Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes
Published on July 10, 2011 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release
No Beatin' Pete: Last night the Dash had a hard time solving Pete Ruiz or any of the other Salem pitchers as the Red Sox cruised to a 9-1 victory at Salem Memorial Ballpark. Salem scored a run in the second inning, two in the third, and two in the fourth to build a 5-0 lead. After the Dash scored their only run in the fifth inning, the Red Sox added four more in the late innings to put the game away. Ruiz allowed just three hits and one run in six innings to pick up the victory and moved to 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA in four starts against Winston-Salem this season. Brad Furnish struggled in his second Dash start, allowing five runs in 3.2 innings for his second loss to Salem. The Dash remained three games behind first place Kinston, as Salem put itself into a tie with Winston for second place.
Book of Daniel: Dash second baseman Daniel Wagner drove in the only run Winston-Salem scored last night with a single in the fifth inning to bring home Nick Ciolli. Wagner has quietly warmed up over the last month after a dreary first half of the season offensively. Entering play on June 13, Wagner was hitting .210 for the season; since then, he is batting .311 (23 for 74) to raise his season average to .234. That mark is tied for the highest Wagner's average has been since May 7, when it was .239.
Staff Infection: Brad Furnish's short start continued an unfortunate pattern for Winston-Salem's undermanned starting pitchers. In five of the last seven games, the Dash's starter has lasted less than five innings, putting a heavy burden on the bullpen. Since July 2, Winston's relievers have thrown 38.1 of 63 total innings (61%). Three of the Dash's starters are currently on the disabled list (Ryan Buch, Justin Collop, and Andre Rienzo) and no starter has yet been named for Wednesday's series opener at Lynchburg.
Bad Medicine: Although the Red Sox have not been a strong hitting squad for much of the season, lately they have seemed to hit their stride against the Dash. Going back to last weekend's series between the teams at BB&T Ballpark, Salem has hit .311 (55 for 177) and scored 38 runs in its last five games against Winston-Salem. The Red Sox have won four of those five matchups and now lead the overall season series 6-5.
WICK marks the SWAT: While the Dash got some timely hits Friday night, the biggest reason for their win over the Pelicans was the man on the mound. Matt Wickswat issued the best performance of his professional career, throwing a career-high-tying seven innings of shutout baseball. Wickswat allowed just two hits and did not walk a batter while striking out five. Between the second and seventh innings, he retired 15 straight Pelicans batters, mostly by getting early-count swings that produced outs.
Stereo Ciolli: For the second straight day, Dash right fielder Nick Ciolli made a catch that landed on SportsCenter's "Top Plays" segment. Ciolli robbed Travis Adair of a grand slam Wednesday night in the fourth inning, banging into the same fence he tumbled over to take a home run away from David Mailman against Salem on Tuesday. Ciolli's most recent catch ranked number five on today's top ten, while his catch the night before came in at number two. Both catches can be seen on the Dash's YouTube channel at youtube.com/wsdashbaseball. Continuing with the theme of brilliant catches by Dash outfielders, Justin Greene's amazing grab from a game in April 2010 against the Kinston Indians was featured yesterday in a segment on minor league catches during yesterday's episode of ABC's "The Winner's Bracket."
Today's Opposing Starter: LHP Chris Hernandez (7-5, 3.10) makes 16th start of the season and second against the Dash. He beat Winston-Salem last Tuesday-his second straight win-by allowing one run on three hits over five innings. Hernandez had a 2.20 ERA at the end of May and was 5-2 in his first nine starts with Salem, earning an All-Star nod for the Carolina League. In his since starts since then, his ERA has jumped almost a full point up to 3.01. Hernandez was drafted in the seventh round of the 2010 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Red Sox and made one appearance for Rookie Lowell. For the Spinners, he threw two innings and gave up one run on three hits. He previously pitched at the University of Miami for three years and compiled a 28-8 record in his time with the Hurricanes. Hernandez was the 2008 ACC Freshman of the Year after garnering a Miami freshman-best 11 wins. That season he was also named First Team All-ACC, an accomplishment that he matched in 2010 before getting drafted. In his last season with Miami he went 10-3 with a 2.64 ERA. His repertoire includes a four-seam fastball that sits 88-89 mph and a cutter that he can throw 83-85. He also throws a changeup and curveball.
Carolina League Stories from July 10, 2011
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- Salem Swats Winston in 8-4 Win - Winston-Salem Dash
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- Sample Hands Pelicans Another Shutout Defeat - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Kinston Indians Game Notes - Kinston Indians
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Myrtle Beach Pelicans Game Notes - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
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- Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes - Winston-Salem Dash
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