Doubleheader Preview: Power vs. Braves
GAME 2 LINEUP:
Chris Sharpe — LF
Calvin Mitchell — RF
Oneil Cruz — SS
Mason Martin — 1B
Ryan Peurifoy — CF
Rodolfo Castro — 2B
Kyle Watson — 3B
Ben Bengtson — DH
Raul Hernandez — C
Evan Piechota — RHP
Game #19 and #20 — Home Game #13 and #14
West Virginia Power (10–8) vs. Rome Braves (10–7)
Wednesday, April 25–5:05 p.m.
Appalachian Power Park (Charleston, WV)
ROME CLAIMS PITCHERS DUEL ON TUESDAY: Both teams saw stellar pitching performances from their starters and their bullpen in Tuesday’s series opener at Appalachian Power Park, but it was Rome who got the last laugh as they broke a scoreless tie in the ninth with a two-run home run off the bat of Drew Lugbauer, which provided the only offense of the game in a 2–0 win for the Braves. Domingo Robles spun five innings of two-hit ball in his fourth start of the year while striking out seven, but Rome’s starter Alan Rangel held the Power to one hit over four frames with a season-best eight punchouts in return. Adam Oller served up the fatal blow in the ninth, but was otherwise superb over his season-high four innings, ceding just the one big hit and striking out four in the loss. West Virginia’s best scoring opportunity came in the eighth inning when Ryan Peurifoy doubled to lead off the frame and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Lolo Sanchez. However, Freddy Tarnok, who took the win after spinning two innings and surrendering one hit and one walk, struck out Mitchell and Deon Stafford to end the threat.
THE PITCHING MATCHUP: RHP Travis MacGregor (1–1, 0.73 ERA) gets the ball in game one of Wednesday’s doubleheader, while Evan Piechota (1–0, 1.29 ERA) heads to the slab in game two. Rome will counter with RHP Jasseel De La Cruz (1–2, 0.64 ERA) in game one followed by LHP Bruce Zimmermann (2–1, 4.50 ERA) in game two. MacGregor stymied the Tourists over six innings in his last start, while Piechota makes his second spot start of the year after tossing five innings of one-run ball against Greenville in game two on April 8.
POWER LINEUP:
Ryan Peurifoy — LF
Calvin Mitchell — RF
Dylan Busby — DH
Deon Stafford — C
Oneil Cruz — SS
Rodolfo Castro — 2B
Mason Martin — 1B
Ben Bengtson — 3B
Lolo Sanchez — CF
Travis MacGregor — RHP
ODDS AND ENDS:
MASHING MITCHELL: Calvin Mitchell went 1-for-4 in Tuesday’s series opener against the Braves. Though he did not tally an RBI on Tuesday, his 15 RBI still lead the team and rank highest in the Pirates system. Mitchell is currently riding a nine-game hitting streak and an 11-game on-base streak, with the latter dating back to April 12 when the Power opened up their road schedule in Hickory. Over Mitchell’s nine-game stretch (April 14-current), the 2017 second-round selection is boasting a .436 (17-for-39) clip with a home run and nine RBI, along with a 1.104 OPS. With a hit in game one of tonight’s doubleheader, Mitchell would be the first Power player to string together at least a 10-game hitting streak since Carlos Munoz posted a 12-game stretch from July 9–22, 2017. Due to this recent surge, Mitchell has upticked his season average to .357 and slugging percentage to .629, with his average sitting at third-best in the South Atlantic League while his SLG sits at fifth. His 15 RBI are tied for third-best amongst league sluggers, while his 25 hits top the SAL and his three triples rank tied for second. The Power outfielder’s superb numbers earned him SAL Player of the Week honors for the week of April 16–22, 2018.
BLANK SPACE: West Virginia was blanked in a contest for the second time in 2018 on Tuesday, with their first shutout loss coming in a 1–0 defeat at the hands of the RiverDogs on April 17. The Power are one of four teams in the South Atlantic League with two shutout losses in 2018, joining Greenville, Hickory and Asheville, whom West Virginia shut out on Thursday, April 19, in a 3–0 win. The Power posted a 6–10 shutout record a year ago, third-worst in the SAL.
DOUBLEHEADER NOTE: Due to Monday’s postponement, West Virginia will play its third doubleheader of the season on Wednesday, with first pitch set for 5:05 p.m. against the Rome Braves. The Power are currently 3–1 in twin bill contests, tied with Charleston for the most wins in double dips. West Virginia swept its first doubleheader of the season against the Greenville Drive on April 8 before splitting a twin bill with Lakewood on April 10.
STARTING TO FIGURE IT OUT: Through their most recent turn in the rotation, West Virginia’s starting five have put up some very impressive numbers. Over the last six games, Power arms have gone 4–0 with a 1.32 ERA (5 ER/34 IP) with 38 strikeouts and four quality starts. Here are the lines for the Power’s past six starts:
- 4/22: Schlabach: 5IP, 1H, 0ER, 5K (season-high); — 4/21: Braeden Ogle: 6IP, 6H, 1ER, 8K (career-high)
- 4/20: Gavin Wallace: 6IP, 4H, 3ER, 3K; — 4/19: MacGregor: 6IP, 3H, 0ER, 6K (0.79 ERA at home in 2GS)
- 4/18: Robles: 6IP, 2H, 1ER, 9K (career-high)/4/24: 5IP, 2H, 0ER, 7K
POWER POINTS: Power relievers have held the first batters they have faced in an appearance to a .188 (6–32) stroke, with 8 strikeouts… West Virginia had won its previous three games that Oller had appeared in before Tuesday.
ON THE AIR: West Virginia Power games can be heard on The Jock 1300 & 1340 AM in the Kanawha Valley, online at wvpower.com and on the TuneIn Radio App. David Kahn and John Kocsis will handle play-by-play duties in 2018. Wednesday’s pregame coverage begins at 4:45 p.m. on the West Virginia Power Baseball Network.
