Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes
Published on July 16, 2011 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release
Defense de-Kleined: Despite getting out-hit 8-4, the Dash were able to take advantage of a pair of Barrett Kleinknecht errors to beat the Hillcats last night 4-1. Already on top 1-0 heading into the fifth inning, Kyle Colligan led off the frame with a bouncing ball to third base. Kleinknecht's throw was wide of first, allowing Colligan to reach second. After a walk and a sacrifice bunt, Tyler Saladino hit a ball in Kleinknecht's direction. After an initial bobble and drop, the third baseman's throw was in the dirt, allowing Saladino to reach base as another run scored. Jared Mitchell and Andy Wilkins followed with a sac fly and an RBI double, respectively, to bring home two more Winston runs. Four tallies would be enough for the pitching staff, as Cameron Bayne and Orlando Santos managed to strand ten Lynchburg runners on base to make the lead hold. With the win, the team's third in a row, the Dash won the series and will go for the four-game sweep tonight. First place Kinston's loss at Potomac allowed Winston-Salem to move to within two games of the top spot in the Southern Division.
Triple Play: For the third straight night, the Dash were buoyed by a three-run inning. Their three unearned runs in the fifth were crucial to last night's 4-1 victory. On Wednesday, Winston scored three times in the seventh to snap a 1-1 tie and the team scored three times again in the seventh inning on Thursday to break open a ballgame knotted at three.
Back on the Bayne Gang: Cameron Bayne made his return to the mound in a Dash uniform and the results were what Winston is accustomed to seeing from the Hawaiian right-hander. Bayne, who was back with the Dash after a three-start stint with AA-Birmingham, allowed one run over six innings, scattering seven hits and a walk while striking out six. Despite making four starts at a higher level this season, Bayne still led the Dash in wins and increased his victory total to eight with the win last night. His six strikeouts tied a season-high that he had set three other times this season. The number is especially high considering he had only struck out seven total batters in three Southern League starts.
Orlando-ho-ho-ho Santos Claus: Last night Dash reliever Orlando Santos continued his strong performance since returning to the Carolina League from low-A Kannapolis. Santos earned his first save of the season with three scoreless innings of relief. The former catcher started this season with the Dash and struggled, posting an 8.82 ERA in his first ten appearances. After going 2-0 with a 1.08 ERA in 25 innings with the Intimidators, Santos was returned to Winston-Salem. After giving up two runs in 2.2 innings in his first game back, the righty has allowed just one run in his last six appearances, totaling 9.1 innings for an ERA of 0.96. His season ERA with the Dash has dropped to 6.04, his lowest mark since his second appearance of the season.
Back on Gac: After going 3 for 23 offensively over a six-game stretch, Ian Gac has bounced back over the last three games, going 6 for 13 with a double, three home runs, eight RBI, four runs scored, two walks, and a hit-by-pitch. Gac has hit 23 home runs this season, 13 of which have either tied the game or given Winston-Salem the lead. The slugger strengthened his hold on the CL lead in RBI with 65 on the season, six better than Salem's Dan Butler. Gac is also first in the CL in games played (91), second in at bats (343), fourth in hits (92), tied for second in doubles (25), third in slugging percentage (.542), first in extra-base hits (48), first in runs scored (61), first in total bases (186), and first in HR/AB ratio (1/14.91).
Milestone Moonshot: With his tiebreaking home run in the third inning Thursday night, Ian Gac not only gave the Dash a 3-1 lead, but he also blasted the 150th home run of his professional career (all of them coming below the AA level). Gac entered the season with 127 career dingers and has hit a Carolina League-leading 23 in 2011 to reach the milestone number. The nine-year pro hit his first three home runs in his first professional season back in 2003 on the AZL Rangers. His first double-digit home run season came in 2006 when he hit 16 with low-A Clinton and Advanced-A Bakersfield. Gac is on pace to hit 35 homers this season, which would eclipse his career-high of 32 that he hit in 2008. Among all active players, the Seattle native is 23rd in career minor league home runs. Of the top 50, all but Gac have played at a level higher than Advanced-A.
