Game 13 Preview: Power at RiverDogs
Game #13 — Road Game #6
West Virginia Power (6–6) at Charleston RiverDogs (6–6)
Wednesday, April 18–11:05 a.m.
Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park (Charleston, S.C.)
POWER BLANKED 1–0 IN MIDDLE MATCH: Evan Piechota was stellar in relief on Tuesday evening, setting down seven men over six innings, tying career highs in both of those categories, while allowing just two hits, but West Virginia’s offense could not find its stroke against a trio of Charleston arms, as Garrett Whitlock, Brian Trieglaff and Matt Wivinis combined to hold the Power to six hits in a 1–0 RiverDogs win to even the series at one game apiece. Whitlock earned the victory by spinning five innings and surrendering just three hits and striking out five, while Trieglaff held strong in relief, going three innings while giving up two hits and fanning four. Wivinis picked up his fourth save in as many tries as he pitched around a leadoff single in the ninth to Rodolfo Castro to close out the victory. Ryan Peurifoy and Castro were the only members of the Power offense to grace the hit column more than once, with the former smacking two doubles in a 2-for-3 effort. Lolo Sanchez and Calvin Mitchell were the only other West Virginia sluggers to collect a knock on the evening. Blake Weiman tossed the final two innings for the Power, allowing one hit and striking out four. Sergio Cubilete took the loss after facing two batters in the first before exiting due to an injury.
THE PITCHING MATCHUP: LHP Domingo Robles (0–1, 7.71 ERA) heads to the bump for West Virginia in the series finale on Wednesday. Robles spun a season-high 5.2 innings in his last start on April 11 against Lakewood, allowing three runs on eight hits while striking out four in a no-decision. Charleston counters with RHP Glenn Otto (1–1, 3.48 ERA). Otto twirled a six-inning gem for the RiverDogs on April 11 at Rome, shutting out the Braves over six frames and ceding just one hit and four walks while fanning five batters and picking up the win.
POWER LINEUP:
Lolo Sanchez — CF
Calvin Mitchell — RF
Dylan Busby — 3B
Deon Stafford — C
Mason Martin — 1B
Rodolfo Castro — 2B
Oneil Cruz — SS
Kyle Watson — DH
Chris Sharpe — LF
Domingo Robles — LHP
ODDS AND ENDS:
RELIEF IS A GOOD THING: Piechota and Weiman’s steadfast efforts on Tuesday continued a string of recent success for West Virginia’s relief corps. Piechota’s six innings and seven strikeouts tied career highs in both areas, while Weiman extended his scoreless innings streak to 8.2 innings in 2018. Piechota also turned in the longest appearance by a Power reliever since July 9, 2017, when Mike Wallace hurled 6.2 innings of relief in a 6–2 loss at Rome. Over the last six games dating back to the series finale against Lakewood on Wednesday, Power relievers have tossed 30.1 innings and surrendered just seven earned runs while racking up 35 strikeouts, good for a 2.08 ERA in that span. This sixtuplet of performances has brought the bullpen’s season ERA down to 3.57 from 5.56, a different of 1.99. Power relievers have held the first batters they have faced in an appearance to a 4-for-22 (.182) clip thus far, with five strikeouts.
BUSTLING (DYLAN) BUSBY: Dylan Busby has reached base safely in his last nine games, dating back to April 6 against Greenville. Across the 10 games Busby has taken the field for in 2018, the Power infielder has hit safely in seven of them, including a pair of multi-hit efforts, tied for third-best on the team. Busby is boasting a 9-for-30 (.300) stroke during his nine-game on-base streak, including two doubles, three RBI and nine walks along with a .755 season OPS.
DEFENSIVE DELIGHTS: West Virginia’s defense has flexed its muscle over their last two games in South Carolina, benefitting from three baserunning miscues by Charleston runners to pick up a trio of assists. In Monday’s series opener, Chris Sharpe doubled off Leonardo Molina at second base on a fly ball to left in the fifth inning, while Deon Stafford gunned down Steven Sensley as he unsuccessfully tried to extend his RBI double to a triple in the sixth. On Tuesday, Mitchell flashed his arm strength when he snagged a fly ball from Wilkerman Garcia in right in the third inning and fired a strike back to second base to eliminate Matt McPhearson from the basepaths.
CHEERS, CHARLESTON: After taking two of three from Hickory, the Power are finishing off their seven-game road swing in Charleston, South Carolina, with a rubber match on Wednesday morning against the RiverDogs. West Virginia and Charleston are slated to play seven more times in 2018, with the Power hosting a four-game series from August 18–21 before concluding their 2018 regular season play in South Carolina from August 31 to September 3rd.
POWER POINTS: West Virginia fell for the first time when outhitting the opponent (3–1)… The Power went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position on Tuesday… West Virginia DHs are now 5-for-39 (.128) through 12 games following Peurifoy’s 2-for-3 effort… Power backstops have thrown out 16% (3-of-19) of attempted base stealers in 2018… Rafelin Lorenzo is hitless in his last 10 at-bats… West Virginia pitching did not issue a walk in a game for the first time in 2018.
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 10:45 a.m. on the West Virginia Power Baseball Network.
