SAL Winston-Salem Dash

Winston-Salem Dash: Game Notes (July 24)

Published on July 24, 2021 under South Atlantic League (SAL)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release


The Dash take on Jersey Shore for the fifth game in a six-game set tonight. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m..

WINSTON-SALEM DASH (29-41) vs. Jersey Shore BlueClaws (30-40)

LHP Dan Metzdorf (3-2, 5.35 ERA) vs. RHP Kevin Gowdy (3-5. 4.18 ERA)

6:00 p.m. - Truist Stadium (Winston-Salem, NC)

Game #71

DASH RALLY FALLS SHORT IN 9-5 LOSS

After falling behind 7-0, the Winston-Salem Dash cut the deficit to two before falling 9-5 to the Jersey Shore BlueClaws Friday night.

The Dash looked to be facing a shutout through six innings after a dominant starting performance from 'Claws starter Ethan Lindow, who fanned five in six strong innings. Come the seventh, Gunnar Troutwine blasted a three-run homer to put the Dash within four at 7-3.

Winston-Salem kept the offense rolling in the eighth after Lenyn Sosa was driven in on an Alex Destino two-run homer, putting the Dash down 7-5. Jersey Shore extinguished the Dash rally in the ninth after Logan O'Hoppe cracked a two-run homer to seal the first win of the series for Jersey Shore.

Troutwine collected his first career three-RBI game with the Dash, logging three hits in the loss.

KEVIN GOWDY: UNDETERRED AND CHARGING AHEAD

A second-round selection from Santa Barbara (CA) HS, Kevin Gowdy starts for the 12th time this season maintaining a 4.18 ERA and 3-5 record in 56 innings. While the righty mixes in a fastball, curveball, and changeup/splitter to generate swings and misses (58 strikeouts this year), the road to Hig-A was far from linear.

Gowdy was paid to a hefty above-slot deal in 2016 to forgo his commitment to UCLA, slotting in as the 11th-highest bonus in the draft despite being taken with the 42nd pick. After just four starts with the GCL Phillies in 2017, the righty was forced to undergo Tommy John surgery, knocking him out for the remainder of 2017 as well as all of 2018.

Upon returning to baseball in 2019, Gowdy's command was rusty, leading to an 0-6 record and 4.68 ERA in 16 starts. After 2020 was wiped out, Gowdy was happy to get back to the mound for the 2021 campaign, where he flashed more of the impressive stuff that led to his second-round selection. The righty developed a new pitch - a splitter - during his time away from the mound as well, working in a new pitch to fool hitters.

LA PANTERA RETURNS TO W-S

For the second time this year, the Dash welcome back a member of the Chicago White Sox's 40-man roster. Luis Robert returns to Winston-Salem as the first step on a rehab assignment after suffering a torn right hip flexor on May 3. Robert, who finished second in American League Rookie of the Year voting in 2020, played for the Dash for 52 games between the 2018 and 2019 seasons. The outfielder amassed an eye-popping 1.432 OPS in 19 games with Winston-Salem in 2019, reaching Triple-A Charlotte by the conclusion of the '19 campaign. By the beginning of the 2020 season, Robert was patrolling the outfield at Guaranteed Rate Field on an everyday basis, smacking 11 homers while slugging .436.

TAKING A LOOK AT THE BLUECLAWS

Statistically speaking, Jersey Shore profiles as a pitching dominant team that has struggled to hit the ball at times. The BlueClaws pitching staff ranks fifth in ERA (3.99) in the High-A East, while ranking fifth in walks (5th), third in homeruns allowed (56), and first in save percentage (83.3%). Additionally, Jersey Shore holds hitters to a .232 batting average, good for the fifth best in the High-A East.

Offensively, Jersey Shore has struggled to produce this year. The BlueClaws rank last in the High-A East in batting average (.203), on-base percentage (.295), and slugging percentage (.331). Jersey Shore also ranks last in doubles (75) and hits (414), while ranking 11th in homers (54).

A PREVIEW OF TOMORROW

The Dash will send Bailey Horn to the mound for the lefty's second start of the series Sunday. Horn tossed three hitless innings in the series opener.

Jersey Shore turns to Tyler McKay for the righty's eighth appearance and fourth start of the season on Saturday. McKay was scheduled to be the second starter used in the piggyback rotation on Sunday, but will earn the start after Noah Skirrow was promoted to Double-A Reading on Thursday. McKay, a 16th round pick from Howard (TX) JC, has tossed 19 innings with the BlueClaws this year, amassing 14 strikeouts.

Check out the Winston-Salem Dash Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from July 24, 2021


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