Five Home Runs Not Enough in 9-7 Loss to the Dash
ASHEVILLE- The Asheville Tourists nearly completed a big come-from-behind effort on Wednesday night. Asheville hit five solo Home Runs on the evening; however, the Dash evened up the series at one game apiece by holding on to win 9-7.
ASHEVILLE- The Asheville Tourists nearly completed a big come-from-behind effort on Wednesday night. Asheville hit five solo Home Runs on the evening; however, the Dash evened up the series at one game apiece by holding on to win 9-7.
Winston-Salem took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning by playing fundamental small ball. Asheville’s starting pitcher, Angel Macuare, issued a pair of walks to begin the game. A sacrifice bunt and sacrifice fly gave the Dash a 1-0 lead. Macuare allowed a two-out RBI single before completing the first frame.
The Tourists responded with a Joe Perez solo Home Run in the bottom of the first. When Winston-Salem pushed their lead out to 3-1 in the third, Asheville countered with back-to-back solo Homers by Alex McKenna and Cesar Salazar.
Unfortunately, the game did not remain tied very long. The Dash plated four runs in the top of the fourth and added two more in the fifth to take a 9-3 lead. The Tourists began chipping away in the sixth. C.J. Stubbs went deep and Scott Schreiber reached on an error that allowed a second run in the inning to score.
Wilyer Abreu hit a towering Home Run in the seventh to bring Asheville within three. In the eighth, Perez drove in McKenna with a deep single to right to make the score 9-7. Later in the inning, Enmanuel Valdez hit a ball off the right field wall. Perez attempted to score but was called out at home plate. The controversial call resulted in Asheville’s manager, Nate Shaver, to be ejected for the first time this season. The Tourists went down in order in the bottom of the ninth.
Brayan de Paula, who made his Asheville debut, pitched very well out of the bullpen. At one point, de Paula had a stretch where he retired 15 of 16 Dash hitters.
McKenna paced the offense with his first four-hit game of the year while Perez added three hits to Asheville’s effort. The Tourists and the Dash will face off in game three of their six-game series Thursday night with the first pitch scheduled for 6:35pm.