BlueClaws Playoff Primer

The BlueClaws enter the Post-Season for the fifth time in club history and will take on Kannapolis in the Northern Division Championship Series with Lexington and Rome meeting in the Southern Division Championship Series.

How They Got Here

Lakewood - The BlueClaws earned their way into the Post-Season by winning the Northern Division First-Half title, clinching on the last day with a win over Hickory and a Kannapolis loss to Greensboro.

Kannapolis - With the BlueClaws winning the second half title Kannapolis qualified with the next-best overall record. They clinched on the last day with a win and a West Virginia loss at Charleston.

Rome - The Braves won the Southern Division First Half Title by 2.5 games over Augusta.

Lexington - The Legends won the Second Half Title in the South by one game over Greenville, though they clinched with three game remaining in the season. Tale of the Tape Ranking is of 14 in the

Team Wins BA HRs Runs Run Diff SBs ERA Strikeouts (Ps)

Lakewood 87 (1) .251 (6) 95 (4) 543 (5) +110 (1) 80 (10) 2.73 (1) 1,305 (1) Kannapolis 74 (3) .254 (5) 81 (10) 603 (5) +74 (3) 65 (14) 3.41 (5) 1,077 (12) Rome 71 (4) .258 (3) 89 (6) 578 (7) -36 (10) 78 (11) 3.73 (9) 1,143 (7) Lexington 76 (2) .258 (4) 137 (2) 682 (1) +91 (2) 164 (1) 3.61 (6) 1,147 (6) BlueClaws Season Notebook

Following, find a series of notes related to the BlueClaws 2018 campaign.

Winning Both Halves... The BlueClaws are the sixth South Atlantic League team to win both halves since the league switched playoff formats to the current two-half, two-division format in 2000 (19 seasons):

• 2000 Piedmont Boll Weevils (Phillies) • 2003 Lake County Captains (Indians) • 2004 Capital City Bombers (Mets) • **2010 Lakewood BlueClaws (Phillies) • 2015 Savannah Sand Gnats (Mets) • 2018 Lakewood BlueClaws (Phillies) ** Won South Atlantic League Championship

Four Make South Atlantic League Post-Season All-Star Team ...Four BlueClaws were selected to the South Atlantic League Post-Season All-Star Team - Utility Infielder Jake Scheiner , Left-Handed Pitcher Will Stewart , Marty Malloy , and Pitching Brad Bergesen ...Malloy joins former BlueClaws managers Mark Parent and Dusty Wathan as now the only three to be named South Atlantic League Manager of the Year.

Wins and Wins ...The BlueClaws finished the season with 87wins, the most in franchise history, and their 46 wins in the second half were the second most in a half by the BlueClaws in their history (the 2006 BlueClaws went 47- 23). BlueClaws single-season wins records:

• 2018 BlueClaws 87-51 • 2010 BlueClaws 84-55 (won championship) • 2006 BlueClaws 84-55 (won championship) • 2008 BlueClaws 80-60 (missed playoffs) • 2009 BlueClaws 78-58 (won championship)

The Comeback Claws... The BlueClaws won nine games from July 23rd through the end of the regular season in which they trailed in the seventh inning or later and seven of those were walk-off wins...Overall, the BlueClaws won 11 games in walk-off fashion this year, the second most in team history behind the 2010 BlueClaws that won 14 such games.

Dynamite Pitching From the Start to the End ...The BlueClaws finished the season with a 2.74 team ERA, the best in franchise history (the 2010 BlueClaws had a 3.04 team ERA) and the best in all of Minor League Baseball (Quad Cities, Astros Midwest League affiliate, was second at 2.86).

Lock It Down ...Lakewood's two top relievers, Zach Warren and , enter the post-season after dynamite second halves:

• Zach Warren: 2-1, 14 saves, 0.68 ERA, 26.1 IP, 11 H, 12 BB, 56 K • Connor Brogdon: 3-0, 5 saves, 0.89 ERA, 30.1 IP, 21 H, 6 BB, 40 K

Scheining Bright ...Jake Scheiner finished the season leading the BlueClaws at .296, in on-base percentage at .372, in OPS at .842 and RBIs with 67...He ranked among the top three in the South Atlantic League in the second half in batting average at .330, OPB at .428 and OPS at .940 while adding 31 walks against just 36 strikeouts.

From 0 to 18 in Five Months ...BlueClaws Rodolfo Duran came into the season with just three career home runs in three previous seasons and he did not hit a single last year with Williamsport. This year, however, he has hit 18 to lead the BlueClaws, including one stretch of three straight games with a home run and one stretch of three home runs in two games.

