Welcome to "Chatter from the Pressbox", the website dedicated to the Pressbox of the Frisco RoughRiders, the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers.

Today's Matchups Around the Ranger's System

Today's (5/20) Match-Ups Around the Ranger's System

Round Rock: Martin Perez (3-3 5.27) vs. Fresno Grizzlies: Andrew Kown (3-1 2.61) @ 1:00 PM CT

Myrtle Beach: Kyle Hendricks (1-4 2.91) @ Wilmington Blue Rocks: Sugar Ray Marimon (3-0 2.65) @ 12:30 PM CT

Hickory : Santo Perez (2-2 6.19) @ Asheville Tourists: Daniel Winkler (4-2 6.06) @ 1:05 PM CT



Thursday, April 28, 2011

Game 20: Frisco RoughRiders (Carlos Pimentel) @ San Antonio Missions (Anthony Bass)

Time: 7:05 PM CT
Location: Nelson Wolff Municipal Stadium (San Antonio, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (6-13 7 games back in the Texas League South)... San Antonio Missions (13-6 1st place in the Texas League South)
Streak: Lost 5 in a row
Last 10: 2-8
Series Record: 1-5-0
Record against San Antonio: 0-3
Starting Pitchers: Carlos Pimentel (0-3 8.49 ERA)...Anthony Bass (3-1 3.97 ERA)


What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco Sends Carlos Pimentel to the mound for the 4th time this season in hopes of salvaging a game in the series, while San Antonio sends Anthony Bass to the mound for the 5th time in hopes of a 2nd straight sweep over the Riders at home... After getting roughed up a bit in his first two starts of the year, Carlos Pimentel was sharper in his last start on Saturday when he held the Corpus Christi Hooks to 3 runs (2 earned) over 5 2/3 innings pitched. Pimentel gave up 5 hits, 2 walks, and struck out 3 batters in the start. He still suffered his 3rd loss to start the year, and 5th consecutive loss dating back to 2010. In 4 career starts for Frisco, Pimentel has yet to get his first AA victory. Pimentel brings an 8.49 ERA into his 4th start of the year, as well as a WHIP of 2.14 and a FIP of 5.69.... Anthony Bass, ranked the 22nd prospect in the Padre's system by Baseball America, will make his 4th trip to the mound this season. Bass was the fortunate pitcher who happened to be on the mound when San Antonio won 21-8 over Midland on Saturday. Bass gave up 9 hits and 6 runs (5 earned) in 5 innings in the start and received the win in the game. He struck out 5 batters and did not walk anyone. Bass has given up 23 hits and 5 walks in 22 2/3 innings pitched this season. He also has struck out 15 batters and has a 1.24 WHIP and 4.83 FIP for the year. Last year, Bass made 27 starts in high-A and went 8-7 with a 3.13 ERA and 2.91 FIP. The 23 year old was a 5th round pick by the Padres in the 2008 draft.

Strong Start for Miguel De Los Santos: At times Miguel De Los Santos has looked like a dominant force on the mound for the Riders, and Wednesday night he was dominant throughout the entire start. In fact, he was so dominant that he reached uncharted waters. For the first time in his career, D eLos Santos went 7 innings, as his previous high was 6 innings on August 23rd, 2010. Despite getting his 3rd loss of the season in the 2-1 loss, De Los Santos pitched well enough to win on most nights. He made it through 7 innings, matched a season low in walks with 1, and struck out a season high 10 batters. His only mistake was a 5th inning pitch to Cody Decker who hit his league leading 8th homerun of the season. It was the only time in the 7 innings that De Los Santos allowed a baserunner past 2nd base and was the only extra base hit for San Antonio all game. Of the 10 strikeouts, 7 were swinging.

De Los Santos finished with a line of: 7 IP 4 H 2 R/ER 1 BB 10 K 2 GB-7 FB 94 pitches-63 strikes.


Bianucci/Mendonca Stay Hot: Michael Bianucci and Tommy Mendonca have been excellent hitters in the middle of the order, and once again on Wednesday they did their part. The 3-4 hitters combined to go 5 for 8 in the game with 5 singles and a RBI. A 3 for 4 day for Mendonca raised his batting average to .361 and he's 13 for his last 29 (.448) with 6 extra base hits and 6 RBI. Bianucci started the season ridiculously strong, cooled off for a few games, but is back in a big way. With a 2 for 4 day, Bianucci is 10 for his last 24 with 4 RBI and 2 extra base hits. He also added a stolen base in the loss on Wednesday.


