CarL1 Winston-Salem Dash

Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes

Published on August 7, 2011 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release


Dirty Dozen: After back-to-back lopsided, shutout victories, the Dash got a taste of their own medicine last night, dropping a 12-0 decision to the Frederick Keys at BB&T Ballpark. Matt Wickswat did not have his best command and the Keys took advantage, scoring eight times off the lefty before he departed after five innings. Making the game more frustrating for Winston-Salem was that nine of Frederick's runs came with two outs in the inning, including all the runs scored in the first, third, fifth, and eighth innings. The shutout loss was Winston's fourth of the season and the team was held to a season-low-tying three hits for the fifth time in 2011, as Scott Copeland pitched very well to pick up the win in his Carolina League debut. The Dash had won their previous two games by a combined 21-0 score but were dealt their most decisive defeat of the season on Saturday. The loss evened the weekend series at one game apiece heading into today's rubber game.

Making a Good First Impression: Kevin Dubler has needed no learning curve for adjusting to life in the Carolina League. The backup catcher, who was called up from low-A Kannapolis on July 18, is batting .375 with one home run, three doubles, six RBI, and five runs scored in five games with the Dash. Not only has he picked up a hit in every game that he has played for Winston-Salem, but he has gotten a hit in his first at bat of each contest with the Dash.

Hitting the Matt: Last night's outing ended a personal five-start winning streak for Dash starter Matt Wickswat. The lefty gave up eight runs (seven earned, tying a career-high) on nine hits (including two home runs, also tying a career-high) in five innings. During his win streak, the Bellevue, Washington native had posted a 2.45 ERA (9 ER, 33 IP) and a .186 batting average against (22 H, 118 AB) with 26 strikeouts and five walks.

Turn Smile Shift Repeat: Missing a week with a sore right knee has not seemed to slow down Andy Wilkins offensively. In his return to the lineup on Friday, Wilkins picked up a base hit and doubled in his first at bat last night. The former Razorback is riding a seven-game hit streak, his third-longest of the season. He is batting .393 (11 for 28) during the streak, which is the longest active streak for any Dash batter. The Keys always seem to bring out the best in Wilkins as well. The first baseman is hitting .291 with three doubles, six home runs, 17 RBI, and nine runs scored in 15 games against Frederick this season.

Key-Holed: Winston-Salem and Frederick finish up their penultimate series matchup of the season, and the Dash look to win their second series against the team with the Carolina League's best record. This is a matchup between the two teams with the best second half record in their respective divisions, but Frederick leads the season series 9-6. The series also marks the return of former Dash infielder Dale Mollenhauer to Winston-Salem. Mollenhauer, who played with the Dash in 2009, is hitting .304 with nine walks, three RBI, and ten runs scored against his former team in 2011.

Who Stopped J.R.?: At one point this season, J.R. Ballinger had the Midas Touch when it came to pitching for the Dash. The right-hander from Moss Point, Mississippi earned the win in each of his first four appearances for Winston-Salem, posting a miniscule ERA of 0.90 (1 ER, 10 IP). Since getting the win on June 12 against Wilmington, Ballinger has pitched exclusively in games the Dash would go on to lose. He has appeared in ten consecutive Dash losses, going 0-2 in that stretch with a 7.06 ERA (17 ER, 21.2 IP).

New World Order: Despite last night's loss, the Dash stayed atop the Southern Division for the eighth straight day. Winston-Salem leads Kinston by 1.5 games, Myrtle Beach by 3.5 games, and Salem by 5.0 for a second half playoff spot.

‘Maul of America: Ryan Kussmaul threw a perfect ninth inning in Friday night's game, striking out the first two batters he faced to continue his terrific season. Kussmaul leads all Carolina League relievers with 14.25 strikeouts per nine innings, more than three full K's more than second-place Sean Gleason (11.04). He is second among all full-season minor league pitchers in the category. Kussmaul is second on the Dash in strikeouts (76) despite only ranking seventh among all 2011 Winston players in innings pitched (48.0).

All Gacced Up: Ian Gac leads the Carolina League with 28 home runs and is tied for fourth in all of minor league baseball in the category. Gac's home run in Friday night's game with his first in ten games (40 at-bats), his longest homer drought of the season. He has 11 more home runs that any other player in the CL and his 80 RBI are 13 more than second place. Gac is also first in the CL in games played (110), first in at bats (411), third in hits (112), third in doubles (27), first in slugging percentage (.543), second in extra-base hits (55), first in runs scored (73), first in total bases (223), and first in HR/AB ratio (1/14.68). He is on pace to hit 36 home runs this season which would surpass his previous career-high of 32 in 2008. He has 155 career homers in nine professional seasons.

Today's Opposing Starter: RHP Ryohei Tanaka (7-3, 3.07) makes his 15th start of the season and fourth against the Dash. He is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA against Winston-Salem. He has been good all year, allowing more than three runs in just three outings this season. He started the year coming out of the bullpen for AA Bowie before being sent down to Frederick, where he has made 11 total appearances. With Bowie, he had no record but registered a 3.09 ERA in six appearances (11.2 IP). Originally from Ishikawa, Japan, Tanaka signed with the Baltimore Orioles organization in 2009 and has spent most of his time with Bowie. In 2009 he went 4-4 with a 3.00 ERA in 21 appearances (12 starts). As a reliever, Tanaka did not allow a run in 13 innings. Last year with the BaySox he also split time between the bullpen and starting rotation, going 8-12 with a 5.64 ERA. Tanaka previously played for the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan's Pacific League under then-manager and current ESPN Analyst Bobby Valentine.

Check out the Winston-Salem Dash Statistics

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Carolina League Stories from August 7, 2011


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