Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes
Published on June 12, 2011 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release
The worst kind of parade: Wilmington rode an 18-hit performance to a 9-4 victory over the Dash at BB&T Ballpark last night. The Blue Rocks got base hits from four o f their first five batters of the evening, mostly soft singles against Joe Serafin, but continued to pound Winston pitching throughout the night, collecting at least one hit in every inning. The Dash kept Wilmington within shouting distance for most of the night, but the Rocks scored three times in the ninth to put the game out reach for the home team. The loss was Winston's fourth in a row and the team will be eliminated from playoff contention with one more loss or one more Myrtle Beach victory.
Blue Rock Greatest Hits: The Blue Rocks entered last night's game last the in the CL in batting but pounded out a season-best 18 hits against Winston pitching, also a season-high for the staff in any game this season. Wilmington raised its season batting average five whole points with the performance to leapfrog the Dash and move into seventh place in the CL in team average. Winston-Salem's opponent's batting average jumped four points as starter Joe Serafin allowed a career-high-tying 12 hits in the loss. Of the Blue Rocks' 18 hits, just five went for extra bases with two doubles, two triples, and a home run. Wilmington also managed five infield hits, including two in the first inning to set the tone for an active offensive night for the road team. DH Nick Francis lived up to his position last night, going 5 for 6 to tie a Wilmington franchise record for hits in a single game. This season against the Dash, Francis is now hitting .406 (13 for 32) with four doubles, a triple, two home runs, six RBI, and seven runs scored.
Nick Fix: Nick Ciolli bounced back from a tough two-game stretch last night, going 2 for 3 with three RBI. In his previous two games, Ciolli had been 0 for 9, including a forgettable 0 for 6 night on Wednesday that saw the outfielder strikeout in his final five at bats.
Sierra Mist: Luis Sierra made a triumphant return to Carolina League last night, going 2 for 4 offensively and playing a fine second base. Sierra returned to the Dash after a four-game stint with AA Birmingham, during which he did not see any playing time. The two-hit game for the Colombian since May 15.
Gone, but not forgotten: The Dash suffered two significant losses to their pitching staff yesterday, as starter Terry Doyle and reliever Addison Reed were both promoted to AA Birmingham. Doyle owned just a 1-5 record, but had a 2.84 ERA that ranked tenth in the Carolina League. He was also fourth in innings pitched (73.0) and seventh in WHIP (1.12) at the time of his promotion. Reed, the 13th-best prospect in the White Sox organization, was 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA and one save in 15 relief appearances. He struck out 39 and walked only four in 28.1 innings, holding the Carolina League to a .196 batting average. Doyle and Reed combined to post a 2.50 ERA; without their contributions, the Winston-Salem pitching staff's collective ERA would be 4.47, a 37-point jump from it's current level.
Rock Talk: The Dash continue their final home stand of the season's first half tonight with a series against the Wilmington Blue Rocks. The Royals' Carolina League affiliate has dominated Winston-Salem this season, winning eight out of nine matchups between the teams, including the last six. The games themselves have typically been close, with five of the Dash's losses coming by one or two runs. The Blue Rocks spent much of the first half atop the Northern Division, but have fallen on hard times as of late. Since May 27, Wilmington has lost 11 of its last 15 games, with those losses coming by an aggregate score of 66 to 19. In this series, however, the Rocks have won consecutive games for the first time since May 24-25. The tumble has dropped the Rocks to five games behind Frederick for first place in the Northern Division. The Keys' magic number to eliminate Wilmington from the playoff race in the first half is four.
Fill in the Blanke: C Mike Blanke went 2 for 4 with a double and a runs scored and now has a hit in four of his six games at Advanced-A. Overall, Blank has struggled since joining the Dash, hitting .217 (5 for 23) but has reached base in five of his eight plate appearances since Friday. Baseball America's 14th-best prospect in the White Sox organization, Blanke was promoted to Winston-Salem on June 3 after an All-Star first half in the South Atlantic League. He was named an All-Star for low-A Kannapolis, but can't participate because of his promotion. Blanke hit .259 with two home runs and 18 RBI with the Intimidators. He was drafted in the 14th round of the 2010 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Tampa.
Playing them close to the vest: The Dash have an inordinate number of close games this season, as 47 of the team's 61 games have been decided by three runs or fewer and the team has had a lead in 45 games this season. Winston has played 23 one-run games and 15 two-run games. The Dash are 11-12 in one-run games and 8-7 in two run contests. At this rate, the Dash would play 89 one- or two-run games this season.
Today's Opposing Starter: RHP Jake Odorizzi (5-0, 2.03) makes his 12th start of the season and his third against the Dash. In two starts against Winston-Salem, he has allowed just two runs on seven hits in 13 innings with 20 strikeouts and one walk. A Carolina League All-Star, Odorizzi is second only to Kinston's Drew Pomeranz among CL ERA leaders, is tied for sixth in wins, second in strikeouts (79), first in K/9 IP (12.33), and fourth in fewest baserunners/9 IP (10.14). He is in his first season with the Royals organization after serving as the centerpiece of the trade that sent major leaguers Zack Greinke and Yuniesky Betancourt to Milwaukee in exchange for Odorizzi, IF Alcides Escobar, RHP Jared Jeffress, and OF Lorenzo Cain. Baseball America ranked Odorizzi as the top prospect in the Brewers farm system prior to the trade, while Escobar held that spot in the previous season. He spent all of 2010 with low-A Wisconsin, going 7-3 with a 3.43 and 135 strikeouts in 120.2 innings. Odorizzi led the Midwest League with 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings last season and pitched the first eight innings of a combined no-hitter in his penultimate start. He entered this year ranked by MLB.com as the 37th-best prospect among all minor leaguers. Odorizzi features a fastball that ranges from 89-95 mph, a curveball, slider, and changeup. Milwaukee originally selected him as a supplemental first-rounder (32nd overall) in 2008 out of Highland (IL) HS. He elected to sign with the Brewers for just over $1 million rather than attend the University of Louisville, where he was being recruited to play football in addition to baseball. In his senior season, he was an All-League wide receiver on the gridiron and went 14-0 with a 0.08 ERA (1 ER, 89.2 IP) and 146 K/6 BB on the mound.
Carolina League Stories from June 12, 2011
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