Asheville Tourists (31-20, 60-60) at West Virginia Power (24-26, 55-66)
Game 122 | August 19, 2010 | Appalachian Power Park | Charleston, WV
Play-by-Play: Adam Marco Radio: Power Baseball Network and wvpower.com
TODAY’S MATCHUP
LH Wes Musick (6-6, 4.24) vs. RH Jason Erickson (7-5, 4.44)
Musick: Allowed 1 R on 4 H with 3 BB and 2 K over 4.0 IP in 8/14 ND vs. GVL (4-3 Drive)
Erickson- Surrendered 6 R on 6 H with 1 BB and 3 K over 4.2 IP in 8/13 ND @ LEX (10-8 WVP)
LAST NIGHT: West Virginia dropped its fourth straight at home with a 10-6 loss to Asheville. The Tourists scored three in the first against Quinton Miller and never lost the lead after that, despite several rallies by the Power that cut the deficit to 4-3 after three, 6-5 after four, and 8-6 after six. Ramon Cabrera paced West Virginia with three hits, while Jose Hernandez and David Rubinstein drove in two runs each.
RARE OCCURRENCE: The Power lost for the tenth time this season when scoring at least six times. West Virginia is now 30-10 when plating six or more runs in a game, and are 43-15 when scoring more than five in a game.
RISPY BUSINESS: The Power went 0-12 with runners in scoring position Tuesday and finished 2-12 last night. West Virginia had the tying run at the plate or on base multiple times each of the first two games this series, but have not been able to push those runs across. The Power are hitting .258 with runners in scoring position this season, good enough for ninth best in the SAL.
SEEING THE SIGHTS: West Virginia trails the all-time series against Asheville 25-21, including five wins in ten games this season. The Power are 11-14 since 2005 at Appalachian Power Park against the Tourists, and have gone 10-11 on the road. These clubs met in Charleston on the opening weekend of the home schedule and played three games of a four game series, with the April 19 contest getting postponed due to un-playable grounds. That game was made up in Asheville as part of a June 6 twinbill.
WE ARE FAM-A-LEE: Pittsburgh farm teams are tied for the seventh best winning percentage in Minor League Baseball at .532. Seattle’s minor league clubs have a combined winning percentage of .548 to lead baseball, while Minnesota has the lowest at .433. Only the Mariners, Rays, Cardinals, and Mets affiliates have combined for more victories than those in the Pirates organization.
WALK OF LIFE: Evan Chambers leads the South Atlantic League with 87 walks and ranks fifth across all of Minor League Baseball, trailing only Conner Crumbliss of Kane County (101), Lake Elsinore’s Vincent Belnome (94), West Michigan’s Jamie Johnson (89), and Kila Ki’aihue of Omaha (88).
POWER POINTS: Tuesday marked the second outing this season in 20 appearances that Phillip Irwin did not record at least on strikeout. The other time was his one relief inning season debut on April 8… Wednesday’s game was the second longest of the nine-inning game this season, lasting three hours and 20 minutes. The June 24 loss at Greensboro was three minutes longer.
AROUND THE ORGANIZATION: Pittsburgh lost 3-2 to Florida. Ryan Doumit and Andrew McCutchen hit solo home runs in the loss… Indianapolis beat Toledo 4-1… Altoona beat Portland 1-0… Bradenton staved off Jupiter 8-7… State College did not play due to the NYPL All-Star break and resumes play tonight hosting Jamestown.
ON THE AIR: All 140 West Virginia Power games can be heard on ESPN Radio 1490 AM in Charleston, WV, across the state on the Power Radio Network, and online at milb.com. Adam Marco will call the action for each of the 70 home games this season, while the home team will provide coverage while the Power are on the road.
