Game 137 Preview: Power vs. Grasshoppers
Game #137 — Home Game #68
West Virginia Power (30–36, 67–69) vs. Greensboro Grasshoppers (34–32, 78–57)
Saturday, August 31–6:05 p.m.
Appalachian Power Park (Charleston, W.Va.)
FOUR HOMERS DROWN POWER FRIDAY: Bobby Honeyman and Matt Sanders each posted a multi-hit night, but the Power gave up four homers in an 11–1 loss to the Greensboro Grasshoppers Friday night at Appalachian Power Park. Greensboro wasted no time getting on the board, as Jonah Davis smacked the fourth pitch he saw from Matt Martin over the right-field fence to give the Grasshoppers a 1–0 lead. Martin settled down to retire the next 10 men he faced, but Greensboro pushed another run across in the fourth, courtesy of a Fabricio Macias double that plated Ji-Hwan Bae. The Grasshoppers added three more in the fifth, as Grant Koch socked a solo homer and Bae tripled in a pair to extend the lead to 5–0. Koch homered again in the seventh to ignite a four-run inning that saw the Greensboro lead surge to 9–0. West Virginia finally got on the board in the bottom of the seventh, as Honeyman and Sanders each singled to start the inning, and Dean Nevarez plated Sanders from third on a double play ball. The Grasshoppers tacked on two more in the eighth to finish off their offensive night. Noe Toribio earned the win with seven strong innings, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out six.
PITCHING MATCH-UP:
RHP Christian Pedrol makes his Low-A debut for West Virginia, while RHP Will Kobos (1–3, 2.17 ERA) counters for Greensboro.
Pedrol makes his debut for the Power after his promotion from the AZL Mariners earlier this week. During his time in the AZL, the righty finished with a 4–4 record and a 4.13 ERA over 14 games. Signed as an international free agent in May of 2017, Pedrol missed most of last season due to injury before he logged a couple of appearances in late August.
Kobos makes his seventh start for the Grasshoppers after he joined the squad at the end of July. The 22-year-old has dominated in his previous six appearances, having surrendered just seven earned runs over his 29 innings. Despite the individual success, Kobos has lost his last two decisions leading into Saturday’s match-up.
POWER LINEUP:
Billy Cooke — CF
Mike Salvatore — SS
Ryan Ramiz — RF
Matt Sanders — 2B
Bobby Honeyman — 3B
Nick Rodriguez — DH
Anthony Lepre — C
Manny Pazos — 1B
DeAires Moses — LF
Christian Pedrol — RHP
GAME NOTES:
THAT’S OUR ALL-STAR: With his 2-for-4 night last night, Honeyman notched his 31st multi-hit game of the season, pulling ahead of Ryan Ramiz for the most on the team this year. Prior to his multi-hit effort, the Stony Brook product had one hit in his last 26 at-bats (.038) with seven strikeouts. However, Honeyman has still been one of the most consistent hitters in the SAL in the second half. Since July 3, the third baseman is boasting a .322 clip (55-for-171), the fourth-highest mark in the league in this span, with two homers and 22 RBI. He also a hit in 35 of those 44 games. On Tuesday, Honeyman was tabbed as a South Atlantic League Annual All-Star at third base, the lone Power player to take home the league’s year-end honor. He snagged his second Year-End All-Star selection, as he was named to the Northwest League’s Postseason All-Star squad in 2018. Honeyman is the third Power player ever to be named an Annual All-Star at 3B, joining Mat Gamel (2006) and Taylor Green (2007).
SURGING SANDERS: Sanders has had quite the consistent month of August for West Virginia. The infielder has hit safely in 24 of his last 30 contests and is averaging .302 (35-for-116), the 10th-best mark in the SAL in that stretch (July 28-current), with three homers and 11 RBI. Sanders is tied with Onil Pena for the team lead with three homers and 10 RBI in the month of August. He is the only active Power hitter to have an average above .300 (.304) in the season’s penultimate month.
GROSS……GRASSHOPPERS!: West Virginia has not enjoyed facing the Greensboro Grasshoppers in 2019. The Northern Division foe won the first nine meetings between these two clubs and has taken four of the last five meetings. Greensboro is the only team in the league to have swept the Power twice this year, tallying a combined run differential of -29 in those two broomings. As a team, West Virginia has a 6.74 ERA against the Grasshoppers, who are holding a steady .321 stroke against the Power. Overall, Greensboro has outscored West Virginia by 44 runs in their first 18 meetings, by far the biggest negative margin the Power has against an opponent this season.
PEDROL SET FOR LOW-A DEBUT: RHP Christian Pedrol will make his Low-A debut Saturday evening against Greensboro. The right-hander went 4–4 with a 5.03 ERA in 15 games (seven starts) over 53.2 innings mostly in the AZL, with one spot relief appearance with Triple-A Tacoma in late May. The 2017 free agent signee out of Sao Paolo, Brazil, spent his first two seasons seeing limited action in the DSL and AZL due to injuries.
MORE ROSTER TURNOVER: Prior to Saturday’s game, the Mariners announced these roster moves for the Power:
- RHPs Elvis Alvarado and Tyler Driver promoted to the Power from the AZL
- RHPs Reeves Martin and Josias De Los Santos placed on the temporary inactive list
THE END OF THE ROAD: West Virginia concludes its 2019 season with a four-game series against the Greensboro Grasshoppers at Appalachian Power Park from August 30 to September 2. The Power has already secured a winning record at home (currently 36–31 with three games to play). West Virginia has notched a winning record at home in four of the last five seasons (2017, 34–36). Conversely, the Power ended their road swing with a 31–38 mark, the first losing record on the road since 2016 (31–39).
POWER POINTS: Charlie McConnell has not committed an error in 80 straight games (dating back to 5/15 at CSC)… West Virginia’s offense has been abysmal across their last four games, averaging .155 (17-for-110) with 40 strikeouts.
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. Saturday’s pregame coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. on the West Virginia Power Baseball Network.
