Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes
Published on July 17, 2011 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release
No Sweep for You!: The Dash were denied their second series sweep of the season last night, dropping a 6-2 decision to the Hillcats at City Stadium. Tyler Saladino put Winston-Salem on top first with a two-run home run in the fifth inning, but Lynchburg finally solved Jake Petricka in the sixth to take the lead. After allowing just one baserunner through the first five innings, Petricka allowed five of the first six men he faced in the sixth to reach base. After L.V. Ware's RBI double got the Hillcats on the scoreboard, Phil Gosselin and Geraldo Rodriguez hit two-run doubles to make it a five-run inning against Petricka. Lynchburg added one more run in the eighth inning to complete the scoring. The loss ended Winston-Salem's six-game win streak against the Hillcats and dropped the team to 3-4 on its current 11-game road trip.
Four Big Games: Today the Dash close out their longest road trip of the season with the first of four games against the Kinston Indians. First place in the Southern Division is on the line in this week's series, as the K-Tribe currently lead Winston-Salem by 1.5 games for a second half playoff berth. With a sweep, the Dash would be 2.5 games in front of the Indians, however if the Dash get swept, they would fall 5.5 games back. The Indians have been the hottest team in the Carolina League over the last two months. After starting the season 14-22 through May 16, Kinston is 36-18. The Indians had the best record in May and the June, but have stumbled a bit this month, going 6-7 on the heels of a three game sweep at the hands of Potomac. Aaron Holbert's team has managed to excel despite owning the worst statistical offense in the CL. The Indians are batting .231 and have scored 324 runs, both the lowest totals in the league. They have been bolstered by strong pitching, as the K-Tribe has allowed the fewest runs in the league and possess the league's second-best ERA. Kinston has also played terrific defense, ranking first in the CL in fewest errors and highest fielding percentage.
Back on Gac: After going 3 for 23 offensively over a six-game stretch, Ian Gac has bounced back over the last four games, going 7 for 15 with two doubles, three home runs, eight RBI, four runs scored, three walks, and two hit-by-pitches. 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 (92), second in at bats (345), fourth in hits (93), second in doubles (26), third in slugging percentage (.545), first in extra-base hits (49), first in runs scored (61), first in total bases (188), and first in HR/AB ratio (1/15.00).
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 made a living with two outs in the Lynchburg series, scoring 14 of their 16 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. Friday night, a pair of sac flies and an RBI double accounted for three more two-out runs, while Tyler Saladino's two-run homer last night came with two outs in the fifth.
Putting the "K" in Kussmaul: Ryan Kussmaul kept racking up strikeouts last night, picking up three more in 1.1 scoreless innings. The Wisconsin native and Iowa resident has been lights out lately, not allowing an earned run in his last 11 appearances. In 16.1 innings over this period, he has allowed six hits, walked four, struck out 34, and held hitters to a .103 average (6 for 58). He has lowered his season ERA more than two full runs since June 7 from 5.11 to 2.95. Kussmaul leads all Carolina League relievers in strikeouts per nine innings with 13.92, more than two better than Keys closer Sean Gleason (11.74). Kussmaul is second on the Dash in strikeouts (66) despite only ranking seventh among all 2011 Winston players in innings pitched (42.2).
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.
The Elusive Clean Sheet: Winston-Salem nearly made it through last night's game without an error, but Ryan Kussmaul'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 20 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 12 errors in the last six games and 107 errors this season, the second-most in the Carolina League (five fewer than Potomac, which leads the league).
Today's Opposing Starter: RHP Marty Popham (3-0, 2.83) makes his 14th appearance and eighth start of the season today against the Dash. He has faced Winston-Salem twice this season out of the bullpen, allowing four runs on six hits in three innings. He started the season pitching out of the bullpen for the Indians before a promotion to AA Akron in May. He did not fare well in four appearances with the Aeros, allowing 11 runs on 23 hits in 13.2 innings. Popham also made one relief appearance with AAA Columbus in late-May, allowing one run on a homer in 1.2 innings. The righty spent most of 2010 with Kinston, going 4-4 with a 3.92 ERA in 17 games, 13 starts. The Dash hit him well in four games (two starts), as Popham posted an 0-2 record with a 7.56 ERA against Winston-Salem last year. Popham started that season with low-A Lake County and went 3-1 with a 3.71 ERA in eight games (four starts). After beginning 2009 in extended spring training, he went to short-season Mahoning Valley, where he went 6-1 with a 2.76 ERA and was named a New York-Penn League All-Star. He struck out 83 batters last year, good for second in the NYPL, and only walked ten in 75 innings. Popham was the Indians' 20th round selection in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft out of Union College (KY). He is a native of Louisville, Kentucky and attended Butler Traditional High School, the alma mater of former Kinston pitcher Travis Foley and former Potomac shortstop Seth Bynum. Popham was a first-team NAIA All-American at Union in 2008, going 17-1 with a 2.27 ERA and 133 strikeouts in 123 innings as a junior. His 17 wins led the NAIA. Popham throws a low-90's fastball, a slider, and a changeup. His fastball is his best pitch, but he has showed tremendous improvement in his secondary pitches as his career progresses.
Carolina League Stories from July 17, 2011
- Hillcats Hold on Late, 5-4 Over Nats' - Lynchburg Hillcats
- K-Tribe Stop Skid with 2-0 Win - Kinston Indians
- K-Happy K-Tribe K-O Dash - Winston-Salem Dash
- Frederick Prevails 5-3, Salem's Fifth Straight Setback - Salem Red Sox
- Bumbry Blast Breaks the Ice - Frederick Keys
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes - Winston-Salem Dash
- Salem Red Sox Return This Afternoon for Seven Game Homestand - Salem Red Sox
- Kinston Indians Game Notes - Kinston Indians
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