Game #84 Preview — Power vs. Suns
Game #84 — Home Game #47
West Virginia Power (9–8, 46–37) vs. Hagerstown Suns (6–11, 33–52)
Monday, July 9–7:05 p.m.
Appalachian Power Park (Charleston, WV)
MITCHELL’S DOUBLE NOT ENOUGH SUNDAY: Calvin Mitchell roped a two-run double in the eighth inning, but that was all the offense West Virginia could muster Sunday afternoon in a 7–2 loss to the Hagerstown Suns at Appalachian Power Park. Travis MacGregor was strong through the first three frames, facing just one batter above the minimum, but then allowed a pair of runs to score in the fourth on an errant throw and a sacrifice fly. Hagerstown led 2–0 through seven frames as Malvin Pena shut down the Power through five innings in his first career South Atlantic League start, holding West Virginia to four hits while striking out five batters. In the eighth, the Suns managed to send eight men to the plate against Ike Schlabach and tallied three more runs to open up a 5–0 edge. Mitchell provided the Power’s only runs in the bottom of the frame with his run-scoring double off Carlos Pena, but Hagerstown matched that output in the ninth to claim a 7–2 win. In the loss, MacGregor spun five innings for the second consecutive start since coming off the disabled list. He allowed two unearned runs on three hits while fanning six and walking one batter.
PITCHING MATCH-UP: LHP Domingo Robles (6–5, 3.19 ERA) is on the bump for West Virginia, while Hagerstown counters with RHP Brigham Hill (0–2, 3.18 ERA).
POWER LINEUP:
Oneil Cruz — SS
Rodolfo Castro — 2B
Deon Stafford — C
Chris Sharpe — LF
Ben Bengtson — 3B
Fabricio Macias — RF
Jesse Medrano — DH
Kyle Watson— 1B
Lolo Sanchez — CF
Domingo Robles — LHP
ODDS AND ENDS:
CRUZ NAMED SAL PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Oneil Cruz was named the South Atlantic League’s Player of the Month for June, Minor League Baseball announced Monday. During the month, Cruz boasted a .375 average with three home runs and 19 RBI along with a 1.025 OPS. The Dominican native is the first Power player to receive this honor since RHP Mitch Keller in April 2016. Cruz’s average and OPS during the season’s third month were second only to Lakewood’s Rodolfo Duran (.397 AVG and 1.298 OPS). The 19-year-old hit safely in 20 of his 25 June contests, including a 12-game hitting streak from June 8–23, where he boasted a .426 (23-for-54) clip. In 2018, Cruz has set new career-highs in home runs (11) and RBI (52), both of which rank in the top 10 in the South Atlantic League and the Pittsburgh Pirates system. His .304 average is tied with Mitchell for sixth-best in the league and third-best in the Pirates organization. Since May 1, Cruz is averaging .335, the fourth-highest average in the league during that span, with seven homers and 35 RBI in 56 games.
SOARING SANCHEZ: With his ninth-inning walk Sunday, Sanchez extended his on-base streak to 15 games. Sanchez’s streak dates back to June 21, the first day of the second half. During this span, Sanchez is batting .327 (16-for-49) with a home run, seven RBI and an .860 OPS. The Dominican native has a new career-high in stolen bases after swiping 14 bags a year ago with the GCL Pirates. His 16 stolen bases are tied for eighth-best in the South Atlantic League. Over 165 career games, Sanchez has 34 stolen bases in 56 tries (61 percent).
ROLLING ROBLES: Despite dropping his last start on Wednesday, July 4, against Lexington, Domingo Robles notched his team-leading ninth quality start of 2018. The Dominican native has eight quality starts in his last 11 outings, including four consecutive in May and three straight efforts dating back to June 22. The lefty still leads the team in ERA (3.19), which is fourth-best in the Pirates system, and strikeouts (69). Robles is 1–0 with a 3.00 ERA after his only career start against Hagerstown May 10, during which he tossed six innings and allowed two runs while fanning two men. West Virginia is 19–8 when their starter goes six innings or more in an outing.
DOG DAYS OF SUMMER: After posting a June Power-era best 19–8 record last month, West Virginias has struggled to start the second summer month. Currently, the Power are 2–6 in July, tied with Columbia and Rome for the worst record in the month thus far. West Virginia possesses the worst batting average in the South Atlantic League in July at 1.93, while its 4.82 ERA is tied with Asheville for second-worst (Columbia, 5.58 ERA). Only two Power batters are hitting over .280 in July, with Jesse Medrano boasting a .364 average with two RBI and Raul Hernandez holding a .500 clip thus far, also with a pair of RBI. In contrast, Deon Stafford and Fabricio Macias have the lowest batting average on the team in July, putting up a miniscule .053 average in 19 at-bats each.
HANRAHAN TABBED TO LEAD U.S. TEAM BULLPEN IN FUTURES GAME: Power pitching coach Joel Hanrahan has been selected as the Bullpen Coach for the United States team at the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game, taking place on Sunday, July 15, at 4 p.m. at Nationals Park during All-Star Weekend. Hanrahan will man the relief corps for the U.S. squad and is joined on the roster by former Power players RHP Mitch Keller and INF Ke’Bryan Hayes.
POWER POINTS: West Virginia has dropped two straight series for the first time since May 17-June 3, when Lexington, Columbia, Kannapolis and Greensboro put up consecutive series wins over the Power… West Virginia went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position Sunday, stranding five men on base… Mitchell posted his ninth multi-RBI game of the season, second most to Cruz (14)… Schlabach allowed a career-high nine hits Sunday… The Power are 5–14 in day games.
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. Monday’s pregame coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on the West Virginia Power Baseball Network.
