run average in 17 appearances (16 starts) with Low-A Kannapolis. This includes a near no-hitter on July 4 at August. For more information on Almonte, visit page three of the attached document.
ONE OUT AWAY
Almonte fell one out short of history on July 4 at Augusta. He fell one out away from a nine-inning solo no-hitter, which would have been the first of its kind in Kannapolis franchise history. With two down in the ninth inning, Jeremy Sy hit a base hit up the middle. Following another single, Almonte left contest, and Kelvis Valerio preserved the 1-0 victory by logging a strikeout. In addition to the two late hits, Almonte walked one and hit a batter. Current Dash infielder Eddy Alvarez broke a scoreless tie in the ninth by leading off with a single, advancing on a wild pitch and a sacrifice bunt and scoring on a fielder's choice. After the game, Almonte told MiLB.com: "I couldn't even get mad. I was just laughing because I got that far and for me, I get behind in the count and then I give up a weak ground ball up the middle...When I saw it go into the outfield, I threw my hands up in the air and started laughing."
A STERLING DASH DEBUT
A few weeks before his near no-hitter, Almonte made a brief, but impactful, visit to Winston-Salem. He was needed to eat up some innings in a suspended game from June 2, which was completed on June 20. Almonte held Salem to just two runs, neither of which were earned, over seven innings, which represents the longest relief appearance by a Dash hurler thus far this season. He helped the Dash lock down a 8-2 victory over Salem. Almonte did return to Kannapolis after that outing for six more starts, and he went 3-1 with a 3.03 earned run average before his second promotion to High-A on August 4.
AWESOME ALVAREZ
Winston-Salem infielder Eddy Alvarez drove in the Dash's lone run on Wednesday. Alvarez is 9-for-23 (.391) with two homers, eight RBIs and six runs scored during his current six-game hit streak, the longest active run on the Dash. He has hit safely in 11 of his first 13 games in the Carolina League. During this span, which dates back to July 22, Alvarez is 16-for-44 (.364), an average that is good for fifth on the circuit.
WORST TO FIRST
Winston-Salem was in last place in the Southern Division for the final 50 days of the season's first half. However, the Dash have enjoyed at least a share of first place for the first 42 days of half two. In their previous five halves (2013 first half to 2015 first half), the Dash were in first for a combined 33 days. The squad's current first-place streak will become the longest since Winston-Salem became the Dash in 2009. The Dash are guaranteed to be atop the Southern Division after play on Thursday night. Here are the top four such streaks in the Dash era:
T-1. 42 days from July 28-September 7, 2009
T-1. 42 days from June 25, 2015-present
3. 41 days from May 10-June 20, 2010
4. 35 days from July 31-September 3, 2012
NO MORE NINE
Dash outfielder Adam Engel's nine-game hit streak, his longest of the season, came to an end with an 0-for-4 showing Wednesday. During this run, Engel was 12-for-32 (.375) with 10 runs scored. The former Louisville Cardinal fell one game shy of recording the fifth double-digit hit streak by a Winston-Salem hitter in 2015.
MORE DIVISIONAL FUN
The Dash will depart Zebulon for Winston-Salem after Thursday's finale. Winston will entertain Salem for a three-game weekend set that begins Friday night at 7. This will mark the first time in the second half that the division rivals will tangle. Salem owns an 11-7 lead in the overall season series, though the Sox are a Southern Division-worst 15-25 in half two and 53-57 overall.
DASH DOTS
Engel (48) and Alvarez (47) are fourth and fifth, respectively, in Minor League Baseball in stolen bases...Alvarez swiped a base on Wednesday for his fifth at the High-A level, while Engel has only collected one stolen base in his last four games after logging 13 in his previous 12...Since June 12, the Dash have played 22 road games, and 13 of them have taken place at Five County Stadium (this includes Thursday's game).
Carolina League Stories from August 6, 2015
- Don't Call It a Comeback: Birds Walk off Again - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Red Sox Salvage Series Finale - Frederick Keys
- Almonte Leads Dash to 3-0 Series Clinching Victory in Zebulon - Carolina Mudcats
- Castillo Single Gives 'Cats Walk-Off Win - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Red Sox Swipe Soggy 3-2 Win over Keys - Salem Red Sox
- Winston-Salem Shuts Down Mudcats, Wins Critical Series - Winston-Salem Dash
- Rocks Team with Premier Orthopaedic & Sports Medicineas Presenting Sponsor of Postseason Action - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Luke Jackson Gets the Call to the Majors - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- August 6 Carolina Mudcats Game Information - Carolina Mudcats
- Pelicans Game Notes: 7:05 p.m. vs. Wilmington Blue Rocks - August 6, 2015 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- RHP Brandon Brennan Placed on DL - Winston-Salem Dash
- Hillcats Game Notes August 6, 2015, 6:30 p.m. vs. Potomac - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Catcher Ben Carhart Returns from Disabled List - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes (August 6 at Carolina) - Winston-Salem Dash
- Seven Salem Errors Hand Keys Fourth Straight Win - Frederick Keys
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