Game #74 Preview — Dash vs. Wilmington
Game #74 — Home Game #39
Winston-Salem Dash (2–1, 30–43) vs. Wilmington Blue Rocks (1–2, 28–44)
Sunday, June 26–2 p.m.
BB&T Ballpark (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
GAME BACKGROUND:
Winston-Salem plated four in the second and never looked back in a 4–1 win over Wilmington in front of 6,896 fans Saturday at BB&T Ballpark. The Dash look for their third series victory in four tries at home on Sunday against the Blue Rocks.
STARTING LINEUP:
Mason Robbins registered his team-leading 22nd multi-hit game on Saturday (Jody Stewart/W-S Dash).
Hunter Jones — CF
Mason Robbins — RF
Gerson Montilla — 3B
Nick Basto — LF
Marcus Davis — DH
Telvin Nash — 1B
Brett Austin — C
Ryan Leonards — 2B
Cleuluis Rondon — SS
Thad Lowry — RHP
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DASH DOTS:
- Since June 14, Winston-Salem’s rotation has submitted a remarkable string of dominant starts. During the Dash’s nine games over this span, starters have given up just five earned runs in 59.1 frames, which calculates to an ERA of 0.76. In this short stretch, the rotation’s season-long ERA has dropped from 4.12 to 3.64.
- Sunday starter Thad Lowry has recorded two of the excellent starts during this nearly two-week surge. On June 14 at Wilmington, the righty limited these Blue Rocks to one run over seven innings. Five days later, during the Dash’s first half finale with Salem, Lowry turned in another one-run effort over six innings. Both outings resulted in no-decisions for the Spring, Texas, native. Lowry is riding a formidable individual streak, too. He has issued a walk in 23.0 innings, which dates back to the fourth inning of his start against Carolina on June 3.
- Mason Robbins recorded his team-leading 22nd multi-hit game on Saturday, while he matched a season-high with three RBIs. The Leakesville, Miss., native leads the Dash and is sixth among Carolina League qualifiers with a .293 average. Robbins has knocked home six runs during this two-series homestand after failing to pick up an RBI on the preceding seven-game road trip.
- All-Star Hunter Jones’ 11-game hitting streak ended after an 0-for-3 effort on Saturday. While on the streak, Jones hit .304 (14-for-46) with six RBIs and six runs. The Dash’s only longer hitting streak came from Marcus Davis, who posted a 16-game run (the Dash’s best since 2012) from May 21 to June 9. Jones still stands seventh in the CL with a .292 average, while he places in the top five in several other offensive categories: at-bats (284; 1st), games played (72; T-1st), hits (83; T-1st); triples (7; T-1st), runs (51; 4th) and stolen bases (27; 4th).
- Both Jones and Robbins have been jockeying for position in batting average, with Robbins owning a slight .001 edge entering Sunday. The duo has been battling for the club lead in outfield assists. One night after Jones climbed into a share of first place on the club with nine assists, Robbins gunned down two runners on Saturday. Not only do these two pace the Dash in outfield assists, but they are the top two in the CL.
- The Dash have not played a road game since June 15, but that will change with a week-long road trip that begins Monday. Winston-Salem squares off with Potomac at beautiful Pfitzner Stadium from Monday through Wednesday before invading Wilmington for a four-game set that begins Thursday. That series with the Blue Rocks will mark the end of the two teams’ season series. Winston-Salem and Wilmington will have played 15 times from June 4 to July 3.
- A crowd of 6,896, the fourth-largest at BB&T Ballpark this season, enjoyed the Dash’s win on Saturday. The Dash lead the Carolina League in overall attendance (158,676) and are second in average attendance (4,289).
- In his Double-A debut Saturday, Matt Cooper rattled off three scoreless innings en route to a victory in an 11-inning triumph for Birmingham at Mobile.
BROADCAST INFORMATION:
Television coverage of Sunday’s contest will be available on My48 at 2 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 1:45 p.m., with the first pitch set for 2 p.m.
-Joe
