Frederick 5, Winston-Salem 2
W: Matthew Grimes (3-1)
L: Jordan Stephens (0-3)
S: Tanner Scott (1)
FREDERICK, Md. (May 1, 2016) – Winston-Salem missed out on its first sweep of 2016 by falling to the Frederick Keys 5-2 on Sunday afternoon from NYMEO Field.
After a nine-run outburst in a come-from-behind victory on Saturday, the Dash (10-14) only mustered five hits and struggled to solve Frederick starter Matthew Grimes (3-1). Grimes became the first Frederick hurler to work into the seventh inning and limited the Dash to their two runs on four hits.
Winston-Salem did strike with the game’s first run. Hunter Jones led off the contest with a double, scampered to third on a Toby Thomas sacrifice bunt and scored on a Gerson Montilla sacrifice fly.
In the second, the Dash recorded back-to-back infield singles, and both runners advanced on a passed ball. However, Grimes escaped the inning unscathed and did not give up another hit until the seventh.
While Grimes was settling in, the Keys (8-16) were able to take advantage of one rough inning from Dash starter Jordan Stephens (0-3) to seize the lead for good. Frederick loaded the bases thanks to a single and two walks, and Erick Salcedo and Jay Gonzalez followed with consecutive run-scoring singles. A passed ball chased home the final run of the frame. Stephens did strand two runners in the inning and worked a perfect third, but his day would be done after that.
The bullpen duo of Andre Wheeler and Euclides Leyer were largely effective for Winston-Salem. Wheeler tossed a season-high three innings and surrendered only a Jonah Heim leadoff homer in the fourth. Leyer tossed a perfect seventh before Frederick scratched across an insurance run in the eighth.
Outside the first, the Dash’s lone tally came in the seventh. Marcus Davis, who logged his ninth multi-hit game of the campaign, began the frame with a double and scored on a Louie Lechich groundout. The Dash sent the minimum to the plate in the final two frames en route to just their second road loss in the last nine games.
In the losing effort, Nick Basto went 0-for-4 to snap his nine-game hitting streak, the longest by a Dash hitter in 2016. His 39 hits led all of Minor League Baseball at the start of play on Sunday.
The Dash return to BB&T Ballpark for a week-long homestand that begins Monday at 7 p.m. against division rival Myrtle Beach. Winston-Salem sends Blair Walters (1-1, 4.95 ERA) to the bump against fellow southpaw Tommy Thorpe (2-1, 3.45 ERA). Fans can tune into the broadcast on wsdash.com/broadcast, MiLB.tv or the TuneIn Radio App, with pregame coverage beginning at 6:45 p.m.
The upcoming homestand at BB&T Ballpark includes a Lowes Foods Thirsty Thursday, Fireworks Friday (presented by Piedmont Sheet Metal), Princess Night and much more. For your tickets, call the Dash at (336) 714-2287 or visit wsdash.com.
