CarL1 Winston-Salem Dash

Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes

Published on May 13, 2011 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release


WINSTON-SALEM DASH (14-19) @ SALEM RED SOX (21-10)

Friday, May 13, 2011, 7:05 p.m. | LewisGale Field at Salem Memorial Ballpark | Winston-Salem, NC

Webcast available on www.wsdash.com 15 minutes before first pitch

Game No. 34 | Road Game No. 16 | 2011 Home Record 9-9 | 2011 Road Record 5-10

LHP Hector Santiago (1-2, 4.50) @ LHP Drake Britton (1-2, 7.04)

Sweep Spoilers: The Dash missed out on a chance for their first series sweep of the season on Wednesday, dropping their series finale with the Potomac Nationals 10-4 at BB&T Ballpark. After each team scored thee runs in the second inning, Ian Gac's solo home run in the fourth to give Winston-Salem a 4-3 lead. It was all Potomac after that, as the Nationals scored seven straight runs to finish the game. The loss snapped the Dash's season-best five-game winning streak and was the just Nationals' second win in their last nine games.

Sox of a Different Color: Tonight the Carolina League affiliate of the White Sox play the Carolina League affiliate of the Red Sox, as the Dash visit the Salem Red Sox for a three-game series in the Roanoke Valley. This is the first meeting between the teams this season. They will meet again at BB&T Ballpark next weekend and then will play 14 games against one another in the second half of the season. Last year, Salem was the only team to win the season series against Winston-Salem as the Red Sox took 11 of the teams' 20 matchups.

Sayonara, Streak: The Dash's five-game winning streak ended with Wednesday night's defeat against the Nationals. Over the course of the streak, everything seemed to working for Winston-Salem. The team outscored its opponents 28-18 and hit .273 while posting a 3.40 ERA.

Rested & Refreshed: Yesterday the Dash celebrated a rare off-day, just the team's second this season and the first since April 14. Winston played 28 games in 28 days between off-days and will have a similar stretch between August 2 and 28 later this season.

Good First Impression: Tyler Saladino did not waste any time making an impact for the Dash. In his first game since being activated from the disabled list in extended spring training, Saladino hit a game-tying three-run in the second inning. The homer came on the second pitch of the at bat and was the first home run by a Dash shortstop this season. Saladino, the 20th-best prospect in the White Sox organization according to Baseball America, missed the first month of the season after breaking his left hand in a spring training game.

The Wilk Man Delivers: After a 2 for 13 mini-slide on the team's most recent road trip, Andy Wilkins has been re-energized by returning to his home ballpark. During the home stand, Wilkins was 7 for 22 (.318) at the plate with a home run, three RBI, and six runs scored.

Easy as A-B-Ciolli: Nick Ciolli appears to be over his early-season struggles. He went 2 for 4 last night with a run scored and has hit in his last four games. Ciolli and is 7 for 13 (.538) with a home run, a double, two triples, and six RBI in his last four games, raising his batting average from .204 to .269 in the process. Eight of his 18 hits this season have gone for extra bases, and his .493 slugging percentage is second on the Dash (behind only Ian Gac). In ten games with Winston-Salem near the end of last season, Ciolli hit .375 with seven of his 15 hits going for extra bases.

Back in Gac: After hitting his league-leading tenth home run of the season on Wednesday, Ian Gac now leads the Carolina League in two of the Triple Crown categories. He now has 24 RBI and is tied with three other players for the league lead. Gac's latest home run snapped a 3-3 tie with Potomac. Homers like that are nothing new for the Dash's designated hitter: six of his ten home runs have either tied the game or given Winston-Salem the lead. He leads the CL in games played (33), is third in slugging (.603), third in runs (25), first in total bases (73), and second in best home runs per at bats ratio (1/12.10).

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer: The Dash have played mostly close games this season. Twenty-seven of the team's 33 games have been decided by three runs or fewer and the team has had a lead in 26 games this season. Winston has played 12 one-run games and 11 two-run games. The Dash are 5-7 in one-run games and 6-5 in two run contests. At this rate, the Dash would play 98 one - or two-run games over the course of the season.

Today's Opposing Starter: LHP Drake Britton (1-2, 7.04) makes his seventh start of the season and his first against the Dash. Britton allowed 12 runs (11 earned) in his first two starts (totaling 4.1 innings), but has posted an ERA of 3.38 (7 ER, 18.2 IP) in his four starts since. He has allowed only two hits in each of his last three starts. Britton entered 2011 ranked by Baseball America as the Red Sox' third-best minor league prospect. He spent all of 2010 in low-A Greenville, his first full year back since recovering from Tommy John surgery. He went 2-3 with a 2.97 ERA for the Drive in 76 innings. He blew out his elbow near the end of 2008, his first professional season, and came back to pitch in seven games near the end of 2009. Britton was drafted in the 23rd round out of high school in 2007. His draft stock fell due to a commitment to play ay Texas A&M and inconsistent velocity. Since recovering from elbow surgery, he throws 92-94 mph with his fastball, which is deemed to be the best in the Red Sox system according to Baseball America. The publication also rated his curveball as the best among Boston's minor leaguers.

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Carolina League Stories from May 13, 2011


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