Charleston RiverDogs Game Notes Game 35 Charleston RiverDogs (16-18) vs. Hagerstown Suns (10-24) Municipal Stadium, Hagerstown, MD 6:05 p.m. – Saturday, May 12, 2018 RHP Alexander Vargas (1-0, 0.00) Today’s Starters RHP Tomas Alastre (1-1, 5.46) Last RiverDogs Game: May 11 South Atlantic League 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E CSC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 LWD 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 1 6 0 2018 First Half Standings Garrett Whitlock’s scoreless streak ended after 26 straight innings as the Lakewood BlueClaws shutout Charleston for the second time to finish off a three-game sweep of the RiverDogs, 1-0, on Northern Division W L GB Friday night at FirstEnergy Park. Delmarva (Orioles) 23 11 - Kannapolis (White Sox) 22 12 1.0 Garrett Whitlock (2-2) suffered the third consecutive loss for a Charleston starter despite another West Virginia (Pirates) 20 13 2.5 spectacular outing. The 18th round pick out of UAB struck out four across six innings, with his lone Lakewood (Phillies) 19 15 4.0 blemish coming on an RBI single by Josh Steven with one out in the second. The Georgia native Greensboro (Marlins) 15 17 7.0 only yielded four hits while raising his ERA to a 1.13 mark after allowing his first run since an April 10 start in Rome. The RiverDogs scuffled at the plate, managing just three hits off Lakewood (19- Hickory (Rangers) 11 20 10.5 15) pitching. Hagerstown (Nationals) 10 24 13.0 Doggie Bites: Southern Division W L GB • All Staff Appreciation: Charleston pitching has dominated all season long, especially in the Augusta (Giants) 21 13 - month of May, when RiverDogs arms have produced a 1.64 ERA, almost a halfl run lower than Rome (Braves) 21 13 - the next best team since the turn of the calendar page (West Virginia, 2.22). Dogs pitching leads all of professional baseball in staff ERA (2.35) and WHIP (1.03). They have also produced one of Columbia (Mets) 18 16 3.0 the lowest walk rates in the minors, issuing a free pass less than 6% of the time. Charleston (Yankees) 16 18 5.0 • Washed out of the Shore: The RiverDogs enter Saturday’s tilt in Hagerstown after being swept Lexington (Royals) 15 17 5.0 for the first time this year and dropping three games in a row for the first time since April 18-20. Asheville (Rockies) 13 19 7.0 The RiverDogs managed just one run in the entire series (a 2-1 loss on Thursday) against Greenville (Red Sox) 9 25 12.0 Lakewood while going 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position. Charleston pitching recorded a 1.67 ERA while the bats hit to a tune of a .176 average (16-for-21) collectively. • Northern Tour: After being swept by the BlueClaws, Charleston continues their road trip up North with a four-game tilt in Hagerstown. The weeklong trip will be the only meetings with the Phillies and Nationals affiliates in the first-half. Both clubs will visit The Joe back-to-back in identical series in Charleston from # Second-Half Division Winner August 7-13 in the second-half. • Narrow Margins: Following Friday’s 1-0 loss, the RiverDogs have played 18 one-run games this season, the most in RiverDogs Quick Stats Minor League Baseball and contests in which they have gone 7-11. The Holy City has fared much better at home, going 1st Half Record: 16-18 nd 6-3 in games decided by one-run at The Joe versus a 1-8 mark on the road. Despite ranking last in the league in runs 2 Half Record: 0-0 scored, the RiverDogs still own a +9 run differential. Road Record: 5-12 Home Record: 11-6 • Molina on the Rise: RiverDogs outfielder Leonardo Molina has continued to swing a hot bat in the month of May, hitting Current Streak: L3 safely in his last seven straight, a span in which the Dominican Republic native has gone 11-for-32 (.344). Over the Current Road Streak: L4 torrid stretch, the 20-year-old has raised his season batting average from .198 to .235. After starting the season on an Current Home Streak: W3 0-for-21 slide, Molina has been a .294 hitter (30-for-102) since. This Road Trip: 0-3 • Hess Heating Up: After playing above the .300 mark for most of April, Hess’s average dropped to .280 at the end of Last Homestand: 5-2 April. So far