Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes
June 26, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release
Sweep Dashed: Adam Donachie hit two homers and drove in five runs to lead the Keys past the Dash 6-2 last night in Maryland. Winston-Salem got off to a good start in the contest, as Tyler Saladino lef off the game with a solo home run, but Frederick took the lead on Donachie's first shot, a three-run homer, in the second inning. He hit a two-run dinger in the fourth inning to give the home team a commanding lead. The win helped Frederick avoid a sweep at the hands of Winston-Salem, which was going for its second series sweep of the season. The Dash finished their seven-game road trip (broken up by the All-Star break) with a 4-3 record against Wilmington and Frederick, a pair of teams that had combined to go 15-5 against Winston-Salem this season prior to the trip.
Ty High: After missing the first month of the season with a broken hand, Tyler Saladino is starting take off offensively. He went 2 for 4 with a solo home run to lead off the ballgame last night ; he has had a base hit in 11 of his last 13 games and a multi-hit game in seven of the last 12 contests he has played in. Since June 5, Saladino is batting .339 (19 for 56) with seven doubles, two homers, eight RBI, and seven runs scored. He has raised his batting average 60 points to .245 during this period. Currently, Saladino is on a six-game hitting streak.
Recovery Summer: Jose Martinez' first full healthy season as a professional continues to proceed swimmingly. Martinez missed roughly two full seasons worth of baseball from 2008-2010 after a series of right knee injuries that required three separate surgeries. Café went 1 for 4 last night and is hitting .302, good for third in the Carolina League. After a six-game stretch when he went 1 for 23 that spanned the end of May and beginning of June, Martinez has hit in 15 of his last 17 games. He is batting .319 (23 for 72) during this period with 11 RBI. His 12 RBI in June are the most he has had in any month this season and he has hit in his last six games.
Wayne Knight: Justin Collop turned in another excellent performance as he builds up arm strength to take a regular spot in the Dash rotation. The Wayne, Michigan native allowed just one hit and one walk over six scoreless innings to earn his second straight win. Over his last five outings, including four starts, Collop has allowed just one earned run in 19 innings for a 0.47 ERA. He has allowed just ten hits over that span for a .154 opponents' batting average (10 for 65).
Mike Check: Dash catcher Mike Blanke's first home run and RBI as a member of Winston-Salem was nearly overshadowed by Andy Wilkins' big offensive night on Friday. Blanke's line drive home run was his third of the season and his first since April 23 when he was still with the Kannapolis Intimidators. The 2011 South Atlantic League All-Star had gone 160 at bats without a home run until his shot last night.
Today's Opposing Starter: LHP Chris Masters (3-2, 2.70) makes his sixth start and tenth appearance of the season tonight against the Dash. He faced Winston-Salem out of the bullpen at BB&T Ballpark earlier this month and allowing one run on four hits in 5.1 innings with five strikeouts and two walks. All of his decisions have come as a starting pitcher; his ERA is better as a reliever (1.42) than it is as a starter (3.29). Despite the shifting roles, Masters has put up fine numbers this season, striking out 40 and allowing just 31 hits in 40 innings. Though he shares the same name as professional wrestler "The Masterpiece" on WWE Raw, the Hillcats' Masters registers his KO's on the field instead of the ring. Drafted in the 11th round in 2009, Masters pitched well in his rookie year with short-season Danville (8-4, 1.42 ERA in 13 G, 11 GS with 85 K and 9 BB in 69.2 IP). He finished the year fifth in all of minor league baseball in ERA as well as second in the Appalachian League and first in the Braves organization. In August of 2009 he went 5-1 with a 0.24 ERA in six starts and was the organization's "Pitcher of the Month." Last year, Master did have the same success as he did in the year priorm going 3-11 with a 4.30 ERA in 27 games (27 starts), though he did strike out 123 batters in 136 innings. A native of Marietta, Georgia, Masters attended Western Carolina University where he ranked sixth on the school's career strikeouts leader list with 241. He was the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week a school-record six times in his three-year stint in Cullowhee. He led the Catamounts with 99 strikeouts in his senior season, but finished the season with a 5.59 ERA. In 2008, Masters pitched in the prestigious Cape Cod Summer League, where he played on the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox with Dash 1B Andy Wilkins. The Braves got an early look at Masters while he was still in high school, as when he was in high school, he was selected to go to Turner Field for the Braves 400 Club, an organization that honors the top 18 metro-Atlanta high school baseball stars. He was recognized as one of the top eight pitchers in the state of Georgia as a senior and made the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's All-Cobb County First Team twice. Masters throws 92-93 mph fastball, a palmball-grip changeup, and a slider.
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Carolina League Stories from June 26, 2011
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