Thanks to a league-best 41-29 record, Winston-Salem has clinched a first-half Southern Division title for the first time since 2012 and earned its fifth playoff berth in the Dash era!
With the Dash having locked up a spot in the post-season, ticket plans to catch playoff baseball at BB&T Ballpark will go on sale for season ticket members and groups on June 21. It will be first come, first served on their seat location with other plan holders who share those seats. The general public can begin buying playoff tickets on June 25. For more information, call the Dash at (336) 714-2287 or visit wsdash.com.
You’ll also have two opportunities to catch upcoming Dash games with the Chamber:
V.I.B.E. on July 26
Winston<40 Social on August 23
Congrats to the hometown team!
First-Half Stats
Led by first-year manager Omar Vizquel, who was a three-time All-Star and 11-time Gold Glove winner during his 24-year big league career, the Dash’s .586 winning percentage was 34 points better than the next best team in the circuit, as the first-half Northern Division champion Potomac Nationals posted a .552 mark by going 37-30.
Across the entire first half, the Dash played a well-rounded style of baseball, posting the league’s second-best batting average (.261), on-base percentage (.340) and slugging percentage (.409), while also registering the second-best ERA (3.46 ERA) and the second-most strikeouts (598). The team also led the 10-team circuit in doubles (131) and triples (24), and they had the second-most runs (336) and hits (601).
According to MLB Pipeline, the White Sox have the third-best farm system among all MLB teams, and the Dash employed seven of Chicago’s top 30 prospects in the first half. Right-hander Dylan Cease (No. 5) led the Carolina League in strikeouts (82), all while posting a 9-2 record and a 2.89 ERA. Meanwhile, righty Dane Dunning (No. 8) made four starts and struck out 31 batters in 24.1 innings pitched, and right-hander Jimmy Lambert (No. 30) recorded 69 strikeouts through his 62.2 innings of work this year.
Among position players, outfielders Blake Rutherford (No. 7), Micker Adolfo (No. 10) and Luis Basabe (No. 13) have all shined this season. Rutherford, who was acquired by Chicago last July via a trade with the New York Yankees, leads the Dash with 43 RBIs. Adolfo was named the Carolina League Player of the Month for April after posting a .918 OPS, and Basabe leads the ballclub with nine home runs and a .502 slugging percentage. Former Wake Forest star and Dash first baseman Gavin Sheets (No. 11) has also posted a solid .356 on-base percentage thus far.
Along with Basabe and Cease, outfielder Joel Booker, left-hander Bernardo Flores and right-hander Matt Foster will be making the trip to Zebulon, N.C., for the 2018 Carolina League All-Star Classic, which will take place on Tuesday, June 19. Booker currently leads the Dash in batting average (.297), on-base percentage (.389), runs scored (39) and steals (14). On the mound, Flores was the Dash’s most consistent pitcher in the first half, logging 10 quality starts over his 12 outings and putting together a 5-4 record with a 2.55 ERA. His 77.2 innings pitched rank second in the Carolina League. The lone reliever to earn an All-Star nod from Winston-Salem, Foster went 7-for-7 in save opportunities in the first half with a 40:7 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
The Winston-Salem Dash are the Class-A Advanced Minor League affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. To purchase tickets and for more information, please call 336-714-2287 or visit www.wsdash.com.
