Whitlock Named South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week

CHARLESTON, S.C. - After dominating with a career-best ten strikeouts and taking a perfect game into the fifth inning on Saturday, right-hander Garrett Whitlock has been named the South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week by the league office on Monday.
The Yankees' 18^th round pick in last year's draft, Whitlock (2-1, 1.06) continued at his nearly untouchable pace, as the 21-year-old extended his scoreless streak to 25 straight innings with another seven shutout at The Joe. The righty surrendered just two hits and a walk, lowering his season ERA to 1.06, a mark that ranks third among all qualifying pitchers in the SAL.
Whitlock becomes the first RiverDogs player to earn the South Atlantic League's weekly accolades, being named the best pitcher in the circuit for the week of April 30-May 6. Greensboro's Thomas Jones, who went 7-for-20 with four home runs, garnered Player of the Week honors.
In his last three starts without allowing a run, Whitlock has 21 strikeouts and just one walk. The Georgia native and former University of Alabama-Birmingham Blazer faced the minimum through the first six innings on Saturday against Lexington, rolling a double play ball to wipe out the lone baserunner he surrendered.

Using a sinking fastball, Whitlock has run the highest ground ball rate in the league, inducing contact on the ground 64.5% of the time.
The RiverDogs pitching staff leads the league with a 2.44 team ERA and have blanked their opponents over the last 20 straight innings after back-to-back shutouts over Lexington on Saturday and Sunday.
Charleston (15-15) wraps up a weeklong homestand on Monday night at Riley Park against the Lexington Legends (14-14). Seeking a series win, the RiverDogs send righty Rony Garcia (0-2, 5.32), the Yankees' pre-season No. 29 prospect according to Baseball America, to the hill to face right-hander Garrett Davila (1-1, 3.97). It's a Monday Dog Day at The Joe featuring a canine-friendly gate and dollar beers and hot dogs presented by Busch Light. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. For those that can't make it out to the park, the game will be broadcast on WTMA 1250 AM in the tri-county area with online streaming audio also available worldwide on riverdogs.com, through the RiverDogs TuneIn radio app and on MiLB.tv.
RiverDogs single-game tickets are now available for the 2018 campaign, the club's 25^th season as the RiverDogs and their "175^th season in dog years." Ticket information can be secured by contacting the box office at (843) 577-DOGS (3647) or online at www.riverdogs.com/tickets.
--RIVERDOGS--