Robert goes deep in 5-3 loss to Wilmington

WILMINGTON, Del. (April 8, 2019) - Dash outfielder Luis Robert continued his hot hitting by smashing his fourth homer of the season on Monday night, but the Wilmington Blue Rocks outlasted Winston-Salem 5-3 in the series opener at Frawley Stadium.
Robert, who is rated a top-50 prospect in all of baseball per MLB Pipeline, posted his fifth consecutive multi-hit contest in the series opener with a double and a home run.

The 21-year-old outfielder began the contest with a double down the left-field line against Blue Rock starter Daniel Tillo (1-0). After Jameson Fisher's groundout moved Robert to third, Nick Madrigal plated the game's first run with a sacrifice fly to center field. Madrigal recorded his first multi-hit contest of the season by going 2-for-3 with two singles.
In the third, Robert blasted a solo shot down the right field line to put Winston-Salem ahead 2-0. Through five games, Robert is 11-for-21 with four homers, a .583 on-base percentage and a 1.190 slugging percentage.
Dash starter Kyle Kubat, who pitched for Wilmington (3-2) in 2016, cruised through the first three frames before yielding his first run in the fourth. Following a Nick Pratto single, Seuly Matias stroked a run-scoring double to left-center to cut the deficit to one.
Winston-Salem added its final tally in the fifth on an RBI fielder's choice from Robert, but the Blue Rocks took the lead for good in the sixth. Kubat hit Pratto to begin the frame, and Matias followed with an RBI triple to chase the Dash southpaw from the game. 
Making his High-A debut, Wyatt Burns (0-1) relieved Kubat and promptly struck out Dennicher Carrasco. However, after a walk to Blake Perkins, Cristian Perez knotted the contest at three with an RBI bunt single. On the play, Burns threw the ball wide of first, allowing Perkins to move to third and Perez to second. 
Angelo Castellano followed with a sacrifice fly to center, giving Wilmington a 4-3 edge. The Blue Rocks pushed across their final tally in the eighth on an RBI single from Perez. Tad Radliff locked his second save of the season with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
Winston-Salem continues its four-game set against the Blue Rocks on Tuesday night at Frawley Stadium. Left-hander Cristian Castillo will make his White Sox farmhand debut against his former team in the middle match against right-hander Nolan Watson. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m., and fans can catch all of the action on wsdash.com/broadcast and the TuneIn Radio App. Pregame coverage begins at 6:20 p.m.
The Dash kick off their 10th anniversary season at BB&T Ballpark on Thursday, April 11, against the Potomac Nationals. Thursday's home opener will be a Thirsty Thursday, presented by Lowes Foods, and a Pups in the Park outing, presented by Handy and Handy Orthodontics. Following Friday's game, there will be a postgame fireworks display, presented by PTI. A Food Truck Festival and a Chick-fil-A Four Pack Night are on deck for Saturday, while a Rayados Day (presented by Univision) and a Craft Fair are on tap for Sunday. For tickets and more information, call the Dash at (336) 714-2287 or visit wsdash.com.