in May, Hess has gone 13-for-30 to raise his average back above .300. His now .324 average ranks fourth Last Five: 2-3 Last Ten: 5-5 among qualified SAL hitters while his .952 OPS places him at third in the circuit. Team AVG (rank): .239 (11th) • It was the Best of Times, it was the Worst of Times: Charleston enters Saturday’s matchup with the best ERA (2.35) Team HR (rank): 17 (T12th) and the fewest runs allowed (96) in the league. Pitchers have issued the least walks (70) and their 319 strikeouts ranks Runs Scored (rank): 105 (14th) fifth. Offensively, the Dogs have scored the least runs. They have gotten their opportunities, but Charleston is hitting Team ERA (rank): 2.35 (1st) .196 with runners in scoring position, last in the SAL and just 0-for-14 in such situations on the current road trip. Team K (rank): 319 (5th) • Don’t Start Without Me: Since April 17th, Charleston starters have posted a 1.99 ERA in 127.2 innings. Over that 23- Team SV (rank): 7 (T10th) 2018 vs. HAG: 0-0 game span, starters have struck out 131 batters while walking just 14. The RiverDogs are just 11-12 during that dominant stretch. • You Mess with the Bull(pen), you get the Horns: After allowing no more than a run just once in the first 18 games of the season, the Charleston pen has continued the 2018 campaign on a dominant run, allowing just 19 earned runs in 112.1 innings to start the year (good for a 1.52 ERA). The bullpen hasn’t allowed a run since May 4 vs Lexington and are currently riding a 13.0 inning scoreless streak. • Pinstriped Prospects: Once again, the RiverDogs tap into one of the premier farm systems in baseball with the New York 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 three of the Yankees’ Top-30 prospects (MLB.com, BA): INF Oswaldo Cabrera (--, #26), RHP Alexander Vargas (--, #28), 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. Sunday, May 13, 2:05PM: Charleston @ Hagerstown: RHP Rony Garcia (0-2, 4.34) vs RHP Jackson Tetreault (0-3, 7.22) Monday, May 14, 7:05PM: Charleston @ Hagerstown: TBD vs RHP Matt DeRosier (0-1, 8.31) Tuesday, May 15, 10:35AM: Charleston @ Hagerstown: LHP Dalton Lehnen (2-2, 2.14) vs LHP Jackson Stoeckinger (1-3, 8.68) Media Relations Contact: Matt Dean Email: [email protected] Today’s Starter #34 ALEXANDER VARGAS (RHP) HT: 6’4” WT: 203 B/T: R/R HOMETOWN: Santiago, D.R. AGE: 20 BORN: 7/24/97 ACQUIRED: 2014, NDFA Repertoire: FB, SL, CH W-L ERA G/GS CG SHO IP H R ER BB K BAA 2018 (w/ CSC) 1-0 0.00 1/1 0 0 5.0 2 0 0 0 7 .118 MiLB Career 10-7 3.21 31/29 0 0 137.1 135 55 49 30 103 .259 (4 Seasons) 2018 Highs IP- 5.0, (vs LEX, 5/6) H- 2, (vs LEX, 5/6) ER- BB- K- 7, (vs LEX, 5/6) (w/ CSC): Career IP- 7.0, 2x (7/30/17) H- 10, (8/23/17) ER- 6, (8/23/17) BB- 3, (8/14/15) K- 7, (“”) Highs: Last 3 Games: IP H R ER BB K Career Notes… vs LEX (5/6) 5.0 2 0 0 0 7 • Rated as the Yankees’ No. 28 prospect pre-season by Baseball America • Went 2-3 in 9 starts for the RiverDogs in 2017, posting a 3.17 ERA 2018 Notes… Reassigned from extended spring training on • Did not pitch during the 2016 season due to injury 5/5 after making one start for Double-A Trenton (4 1/3 • Went 2-4, 4.97 ERA in 10 games (9 starts) with the GCLYankees shutout) and one relief appearance for Advanced-A 1 in 2015, striking out 31 and walking 13 in 41.2 innings Tampa…in first start with Charleston, struck out career-high o Threw five scoreless innings in each of his last two 7 across 5.0 shutout frames on 5/6 vs LEX… starts to finish the year • Made his professional debut with the Dominican Summer League Yankees in 2014, recording a 2.08 ERA in five starts • Signed as a non-drafted free agent with the Yankees in 2014 • Originally signed with the Twins as a non-drafted free agent in 2013 before contract was voided RiverDogs Starters in 2018 Pitcher Games Started W-L Team W-L Run Support Runs/Gm Garcia 5 0-2 3-2 21 4.2 Lehnen 6 2-2 2-4 15 2.5 Ramos 4 2-2 1-3 19 4.75 Sears 4 0-1 3-1 11 2.75 Whitlock 7 2-2 3-4 19 2.7 Vargas 1 1-0 1-0 5 5.0 This Day in RiverDogs History…May 12, 1997 Thomas McKinnon launches a walk-off home run over the centerfield fence with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, defeating Asheville, 1-0, at The Joe.