Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes
Published on June 2, 2010 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release
You Went and Saved the Best For Last: Last night's final score was not truly indicative of the game between Winston-Salem and Potomac. The Dash picked up a 9-1 victory over the P-Nats thanks to nine runs in the last two innings. The Nationals led what was a pitcher's duel 1-0 until the eighth inning, when Winston scored three off Justin Phillabaum. The Dash proceeded to take batting practice off Luis Garcia in the ninth, scoring six more runs to blow open what was a close game. The win evened the series at a game apiece and boosted the team's record on the road trip to 3-5.
Rubber Men: For the third straight series, the Dash will play a rubber game. Winston-Salem started the season 3-0 in rubber games, but has lost the last two to Salem and Kinston.
Stephen Wonder: Despite not receiving a decision, Stephen Sauer turned in another outstanding start last night, continuing his best stretch of the season. Sauer allowed just one run on four hits over 6.2 innings. In his last five starts, the sinkerballer has posted a 2.56 ERA (9 ER, 31.2 IP), lowering his season ERA nearly two runs from 6.15 to 4.19.
Bruising Closer to the Record: Dash 1B Seth Loman was hit by a pitch again last night, raising his season total to 17 HBPs. He is more than two-thirds of the way to breaking the 21-year-old single-season Carolina League record of 24 HBPs, which is held by former Winston-Salem Spirit Rusty Crockett. If Loman were to keep up this pace and play the entire season in the Carolina League, he would be drilled an astounding 45 times.
First Half Playoff Race: With a quarter of the season's first half left to play, the race for the playoff spot in the Southern Division is heating up. Winston owns a four-game lead over Salem and a six-game advantage over the surging Kinston Indians. Winston's magic number stands at 15. Any combination of 15 Dash wins or Red Sox losses over the final 18 games in the first half will give Winston-Salem the first half crown and a playoff spot.
On the Road, Again: The Dash is about to finish its longest road trip of the season, a nine-gamer that brought Winston to Salem, Kinston, and Potomac for three three-game series. This is final leg of a long stretch of road games that the team began in late April. Following this trip, the Dash will have played 23 of its last 33 away from BB&T Ballpark. Playing on the road hasn't seemed to bother Joe McEwing's squad much this year, as its 18-12 road record is the best in the Carolina League this season.
Best Record Watch: Despite a 3-5 start to its road trip, the Dash is still tied for the second-best record in all of minor league baseball. Only the High-A Lake Elsinore Storm (35-18) has a better record in the minors.
Dropping Like It's Hot: Winston's team batting average has been slowly, but steadily falling over the last two weeks. The Dash's season average stands at .299 after yesterday's game, down 22 points from the team's season-high of .321 where it stood on May 13. Despite the drop, the batting average is still the second-best in professional affiliated baseball. The AAA Albuquerque Isotopes (.310) is the only team with a higher average. Winston's average is still the best in the Carolina League by 26 points (Lynchburg is the closest with a .273 average). Winston has four players in the top ten in the league in batting average: Brandon Short (2nd, .353), Jon Gilmore (5th, .323), Justin Greene (6th, .318), and Ozzie Lewis (7th, .317). Drew Garcia would also be among the league leaders (.323 average), but he does not have enough at bats because of the time he has missed with an ankle injury. The Dash is tied for the most runs scored in all of affiliated baseball with the Advanced-A High Desert Mavericks. Each team has scored 317 runs this season.
Greene Keeps Going: Justin Greene is the only player in the Carolina League who has played in every game this season. He has started all 52 Dash games in 2010.
Today's Opposing Starter: RHP Brad Peacock (1-6, 4.58) makes his tenth start of the season. He has made two appearances (one start, one relief outing) against the Dash. He is 0-1 with a 5.91 ERA against Winston-Salem, pitching 10.2 innings and allowing 16H, 7R, 12K, 3 BB. Peacock was drafted as a catcher in the 41st round (1,231st overall) in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft out of Palm Beach Central HS in Wellington, Florida, where he was mainly a shortstop. As a draft-and-follow, Peacock pitched a season at Palm Beach CC before signing with the Nationals for a reported $110,000. He entered the season ranked as the 16th-best prospect in the Washington organization according to Baseball America. He split 2009 between Hagerstown (19 G, 17 GS, 5-8, 4.05) and Potomac (8 G, 7 GS, 3-3, 4.34) after periods of inconsistency in his first two professional seasons. Peacock throws his fastball in the low-90s and features a curveball, changeup, and knuckle-curve.
Carolina League Stories from June 2, 2010
- Blue Rocks Blanked in Series Finale - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Rowell Comes Through in the Clutch - Frederick Keys
- Nats Bomb Dash in 12-4 Setback - Winston-Salem Dash
- Hillcats Complete Sweep of Red Sox - Salem RidgeYaks
- P-Nats Batter Dash 12-4, Take Series 2-1 - Potomac Nationals
- Rowell Single Snaps Birds Streak at Four - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Kipnis Homers, Kinston Blanks Wilmington 2-0 - Kinston Indians
- Cats Claw Out Victory, Sweep Sox - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Hillcats Game Notes - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes - Winston-Salem Dash
- K-Tribe Game Notes - Kinston Indians
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