CarL1 Winston-Salem Dash

Winston-Salem Dash: Game Notes (september 1 At Down East)

Published on September 1, 2018 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release


The Dash continue their final series of the regular season at Down East on Saturday. First pitch is set for 6 p.m..

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WINSTON-SALEM DASH (41-24, 82-53) at Down East Wood Ducks (23-44, 58-79)

RHP Lincoln Henzman (0-1, 2.93 ERA) vs. LHP Tyler Thomas (0-1, 2.25 ERA)

6 p.m. - Grainger Stadium (Kinston, N.C.)

Game #136 (Away Game #68)

DASH TOP WOOD DUCKS

The Dash used a five-run third innings and 4.1 innings of perfect relief from Devan Watts and Tyler Johnson to top the Wood Ducks 7-4 in Friday's series opener. With the win, the Dash finish the month of August with a 17-9 record. The big third inning was keyed by a three-run homer from Yermin Mercedes, his 14th long ball of the season. An inning later, Blake Rutherford went deep, hitting a two-run opposite field shot for his seventh homer of the year. Watts entered in the fifth and retired all 10 batters he faced to earn his first win as a White Sox farmhand.

CREAM OF THE CROP

Winston currently boasts nine of the top prospects in the Sox system per MLB Pipeline, including infielders Nick Madrigal (No. 4), Gavin Sheets (No. 15) and Laz Rivera (No. 28), outfielders Luis Robert (No. 3), Blake Rutherford (No. 7) and Luis Gonzalez (No. 14), and right-handers Alec Hansen (No. 10), Tyler Johnson (No. 23) and Lincoln Henzman (No. 30).

SILVER MEDALIST

While the Dash will not best the 2012 team in overall wins (87), the 2018 Winston-Salem Dash are now the second-best team in the Dash era (2009-present) with 82 wins, overtaking the 2010 team, which went 81-58 overall under manager Joe McEwing. While the Dash have played in the Mills Cup Championship Series twice, this year's club will try to be the first to claim a Carolina League title since the franchise changed its moniker to the Dash in 2009. Winston-Salem's last title came in 2003 as the Warthogs.

ANOTHER TITLE-WINNING HALF?

With just four games left in the regular season and a first-half title already on the ledger, Winston-Salem has the opportunity to win the second half. The Dash are currently tied with Buies Creek for the top spot in the Southern Division in the second half. Winston-Salem has won both halves twice in the Dash era (2010 & 2012). The Astros end their regular season at Carolina.

BEST OF THE BEST

After sealing up a first-half Southern Division championship, Winston-Salem now has the fourth-best winning percentage in full-season Minor League Baseball with a .607 mark. Here's a look at the top teams:

1. Bowling Green Hot Rods

(Midwest League - A): 88-48 (.647)

2. Lakewood BlueClaws

(South Atlantic League - A): 85-50 (.630)

3. Rancho Cucamonga Quakes

(California League - A+): 84-53 (.613)

4. Winston-Salem Dash

(Carolina League - A+): 82-53 (.607)

MORE THAN LUCK FOR LUIS

After posting an .850 OPS in the first half with Kannapolis, Gonzalez has continued his impressive pace with Winston by posting a team-best .890 OPS. A former third-round pick out of the University of New Mexico, Gonzalez has also smacked 22 doubles, just five shy of the team leader (Sheets). Following a college career in which he had 53 more walks than strikeouts, the 22-year-old has posted the second-lowest strikeout rate (15.9%) on the Dash.

BALLOTS FOR BLAKE

Blake Rutherford is making a case to be named Carolina League MVP. The 21-year-old has helped lead the best offense in the league with 128 hits (T-2nd), 76 RBIs (2nd), a .293 average (6th) and a .439 slugging percentage (8th). A first-round pick by the New York Yankees in 2016, Rutherford was traded to the White Sox in 2017 along with Tyler Clippard, Ian Clarkin and Tito Polo in exchange for David Robertson, Todd Frazier and Tommy Kahnle.

DASH DOTS

Former Dash right-hander Ian Hamilton made his MLB debut on Friday, tossing a perfect ninth inning against the Boston Red Sox in a 6-1 win for the White Sox...Hamilton is the third Dash alumnus to make his Major League debut in 2018, joining Yency Almonte (2015) and Ryan Burr (2017).

Check out the Winston-Salem Dash Statistics

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Carolina League Stories from September 1, 2018


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