How They Started... Below find stats as starting pitchers for members of the BlueClaws roster:

• Gustavo Armas - 8 starts, 3-1, 2.32 ERA, 50.1 IP, 47 K • Andrew Brown - 10 starts, 5-2, 1.81 ERA, 56.2 IP, 47 K • Julian Garcia - 8 starts, 4-1, 1.64 ERA, 44 IP, 56 K • - 23 starts, 9-8, 3.78 ERA, 112 IP, 147 K • Damon Jones - 22 starts, 9-7, 3.46 ERA, 109.1 IP, 119 K • Will Stewart - 20 starts, 8-1, 2.06 ERA, 113.2 IP, 90 K • Kyle Young - 9 sarts, 3-3, 3.10 ERA, 52.1 IP, 44 K Shutout City ...The BlueClaws threw 23 shutouts this year, one more than their franchise record of 22 set last year and most in all of Minor League Baseball (19, Buies Creek, Hi-A affiliate of the Astros).

From This Year's Draft Class ...The BlueClaws have several players on their roster from this year's draft class:

• OF 5th round pick University of Notre Dame • 1B Madison Stokes 10th round pick University of South Carolina • LHP James McArthur 12th round pick Ole Miss • LHP Keylan Killgore 17th round pick Wichita State University

BlueClaws Starting Pitchers

Following, find a series of notes related to the BlueClaws 2018 campaign.

Game One – RHP Andrew Brown

About: 20 year old, 6-1, 180 pound RHP from Granite Hills, California How Acquired: 13th round pick, 2016 draft (Granite Hills HS) Stats: 2018 (LAK) - 14 g/10 st 6-3, 2.10 ERA, 68.2 IP, 49 H, 16 BB, 58 K...2017 (WPT) - 13 g/10 st, 4-4, 3.11 ERA, 63.2 IP 56 H, 19 BB, 47 K News & Notes: Makes the start in Game One of the SAL Northern Division Championship Series, which is second start against Kannapolis (3 ER in 5 IP, on July 7th)...Last pitched on Thursday at Greensboro and gave up one unearned run over seven innings, allowing four hits with four strikeouts...Has thrown seven innings in four of his 10 starts with the BlueClaws...Made one appearance with Clearwater (July 28th), allowing one run in four innings, before re-joining Lakewood...Is 5-2, 1.81 (50 K/15 BB in 59.2 IP) over his 10 starts with the BlueClaws...Moved into the rotation when Ramon Rosso was promoted to Clearwater... Joined Lakewood on May 26th and threw five innings of one-run ball in relief in earning a win at Delmarva...Spent last year with Williamsport in the NY-Penn League, going 4-4 with a 3.11 ERA in 63.2 innings of work...Made pro debut with the GCL Phillies in 2016, allowing six runs in 19.2 innings pitched. Last Appearance: 8/30 at GBO (W) - 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R/0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K Season Highs… IP (7, 4x last 8/30 at GBO)…ERs (5, 8/24 at HIC)…Ks (7, 7/13 vs ASH)…BBs (4, 8/11 at HIC)

Game Two – RHP Spencer Howard

About: 22 year old, 6-3, 205 pound RHP from San Luis Obispo, California How Acquired: 2nd round pick, 2017 draft (Cal Poly) Stats: 2018 (LAK) - 23 st, 9-8, 3.78 ERA, 112 IP, 101 H, 40 BB, 147 K...2017 (WPT) - 9 st, 1-1, 4.45 ERA, 28.1 IP, 22 H, 18 BB, 40 K News & Notes: Makes the start in Game Two of the SAL Northern Division Championship Series, which is his second against Kannapolis (2 R/1 ER in 3 IP in the third game of the season)...Last time out gave up three runs/two earned in five innings against Delmarva on Saturday... Tied for the league lead in strikeouts (with two others) and led the league in Ks/9 at 11.7 among league starts ...Has allowed 10 runs in 46.1 innings with 68 strikeouts over his last nine starts and 14 runs in 59.1 innings with 82 strikeouts in his last 11 starts...Has twice been SAL Pitcher of the Week (after 4/26 win at Hagerstown and after a 6/29 win vs Hagerstown)...Has five times thrown at least six innings, including on 8/7 at Charleston...Last year, Howard went 1-1, 4.45 with Williamsport...Struck out 40 hitters in 28.1 innings last year and 27 hitters in his last 17 innings pitched...Was walk-on at Cal-Poly and moved into rotation as a junior. Last Appearance: 9/2 vs DEL - 5 IP, 10 H, 3 R/2 ER, 0 BB, 10 K Season Highs… IP (7, 7/12 vs ASH)…ERs (7, 5/20 at GBO)…Ks (10, 3x last 9/1 vs DEL)…BBs (5, 7/5 at GBO)

