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CarL1 Winston-Salem Dash

Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes

August 12, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release


WINSTON-SALEM DASH (26-19, 58-57) @ FREDERICK KEYS (28-18, 69-46)

Friday, August 12, 2011, 7:00 p.m. | Harry Grove Stadium | Frederick, MD

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

Game No. 1167 | Road Game No. 56 | 2011 Home Record 33-27 | 2011 Road Record 25-30

LHP Matt Wickswat (5-2, 3.71) @ RHP Ryohei Tanaka (7-4, 3.67)

Coping with Defeat: For the second time in as many starts, the Dash could not figure out Frederick starter Scott Copeland as the team dropped a 2-1 decision in the series opener at Harry Grove Stadium. The righty, who posted a 6.58 ERA in 20 South Atlantic League starts earlier this season, has mastered Winston-Salem in both of his Carolina League outings. He threw six scoreless innings on Saturday at BB&T Ballpark and accomplished the same feat last night to keep the game scoreless heading into the bottom of the sixth. In that frame, the Keys were finally able to get something off Dash starter Joe Serafin, who had allowed just three baserunners over the first five innings. Aaron Baker and Miguel Abreu had consecutive RBI hits to give Frederick a 2-0 lead. Winston scored its only run in the eighth inning, but missed out on several chances for more. The Dash left ten men on base and went just 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position.

Standings Update: With last night's loss and Kinston's win, the Dash's lead in the Southern Division has been cut to two games over the Indians. First half champion Myrtle Beach is 3.5 games behind and Salem is lingering 5.5 games behind Winston-Salem in the race for the second half playoff spot.

Joe Somebody: Joe Serafin deserved a better fate then he received last night, taking the loss to drop his record to 4-9 on the season. Serafin allowed just two runs on four hits, a walk, and a hit batter over seven innings with six strikeouts. He threw 71 of his 98 pitches for strikes for his team-leading 11th quality start of the season. The former Vermont Catamount has had a quality start in three consecutive outings and in four of his last five. If you were to take out two rough outings (July 11 & 23), he would own a second half ERA of 2.80.

30 for 33: On Monday, Ian Gac was named the Carolina League's Player of the Week for the first time this season, although it is the third time in his professional career he has received a similar honor. Last week, the slugger batted .450 (9 for 20) with a double, three homers, four RBI, eight runs scored, and five walks. Sunday's two-homer game was Gac's third multi-homer game of the season and the 14th since 2005. For the season, Gac leads the Carolina League with 30 home runs and is tied for the most in all of minor league baseball in the category (current major leaguer Paul Goldschmidt and the Iowa Cubs' Bryan LaHair also have 30). Gac has 12 more home runs that any other player in the CL and his 82 RBI are nine more than second place. Gac is also first in the CL in games played (115), third in at bats (425), fifth in batting average (.278), third in hits (118), third in doubles (28), first in slugging percentage (.555), second in extra-base hits (58), first in runs scored (79), first in total bases (236), and first in HR/AB ratio (1/14.17). He is on pace to hit 36 home runs this season which would surpass his previous career-high of 32 in 2008. That total would also be tied for the most in any Carolina League season since Tolia Solaita hit 49 for the Hi-Toms in 1968. Gac has 157 career homers in nine professional seasons.

Winning Formula: The odds are pretty good for Winston-Salem to come away with the victory when Ian Gac homers. The Dash are 19-8 when games Gac hits a home run, good for a .703 winning percentage. The Dash are just 39-49 (.443) when Gac does not homer. The Dash are 10-6 (.625) when Andy Wilkins hits a home run, but have won 10 of the last 12 games during which the Oklahoman has homered.

The Wilky Way: If not for teammate Ian Gac, Andy Wilkins might be seen as the best power hitter in the Carolina League. Wilkins is tied for second in the league in homers (18), third in RBI (68), third in slugging (.466), fourth in extra-base hits (43), third in total bases (184), and fourth in HR/AB ratio (1/21/94). Over his last 16 games, Wilkins is batting .393 (24 for 61) with six doubles, four home runs, 11 RBI, 13 runs scored, and a stolen base. He is batting .311 in the second half since hitting .239 before the All-Star break.

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).

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 .368 with one home run, three doubles, six RBI, and six runs scored in six 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. He owns a seven-game hitting streak going back to his final game with Kannapolis and is batting .429 (9 for 21) during the streak.

‚¬ËœMaul of America: Ryan Kussmaul threw a perfect seventh inning Tuesday night to pick up his fifth save in as many chances. He struck out the first two batters he faced to continue his terrific season. Kussmaul leads all Carolina League relievers with 14.33 strikeouts per nine innings, more than three full K's more than second-place Sean Gleason (10.95). He is second among all full-season minor league pitchers in the category. Kussmaul is second on the Dash in strikeouts (78) despite only ranking seventh among all 2011 Winston players in innings pitched (49.0).

Today's Opposing Starter: RHP Ryohei Tanaka (7-4, 3.67) makes his 16th start of the season and fifth against the Dash. He is 1-2 with a 7.23 ERA against Winston-Salem and is coming off a rough outing against the Dash (4.2 IP, 11 H, 8 ER). He has been good all year, allowing more than three runs in just four 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.

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