CarL1 Winston-Salem Dash

Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes

Published on August 13, 2011 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release


WINSTON-SALEM DASH (26-20, 58-58) @ FREDERICK KEYS (29-18, 70-46)

Saturday, August 13, 2011, 6:00 p.m. | Harry Grove Stadium | Frederick, MD

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

Game No. 118 | Road Game No. 57 | 2011 Home Record 33-27 | 2011 Road Record 25-31

RHP Cameron Bayne (11-4, 3.09) @ LHP Rick Zagone (2-1, 3.14)

Harry Gross Stadium: The home of the Keys became a Frederick Funhouse for the home team last night, and not only because Pepito the Clown was performing for fans on the concourse. With WWE Hall of Famer Jerry "The King" Lawler also in the house, the Keys took a page from the legend's book and put the piledriver on Winston-Salem in a 13-4 victory. Frederick scored six times in the fourth inning and five more times in the seventh to put away the Dash. It was an ugly game for the Winstonites: Dash pitching allowed 13 earned runs on 17 hits with six walks and two wild pitches while the defense committed three errors. The offense was not much help early on, as Ryohei Tanaka retired the first 15 batters he faced, taking a perfect game into the sixth inning. Winston-Salem has now lost two in a row for the first time in nearly a month; the Dash last dropped consecutive games when they lost three in a row from July 16-18.

Standings Update: With last night's loss and Kinston's win, the Dash's lead in the Southern Division has been cut to just one game 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.

Smoking a Dubler: Winston backup catcher Kevin Dubler continued to produce since his call-up to the Carolina League last month. Last night Dubler went 1 for 3 with a two-run home run, a walk, and two runs scored. Since joining the Dash, Dubler has had a base hit in every game and is batting .364 with three doubles, two homers, eight RBI, and eight runs scored. The Downers Grove, Illinois native has an eight-game hitting streak going back to his final game with Kannapolis and is batting .417 (10 for 24) during the streak. His streak of getting a base hit in his first at bat of every game with the Dash did come to an end last night, however, as he flied out to left field his first time up in the third inning.

You Know My Name, Look Up the Number: No need for the Keys to look up Matt Wickswat in the phone book; Frederick's got the left-hander's number already. Wickswat had a second straight rough outing against the Baby Birds last night, yielding seven runs on nine hits in 3.2 innings. In his last two starts, both against the Keys, Wickswat has posted an ERA of 14.54, allowing 15 runs (14 earned) on 18 hits (four homers) and five walks in 8.2 innings. Prior to these two outings, Wickswat had won five straight starts and an ERA of 2.91 that has since risen to 4.48. The southpaw has had a hard time closing out innings against Frederick, as 13 of the 15 runs he has allowed against the Keys have come with two outs in the inning.

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 (116), third in at bats (429), seventh in batting average (.277), third in hits (119), third in doubles (28), first in slugging percentage (.552), second in extra-base hits (58), first in runs scored (79), first in total bases (237), and first in HR/AB ratio (1/14.30). 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 39-50 (.438) 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.

‚¬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). He also leads CL relievers with a .162 opponents' batting average and is second in fewest baserunners/9 IP (8.63).

Today's Opposing Starter: LHP Rick Zagone (2-1, 3.14) makes his fourth start for the Keys this season and his first in 2011 against the Dash in 2010. Recently sent down from AA Bowie, Zagone spent the last half of 2009 and the first half of 2010 in the Carolina League, making three starts over two seasons against Winston-Salem. He is 1-1 with a 3.32 ERA (7 ER, 19 IP), 12 strikeouts, and two walks in his career against the Dash. Zagone started this year with the Baysox, going 4-6 with a 4.84 ERA in 19 games (16 starts) before being sent to Frederick earlier this month. He had two scoreless six-inning performances with the Keys upon returning to the CL before a rough outing last time out at Myrtle Beach (2.1 IP, 6 H, 8 R, 5 ER). In 2010, Zagone was 5-6 with Frederick with a 3.20 ERA before a midseason promotion. He finished the year appearing in 13 games for Bowie (11 starts), going 5-5 with a 4.34 ERA. He split 2009 between Delmarva and Frederick and went 1-3 with the Keys, posting a 5.10 ERA in 13 starts. He was slightly better with the Shorebirds, going 4-5 with a 4.66 ERA. Zagone was named a 2009 SAL All-Star and started the All-Star Game for the Northern Division team, pitching a scoreless inning and registering two strikeouts. He had a fantastic pro debut in 2008, going 7-1 with a 2.89 ERA for Aberdeen. Zagone was drafted by the Orioles in the sixth round of the 2008 draft out of the University of Missouri, where he won 15 games over three years and pitched on the same staff as two-time first round draft pick Aaron Crow. He had an impressive stint in the Cape Cod League in 2007, going 4-1 with a 2.09 ERA in nine games (eight starts) with the Bourne Braves. A native of Crystal Lake, Illinois, he now lives in Columbia, Missouri. Zagone is the third-to-last player listed in the Orioles media guide, ahead of only Vincent Zazueta and Alexander Zorrilla. He throws a high 80s fastball, a slider, and a changeup.

Check out the Winston-Salem Dash Statistics

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