Game Three – LHP Damon Jones

About: 23 year old, 6-5, 225 pound LHP from Twin Falls, Idaho How Acquired: 18th round pick, 2017 draft (Washington State) Stats: 2018 (LAK) - 23 g/22 st, 10-7, 3.41 ERA, 113.1 IP, 105 H, 50 BB, 123 K...2017 (WPT) - 13 g, 2-3, 4.85 ERA, 26 IP, 23 H, 20 BB, 38 K News & Notes: Makes the start in Game Three of the SAL Northern Division Championship Series...Gave up three earned runs in 10 innings over two starts against Kannapolis, both in April...Last time out, gave up four runs, one earned, in five innings against Delmarva on Sunday, earning a win...Has allowed three earned runs in 19 innings over his last four games and three earned runs in his last 23 innings overall (he gave up four runs in the first inning of his 8/8 start at Charleston and then threw four scoreless innings from there)...Gave up 21 runs in 18 innings over his previous four starts...His longest outing is seven innings from 6/2 win over Hickory...Pitched out of the Williamsport bullpen last year, going 2-3, 4.85 in 13 appearances...Spent two years at Washington State after two years at the College of Southern Idaho... Grandfather Darrall Imhoff played basketball at California (All-America in 1960, 1959 National Championship Team), 12 seasons in the NBA and played for Team USA in the 1960 Rome Olympics (Gold Medal) Last Appearance: 9/2 vs DEL (W) - 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R/1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K Season Highs… IP (7, 6/2 vs HIC)…ERs (8, 7/20 at HAG)…Ks (9, 2x last 6/16 vs HIC)…BBs (4, 4x last 7/20 at HAG)

BlueClaws In the Post-Season

The BlueClaws have made the post-season four previous times in team history, and have won the South Atlantic League Championship on three previous occasions.

2006 - South Atlantic League Champions

Round 1 - Lakewood defeats Lexington 2 games to 0 Round 2- Lakewood defeats Augusta 3 games to 1

2009 - South Atlantic League Champions

Round 1 - Lakewood defeats Kannapolis 2 games to 0 Round 2 - Lakewood defeats Greenville 3 games to 1

2010 - South Atlantic League Champions

Round 1 - Lakewood defeats Hickory 2 games to 1 Round 2 - Lakewood defeats Greenville 3 games to 1

2016 - South Atlantic League Runner-Up

Round 1 - Lakewood defeats Hagerstown 2 games to 0 Round 2 - Rome defeats Lakewood 3 games to 1

Overall, the BlueClaws are 18-7 all-time in playoff games. How They've Done In the Playoffs

Lakewood - The BlueClaws have made the playoffs four previous times, most recently in 2016. They've won three SAL titles (2006, 2009, and 2010) and lost in the finals to Rome in 2016.

Kannapolis - The Intimidators have made the playoffs three previous times, most recently in 2017 when they lost to Greenville in the Championship Series. They won their lone SAL title in 2005. The Piedmont Boll Weevils, playing in Kannapolis, made the post-season in 1995, 1998, and 2000.

Lexington - The Legends have made the post-season three previous times, most recently in 2006 when they lost to Lakewood on the opening round (before they switched divisions). They made the playoffs in 2003 and were co-champions in 2001 (their first season); there was no Championship Series that year after the September 11th terrorist attacks.

Rome - The Braves have made the playoffs on four previous occasions, winning the title in 2003, their first season, and 2016, when they defeated the BlueClaws. They've also made the post-season in 2006 and 2012.

South Atlantic League Northern Division Championship Series (Best of 3)

Game 1 (Wednesday, September 5th) - BlueClaws at Kannapolis Game 2 (Friday, September 7th) - BlueClaws vs Kannapolis (Home Playoff Game 1) Game 3 (Saturday, September 8th) - BlueClaws vs Kannapolis (Home Playoff Game 2) **

** If Necessary

South Atlantic League Championship Series (Best of 5)

Game 1 (Monday, September 10th) - BlueClaws at Southern Division Champion Game 2 (Tuesday, September 11th) - BlueClaws at Southern Division Champion Game 3 (Thursday, September 13th) - BlueClaws vs Southern Division Champion (Home Playoff Game 3) Game 4 (Friday, September 14th) - BlueClaws vs Southern Division Champion (Home Playoff Game 4) ** Game 5 (Saturday, September 15th) - BlueClaws vs Southern Division Champion (Home Playoff Game 5) **

** If Necessary