Charleston Riverdogs Game Notes
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Charleston RiverDogs Game Notes Game 15 Charleston RiverDogs (6-8) vs. Greensboro Grasshoppers (8-5) First National Bank Field, Greensboro, N.C. 7:00 p.m. – Friday, April 20, 2018 LHP Dalton Lehnen (1-0, 2.45) Today’s Starters RHP Taylor Braley (0-1, 5.40) Last RiverDogs Game: April 19 South Atlantic League 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E CSC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 4 2 GBO 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 3 8 0 2018 First Half Standings Charleston catcher Jason Lopez blasted off a game-tying, two-run shot in the eighth inning but the RiverDogs comeback fell to the wayside as the Grasshoppers rallied to win, 3-2, in a ninth inning Northern Division W L GB walk-off in Thursday night’s series opener at First National Bank Field. Delmarva (Orioles) 11 3 - Greensboro (Marlins) 8 5 2.5 Charleston’s (6-8) offense was largely stagnant until the Venezuelan backstop charged his first Kannapolis (White Sox) 8 6 3.0 long ball of the season out to right-center. Former second-rounder Ryan Lillie was on point for West Virginia (Pirates) 8 6 3.0 Greensboro (8-5), turning in seven shutout frames with eight strikeouts. Lakewood (Phillies) 7 7 4.0 Following a start in which he struck out a career-best 12 Kannapolis batters in five innings last Hickory (Rangers) 5 8 5.5 Friday, Charleston starter Nick Nelson fanned eight more in six innings of two-run ball. Hagerstown (Nationals) 3 11 8.0 Greensboro didn’t get to the Floridian right-hander until the fourth when third baseman Micah Brown and catcher Michael Hernandez ripped back-to-back doubles, both with two outs. In the Southern Division W L GB fifth, a leadoff walk scored on an RBI groundout by first baseman Eric Gutierrez, who also walked the Hoppers off with an RBI single in the ninth. Augusta (Giants) 9 5 - Columbia (Mets) 9 5 - Doggie Bites: Lexington (Royals) 9 5 - Rome (Braves) 8 6 1.0 • Narrow Margins: Eight of the RiverDogs’ first 14 games this season have been decided by just one run, contests in which the RiverDogs have gone 3-5 in after Thursday night’s walk-off loss in Charleston (Yankees) 6 8 3.0 Greensboro. The margins have been thin throughout the start to the South Atlantic League Asheville (Rockies) 3 11 6.0 season with Greensboro, Kannapolis, and Lakewood having all played eight one-run contests to Greenville (Red Sox) 3 11 6.0 this point. The Grasshoppers are 6-2 in one-run contests this year. • Jason!: Charleston catcher Jason Lopez played hero for the RiverDogs last night, picking a clutch moment to launch his first home run of the season, a game-tying two-run shot in the eighth. It marked just the fourth home run for Lopez in 115 career minor league games, his first since July 24 last season with Staten Island. # Second-Half Division Winner • Where Are We?: The RiverDogs matchup with the Greensboro Grasshoppers in a four-game series, marking the first time since 2013 that the Yankees and Marlins affiliates have clashed in league play, either home or road. During the 2013 campaign, Charleston took the season series 4-3, including nabbing two out of three at then NewBridge Bank Park from July 17-19. RiverDogs first baseman Greg Bird went 11-for-24 (.458), 3 HR in 7 games total against Greensboro. • Scouting out “the ‘Boro”: The RiverDogs hitters will be licking their chops stepping up to the plate at First National Bank Field. Notoriously a home run friendly park due to wind patterns, the home of the Grasshoppers is twice as friendly to RiverDogs Quick Stats longballs as the average yard across the Class-A level based on park factor data compiled from 2014-16 (2.043 as 1st Half Record: 6-8 nd compared to a 1.0 being average, per MiLB.com). Despite the affinity for the home run ball, the overall offensive environment 2 Half Record: 0-0 is more or less average in terms of run scoring and hits (1.021 and 1.029 respectively over that same span). Despite this Road Record: 3-5 Home Record: 3-3 home run heavy environment, the Grasshoppers have only hit five homers on the year, tied for the third-fewest in the league. Current Streak: L2 Joe Riley Park was the second-toughest yard to go deep in over that same span. Current Road Streak: L1 • A Matchup Nightmare: Steven Sensley’s three home runs this season have all come against