Game 64 Preview: Power vs. Shorebirds
Game #64 — Home Game #33
West Virginia Power (30–33) vs. Delmarva Shorebirds (46–16)
Monday, June 10–7:05 p.m.
Appalachian Power Park (Charleston, W.Va.)
POWER FALLS TO DRIVE 8–2: Charlie McConnell notched a multi-hit game, but the Drive touched up Josias De Los Santos for six runs over four innings and handed the Power an 8–2 loss Saturday evening at Appalachian Power Park. Greenville struck first in the second inning, as Triston Casas led off the frame with a base hit before moving to third on a pair of wild pitches and scoring on Brandon Howlett’s sacrifice fly. West Virginia responded in the home half of the third, with Nick Rodriguez stroking an RBI single to center that plated McConnell to tie the game at one. However, De Los Santos came unglued from there, allowing two runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth before being relieved for Dayeison Arias while the Drive compiled a 6–2 lead. Arias wiggled out of the fifth-inning jam and handed the ball to Deivy Florido, who managed four solid innings out of the pen despite ceding two runs in the eighth. Jake Anchia had the other run-scoring knock for the Power, slashing a single to left that brought in Bobby Honeyman in the fifth.
PITCHING MATCH-UP:
RHP Ryne Inman (5–5, 4.42 ERA) toes the slab for West Virginia, while Delmarva counters with RHP Grayson Rodriguez (6–1, 2.63 ERA).
Inman will make his 13th start for the Power this season and is coming off a quality start in his last outing. Against Hickory, Inman tossed 6.1 innings, surrendered three earned runs and struck out five. It was also the first start of the season for the righty where he did not allow a walk.
Rodriguez has led the way for the Delmarva rotation with 66 strikeouts and 12 walks over 48 innings. The incredible season has earned Rodriguez an All-Star nod as the starting pitcher for the Northern Division next week at Appalachian Power Park.
POWER LINEUP:
Joseph Rosa — SS
Nick Rodriguez — 2B
Julio Rodriguez— DH
Bobby Honeyman — 3B
Onil Pena — 1B
Charlie McConnell — CF
Jake Anchia — C
Ryan Ramiz — LF
Johnny Slater— RF
Ryne Inman — RHP
GAME NOTES:
SWEET AS HONEY: Since May 13, Bobby Honeyman has been one of the hottest hitters in the Power’s lineup. In that 25-game stretch, Honeyman has hit safely in 21 of those contests while posting a .295 average with one homer and 11 RBI. His .295 clip is the highest on the Power in this span. Honeyman has also compiled two eight-game hitting streaks since mid-May, posting one from May 13–20 and May 24-June 2 with identical .344 averages.
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HOMER HAPPY AT HOME: McGovern’s first-inning blast notched West Virginia’s 52nd home run of the season, tied with the Charleston RiverDogs for third-most in the South Atlantic League (Greensboro, 65 and Hickory, 69). Appalachian Power Park has been quite the hitter-friendly environment for the Power, as the sluggers have pounded 33 balls out of the ballpark in 32 games, also third-most in the league behind Greensboro (34) and Hickory (45).
MASHING MCGOVERN: McGovern has become a lethal part of West Virginia’s lineup over his first nine games with the team. The University of Georgia product has hit safely in six of his last seven games, and has reached base safely in nine of the 10 contests he has played in (only two without a hit). The slugger has a .263 average with two homers and five RBI thus far in his short stint with the Power.
NEARLY UNSTOPPABLE NICK: Rodriguez had quite the series against the Greenville Drive, going 5-for-12 (.417) with two doubles and four RBI. His five knocks and four RBI are both the most the Power infielder has had in any series this season. Rodriguez has hit safely in four of his last five games, including a season-best three-hit game June 7.
“DRIVE”ING HIM CRAZY: For the second straight outing, Chandler did not fare well against the Greenville Drive. In his previous start in Greenville May 19, the Drive battered him around over 3.2 innings, tagging him for a career-high eight runs and 11 hits allowed. Overall, Chandler is 0–2 against Greenville in three starts with an 8.78 ERA, his highest ERA against an opposing team this season.
ALL-STAR ARIAS: Despite allowing his inherited runner to score in the fifth inning, Dayeison Ariasspun another scoreless frame Saturday night, stretching his streak of not allowing an earned run to 18.2 innings across 13 appearances. In this stretch, the South Atlantic League Midseason All-Star has finished seven games and picked up one hold and one save. He has fanned 23 batters compared to five walks while only surrendering three unearned runs on eight hits and holding opposing hitters to a .117 average against him. No other pitcher in the South Atlantic League who has thrown as many innings as Arias has holds a spotless ERA during this time frame.
MIRED IN A TOUGH STRETCH: After posting the second-best record in team history through 24 games in April (17–7), the Power has gone 13–26 and been one of the worst teams, statistically speaking, across all of Minor League Baseball. Since May 1, West Virginia’s team ERA is 5.52, the second-worst mark in MiLB from the Double-A level down (Salem Red Sox, High-A, 5.54 ERA), while their 26 losses are tied for second-most and their 13 wins are tied for ninth-lowest. The Power’s .224 average in this span is eighth-lowest in Minor League Baseball as well.
POWER POINTS: The Power did not commit an error for the 22nd time this year… West Virginia went 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position, stranding nine men on base… Izturis Jr. posted his eighth two-hit game of the season.
ON THE AIR: West Virginia Power games can be heard on The Jock 1300 and 1340 AM in the Kanawha Valley, online at wvpower.com and on the TuneIn Radio App. David Kahn and Kyle Youmans will handle play-by-play duties in 2019. Monday’s pregame coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on the West Virginia Power Baseball Network.
