Preview: Comito takes the mound to open 5-games-in-4-days series against in-state rival

Today's Preview: The Intimidators (A, White Sox) open a five-games-in-four-days series against the Crawdads (A, Rangers) on the heels of a successful road trip. Kannapolis won five of six games in the Peach State against Augusta and Rome over the last week and is now 20-16 on the year. The Intimidators took two of three games against the Crawdads during their last visit to Intimidators Stadium in April, giving Kannapolis the season-series lead, 4-3. Chris Comito makes the start for the Intimidators against Michael Matuella.
Intimidating Starter: Chris Comito, 20, makes his third start of the season and third at home on the heels of an aborted outing on May 12. The right-hander pitched into the fifth inning before a power outage killed the lights at Augusta's Lake Olmstead Stadium, wiping out the Intimidators game against the GreenJackets with the score tied 1-1 in the bottom of the fifth. In Comito's last recorded start, he had a rough outing against Asheville, allowing six runs (five earned) on eight hits over 3.1 IP while walking four and striking out none in a no decision on May 6. The right-hander split last season between Great Falls and Kannapolis, going 9-8 with a 4.42 ERA (63 ER/128.1 IP) and 116 strikeouts in 23 games (23 starts). Comito started 2016 in Extended Spring before joining Kannapolis in May, going 1-7 with a 6.48 ERA through the rest of the first half before transfer to Great Falls. In the Pioneer League, Comito dominated, going 8-1 with a 3.43 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 86.2 innings over 14 starts. In his final outing of 2016, Comito struck out 13 in a 7-inning complete game shutout. The White Sox selected him in the 15th round of the June 2015 First-Year Player Draft.
Hickory's Hurler: Michael Matuella, 22, makes his fourth start of the season and his first against Kannapolis. He is coming off a rough outing in which he was unable to get out of the first inning, allowing six runs on six hits and a walk at home against Charleston on May 11. The Rangers third round pick (78 overall) from the June 2015 First-Year Player Draft did not make his professional debut until 2016 - appearing in one game - after he came back from elbow and back injuries that disrupted his final season at Duke in 2015. This is the fifth start of Matuella's professional career.
Peachy Road Trip: Kannapolis won five of six games in the Peach State during the team's week-long trip to Augusta and Rome. The Intimidators are now 13-6 on the road in 2017.
Season Sweep: The Intimidators swept the season-series against Augusta, winning all five games against the GreenJackets in 2017. It's the first season-sweep of more than four games since the Intimidators became a White Sox affiliate in 2001 and only the second in franchise history (since 1995). Kannapolis has swept a four-game season series twice (against the GreenJackets in 2003 and the Greensboro Bats in 2004) as well as taking three-game season series twice (against the Columbus Red Stixx [CLE] in 2001 and Lexington in 2014).
                  Year            Opponent                        Season-Series                   Win Percentage
                  2000           Charleston (TB)                8-0                                1.000
                  2017            Augusta (SF)                    5-0                                1.000
                  2003            Augusta (BOS)                  4-0                                1.000          
                  2004            Greensboro (FLA)              4-0                                1.000
                  1995           Savannah (STL)                7-1                                .875
                  2000*           Savannah (TEX)               7-1                                .875
                  2005            Savannah (WAS)               7-1                                .875
                  2009            Lexington (HOU)              7-1                                .875
                  2009            Bowling Green (TB)          6-1                                .857
                  2013            Lakewood (PHI)                6-1                                .857
                  *occurred as Piedmont Phillies/Piedmont Boll Weevils (Phillies affiliate)            
Slugging Seby: Catcher Seby Zavala launched his team-leading fifth home run of the season, tied for seventh most in the SAL this season. The White Sox 15th round pick in the June 2015 draft is batting .370 (10-27) in seven games in May after opening the season batting .153 (9-59) in 16 games in April. During the team's trip to Rome, Zavala went 6-9 with a home run, three RBI, and three runs scored.
No Foolin' Dulin: First baseman Brandon Dulin has heated up at the plate in May, batting .336 (14-38) in 11 games this month compared to batting .190 (15-79) during his first 20 games in April. Dulin is on a season-best six-game hitting streak, including four multi-hit games, batting .478 (11-23) since May 8. He is coming off a strong showing at Rome in which he launched a moon-shot home run in Tuesday's 5-1 win over the Braves.
Rodriguez Rocks:Antonio Rodriguez drove in four runs Monday, his first 4-RBI game since June 20, 2014, for the AZL White Sox against the AZL Mariners. Rodriguez previously drove in three runs for Kannapolis this season on May 3 against Augusta. The outfielder has heated up at the plate lately, hitting safely in five of his last six games, batting .269 (7-26) in that time which spans the Intimidators recent road trip. After batting .186 (13-70) in 18 games in April, Rodriguez is batting .286 (10-35) in nine games in May.
Strong in the South: Kannapolis is 8-1 on the road games against the South Atlantic League Southern Division this season following Tuesday's 5-1 win at Rome. The Intimidators swept four games at Asheville April 17-19 and took five of six against Augusta and Rome this week. Kannapolis will not visit a Southern Division foe until opening the second half of the season at Columbia starting June 22.
Broadcast Information: All games will be broadcast live on the Kannapolis Intimidators Baseball Network online at IntimidatorsBaseball.com and via the TuneIn Radio App with Josh Feldman, now in his seventh season as the "Voice of the Intimidators." Phil Constantino will handle play-by-play during weekend home games.