Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes
April 21, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release
WINSTON-SALEM DASH (6-6) vs. WILMINGTON BLUE ROCKS (8-4)
Thursday, April 21, 2011, 7:00 p.m. | BB&T Ballpark âÅâ Winston-Salem, NC
Webcast available on www.wsdash.com 15 minutes before first pitch
Game No. 13 âÅâ Home Game No. 4 | 2011 Home Record 2-1 | 2011 Road Record 4-5
LHP Hector Santiago (0-0, 1.00) vs. LHP Justin Marks (0-0, 5.79)
Truth or Adair: Last night Winston-Salem suffered another dramatic defeat at the hands of Travis Adair and the Pelicans. Adair, who on Monday provided the go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning and threw Andy Wilkins out at the plate from left field in the ninth, played a central role in the Myrtle comeback win. The Dash took a 4-3 lead into the eighth inning, but Adair doubled and scored the tying run on Leury Garcia's RBI double. The game went to extra innings and Winston had a chance to re-take the lead in the top of the 12th, but Daniel Wagner was gunned down at home plate following Jose Martinez' double to retire the side. In the bottom of the inning, Adair brought home pinch-runner Andres James from third with an infield single to send the Pelicans with a 5-4 walk-off win.
Not-So-Grand Strand: Last night's loss marked the first time this season the Dash has been swept. All three games were close, with Winston holding the lead in each contest and getting outscored by Myrtle Beach 14-9. The Dash hit .229 during the series and posted and ERA of 2.60.
Myrtle Hurdle: Last night's loss continued the Dash's tough run on the Grand Strand. Since sweeping a four-game series in Myrtle Beach early last season, the Dash has yet to find a win at BB&T Coastal Field. Winston-Salem has lost nine straight ballgames at the home of the Pelicans by a combined score of 45-22. Most of the games have been close, with only one being decided by more than three runs; five of the nine losses have been by just one run.
Entering Wilkins County: Andy Wilkins appears to be over his early-season struggles. Last night, the 1B/DH blasted his first home run of the year, a two-run shot off lefty Robbie Erlin. It was the seventh career home run for the White Sox' fifth round draft pick from 2010. In his last five games, Wilkins is hitting .333 (7 for 21) with a home run, two doubles, three RBI, three runs, and two walks.
Go Get ¬ËEm, Tiger: Centerfielder Jared Mitchell is starting to get locked in at the plate after a slow start to the season. The former first-round pick LSU star went 1 for 5 last night with an RBI single. Over his last four games, Mitchell is 6 for 17 at the plate with four doubles, three RBI, and three runs scored. He has raised his batting average 68 points since Sunday.
Castaways: Dash pitchers have allowed the second-most hits in the league (105), but have yielded the third-fewest total runs. Part of that is because Winston's hurlers have been terrific stranding runners on base. The Dash pitchers have stranded an average of nearly nine men (106 left on base in 12 games) on base so far this season. Four times, Winston's opponents have left double-digit runners on base.
Starting to Excel: Andre Rienzo (5 IP, 2 R, 1 ER) continued the Dash's good run of starting pitching this season. In all 12 of the team's games, Winston's starters have allowed three runs or fewer in each contest. In 11 of the 12 games, the Dash starting pitchers have allowed two or fewer runs (in the only exception, Terry Doyle allowed three runs in a six-inning complete game on April 13). The starting pitchers own a collective2.07 ERA.
Keeping ¬ËEm Close: Winston-Salem continues to play close contests this season. Eleven of the 12 games the team has played this year have been decided by three runs or fewer. Nine games have been decided by one or two runs and two have been decided by three runs. Theoretically, the Dash could be 12-0 at this point in the season, as the team has held the lead in every game it has played this year.
Attention J-Mart Shoppers: Jose Martinez went 2 for 3 last night with a pair of doubles to continue his excellent start to the season. He has picked up at least one base hit in all but one game this season and is a regular resident on the Carolina League statistical leaderboards. He is hitting .400, good for second in the Carolina League. His 20 hits are second only to Wilmington's Rey Navarro (21); he is tied for first in doubles (6), tied for first in runs scored (12), third in on-base percentage (.481), fifth in total bases (28), and fourth in most plate appearances per strikeout (11).
Today's Opposing Starter: LHP Justin Marks (0-0, 5.79) makes his second start of the season and his first against the Dash. After making his season debut out of the bullpen, he made his first start last Friday against Potomac and did not get a decision, allowing four runs on seven hits in six innings. Marks is in his first year with the Royals organization after he was traded from the Athletics this past offseason along with RHP Vin Mazzaro for OF David DeJesus. He and Mazzaro became expendable when the A's won the bidding for Japanese RHP Hisashi Iwakuma. He hails from Owensboro, Kentucky, the same hometown as former Dash catcher Logan Johnson; the two players, however, attended different high schools. They did play together at the University of Louisville, where Marks was the 2009 Big East Pitcher of the Year and Third Team All-America, spurring Oakland to select him with the team's third round draft pick. He had a stellar career for the Cardinals, earning Big East accolades in all three of his seasons with UofL. After making one start in 2009 for the AZL Athletics, he split 2010 between low-A Kane County (20 GS, 3-12, 4.92 ERA 119 K in 109.2 IP) and Advanced-A Stockton (5 G, 4 GS, 3-1, 4.58 ERA, 17 K in 19.2 IP). In high school, he was named the top prep prospect in the state and was drafted by Boston in the 37th round. The middle of three children, he grew up on a tobacco farm.
Carolina League Stories from April 21, 2011
- Hillcats Snap 10-Game Slide In Frederick - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Win Streak Snapped At Six In Kinston - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Frederick Out Hit 16-to-5 in Lynchburg Rout - Frederick Keys
- Rocks Quash Late Dash Rally, Win Opener - Winston-Salem Dash
- Slumping Sluggers Break Out In Wild Win - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Vitek Pounds Three More Hits, But Sox Fall 5-2 - Salem Red Sox
- Complete Effort Sends P-Nats to 5-2 Win in Salem - Potomac Nationals
- Kinston Wins Third Straight, Beating Myrtle Beach 6-2 - Kinston Indians
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Shelton, Corley Moved to Birmingham - Winston-Salem Dash
- Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes - Winston-Salem Dash
- Pelicans Game Notes - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
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