Game 18 Preview: Power vs. Braves
Game #18— Home Game #12
West Virginia Power (10–7) vs. Rome Braves (9–7)
Tuesday, April 24–10:35 a.m.
Appalachian Power Park (Charleston, WV)
LATE ASHEVILLE OFFENSE SPOILS SWEEP: West Virginia jumped out to a 5–0 lead through five innings behind a strong start from Ike Schlabach, who allowed just one hit through five innings while striking out a season-best five batters on 66 pitches, but the Power’s bullpen could not maintain their edge, as newly-minted reliever Hunter Stratton surrendered five runs on seven hits in his Low-A debut, and Blake Cederlind ceded the go-ahead run in the ninth to give Asheville a 6–5 win in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Appalachian Power Park. West Virginia still claimed a series victory, however, three games to one. In the loss, Dylan Busby and Kyle Watson each drove in a pair of runs, while Oneil Cruz blistered his first triple of the season for the final Power run of the day. Casey Golden was the difference maker for the Tourists, stroking a two-run homer to right in the seventh that knotted the game at five and singling in Brett Boswell in the ninth to give Asheville the lead for good.
THE PITCHING MATCHUP: Robles (1–1, 5.28 ERA) gets the ball in the series opener for West Virginia against the Rome Braves. Robles is coming off his longest outing of the season against the RiverDogs on April 18, where he recorded his fifth career quality start in a 5–4 win over Charleston in the series finale. After getting rained out yesterday, Rome will send RHP Alan Rangel (0–1, 10.80 ERA) to the hill for his second start of the season (4/9: 2IP, 6R, L vs. CSC).
POWER LINEUP:
Chris Sharpe — LF
Calvin Mitchell — DH
Deon Stafford — C
Mason Martin — 1B
Dylan Busby — 3B
Oneil Cruz — SS
Rodolfo Castro — 2B
Ryan Peurifoy — RF
Lolo Sanchez — CF
Domingo Robles — LHP
ODDS AND ENDS:
MASHING MITCHELL: Calvin Mitchell went 1-for-4 with a run scored and a walk on Sunday against Asheville. Though he did not drive in any of the Power’s five runs, his 15 RBI still lead the team and rank highest in the Pirates system. Mitchell is currently riding an eight-game hitting streak and a 10-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 eight-game stretch (April 14-current), the 2017 second-round selection is boasting a .457 (16-for-35) clip with a home run and nine RBI, along with a 1.172 OPS. Due to this recent surge, Mitchell has upticked his season average to .364 and slugging percentage to .652, with his average sitting at fourth-best in the South Atlantic League while his SLG sits at fifth. His 15 RBI are third-best amongst league sluggers, while his 24 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.
STAFFORD, PARTY OF TEN: Like Mitchell, Power catcher Deon Stafford has also reached base in his last 10 games, dating back to April 8. During that stretch, Stafford is boasting a .368 (14-for-38) average with five RBI, six extra-base hits and 11 runs scored to go along with a .984 on-base percentage. Since his Opening Day start on April 5, the backstop has reached in every game he has played during 2018, including a 2-for-5 effort with a run scored on Sunday. Stafford registered his fifth multi-hit game of the season yesterday, which is second-most behind Mitchell amongst West Virginia’s sluggers.
AN OFFENSIVE AWAKENING: Over their four-game series with Asheville, West Virginia’s bats come to life, hitting .303 (40-for-132) with three homers, 27 runs scored and .364 average with RISP. Prior to this homestand, West Virginia’s offense was averaging .233, but have risen their team average to .250, fifth-best in the SAL. Mitchell led the way offensively for the Power, clubbing a home run and eight RBI along with a .529 (9-for-17) clip, while Cruz posted a .357 (5–14) average with a home run and six runs batted in.
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 five games, Power arms have gone 4–0 with a 1.55 ERA (5 ER/29 IP) with 31 strikeouts and four quality starts. Here are the lines for the Power’s past five 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: Travis MacGregor: 6IP, 3H, 0ER, 6K (0.79 ERA at home in 2GS)
-4/18: Domingo Robles: 6IP, 2H, 1ER, 9K (career-high)
POWER POINTS: West Virginia will play 11 of its next 14 games at Appalachian Power Park… The Power fell for the first time when leading after six innings in a contest (6–1)… West Virginia is now 8–2 when scoring first in a ballgame… Power relievers have held the first batters they have faced in an appearance to a .194 stroke, with 8 strikeouts.
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. Tuesday’s pregame coverage begins at 10:15 a.m. on the West Virginia Power Baseball Network.