Making Two-Out Trouble: The Dash have made a living with two outs in this series, scoring 12 but one of their 14 runs with two outs in the inning. On Wednesday, Winston's first run of the game scored on a sacrifice fly that accounted for the second out of the fourth inning; later in the game, Ian Gac's three-run home run came after back-to-back walks with two outs in the seventh. On Thursday night, Gac's two-run homer in the third inning came with two outs in the frame, as did Wilkins' two-run double and Gac's RBI single in the seventh. Last night, a pair of sac flies and an RBI double accounted for three more two-out runs
Putting the "K" in Kussmaul: Ryan Kussmaul was dominant in 1.2 innings of relief Wednesday night. The right-hander entered the game with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning and the Dash leading by two runs with two Hillcats in scoring position. After striking out Joe Leonard, he got Geraldo Rodriguez to pop out to shortstop to end the threat and the inning. In the ninth, Kussmaul struck out all three batters to finish off his third save in as many chances this season. The Wisconsin native and Iowa resident has been lights out lately, not allowing an earned run in his last ten appearances. In 15 innings over this period, he has allowed six hits, walked four, struck out 31, and held hitters to a .111 average (6 for 54). He has lowered his season ERA more than two full runs since June 7 from 5.11 to 3.05. Kussmaul leads all Carolina League relievers in strikeouts per nine innings with 13.72, nearly two better than Keys closer Sean Gleason (11.74). Kussmaul is second on the Dash in strikeouts (63) despite only ranking seventh among all 2011 Winston players in innings pitched (41.1).
The Elusive Clean Sheet: Winston-Salem nearly made it through last night's game without an error, but Tyler Saladino's eighth-inning bobble put one on the board to continue an unfortunate defensive trend. The Dash have not played a nine-inning game without committing and error in 19 consecutive games. The last clean defensive nine-inning game the Dash played was on June 24 at Frederick, the second game of the second half. Winston has committed 11 errors in the last five games and 106 errors this season, the second-most in the Carolina League (four fewer than Potomac, which leads the league).
Today's Opposing Starter: LHP Blaine Sims (2-4, 3.08) makes his eighth start and 19th appearance of the season tonight against the Dash. Sims has made three relief appearances against Winston-Salem this season with no decisions, allowing two runs on five hits in 6.1 innings. The Scott, Arkansas native started this season with low-A Rome, posting an 0-2 record with a 7.11 ERA in four relief appearances. He joined Lynchburg in late-April and was primarily a reliever, making 11 of his first 12 appearances from the bullpen. He moved into the rotation on June 13 and rewarded the Braves with six shutout innings against Wilmington to earn the victory. He has been slightly more effective as a reliever (2.42 ERA) than as a starter (3.46 ERA), but has had only one poor start pitching from the rotation (6 R on 10 H in 6.1 IP on 7/5 vs. MYR). Last year with Rookie level Danville, he went 0-3 with a 4.19 ERA in 19.1 innings. Sims signed with the Braves last summer as a non-drafted free agent out of Arkansas Tech University. The 22-year-old was signed after pitching in summer ball with the New Market Rebels of the Virginia-based Valley Baseball League, going 3-3 with a team-best 2.95 ERA. Sims spent two years at ATU and went 6-4 with a 5.31 ERA in his senior season. Prior to joining ATU, Sims attended Kaskaskia Junior College in Centralia, IL where he was 8-10 with a 5.80 career ERA.
Carolina League Stories from July 16, 2011
- Kinston Swept - Kinston Indians
- Pelicans come back in ninth, win in extras to finish four-game sweep - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Potomac Sweeps Doubleheader, Sweeps Series from Kinston - Potomac Nationals
- One Out from Victory in Ninth, Salem Falls 8-6 in 13 - Salem Red Sox
- Keys Take Three Of Four From Blue Crew - Frederick Keys
- Wild Game Ends in Hillcats Win - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Flacco Powers Keys Attack - Frederick Keys
- Hillcats Avoid Sweep, Beat Dash 6-2 - Winston-Salem Dash
- Myrtle Beach Pelicans Game Notes - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Kinston Indians Game Notes - Kinston Indians
- Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes - Winston-Salem Dash
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