CarL1 Winston-Salem Dash

Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes

Published on July 25, 2011 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release


WINSTON-SALEM DASH (14-15, 46-53) vs. KINSTON INDIANS (18-10, 56-41)

Monday, July 25, 2011, 7:00 p.m. | BB&T Ballpark | Winston-Salem, NC

Webcast available on www.wsdash.com 15 minutes before first pitch

Game No. 101 | Home Game No. 52 | 2011 Home Record 25-25 | 2011 Road Record 21-28

LHP Matt Wickswat (3-1, 3.24) vs. RHP Clayton Cook (6-6, 4.17)

Waterlogged: The Nationals did not let some wet weather dampen their efforts, beating the Dash 6-3 last night in a rain-soaked affair. After a rain delay of one hour, 16 minutes, Potomac built a 4-0 lead by the fifth inning and held off Winston-Salem late to salvage the series and avoid a sweep. Jeff Kobernus and Destin Hood combined to reach base nine times while Steven Souza drove in three runs to send the Nationals off on a winning note. The game marked another missed opportunity to collect its second series sweep of the season. Winston-Salem has had seven chances to sweep an opponent this year, but has only accomplished the feat once (May 13 - 15 at Salem).

Sunday Funday': The Dash have taken a 180-degree turn from their usual unbeatable selves during Sunday games. Winston-Salem started the season 9-2 on the first day of the week, but yesterday's loss marked the team's fourth straight Sunday defeat. The Dash play their best baseball on Fridays, when the team is 11-5, and their worst on Thursdays (2-10).

Tribal Warfare: Tonight marks the beginning of arguably the Dash's most important series of the second half, as Winston-Salem welcomes the Kinston Indians to BB&T Ballpark for a four-game series. The K-Tribe currently lead the Dashers by 4.5 games in the Southern Division and the Red Sox by 5.5 games. Those three teams are competing with one another for the second half playoff berth and the team that finishes on top will play the first half champion Myrtle Beach Pelicans in the Southern Division Championship Series. Making this series even more important is that this series will be the final time that Winston and Kinston will meet this season. So far the season series has been even, with each team winning eight of the 16 previous matchups. The teams met for a four-gamer last week at Grainger Stadium - the final visit to the venerable ballpark for Winston-Salem - and Kinston won three games, though the Dash could have won three of four if not for a pair of late Indians comebacks.

Comeback Kids: The K-Tribe have been making a habit of overturning late deficits lately. Aaron Holbert's team has won four in a row and six of the last eight. In each of their last five wins, the Indians have trailed late, only to overcome their deficit and win the game. Kinston trailed 5-4 in the eighth inning yesterday, but beat Wilmington 7-5. The Indians scored six times with two outs in the eighth inning on Saturday to pick up an 11-8 win and scored eight times in the sixth and seventh innings to overturn the Blue Rocks on Friday 11-10. The K-Tribe won a pair of 5-4 games against the Dash on Monday and Wednesday of last week with three late runs in both of those games.

They Come in Peace: The Dash have typically had the upper hand on Kinston in Winston-Salem, as the K-Tribe have lost 24 of 27 in Winston. In 2009, Kinston won the first game it played at Gene Hooks Field at Wake Forest Baseball Park, but lost its last nine. The Indians lost eight in a row at BB&T Ballpark before picking up their first win at the new yard on July 27 of last year. The 17-game losing streak in Winston-Salem spanned nearly 14 months; 11 of those Dash wins were by just one run. The K-Tribe has not won consecutive games in Winston-Salem since August 25-27 of 2008 and has not won a series in the Twin City since August of 2007, a span of 11 straight series without a series victory.

More Indians Info: Kinston owns the second best record in the Carolina League thanks to a long hot stretch after a slow start to the 2011 season. After starting the season 14-22 through May 16, Kinston is 42-19. The Indians had the best record in May and June, and are third best in July at 12-8. Aaron Holbert's team has managed to excel despite owning the worst statistical offense in the CL. The Indians are batting .237 and have scored 371 runs, both the lowest totals in the league. They have been bolstered by strong pitching, as the K-Tribe has allowed the second fewest runs in the league and possess the league's third-best ERA. Kinston has also played terrific defense, ranking second in the CL in errors and fielding percentage.

