Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes
Published on June 7, 2011 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release
WINSTON-SALEM DASH (27-30) @ MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS (33-24)
Tuesday, June 7, 2011, 7:05 p.m. | BB&T Coastal Field | Myrtle Beach, SC
Webcast available on www.wsdash.com 15 minutes before first pitch
Game No. 58 | Road Game No. 26 | 2011 Home Record 16-16 | 2011 Road Record 11-14
RHP Terry Doyle (1-5, 3.05) @ RHP Joe Wieland (5-3, 2.08)
Flipping the Birds: The Dash got their four-game series in Myrtle Beach off to a good start last night, slipping past the Pelicans 3-2 thanks to an exciting final two innings. After Mike Olt was tagged out in a home plate collision with Jason Bour to end the eighth inning with the score tied at two, Winston-Salem was able move in front in the top of the ninth. A walk, a sacrifice, and a single got pinch-runner Kyle Colligan to third base. Bour followed with a grounder to third that Myrtle failed to convert into a double play, allowing Colligan to score the go-ahead run. The Dash then survived a harrowing ninth inning that ended with Addison Reed inducing a flyout from Ryan Strausborger on the 13th pitch of the at bat with the tying run at second base. The win was the Dash's 6th in their last eight games and the team is 8-4 in its last 12 contests.
Looking up at BB&T South: Last night's 3-2 win ended the Dash's nine-game losing streak at BB&T Coastal Field. Winston-Salem's last win at the home of the Pelicans was April 22, 2010 and 411 days passed between victories on the Grand Strand for the Dash. After sweeping a four-gamer here in the teams' first series last year, the Dash were swept in three straight three-game series (two last year and one early this season). Winston lost those games by a combined score of 45-22, with only one being decided by more than three runs and five of the nine losses by just one run.
Reed it and Weep: Addison Reed needed all he could muster to make it through his two-inning stint to finish last night's game. Reed threw 42 pitches, including 13 to Ryan Strausborger at the end of the game. Ironically, Reed was trying to retire Strausborger to finish the game; two years ago Reed was finishing games for Stephen Strasburg at San Diego State as the team's closer. Reed did not allow a run in his two innings last night, making it six straight appearances and 12 straight innings without allowing a run. His ERA sits at 1.71 in 26.1 innings with the Dash. Among relief pitchers in the CL, Reed is third in K/9 IP (11.96), first in fewest BB/9 IP (1.37), and fourth in fewest baserunners/9 IP (8.51).
Dramatic Dash: Winston-Salem is starting to rack up the late wins. Last night the Dash won in their team final at bat for the ninth time this season. It was the third time in the last week the team has accomplished that feat. Last Tuesday, Jared Mitchell hit a two-run walk-off double to defeat the Nationals 4-3 and on the following night, Andy Wilkins scored from third on a wild pitch to give Winston-Salem a walk-off 2-1 win in ten innings over the P-Nats.
Serafin USA: Yesterday was a good day for fans of everything New England. Hours before the Boston Bruins whipped the Vancouver Canucks in game three of the Stanley Cup Finals, Connecticut native and University of Vermont alumnus Joe Serafin had perhaps his best outing of the season. Serafin lasted a season-long seven innings, scattering seven hits and two runs against the best offense in the Carolina League. The soft-tossing lefty did not factor into the decision, but he did register his second straight quality start and his fifth of the season, tied for the second-best mark on the team. The seven-inning performance was Serafin's longest in almost exactly one year; he threw eight innings for the Kannapolis Intimidators on June 10, 2010 in a win against the Asheville Tourists.
Remix to Ignition: Jose Martinez is happy to hit the road after a rough home stand that saw his batting average drop 28 points to .300 from a league-leading .328. Café was 1 for 23 on the home stand entering the finale, but showed signs of getting hot again with his 2 for 4 game on Sunday and a 1 for 4 effort last night. The Dash needs their right fielder to stay productive at the plate; he is the team's only hitter with a batting average higher than .262. Without Martinez, the team's average would be .223, nine points lower than its current .232 mark.
Silver Beats Bronze: Part of the reason for Martinez' recent struggles may be linked to where he has been hitting in the order. In an effort to jump-start Jared Mitchell a few weeks ago, Julio Vinas decided to flip-flop Martinez and Mitchell in the batting order by having latter bat second and the former hit third. While this appears to have worked for Mitchell-he is hitting .326 in the two spot as opposed to .197 in the three hole-it has had the opposite effect on Martinez. Café was a .347 batter hitting second and has only been hitting .200 when moved down one spot in the lineup card.
Playing them close to the vest: The Dash have an inordinate number of close games this season, as 45 of the team's 57 games have been decided by three runs or fewer and the team has had a lead in 44 games this season. Winston has played 22 one-run games and 15 two-run games. The Dash are 11-11 in one-run games and 8-7 in two run contests. At this rate, the Dash would play 91 one- or two-run games this season.
Today's Opposing Starter: RHP Joe Wieland (5-3, 2.08) makes his 12th appearance and 11th start of the season tonight against the Dash. In two starts against Winston-Salem, he is 1-0 with a 1.46 ERA, striking out 15 and walking one in 12.2 innings. Wieland has shown outstanding command with his fastball and has gone eight consecutive starts without walking a batter. Andy Wilkins was the last player to draw a walk from Wieland on April 18; since then Wieland has gone 202 straight batters without issuing a base on balls. He has had only two poor outings all year, giving up five runs to Frederick twice. Without those starts, his ERA would be 0.85; he has allowed one run or fewer in eight outings this season. Wieland, the 22nd-best prospect in the Texas system according to Baseball America, split 2010 between the Rangers' Single-A teams, making 15 starts at low-A Hickory and 11 with Advanced-A Bakersfield. After compiling a 7-4 record and 3.34 ERA with the Crawdads, he was promoted to the Blaze, where he went 4-3 with a 5.19 ERA and stuck out 62 in 59 innings while walking just ten. He spent all of 2009 in Hickory, going 4-6 with a 5.31 ERA in 19 games (18 starts). Wieland was drafted in the fourth round out of high school in 2008 and impressed in his rookie debut, going 5-1 with a 1.44 ERA with the Arizona Rangers. The Reno, Nevada native attended Bishop Manogue High School, the same school current Angels reliever Kevin Jepsen attended. He throws his fastball 88-92 with good sinking movement, a hard curveball, and a changeup. Baseball America says, although he does not possess overpowering stuff, he should make it to the big leagues as a middle- or back-of-the-rotation starter.
Carolina League Stories from June 7, 2011
- Tenth Inning Outburst Propels Dash to Win - Winston-Salem Dash
- Ryan Zimmerman to Start in Potomac On Wednesday - Potomac Nationals
- Martinez Blast Dooms Birds in Tenth - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Hillcats Outslug Red Sox 8-5 - Salem RidgeYaks
- Two Big Frames Help Wilmington End Skid - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Opportunistic Hillcats Take Down Red Sox - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Fair Or Foul" Close Call Goes against Nats - Potomac Nationals
- Keys in Seventh Heaven - Frederick Keys
- Blue Rocks Beat Kinston 8-2 - Kinston Indians
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes - Winston-Salem Dash
- K-Tribe Notes for Tuesday at Wilmington - Kinston Indians
- Pelicans Game Notes - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Pimentel Wins Pitcher of the Week Honors - Wilmington Blue Rocks
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