Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes
Published on May 14, 2011 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release
One-Hit Wonders: Led by a dominating performance by starter Hector Santiago, the Dash held Salem to one hit and shut out the top team in the Carolina League with a 5-0 win in the series opener last night. Santiago took a no-hitter into the bottom of the sixth before James Kang's line drive evaded a diving catch attempt by Kyle Colligan for the Red Sox' first and only hit of the night. After Santiago exited the game after the sixth inning, Addison Reed (2 IP) and Taylor Thompson (1 IP) combined for three perfect innings to finish off the Sox and send the Dash to their sixth win in seven games. They will try for their third consecutive series victory tonight.
Early Work: Winston-Salem jumped out to a big lead early last night, scoring four times in the first inning against Drake Britton. After Britton retired the first two batters of the game, the next six reached against him. After two walks and a single, Jake Oester drove in two runs with a single to give the Dash the lead. Jason Bour then reached base on a critical fielder error by third baseman Kolbrin Vitek to extend the inning. Kyle Colligan made the Red Sox pay for their defensive miscue, driving in two more runs with a single to give Winston a 4-0 lead before Salem had a chance to go to the bat rack.
Gac my Pitch Up: Ian Gac hit a laser-beam of a home run last night in the fifth inning to extend the Dash's lead to 5-0. It was Gac's third home run in the last four games, giving him a league-leading 11 homers on the season and putting him on pace for a 45-home run season. He now leads the Carolina League in two of the Triple Crown categories, as he has 25 RBI, one more than three other players. He is tied for CL lead in games played (34), is fifth in at bats (126), first in slugging percentage (.619), first in extra-base hits (20), tied for first in runs (27), first in total bases (78), and first in best home runs per at bats ratio (1/11.45).
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 on Wednesday. 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.
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 continue their series against the Salem Red Sox. This is the first series 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.
Easy as A-B-Ciolli: Nick Ciolli appears to be over his early-season struggles. He went 2 for 4 Wednesday 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.
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer: The Dash have played mostly close games this season. Twenty-seven of the team's 34 games have been decided by three runs or fewer and the team has had a lead in 27 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 95 one- or two-run games over the course of the season.
Today's Opposing Starter: RHP Chris Balcom-Miller (3-0, 1.89) makes his fifth start of the season and his first against the Dash. Balcom-Miller was placed on the disabled list on May 3 and made his last start on April 28 against Kinston. He is 3-0 with a 1.89 ERA in his four starts this season, but gave up three runs (all earned) in his most recent start in Kinston. He won each of his first three outings, and posted an ERA of 0.60 in 15 innings. The Boston Red Sox acquired Balcom-Miller from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for reliever Manny Delcarmen in August, 2010. He was originally drafted by Colorado in the sixth round of the 2009 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Balcom-Miller split time last year between low-A Asheville and Greenville, both in the South Atlantic League. With Asheville, he was 6-7 with a 3.31 ERA in 19 starts. After the trade he started one game for Greenville and gave up two earned runs in six innings, and earned the win. He entered the season ranked by Baseball America as the 26th-best prospect in the Red Sox organization. The publication also ranked him as the pitcher with the best control in the Sox system.
Carolina League Stories from May 14, 2011
- Keys Shutout for a Second Time This Season - Frederick Keys
- Kinston Blanks Keys 5-0 - Kinston Indians
- Ross, Yan Combine to Shut out Hillcats - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Lynchburg Falls 6-0 as Ross Goes Six Scoreless Yet Again - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Late Comeback, Hard Rains Drench Blue Rocks, 5-4 - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Heavens Open, Perez Closes - Potomac Nationals
- Sierra's Shot Slays Salem - Winston-Salem Dash
- Dash Snag 5-4 Heartbreaker from Sox in 10 - Salem RidgeYaks
- Kinston Indians Game Notes - Kinston Indians
- Myrtle Beach Pelicans Game Notes - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Salem Red Sox Game Notes - Salem RidgeYaks
- Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes - Winston-Salem Dash
- Shirek Promoted to AA - Winston-Salem Dash
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