Duble Play: Kevin Dubler has made quite the impression since joining the Dash one week ago. The former eighth rounder suited up for the second time in a Winston-Salem uniform yesterday since his promotion from low-A Kannapolis. Dubler doubled in his first at bat, walked twice, and scored a run yesterday. Behind the dish, he picked off Potomac runners at first base to end both the third and fourth innings, marking the first two times a Dash catcher has collected a true pickoff this season. In two starts with Winston, Dubler is 2 for 5 offensively with a double, one home run, two RBI, and two runs scored.

Gacplosions In The Sky: Ian Gac is one Dash player happy to see the K-Tribe back in town. Gac hit three home runs in a two-game span against Kinston last week to bolster his outstanding numbers against the Indians this season. He is batting .274 against Kinston, but 13 of his 17 hits have gone for extra bases. He has five downs and eight home runs against the Indians with 23 RBI and 14 runs scored. Gac has been hot lately for Winston-Salem; in the last 12 games, he is batting .366 (15 for 41) with three doubles, eight homers, 19 RBI, and nine runs scored. His Carolina League-leading 27 home runs are tied for the fourth most in MiLB this season. He has 11 more home runs that any other player in the CL and his 76 RBI are 15 more than second place. Gac is also first in the CL in games played (99), second in at bats (371), fourth in hits (101), second in doubles (27), first in slugging percentage (.563), first in extra-base hits (54), first in runs scored (66), first in total bases (209), and first in HR/AB ratio (1/13.74). He is on pace to hit 38 home runs this season which would surpass his previous career-high of 32 in 2008. He has 154 career homers in nine professional seasons.

QuickSilverio: New Dash third baseman Juan Silverio has wasted no time adjusting to Advanced-A. The Dominican, who was promoted to Winston-Salem last Monday, has hit in five of the six games that he has played with Winston-Salem, going hitless for the first time yesterday. He is now 9 for 24 (.375) at the plate with the Dash with two doubles, two triples, six RBI, and six runs scored. Silverio started the season for Kannapolis and hit .289 with five homers, 29 doubles, six triples, and 58 RBI in 88 games before his promotion. The 20-year-old was at one point ranked by Baseball America as the tenth-best White Sox minor league prospect and may now be reaching his considerable potential.

Kuss Kracked: A team finally scored an earned run off of Dash reliever Ryan Kussmaul, ending an impressive stretch for the right-hander. Kussmaul allowed an earned run in the eighth inning Saturday night, his first in his last 13 appearances. Prior to this streak ending last night, he had thrown 19 innings, allowed six hits, walked four, struck out 39, and held hitters to a .098 average (6 for 61). He lowered his season ERA more than two full runs since June 7 from 5.11 to 2.89 prior to the streak ending. Kussmaul still leads all Carolina League relievers in strikeouts per nine innings with 13.80, more than two better than Keys closer Sean Gleason (11.63). Kussmaul is second on the Dash in strikeouts (69) despite only ranking sixth among all 2011 Winston players in innings pitched (45.0).

Today's Opposing Starter: RHP Clayton Cook (6-6, 4.17) makes his 17th start off the season, and fifth against the Dash. He got a no-decision last Tuesday against the Dash, allowing four runs on three hits in five innings. In four starts against Winston this season, Cook is 1-1 with a 3.27 ERA, striking out 25 batters with 14 walks in 22 innings. He is the youngest player on the Indians and will not turn 21 until July 23rd. Cook is coming off a good 2010 season with low-A Lake County, his first year with a full-season team. He went 6-7 in 23 starts, but posted a solid 3.35 ERA (9th in the MWL) and held Midwest League batters to a .244 average. The Indians shut him down with a relatively minor shoulder injury in mid-August. Cook was 5-3 with a 2.79 ERA in 2009 with short-season Mahoning Valley, where he was a NYPL All-Star. He was selected in the ninth round of the 2008 draft out of Amarillo High School in Texas and reportedly signed for about $100,000 after he committed to the University of Oklahoma. He dominated in his final year of high school ball, striking out 170 batters in 98 innings while going 12-3 with a 1.98 ERA. He throws a four-seam fastball (91-93 mph), a two-seam fastball, a curveball, and a changeup.

Check out the Winston-Salem Dash Statistics

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Carolina League Stories from July 25, 2011


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