Game #114 Preview — Dash vs. Frederick
Game #114 — Home Game #61
Winston-Salem Dash (19–24, 47–66) vs. Frederick Keys (19–22, 55–56)
Sunday, August 7–5:00 p.m.
BB&T Ballpark (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
GAME BACKGROUND:
For a second straight game, Frederick dealt Winston-Salem a 1–0 defeat on Saturday night at BB&T Ballpark. The Dash will try to avoid its first series loss at home since late May. Since the start of June, Winston-Salem is 5–0–4 in series at BB&T Ballpark.
STARTING LINEUP:
Jordan Stephens upped his Carolina League-leading strikeout total to 117 after Saturday’s start (Jody Stewart/W-S Dash).
Michael Suiter — CF
Gerson Montilla — 2B
Mason Robbins — RF
Nick Basto — LF
Zack Collins — DH
Toby Thomas — 3B
Marcus Davis — 1B
Brett Austin — C
Ryan Leonards — SS
Zach Thompson — RHP
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DASH DOTS:
- Over the last four games, Winston-Salem’s staff has permitted just four runs on 18 hits. During the first two games of this stretch, both of which resulted in a 3–1 Winston-Salem victories, the Dash only faced six more than the minimum combined. Even in losses, Dash hurlers dueled only five more than the minimum on Friday and six more on Saturday. The Dash’s staff has been economical during these four games, averaging just 11.9 pitches per inning and 3.4 pitches per batter on Wednesday (88 pitches), Thursday (116), Friday (78) and Saturday (117).
- For the first time since Winston-Salem became the Dash in 2009, the club has lost consecutive 1–0 games. The Keys claimed a rain-shortened contest on Friday before pushing the Dash’s scoreless drought to 16 innings, their longest since a 20-frame funk from May 26–28, with Saturday’s blanking. Winston had not suffered a shutout loss since June 1, while the club’s most recent run of back-to-back shutouts came May 4 against Myrtle Beach and May 6 versus Salem (postponement on May 5).
- The Dash’s offense will meet Franderlin Romero in Sunday’s finale. In its first clash with Romero on July 27, Winston-Salem ousted him during a five-run first frame. The trio of Nick Basto, Marcus Davis and Telvin Nash hit back-to-back-to-back home runs, marking the first such occurrence in the Dash era.
- Stephens whittled his overall earned run average to 3.66, which is sixth-best amongst Carolina League qualifiers. The former fifth-round pick also fanned six, increasing his circuit-leading strikeout total to 117. He is 16 whiffs above Myrtle Beach’s Trevor Clifton for the top spot. However, Winston-Salem dropped to 6–16 in games Stephens has started, even though the right-hander suffered his first personal defeat since June 10 at Carolina on Saturday.
- Despite back-to-back shutouts, Winston-Salem still boasts the Carolina League’s top two hitters in both the overall pecking order and since the second half began on June 23. Overall, Mason Robbins paces the CL with a .313 average, while Basto is second with a .304 mark. Only two other qualified hitters in the CL have an average north of .300. In the second half, Davis’ .366 mark is the best on the circuit, while Toby Thomas is second at .355. In High-A over this span, Davis and Thomas are third and eighth in this category, respectively.
- Frederick has a chance to claim this four-game series in Sunday’s finale, something that an opponent has not accomplished since these Keys handed the Dash a sweep from May 24–26. Since going 5–19 (.208) at home through May, Winston-Salem is 22–14 (.611) at BB&T Ballpark. This includes a 5–0–4 record in series in the Triad after starting 0–6–1. Overall, Winston is 27–33 at home, the sixth-best mark in the CL.
- Winston-Salem is 7.0 games behind first-place Myrtle Beach, the club’s largest deficit in the second half. The Pelicans have won eight in a row, including a walk-off win over Carolina on Saturday.
- Drew Hasler has not given up a run in his five home outings with the Dash (11.0 IP).
- After this series, the Dash are off Monday before a three-game set with Carolina that starts Tuesday.
BROADCAST INFORMATION:
Television coverage of Sunday’s contest will be available on My48 at 5 p.m. A full channel guide is available here. The game will also be broadcast live on wsdash.com/broadcast and the TuneIn Radio app. The Pregame Dash will begin at 4:45 p.m., with the first pitch set for 5 p.m.
-Joe
