Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes
May 22, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release
Silent Night: Winston-Salem's offense could only garner three hits against the combination of Pete Ruiz, Mitch Herold, and Kendal Volz as Salem shut out the Dash 4-0 last night at BB&T Ballpark. The Red Sox scored a run the second inning and two in the fifth, including one off Bryce Brentz' first Carolina League homer run, to win their second straight game after a seven-game losing streak. Salem has won the three-game series and the Dash look to salvage the series finale and snap their four-game losing streak in the process. The shutout loss was Winston's second of the season; coincidentally, the team's first shutout loss was also a 4-0 defeat in a game started by Joe Serafin (April 29 at Wilmington).
Alabama-bound: Today LHP Hector Santiago was promoted to AA Birmingham, marking the end of the southpaw's three-season stay in Winston-Salem. Santiago was converted to a starting pitcher this season and was very good in that role for the Dash, going 2-3 with a 3.68 ERA in eight starts. He pitched a career-high eight innings on Monday night against Myrtle Beach and earlier this season struck out a career-high 11 batters against the Kinston Indians. Santiago had spent all of the last three seasons with the Dash, going 10-12 in 83 games (nine starts) with a 3.93 ERA (71 ER, 162.2 IP) and 170 strikeouts. The Newark, NJ native will be missed in Winston-Salem.
A Second Start for Santos: Santos Rodriguez makes his second start of the season today against the Red Sox. He made his first start in the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader and took the loss. He allowed one run in two innings against the Pelicans. Prior to Rodriguez's outing on Wednesday, his most recent start came on August 27, 2007 for the GCL Braves. Rodriguez started two games that season in Atlanta's system, but since then has been exclusively a relief pitcher.
Home Field Disadvantage: The home team has yet to find success in the season series between the Dash and Red Sox, going 0-5 through the first five games the teams have played this season. Winston-Salem won all three games last weekend at LewisGale Field and has dropped both of its games with Salem at BB&T Ballpark.
Slow Going: Apart from two four-run eruptions, the Dash offense has been very quiet over the last few games. Since scoring four runs in the second inning of Friday's game, Winston-Salem has only mustered five hits and no runs over a 16-inning stretch. The Dash have scored 17 runs through the first six games of the home stand, 12 of which that came in just three innings (a four-run eighth inning in game one of the doubleheader Wednesday, a four-run seventh in game two, and a four-run second inning on Friday night). Winston is hitting .155 in the series and .189 on the home stand.
Big Stretch: The Dash are finishing up a defining stretch for the first half of the season with ten straight games against the top two teams in the Carolina League: Salem and Myrtle Beach, two teams that happen to be in the same division as Winston-Salem. The Dash are 4-5 through nine games against the Red Sox and Pelicans.
Filling up at the Gac Station: Ian Gac's two home run game Wednesday was the first multi-homer game for any Dash player this season and the 11th of his career. His second home run gave him 140 career dingers in nine professional seasons. Gac leads the Carolina League in homers and is on pace to hit 43 this season. He appears well on his way to surpassing his previous career-high of 22, a number he reached while playing for Bakersfield in 2009. Gac is third in the CL in RBI (29), tied for first in games (42), tied for third in at bats (155) first in slugging percentage (.594), first in extra-base hits (23), first in runs scored (33), first in total bases (92), and first in best HR/AB ratio (1/11.92).
Quality's In: Joe Serafin got the loss last night, but the left-hander pitched well, allowing three runs on six hits in six innings for his third straight quality start. His outing continued a strong stretch for Winston-Salem's starting pitchers. The regular starters have combined to have a quality start in eight consecutive games (discounting Santos Rodriguez' spot start in the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader). The Dash have quality starts from their starters in ten of the last 12 games and the rotation has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 19 of the last 22 contests, posting a 3.16 ERA (45 ER, 128 IP) in that stretch.
Keeping âem Close: The Dash have played mostly close games this season. Thirty-four of the team's 42 games have been decided by three runs or fewer and the team has had a lead in 32 games this season. Winston has played 15 one-run games and 13 two-run games. The Dash are 7-8 in one-run games and 6-7 in two run contests. At this rate, the Dash would play 93 one- or two-run games this season.
Today's Opposing Starter: RHP Ryan Pressly (3-2, 4.36) makes his eighth start of the season for the Red Sox and first against the Dash this season. In his most recent start, Pressly was hit with his second straight loss on May 16 against Wilmington. He threw only 3.2 innings and gave up six runs (all earned) on nine hits. He got the win in three of his first four starts, registering an ERA of 2.33 in 19.1 innings. Pressly was originally drafted in the 11th round of the 2007 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Marcus High School in Texas. He spent his first two years in the organization in short-season ball with the GCL Red Sox and then the Lowell Spinners. In 2010, he made 26 appearances (24 starts) for low-A Greenville and went 5-7 with a 3.72 ERA. With the Drive, he held opponents to three runs or fewer in 22 of his 24 starts and was seventh among Red Sox minor leaguers in ERA.
Carolina League Stories from May 22, 2011
- K-Tribe Shock Keys in Finale - Frederick Keys
- Sunday Comeback Falls Short; Sox Fall 8-7 - Salem Red Sox
- Souza Hits HR in Third Straight, P-Nats Lose 7-6 - Potomac Nationals
- Frawley's Home Run Gives Kinston a 6-5 Win - Kinston Indians
- Dash Pile on Early, Hold on Late - Winston-Salem Dash
- Hillcats Hold off 'Nats to Snap Skid - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Blue Rocks Equal Season-High with Seventh Straight Win - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Another Blue Rocks Eighth Dooms Pelicans - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Kinston Indians Game Notes - Kinston Indians
- Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes - Winston-Salem Dash
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Myrtle Beach Pelicans Game Notes - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Santiago Promoted to Birmingham - Winston-Salem Dash
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