Game #122 Preview — Dash at Myrtle Beach
Game #122 — Away Game #58
Winston-Salem Dash (24–27, 52–69) at Myrtle Beach Pelicans (32–19, 68–53)
Tuesday, August 16–7:05 p.m.
TicketReturn.Com Field (Myrtle Beach, S.C.)
GAME BACKGROUND:
Winston-Salem led 1–0 through six innings, but a five-run seventh inning pushed Myrtle Beach past the Dash 5–1 in the first of a four-game set on Monday night at TicketReturn.Com Field. The Dash look to stay in the playoff hunt on Tuesday against the Pelicans.
STARTING LINEUP:
Yelmison Peralta pitched two innings in the Dash’s series opener against Myrtle Beach (Jody Stewart/W-S Dash).
Landon Lassiter — CF
Gerson Montilla — 2B
Mason Robbins — RF
Nick Basto — LF
Zack Collins — C
Telvin Nash — 1B
Marcus Davis — DH
Toby Thomas — 3B
Ryan Leonards — SS
Robinson Leyer — RHP
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DASH DOTS:
- In Monday’s loss, Mason Robbins recorded half of Winston-Salem’s six hits, pushing his Carolina League-leading batting average to .326. This would be the best qualified average by a CL hitter since 2010, when current Kansas City star Eric Hosmer hit .354 with Wilmington. Robbins also paces the circuit with 141 hits and has collected 16 hits in 30 at-bats during his current eight-game hitting streak, which is one shy of his longest of the season.
- Over the last two games, the Dash have only mustered 12 hits and one run, which came on a Robbins RBI single in Monday’s third inning. Before this two-game funk, the club’s first such drought in a pair of nine-inning games since May 4 and May 6, Winston had strung five straight wins together. During that streak, which is tied for the club’s longest this year, the Dash scored 41 runs (8.2/game) on 59 (11.8/game) hits.
- Even though Lowry’s outing ended abruptly in the seventh, he still surged to the top of the Carolina League in innings pitched. His 135.1 frames are 5.0 more than Salem’s Matt Kent, who is slated to pitch against the Dash on Friday at BB&T Ballpark, for the circuit’s lead.
- The Dash will try to cut into Myrtle Beach’s lead in the Southern Division’s second-half standings. The Pelicans have rattled off 19 wins in their last 24 games, surging to an 8.0-game advantage on the Dash for the final postseason spot out of the Southern Division. With Monday’s decision, the Dash can pull no closer than 5.0 games by the end of this series, which marks the final head-to-head duel between the two rivals in the regular season. The Dash are 9–15 against the Pelicans this year, including a 4–6 mark in Myrtle Beach.
- Not only is Robbins the top hitter in the Carolina League, but Winston-Salem boasts four of the circuit’s top 10 qualified hitters (by average). Nick Basto is second with a .312 mark, which means Robbins and Basto have a chance to become the second Dash duo in five years to finish first and second in average (2012, Carlos Sanchez and Dan Black). Basto is also third in on-base percentage (.390) and fourth in slugging percentage (.490) in the league. Former Dash outfielder Hunter Jones still qualifies with a .286 mark, seventh-best in the CL, while Marcus Davis is 10th at .284.
- The Dash had only committed two errors in their previous 11 games before Monday’s four-error effort versus the Birds. Two of the defensive miscues were from shortstop Cleuluis Rondon, who leads the club with 18. Lowry and Robbins had the other two errors on Monday.
BROADCAST INFORMATION:
Tuesday’s contest will be broadcast live on wsdash.com/broadcast and the TuneIn Radio app. The Pregame Dash will begin at 6:50 p.m., with the first pitch set for 7:05 p.m.
-Joe
