WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Mario Feliciano hit his league leading 17th home run, Brice Turang tripled and scored a run and Payton Henry hit his 11th home run of the season, but the Mudcats ended up falling short in a series clinching loss to the Dash 7-5 on Sunday afternoon in
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Mario Feliciano hit his league leading 17th home run, Brice Turang tripled and scored a run and Payton Henry hit his 11th home run of the season, but the Mudcats ended up falling short in a series clinching loss to the Dash 7-5 on Sunday afternoon in Winston-Salem at BB&T Ballpark.
The Dash (21-22, 59-48) broke what was a scoreless tie in the second with a five run and four hit frame while taking an early 5-0 lead in the game. The Mudcats (18-26, 57-56), after going nine-up and nine-down to start things, went on to rally for three runs on four hits in the fourth before pulling within one of the lead on Feliciano's home run in the seventh. Henry then homered in the eighth, but Winston-Salem had already scored twice more in the seventh and ended up taking the series finale 7-5 and winning the series two games to one.
Left-hander Aaron Ashby started for Carolina and ended up with the loss after allowing five runs and six hits over six innings pitched. All five of those early runs came across in the second after Ashby (L, 2-6, 3.65) allowed four hits and walked one in the inning. He eventually bounced back with just one hit allowed over the next four frames while holding the Dash scoreless through the rest of his start. In all, Ashby walked two, struck out six and allowed five runs, three of which earned while reaching 94 pitches (59 strikes).
Reliever J.T. Hintzen followed Ashby with Carolina down 5-4, but went on to walk a season high three batters while retiring one and giving up two runs in the inning. Anthony Bender took over for Hintzen with the bases loaded in the seventh and ended up allowing one of three he inherited to scored. Bender also pitched through the eighth and worked through an inning and 2/3 with two strikeouts and one hit.
Dash starter Jonathan Stiever earned the win while working through the fifth with three runs allowed on five hits. Stiever (W, 5-3, 2.52) struck out nine and walked one while reaching 90 pitches (62 strikes) for Winston-Salem. He was later followed by relievers Andrew Perez, Jose Nin, Will Kincanon and Jacob Lindgren.
Perez worked a scoreless sixth and struck out. Nin and Kincanon, meanwhile, allowed Feliciano's and Henry's homers in the seventh and eighth respectively. Lindgren (S, 1) worked the ninth and struck out two while earning the save.
Turang had Carolina's first hit of the game as he broke up Stiever's streak of nine straight outs with a leadoff triple in the fourth. Feliciano followed with a run scoring single to left one batter later while driving in Turang. Rob Henry then capped that frame with a two-out run scoring single to score both Feliciano and Silva who had reached early while hitting into a force.
Turang finished the game going 2-for-5 with a triple and a run scored. Feliciano followed Turang in the lineup while batting second and also went 2-for-5, but with a home run, two runs and two runs driven in.
Feliciano's homer in the seventh was his league leading 17th of the season and, including his RBI single in the fourth, accounted for his team leading 72nd RBI of the year.
Payton Henry also had two hits while going 2-for-4 with his 11th home run of the season, a run scored and one batted in. Zach Clark was 1-for-4 in the game and stretched his hitting streak to six straight games.
Steele Walker went 2-for-2 with a double, a run and one RBI out of the leadoff spot for the Dash. Craig Dedelow went 2-for-4 with a RBI and Jameson Fisher, Johan Cruz, Tate Blackman and Yeyson Yrizarri each went 1-for-4 with a run while hitting sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth.
The Dash took two out of three in the series, dropping Carolina to 1-2 in their six game road trip. The trip will continue on Tuesday night in Kinston when the Mudcats play the Down East Wood Ducks following Monday's off-day.
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