Salazar strong but Mudcats fall 7-5
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By Staff Report July 25, 2012
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Winston-Salem, NC – After staking a 5-1 lead thanks to a patented offensive outburst, the Carolina Mudcats surrendered six unanswered to the Winston-Salem Dash in a 7-5 loss at BB&T Ballpark on Wednesday night.
The Mudcats (17-16, 49-54) dropped their fourth straight losing decision, and fell to third place in the Carolina League Southern Division, one game behind the Dash (18-15, 62-40).
Steven Upchurch (4-1) picked up the win with three innings of relief. He allowed a run on two hits. Jordan Cooper (6-4) suffered his first loss since June 9, allowing a season-high six runs on seven hits over three innings. Taylor Thompson pitched a scoreless ninth for his sixth save with Winston-Salem.
Entering the sixth inning, the Mudcats trailed 1-0. Delvi Cid began the rally with a double on a line drive to right field, and advanced to third on a fielding error by Keenyn Walker. Tony Wolters beat out an infield single when the Dash failed to cover first to put two on for Bo Greenwell. Greenwell grounded a ball to Daniel Wagner, but the second baseman fumbled the ball, and allowed Cid to score from third and Wolters safely to second.
With the defense on their heels, Giovanny Urshela cracked a double into left field. The two-bagger scored a pair of runs to give Carolina a 3-1 lead, and Urshela hustled to third on the throw to the plate. Anthony Gallas and Tyler Cannon finished off the frame with back-to-back doubles for a 5-1 advantage.
The lead didn’t last long as a bunt single by Wagner caused chaos in the Mudcats infield. Two errors, both on throw by Urshela and reliever Jordan Cooper allowed Wagner to second. He scored on a double by Brent Morel. Winston-Salem pounced on a reeling Cooper by loading the bases. Trayce Thompson belted a towering grand slam over the left field wall for a 6-5 lead. An RBI-single by Wagner finished the frame, and the scoring.
Danny Salazar made another strong start for Carolina, allowing a run on four hits over four innings. Bo Greenwell saw his season-high, 14-game hitting streak snapped with an 0-for-4 night.
Carolina will try to avoid the second sweep at the hands of the Dash on Thursday night. First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m.
