July 26: Mudcats at Woodpeckers Game Notes

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CAROLINA MUDCATS (MILWAUKEE BREWERS) at FAYETTEVILLE WOODPECKERS (HOUSTON ASTROS)
Friday, July 26, 2019 | 7:00 PM | Game 105, Away Game 51 | Segra Stadium (4,786) | Fayetteville, NC
RADIO: WDWG, 98.5 FM
STREAMING AUDIO:carolinamudcats.com via TuneIn Radio
STREAMING VIDEO: MiLB.tv

Overall Record: CAR: 55-49; FAY: 48-56
Streaks: CAR: L3; FAY: L1
Last 10 Games: CAR: 3-7, FAY: 5-5
Home Record: CAR: 32-22; FAY: 24-27
Road Record: CAR: 23-27; FAY: 24-29
Division Record: CAR: 20-27; FAY: 22-25
Current Series: First game (of 3)
Season Series: CAR leads 8-5 (of 20)
CAR v. OPP: 4-2 @CAR (10), 4-3 @OPP (10)

UPCOMING PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS...
FRI, 7/26 at FAY, 7:00 PM: Carolina RHP Christian Taugner (4-6, 5.01) at Fayetteville RHP JP France (3-6, 4.42)
SAT, 7/27 at FAY, 6:00 PM: Carolina RHP Matt Smith (4-8, 3.25) at Fayetteville RHP Shawn Dubin (2-4, 4.69)
SUN, 7/28 at FAY, 6:00 PM: Carolina LHP Aaron Ashby (2-5, 3.63) at Fayetteville RHP Austin Hansen (2-2, 3.90)
TONIGHT: After dropping three straight in Kinston to the Wood Ducks, the Mudcats continue a six game road trip tonight with game one of a three game series versus the Fayetteville Woodpeckers at Segra Stadium in Fayetteville, NC... Tonight's game is the first of seven second half meetings between the two teams and the 14th of 20 overall games between Fayetteville and Carolina this year... The Mudcats lead the season series 8-5, having gone 4-2 at home and 4-3 on the road versus the Woodpeckers.
ICYMI: JP Martinez of the Wood Ducks hit a game tying home run with two outs in the seventh to force extras and Sam Huff broke that tie with a walk-off single in the eighth for a 3-2 game one victory and starting pitcher Tim Brennan tossed a complete-game shutout as the Wood Ducks also took the second game of Thursday's doubleheader 1-0 in Kinston while finishing a doubleheader and series sweep of the Mudcats.
ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Mudcats were shutout 1-0 in game two of last night's doubleheader in Kinston. That shutout loss was Carolina's second in their series against the Wood Ducks and their fourth shutout over their last 10 games... Carolina lost both games of yesterday's twin-bill in Kinston and were swept by the Wood Ducks in the three-game series. The Mudcats have now been swept five times this season, with four of those five occurring in the second half.
TONIGHT'S STARTING PITCHER...
Christian Taugner: 4-6, 5.01 ERA, 19/11 G/GS, 79.0 IP, 7 HR, 21 BB, 50 SO
Last start, 7/21 vs. WIL: ND, 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO, 87 pitches
Is 1-1 with 2.86 ERA in July (4 G, 3 GS, 22.0 IP, 3 BB, 13 SO, 1.27 WHIP
Allowed 7 HR over first 57.0 IP (1.11 HR/9) this season; 0 HRA in last 22.0 IP.
ROAD WOES: The Mudcats are just 1-10 over their last 11 road games and just 4-11 away from home since the All-Star break... Carolina started the season 16-11 over their first eight road series, but have gone 7-14 since (six away series). The Mudcats, overall, are 23-26 on the road this season.
WHERE THEY RANK: Mario Feliciano is currently tied for 1st in the CL in home runs (15), tied for 1st in RBI (69), 2nd in slugging (.460), 9th in OPS (.775), 8th in hits (95), 2nd in extra-base hits (37) and tied for 1st in total bases (165)... Ryan Aguilar is currently 2nd in the CL in OPS (.819), 3rd in OBP (.409), 10th in hits (94), 10th in RBI (45), tied for 5th in 2B (21), 1st in walks (67) and 1st in runs (70)... Payton Henry is tied for 5th in the CL in home runs (10) and 4th in RBI (58)... Matt Hardy is currently tied for 5th in the CL in wins (7) and tied for 7th in games (30)... Rodrigo Benoit is currently tied for 9th in the CL in wins (6), tied for 2nd in games (32) and 3rd in saves (13)... J.T. Hintzen is tied for 4th in the CL in games (31)... Cody Beckman is tied for 4th in the CL in games (31)... Noah Zavolas is currently 2nd in the CL in ERA (3.07), 1st in innings pitched (123.0) and 1st in WHIP (1.13). Zavolas is also 2nd in the CL in FIP (3.19), 2nd in xFIP (3.37), 1st in BB/9 (1.46) and 1st in K/BB (4.50).
