WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — For the first half inning Thursday night, the Tourists looked like they were in great shape. But as the Dash started to take off, Asheville slipped and Winston-Salem blew the doors open to take an offensive battle 14-7.
Asheville struck first and struck hard. Justin Thomas Jr. led off the game with a double and eventually scored on a Jack Moss ground ball that rolled under Roch Cholowsky's glove on what should have been a routine play but was ruled an error, although it never touched his glove. Two runs scored before Winston-Salem had recorded two outs. The Tourists were in business.
Then the lead evaporated. Asheville starter Kellan Oakes allowed five runs in three innings, walking four batters and giving the Dash the lead for good by the fourth inning. A Javier Mogollon home run in the third and a Kyle Lodise home run in the fourth started the damage. The fourth inning was when everything changed. Raimy Rodriguez came on and threw a wild pitch that scored a run. He was hurt covering the plate on the play, taking a bad hop that bent his knee awkwardly and was carted off the field. Francisco Frias followed and was roughed up for five runs in 1.2 innings. By the time the inning ended Winston-Salem had scored seven runs and led 8-2.
Colby Langford was the one bright spot out of the bullpen, coming on and tossing 2.1 scoreless innings to stop the bleeding and give the offense a chance to chip away.
The Tourists put together their best inning of the night in the seventh. A wild pitch, a Caden Powell RBI groundout, an Ethan Frey sacrifice fly, and a Nick Monistere RBI single produced four runs to trim it to 12-6. Freuddy Batista added another in the eighth to set the final at 14-7.
To end the game, outfielder Tourists DJ Newman took the mound in the eighth inning for a spot appearance. It was just his second game with Asheville.
Justin Thomas Jr. went 2-for-4 to lead the Tourists at the plate. Monistere had his best game as a Tourist, going 2-for-5 with an RBI in a lineup that is still searching for consistency as it reshapes.
Friday brings a reason for optimism. Nick Potter, the Astros 17th-ranked prospect, makes his highly anticipated Tourists debut on the mound. First pitch in Winston-Salem is set for 6:30 p.m.