CarL1 Winston-Salem Dash

Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes

August 16, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release


WINSTON-SALEM DASH (29-21, 61-59) vs. LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (20-30, 50-70)

Tuesday, August 16, 2011, 7:00 p.m. | BB&T Ballpark | Winston-Salem, NC

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

Game No. 121 | Home Game No. 62 | 2011 Home Record 35-27 | 2011 Road Record 26-32

LHP Joe Serafin (4-9, 5.37) vs. RHP Caleb Brewer ( -, - )

Skinning the Cats: In their return to BB&T Ballpark, the Dash made a meal of the Hillcats, winning a pair of games last night by a combined score of 18-3 to improve their record to 11-4 against Lynchburg this season. Game one, a continuation of a suspended game from June 28, saw Winston-Salem score twice in the first inning against David Hale. The Dash added three more in the fifth to support Andre Rienzo, who struck out nine Hillcats over five scoreless frames. Winston added five more over the last two innings to win 10-0. In game two, Ryan Buch made his return off the disabled list and allowed one run over five innings. The offense again provided the early punch, scoring five times in the first two innings off reining Carolina League "Pitcher of the Week" Gary Moran. The Dash scored three more runs against Mark Lamm en route to an 8-3 game two win. On the night, the team hit .439 (29 for 66) with 18 runs scored.

BB&T: Blowout Baseball Town: BB&T Ballpark has become a house of blowouts lately. In the last six games contested at the home of the Dash, the winning margin has been a combined 59-3. This string started on Thursday, August 4 when Winston beat Wilmington 11-0. The next night the Dash beat Frederick 10-0 and lost to the Keys on Saturday, August 6 12-0. On Sunday, Winston won the series finale with the Keys 8-0. The Dash won both games last night by a combined score of 18-3 to keep the blowout run intact. Last night's second game was the first contest at BB&T Ballpark that both teams scored a run since the Dash lost 6-2 to the Blue Rocks on August 3.

Standings Update: By winning twice last night, the Dash extended their first place lead over Kinston by an additional half-game. Winston-Salem owns a 1.5 game lead over the Indians in the Southern Division, leads first half champion Myrtle Beach by five games, and Salem by six games.

The Thrill from Brazil: Dash right-hander Andre Rienzo had another terrific outing in his return from an elbow injury that led to a two-and-a-half week stint on the disabled list. Rienzo threw five scoreless innings in game one yesterday (technically a relief appearance) with a season-high-tying nine strikeouts to raise his team leading total to 107 (fifth in the Carolina League). Between the third and fifth innings, he recorded six straight outs via the strikeouts. Since re-joining the rotation after his stint on the disabled list, Rienzo has thrown 15 innings without giving up a run, scattering nine hits with two walks and 20 strikeouts. In a scoring oddity, Rienzo was given credit for wins on consecutive days; he won with a complete game shutout effort on June 27 against the Hillcats and earned the win in the game started on June 28 that was finished yesterday.

Unleashing his inner Danimal:, Daniel Wagner continued his good stretch of offensive play yesterday, going 2 for 7 with double and a run scored. In his last nine games, Wagner is batting .379 (11 for 29) to raise his season batting average to .246. That is the highest mark his average has reached since May 3, when it stood at .248.

Power Restored: After going a combined 1 for 27 (.037) with no extra-base hits during the Frederick series, Andy Wilkins and Ian Gac furiously rebounded last night. The two sluggers combined to go 11 for 16 (.688) at the plate with a double, a home run, seven runs batted in, six runs scored, and one walk.

Duble Your Pleasure: Winston backup catcher Kevin Dubler continued to produce since his call-up to the Carolina League last month. Last night Dubler went 2 for 4 with a two-run home run. Since joining the Dash, Dubler has had a base hit in every game and is batting .385 with three doubles, three homers, ten RBI, and nine runs scored. The Downers Grove, Illinois native has a nine-game hitting streak going back to his final game with Kannapolis and is batting .462 (12 for 26) during the streak.

31 Jump Street: Ian Gac blasted his 31st home run of the season in the first game last night, extending his Carolina League lead and moving him to within one homer of the lead in all of minor league baseball (the Iowa Cubs' Bryan LaHair has 32). Gac has 12 more home runs that any other player in the CL and his 85 RBI are ten more than second place. Gac is also first in the CL in games played (120), first in at bats (443), sixth in batting average (.280), second in hits (124), tied for third in doubles (28), first in slugging percentage (.553), second in extra-base hits (59), first in runs scored (83), first in total bases (245), and first in HR/AB ratio (1/14.29). 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 set a new Winston-Salem record (Ed Olivares set the current record of 35 home runs in 1960 for the Winston-Salem RedBirds) and also would be the most in any Carolina League season since Tolia Solaita hit 49 for the Hi-Toms in 1968. Gac has 158 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 20-8 in games Gac hits a home run, good for a .714 winning percentage. The Dash are just 41-51 (.446) 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 Rat: Ryan Kussmaul suffered a bit of a hiccup during an otherwise otherworldly second half of the season. Kussmaul allowed a home run and a walk in two innings Sunday against the Keys. The home run was the second the right-hander has allowed all season and the first since May 7. Since giving up two runs in an outing on June 2 against Potomac, Kussmaul has been nothing short of spectacular. He has allowed three runs (two earned) on nine hits in his last 18 appearances, sporting a 0.68 ERA (2 ER, 26.1 IP) with a .105 batting average against (9 for 86) and 49 strikeouts (six walks) in the process. Kussmaul leads all Carolina League relievers with 14.29 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 (81) despite only ranking seventh among all 2011 Winston players in innings pitched (51.0). He also leads CL relievers with a .163 opponents' batting average and is second in fewest baserunners/9 IP (8.65).

Today's Opposing Starter: RHP Caleb Brewer ( -, - ) makes his Carolina League debut tonight against the Dash. The right-hander had spent all season with low-A Rome, going 5-9 with a 5.23 ERA in 23 starts. At the time of his promotion, he was among the top five in the South Atlantic League in innings pitched (5th, 130.1), walks (2nd, 69), batting average against (5th, .228), and runs allowed (1st, 95). This is Brewer's first time pitching a full season and his numbers in low-A may reflect some fatigue as the season wears on. After posting a good 3.32 ERA in the first half of the season and making the SAL South Division All-Star Team, he had an 8.94 ERA in nine second half starts, posting a garish 5.63 BB/9 IP ratio. Before the 2010 season, Brewer was named the 21st-best prospect in the Atlanta Braves organization by Baseball America. He made nine starts last year for low-A Rome and was 3-2 with a 4.65 ERA in nine starts. He missed all of 2008 with a hip injury and played in the GCL in 2009 while recovering. Brewer led the GCL with 65 strikeouts in 45 innings, and registered an ERA of 2.82 and a 3-3 record. He also ranked second in the league with 31 walks. He was originally drafted by the Braves in the 14th round of the 2007 MLB First-Year Player Draft and spent that year with the GCL Braves. Scouts have said his fastball is his best pitch, sitting 91-93 and spiking at 95. He also throws an above average curveball and a changeup.

Check out the Winston-Salem Dash Statistics



Carolina League Stories from August 16, 2011


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