Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes May 15, 2010
Published on May 15, 2010 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release
Dash Doubles Up: Winston-Salem won its first 2010 match-up with the Hillcats last night, 6-3. Seth Loman hit a three run home run in the third inning to snap a 1-1 tie and Ozzie Lewis' fifth inning two-run double gave the Dash some insurance. Winston improved to 4-1 on its road trip and stayed a game ahead of Salem for first place in the Southern Division.
Happy Birthday, Kyle Shelton: Dash utility man Kyle Shelton turns 24 today. Shelton has been invaluable for Winston-Salem this season. The former Tar Heel has played first base, second base, third base, left field, right field, and designated hitter this season. He also served as the team's backup catcher for a game last month. Despite the moving around, Shelton has still managed to hit .300 with seven RBI and 12 runs scored in 20 games.
Quarter Pole: 35 games into the season, the Dash has reached the halfway point in the first half of the season. Winston is on pace for a 96-44 record which would tie the 1983 Lynchburg Mets for the second most wins in regular season Carolina League history since the league began splitting the season in two halves. The 1980 Peninsula Pilots went 100-40 to set the mark for best record.
Zero to the 14th Power: Justin Edwards comes into tonight's game off back-to-back superb outings. He tossed seven shutout innings and scattered four hits on Monday against Potomac. Previously against Frederick, Edwards went six scoreless innings. He is currently working on a 14 consecutive scoreless innings streak. With Monday's performance, Edwards lowered his ERA to 1.88, the second-lowest mark in the Carolina League.
Loman vs. Super Saver: Today Super Saver will try to win the second leg of the Triple Crown. Seth Loman already owns two of the categories of the Carolina League Triple Crown. Loman hit his tenth home run of the season last night, two better than any other CL hitter. He now has 31 RBI, trying him with Salem's Ryan Lavarnway for the league lead. Loman has a ways to go to catch up in batting average. His .273 clip is well behind teammate Brandon Short (.400)
Head of the Class: Brandon Short went 1 for 5 to extend his latest hitting streak to five games. During the streak, he is hitting .565 (13-23). He has now picked up a hit in all but two games this season and leads the Carolina League in batting average with an even .400 mark. He has an 11-point lead over Wilmington's Eric Hosmer (.389). Short also leads the league in hits, (66) runs scored (29), total bases (94), and extra-base hits (19).
A Fortnight of Hits: Dash 3B Jon Gilmore extended his hitting streak to 14 games last night a 2 for 5 game at the plate. He his hitting .303 over the streak, which is his second longest of the season (he had a 15-gamer over the last half of April).
Tony Stark Specials: Only three players in the Carolina League have played every game and two of them are on the Dash. Justin Greene and Brandon Short have been Winston-Salem's iron men, playing in all 35 games this season. Wilmington's Eric Hosmer has also played every game in 2010.
See the ball, hit the ball: Winston-Salem leads both the Carolina League and the rest of professional affiliated baseball in batting average and runs scored this season. The Dash's .318 clip is the best batting average of any professional affiliated team. Only two other teams have a batting average over .290 and no other team is higher than .297. The Dash's average is an absurd 50 points higher than any other Carolina League team (Salem is hitting .268). Winston has five players in the top ten in the league in batting average: Brandon Short (1st, .400), Ozzie Lewis (3rd, .355), Justin Greene (4th, .354), Jon Gilmore (6th, .342), and Drew Garcia (10th, .323). The team's 234 runs are the most of any team, majors or minors. AAA Durham is second with 221 runs in one more game than the Dash. Other than Winston and Durham, only two other teams have scored 200 or more runs this season
First Contact: One of Winston-Salem's few trouble areas on offense is its propensity to strike out frequently. The Dash leads the Carolina League with 288 K's. Despite this, the team still leads the league in batting average. When Dash players do make contact, they can be lethal for opposing pitching. The team's batting average on balls in play is a torrid .387.
Player of the Week: While his 26-game hitting streak is over, Brandon Short can take solace in being named the Carolina League's "Player of the Week." Short hit .412 with three doubles, two home runs, six RBI, and nine runs scored during the week. He became the second straight Dash player to win the award. OF Justin Greene won the honor last week.
Today's Opposing Starter: LHP Matt Fairel (3-0, 3.55) makes his eighth start and his first against Winston-Salem. He is coming off his longest outing of the 2010 season, a seven-inning performance at Wilmington in which he gave up four hits and three runs (two earned) with three strikeouts in a no-decision. He started the season with 11.2 shutout innings, running a scoreless streak to 32.1 innings dating back to last year. Fairel split his first professional season between low-A Dayton (8-5, 2.93) and Hi-A Sarasota (3-3, 3.24). Overall, he went 11-8 with a 3.03 ERA in 27 starts, striking out 137 batters in 160.2 innings. He led the Midwest League in strikeouts upon his promotion to the Florida State League. The lefty was selected in the 35th round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft as a draft-eligible sophomore out of Florida State University. Fairel was coaxed out of leaving Tallahassee early for an above-slot signing bonus. A native of Winter Haven, Florida, Fairel went 12-2 with a 3.79 ERA in 18 starts in his final year with the Seminoles. He throws his fastball in the mid-to-upper 80s and has good command of his sweeping curveball and changeup. At Winter Haven High School, Fairel threw a no-hitter his senior year and was named to the Florida 5A First Team All-State team after going 10-4 with a 1.49 ERA.
Carolina League Stories from May 15, 2010
- Nearly Perfect: Salem Dominates in 9-1 Win - Salem RidgeYaks
- Right-hander exits after six perfect innings, Myrtle Beach hitless until eighth - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- K-Tribe Tops Keys 8-3 to Clinch Series - Kinston Indians
- Four Unearned Runs in the Fifth Inning Turn Tide in 8-3 Loss - Frederick Keys
- Grand Slam Cans Blue Crew - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Moore's Slam Powers P-Nats Past Wilmington 7-4 - Potomac Nationals
- Hillcats Fall Again To Dash - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Dash Capitalizes off Hillcats' Errors for 7-5 Win - Winston-Salem Dash
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes for May 15, 2010 - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Dash Places Garcia on Disabled List - Winston-Salem Dash
- Kinston Indians Game Notes for May 15, 2010 - Kinston Indians
- Potomac Nationals Game Notes May 15 - Potomac Nationals
- Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes May 15, 2010 - Winston-Salem Dash
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