BACK STOP SPLITS: Payton Henry and Mario Feliciano have split catching duties this season with Henry totaling 53 games behind the plate and Feliciano catching 49 games... The Carolina pitching staff is 30-23 and has totaled a 3.54 ERA (3.0 BB/9, 8.6 SO/9) in games caught by Henry... Carolina's pitchers are 24-25 with a 4.18 ERA (3.1 BB/9, 7.9 SO/9) in games caught by Feliciano.
SINCE THE BREAK: Matt Smith has pitched to a stellar 1.59 ERA over six starts since the All-Star break and is currently 3rd among qualified CL starters in second half ERA... Noah Zavolas is currently 2-2 with a 2.25 ERA over seven second half starts and is currently 11th among qualified CL starters in ERA in the second half.
OF LATE: Carolina is just 4-10 since 7/10 and since going a perfect 6-0 in a home stand played earlier this month from 7/5 through 7/9 (versus Frederick 7/4-7/6 & Lynchburg 7/7-7/9)... The Mudcats have combined to hit just .195 with 2.5 runs/game since 7/10 and have pitched to a 3.56 ERA in that same span.
KINGS OF THE NORTH: The Mudcats are currently 35-22 versus Carolina League Northern Division teams this season. They have also gone 17-8 versus Northern Division teams since 6/11 (at FRE)... The Mudcats are just 5-16 vs. Southern Division teams since 5/24 (vs. DE, 3.5 GB before 5/24) and had suffered nine straight losses in games versus Southern Division teams (6/16 vs. WS - 7/3 at MB) before defeating the Pelicans 3-2 on 7/19 in Zebulon. They are also just 20-27 overall versus their own division this season.
TRENDING: Eddie Silva has hit safely in six of his last seven games and is batting .409/.391/.773 with a 1.164 OPS with two, two-run home runs over that span (9-for-22, 3 R, 1 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBI)... Rob Henry is batting just .163/.281/.184 (8-for-49) since returning from the IL on 7/6. He is also just 1-for-18 over his last six games (2 BB, 11 SO)... Devin Hairston is 1-for-25 over his last nine games (.040/.077/.080); he started the month slashing .483/.531/.724 with a 1.255 OPS (14-for-29, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 5 SO) over nine games between 7/3 & 7/13.
YOU RANG: Brice Turang has hit safely in eight of his last nine and is batting .344/.417/.531 with a .948 OPS during that same span (11-for-32, 3 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 4 BB). He was just 1-for-26 with 7 BB and 6 SO over his first seven games with Carolina before the streak... The Brewers promoted Turang to the Mudcats on 7/8 from Low-A Wisconsin where he slashed .287/.384/.376 with a .760 OPS, 21 SB and 31 RBI over 82 games with the Timber Rattlers. He was selected with the 21st overall pick in the 2018 Draft, and at just 19 years old, is currently the youngest player in the CL. He is currently rated as the No. 2 prospect in the Milwaukee farm system.
ALL THE Ks: Carolina batters have combined to total a Carolina League high 1,039 strikeouts this season (5th most in MiLB). The Mudcats are on pace to set a league and franchise record for strikeouts for the third straight season... Carolina batters combined to total a CL and franchise record 1,311 strikeouts last season; breaking the previous CL and franchise record of 1,245 SO set by Carolina in 2017.
THE MUDCATS HAVE…
... played in Zebulon, NC since 1991 (29th season).
... played in the Carolina League since 2012 (8th season).
... been an affiliate of the Brewers since 2017 (3rd season).
... not made the playoffs since the 2008 season.
... not made the playoffs during their Carolina League era.
... operated under the ownership of the Brewers since Oct. 2017.