lefties. The lefty slugger is 10- Current Home Streak: L1 21 (.476) against southpaws in 2018, with six of those hits going for extra bases. Sensley has a history of punishing righties This Road Trip: 0-1 as well. After being drafted last June, Sensley hit .302 with 11 home runs and 40 RBI against dextral hurlers in 2017. Last Homestand: 3-3 • Hammerin’ Hess: After clobbering his fourth home run of the season on Wednesday, infielder Chris Hess is one of four Last Five: 1-5 Last Ten: 5-5 hitters in the South Atlantic League with four or more long balls, sitting tied for second on the leaderboard and ranking fourth Team AVG (rank): .218 (14th) in slugging percentage (.630). Hess had no home runs when he hit just .185 in his pro debut last season in 39 games. Team HR (rank): 8 (T9th) • You Mess with the Bull(pen), you get the Horns: The RiverDogs bullpen has started off the season on a dominant run, Runs Scored (rank): 43 (14th) allowing just three earned in 51.0 innings to start the year (good for a 0.53 ERA). Charleston’s relievers were the strength of Team ERA (rank): 2.73 (3rd) the playoff-caliber 2017 team, accounting for a league-low 1.98 ERA with 581 strikeouts in 509.1 innings. Team K (rank): 136 (T3rd) • Pinstriped Prospects: Once again, the RiverDogs tap into one of the premier farm systems in baseball with the New York Team SV (rank): 5 (T3rd) 2018 vs. GBO: 0-1 Yankees. Recently rated the second-best farm system by Baseball America pre-season and the sixth-best by MLB.com, the Bronx Bombers boast five of MLB.com’s Preseason Top-100 prospects. Charleston’s current roster features four of the Yankees’ Top-30 prospects (MLB.com, BA): RHP Glen Otto (#20, #19), RHP Nick Nelson (#29, --), INF Oswaldo Cabrera (--, #26) and RHP Rony Garcia (--, #29). In 2017, the Yankees led all of baseball in organizational winning percentage (.602) between the Major and minor leagues and featured seven of their eight domestic affiliates in the postseason. Upcoming Matchups (subject to change) --- Listen to the RiverDogs on 1250 WTMA and online at www.riverdogs.com. Friday, April 20, 7:00PM: Charleston @ Greensboro: LHP Dalton Lehnen (1-0, 2.45) vs RHP Taylor Braley (0-1, 5.40) Saturday, April 21, 7:00PM: Charleston @ Greensboro: LHP JP Sears (0-1, 2.25) vs RHP Edward Cabrera (0-1, 0.82) Sunday, April 22, Charleston @ Greensboro: RHP Daniel Ramos (0-1, 6.75) vs RHP Brady Puckett (1-1, 3.00) Media Relations Contact: Matt Dean Email: [email protected] Today’s Starter #18 DALTON LEHNEN (LHP) HT: 6’3” WT: 222 B/T: L/L HOMETOWN: Burnsville, MN (Lakeville North HS) AGE: 21 BORN: 5/16/96 ACQUIRED: 6th Round, 2017, Augustana University (SD) Repertoire: FB, CB, CH W-L ERA G/GS CG SHO IP H R ER BB K BAA 2018 1-0 2.45 2/2 0 0 11.0 9 3 3 2 9 .214 MiLB Career 3-0 3.65 13/12 0 0 44.1 49 23 18 11 52 .275 (2 Seasons) 2018 IP- 6.0, (@LEX, 4/8) H- 5, (vs KAN, 4/14) ER- 2, (vs KAN, 4/14) BB- K- 5, (@LEX, 4/8) Highs: Career IP- 6.0, (“”) H- 7, 2x (8/17/17) ER- 5, (7/22/17) BB- 3, (8/4/17) K- 7, (8/4/17) Highs: Last 3 Games: IP H R ER BB K Career Notes… vs KAN (4/14) 5.0 5 2 2 2 4 • Highest selected left-handed pitcher by the Yankees in a 2017 draft that New @LEX (4/8, G2) 6.0 4 1 1 0 5 York used 28 of their 40 selections on amateur arms • Made his pro debut in 2017, logging a 2-0 record and a 4.05 ERA in 11 games, 10 starts (43 SO, 9 BB, 33.1 IP), mostly with the Pulaski Yankees rd 2018 Notes… Added to RiverDogs Opening Day roster… o Struck out 12.0 per nine innings with Pulaski, the 3 most in the Appalachian League among those with at least 30 IP o Gave up 3 home runs • Prior to his pro career, spent his final collegiate season at Division II Augustana University (SD) after transferring from Cincinnati o Was 3-3 with a 2.60 ERA in 11 games, 10 starts with the Vikings (57 SO, 34 BB, 77 IP) o Played during Augustana’s first season transitioning to Division II, a university of just 2,000 undergraduate students o Is the highest draft pick in school history • In two seasons with the Bearcats (2015-16), was 1-8 with a 5.26 ERA RiverDogs Starters in 2018 Pitcher Games Started W-L Team W-L Run Support Runs/Gm Garcia 2 0-1 1-1 10 5.0 Lehnen 2 1-0 1-1 5 2.5 Nelson 3 0-1 1-2 8 2.66 Otto 2 1-1 1-1 5 2.5 Ramos 2 1-1 1-1 11 5.5 Whitlock 3 1-1 1-2 4 1.33 This Day in RiverDogs History…April 20, 2000 In Asheville, the RiverDogs find themselves in a 4-0 hole after 4 innings.