Game #130 Preview — Dash vs. Carolina
Game #130 — Home Game #68
Winston-Salem Dash (25–34, 53–76) vs. Carolina Mudcats (16–43, 45–84)
Friday, August 26–7:00 p.m.
BB&T Ballpark (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
GAME BACKGROUND:
Frederick plated seven runs in the bottom of the eighth to rally for a 12–7 win over Winston-Salem in Thursday night’s rubber match at NYMEO Field. The Dash begin their final home series of the season on Friday at 7 p.m. against the Carolina Mudcats, the Braves’ High-A club.
STARTING LINEUP:
Gerson Montilla drove in five runs on Thursday, one shy of his career high (Jody Stewart/W-S Dash).
Landon Lassiter — LF
Michael Suiter — CF
Mason Robbins — RF
Nick Basto — DH
Gerson Montilla — 3B
Marcus Davis — 1B
Toby Thomas — 2B
Daniel Gonzalez — C
Cleuluis Rondon — SS
Zach Thompson — RHP
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DASH DOTS:
- The Dash scored all but one of their seven runs on Thursday thanks to the long ball. Gerson Montilla leveled a grand slam in the first frame, marking the Dash’s second four-run homer of the year (Mason Robbins, July 19 vs. Myrtle Beach). Then, in the fourth, Michael Suiter and Dante Flores went back-to-back against Keys right-hander Franderlin Romero, the third such instance of the season. It marked the first time Winston-Salem clubbed consecutive home runs since Nick Basto, Marcus Davis and Telvin Nash hit three straight on July 27, which also came against Romero.
- Montilla’s grand slam was a big part of his five-RBI performance on Thursday. The only other five-RBI showing by a Winston-Salem hitter also came from Montilla, who accomplished the feat as part of a cycle on April 22 at Salem. Montilla paces all Dash hitters with 70 RBIs. Three others (Davis, Basto and Robbins) have at least 58.
- Due to their loss and Myrtle Beach’s victory at Carolina on Wednesday night, the Dash were officially eliminated from the postseason picture. This marks just the fourth time in the Dash era (2009-present) that Winston-Salem will not suit up in the Carolina League playoffs. The Pelicans will meet first-half champion Salem in the best-of-three Southern Division Championship Series.
- The Dash boast the two best qualified hitters in the Carolina League. Even though he is mired in a 4-for-27 slump, Robbins paces the circuit with a .314 average. Basto stands second at .309, though he is also limping a bit as of late (1-for-14 in his last four games). The next-closest competitor is Frederick’s Aderlin Rodriguez, who has a .304 average. If Robbins and Basto maintain their hold on the top two spots, it would be the second time in five years that a Dash duo would finish one-two in batting average. Carlos Sanchez and Dan Black finished with .315 marks in 2012, the last year the Dash reached the Mills Cup Championship Series.
- Friday begins the Dash’s final home series of the 2016 season. No matter what the result is of this three-game set with Carolina, Winston-Salem will record its worst home record since moving to BB&T Ballpark in 2010 (currently 30–37). The Dash’s only other losing season at home came in 2014, when the club was 34–35. The Dash’s 37 home losses are tied for the most in the Carolina League with Wilmington.
- Two White Sox affiliates have a chance to clinch a postseason spot. Triple-A Charlotte has won five in a row to claim a half-game lead on the Gwinnett Braves in the tremendously competitive South Division within the International League. Rookie-level Great Falls has rattled off six wins in its last seven games to claim a two-game edge in the second half. The Voyagers have reached the Pioneer League postseason in eight of the last nine seasons.
BROADCAST INFORMATION:
Friday’s contest will be broadcast live on wsdash.com/broadcast and the TuneIn Radio app. The Pregame Dash will begin at 6:45 p.m., with the first pitch set for 7:00 p.m.
-Joe
