Game #125 Preview — Power at Braves
Game #125 — Road Game #61
WV Power (28–30, 65–59) at Rome Braves (26–32, 66–61)
Sunday, August 26–2:00 p.m.
State Mutual Stadium (Rome, Ga.)
POWER OUTLASTS BRAVES SATURDAY: West Virginia scored six runs in the first three innings to back Samuel Reyes in his first start in professional baseball. The righty earned the win with five-plus innings of work, allowing each of the four runs he ceded to score in the sixth inning. Joel Cesar put out his fire in the sixth, letting just one inherited runner score to keep the Power’s lead at 7–5. The Dominican Republic native would twirl three innings of scoreless relief before giving way to John Pomeroy. Pomeroy earned his second save as a member of the West Virginia Power, stranding the tying run on third base with a strikeout of Alan Crowley to end the game. West Virginia’s offense got to Freddy Tarnok quickly, knocking him out of the ball game with two outs in the top of the second inning. The Power tallied three hits in the inning, including a two-run single from center fielder Travis Swaggerty and an RBI single from Connor Kaiser that led to Tarnok being yanked. West Virginia’s offense did not stop there, scoring two more in the third and adding their final run on a solo shot to right from Deon Stafford, his 10th of the season, in the fourth frame.
PITCHING MATCH-UP: RHP Hunter Stratton (5–5, 4.47 ERA) takes the hill for West Virginia, while Rome counters with righty Alan Rangel (5–6, 3.96 ERA).
POWER LINEUP:
Connor Kaiser — SS
Rodolfo Castro — 2B
Cal Mitchell — RF
Deon Stafford — DH
Rafelin Lorenzo — C
Raul Hernandez — 1B
Robbie Glendinning — 3B
Ryan Peurifoy — CF
Lolo Sanchez — LF
Hunter Stratton — RHP
ODDS AND ENDS:
STAFFORD’S GOT YOUR NUMBER: Stafford has lit up the Rome Braves in 2018. In seven games at State Mutual Stadium, the Power backstop is hitting at a .388 clip (7-for-18) with eight RBI and four extra-base hits (two home runs, a triple and a double). The trend does not buck at State Mutual Stadium. Stafford has played in three games versus Rome at Appalachian Power Park and has homered in two of the games, driving in four runs for West Virginia. The Pennsylvania native is averaging .333 against Braves pitching heading into their final contest of the regular season.
STREAKING SANCHEZ: Lolo Sanchez added another run scored with a 1-for-3 effort in Saturday’s 7–6 win. That brings the outfielder’s total to 52 on the season, which is good for third-best on the team. Oneil Cruz eclipses the rest of the team with 66 runs scored this season. Sanchez trails Stafford (56), who has the second most runs scored on the team, by just five runs. Sanchez has scored seven runs in his last 10 games, while tallying 11 hits in 30 at-bats (.367 batting average). The 19-year-old has thrived in August, averaging .339 (20-for-59) in 18 games with six RBI.
RIGHTEOUS RAFELIN: In limited play, Rafelin Lorenzo has continued to impress. After going 2-for-4 with a double and a home run Friday, Lorenzo posted a 3-for-5 night with two runs scored Saturday. In the month of August, the Dominican Republic native is boasting a .324 (11-for-34) stroke in nine games with a home run and seven RBI. Lorenzo’s three-hit day marked his sixth multi-hit game of the season and third three-hit contest (36th for the Power).
YOU CAN COUNT ON CONNOR: Kaiser has been a very consistent member of West Virginia’s line-up after joining the Power August 15 from the Black Bears. The 2018 third-round pick is riding a seven-game hitting streak since August 16, during which he is averaging .393 (11-for-28) with two doubles, five RBI and four multi-hit games.
DEAR JOHN: Pomeroy has been dominant since joining West Virginia August 8 from the Black Bears. In six relief appearances, he has not allowed a hit while tallying 10 strikeouts to five walks. Pomeroy has not given up an earned run in his last 11 outings, dating back to July 27 when he was in the New York-Penn League. The 23-year-old is in his first season back since undergoing Tommy John surgery in early April 2017 after suffering a torn UCL at the end of 2016.
STRATTON STRUTTING HIS STUFF: Sunday starter Hunter Stratton has become a very reliable member of the Power’s rotation over the last month. He has two consecutive quality starts after spinning six solid innings against Charleston, S.C., August 22 and holding down the Rome Braves over a career-high seven frames August 11 in Rome. The Walters State (TN) Community College product has hurled at least five innings in each of his last six starts while allowing two earned runs or less. In that span, Stratton is sporting a 2.65 ERA (10 ER/34 IP) with 18 strikeouts.
PLAYOFF PUSH: The Kannapolis Intimidators allowed six runs, all with two outs in the ninth, to the Augusta GreenJackets to send their Saturday contest to extra innings. The Intimidators rolled in the 10th and won 10–8 to remain two games in front of West Virginia with nine games remaining in the 2018 regular season for the West Virginia Power. The win snapped a three-game skid for Kannapolis. The Intimidators have one game remaining at Augusta today at 5:05 p.m. before embarking on a four-game set versus Asheville and finishing the season at Hagerstown. Meanwhile, West Virginia will play four versus Hagerstown to wrap up their regular season home schedule prior to finishing the regular season with a four-game trip to Charleston, South Carolina, to take on the RiverDogs at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park.
POWER POINTS: West Virginia is 16–24 in games decided by one run… The Power is 29–1 when scoring seven or more runs in a game this season.
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. Sunday’s pregame coverage begins at 1:40 p.m. on the West Virginia Power Baseball Network.
