Bill Hass on Baseball:Hoppers shut down by Power lefty

Hoppers shut down by Power lefty
from Bill Hass with Bill on Baseball(Greensboro Grasshoppers) at www.gsohoppers.com

In a nutshell, good pitching stopped good hitting Saturday night.

West Virginia’s Cody Dickson threw seven shutout innings as the Power beat the Hoppers 5-1 at NewBridge Bank Park. Greensboro had faced the left-hander twice before and handled him easily, but Dickson was in control this time. He stopped the hot-hitting Hoppers with four hits while striking out seven and walking just one.

Hoppers manager David Berg said lefties have an advantage, especially early in night games, because hitters have a tough time seeing the ball in the glare. But he also gave Dickson his due.

“He kept the ball down and threw some good breaking balls,” Berg said. “You tip your hat to him.”

Meanwhile, Hoppers starter Ryan Newell had a difficult outing, giving up five runs and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings. JaCoby Jones hit a solo home run for the Power in the fourth.

“(Newell) lived over the plate too much,” said pitching coach Jeremy Powell. “He also didn’t get aggressive enough and there was some hard contact. It’s a learning experience, but I would rather our pitchers be aggressive and not back off of our stuff.”

Newell continued a mysterious inability to win at home. He’s now 0-5 with a 6.14 ERA at NewBridge, where he has made seven starts. That’s in sharp contrast to his road record of 8-1 with a 1.70 ERA on in 11 starts.

The best thing about the pitching was the bullpen work. C.J. Robinson relieved Newell with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth and got a strikeout on a 3-and-2 count. Tyler Kane, in his first Hoppers appearance, pitched two scoreless innings.

“He showed a tight slider and his fastball had some zip,” Powell said of Kane.

NOTES: Jones homered for the second straight game and now has five this season against the Hoppers … The Power snapped a six-game losing streak to Greensboro and is 3-10 in the series this season … The Hoppers avoided their first shutout in a month when Avery Romero singled home Austin Dean in the bottom of the ninth … Lakewood stopped the Hoppers 2-0 on June 4 … Dean singled in the fourth to extend his hitting streak to eight games and Felix Munoz singled in the ninth to run his streak to seven … The series concludes today with a 4 p.m. game. Jarlin Garcia (9-2) will start for the Hoppers.