Lack of Hits with RISP Hurt the Riders: One of the things that is really magnified in close games like a 2-1 loss is how important it is to drive in baserunners when you have the chances. And on Wednesday, the Riders had plenty of chances to go around, but could not capitalize on having baserunners. They pounded out 10 hits and walked 2 batters, yet could only get the 1 run in the 1st inning home. This coming despite having men in scoring position in the 1st (scored), 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 8th. They went 1-2-3 in only 2 innings, the 6th and the 9th. Bad luck and too many baserunning errors hurt the team. In the 2nd inning they had a leadoff double by Jonathan Greene, but that was eliminated when David Paisano, the next batter, lined into a double play. They had a walk and a single in the 4th, but nobody reached 2nd due to Paisano being picked off of 2nd. Guilder Rodriguez had a 1 out single in the 7th, but was picked off as well.

Discipline Tracking: The Riders got 2 walks on Wednesday from Jose Ruiz and Jonathan Greene, giving them 10 in their last 9 games now and 20 in their last 13 games. It also gave the team 41 walks now on the year, which is now the 2nd lowest total in minor league baseball behind the Lynchburg Hillcat's 36 walks.

Losing Streak: Frisco's 5 game losing streak is their longest since early August in 2010 when they lost 6 in a row. Dating back to last year, the Riders have now lost 7 in a row in San Antonio. Since winning 3 of the first 4 games, Frisco is now 3-12 since then and have dropped 5 series in a row. 


New Rider in Town: Infielder Travis Adair was promoted from the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (high-A) to Frisco on Wednesday. Adair, 23, was hitting .365 for Myrtle Beach with 5 doubles and 2 homeruns in 16 games. His dad is Rick Adair, who used to be a pitching coordinator for the Rangers according to the Newberg Report  Travis was drafted in the 13th round by the Atlanta Braves in the 2008 draft.

Old Time Baseball at Dr. Pepper Ballpark: If you're around the DFW area and you're looking for something to do this weekend, well come out to Dr. Pepper Ballpark on Saturday. The Riders are playing host to the Legends of Vintage Baseball Showdown. You can read more about it on the Rider's website at this link .

Around the Ranger's System:

Round Rock (AAA) had the day off. Next game is tonight on the road against the Memphis Redbirds.

Myrtle Beach (high-A) split a double header with the Potomac Nationals. They defeated Potomac 6-3 in the first game, but gave up a run in the 9th inning to lose 4-3 in the second game.

Barret Loux had his best start of the year for Myrtle Beach in game one as he went 5 innings, gave up 4 hits, 1 run (earned), did not give up a walk, and struck out 7 batters. All 4 hits were singles and Loux got 4 groundouts to 3 flyouts in the start. Leury Garcia went 2 for 4 at the plate with 2 doubles and Ryan Strausborger went 2 for 4 with 2 homeruns, 5 RBI, and 2 runs. Michael Olt went 1 for 3 with a double in the game. The Pelicans finished game 1 with 6 extra base hits.

Kennil Gomez started for Myrtle Beach in the second game and went 3 innings in the start. He gave up 6 hits, 3 runs (all earned), 3 walks, and struck out 4 batters. As if 2 homeruns wasn't enough already, Strausborger chipped in a 3rd homerun on the day in game 2 as he went 1 for 3 with 2 RBI and a walk as well. Leury Garcia went 1 for 4 in the game, while Zach Zaneski went 1 for 3. Jared Bolden went 2 for 2 with a walk in the 2nd game after going 2 for 3 with a RBI in the first game. Johan Yan took the loss after giving up a run in the 9th inning. His line was: 3 IP 3 H 1 R/ER 0 BB 3 K, so still a solid relief outing.

Hickory (low-A) gave up a run in the top of the 11th inning, but scored 2 in the bottom of the 11th to defeat the Augusta Greenjackets 3-2 in 11 innings. Matt Thompson, who had struggled with command to begin the year, made the start for Hickory and was dominant. He pitched 6 2/3 innings, gave up 3 hits, 1 walk, 1 run (earned), and struck out 10 batters in the no decision. Odubel Herrera went 2 for 4 with a double and a walk in the game for the Crawdads. The double came in the 11th and helped set up the win. Jurickson Profar went 0 for 5 at the plate with a run scored, and Teodoro Martinez went 2 for 5.

Minor League Performance of the Night: 

Jean Segura came into the year rated by Baseball America as the 3rd best prospect in the Los Angeles Angel's system behind Mike Trout (#2 in baseball) and Tyler Chatwood (MLB), and on Wednesday Segura did a little bit of everything to help the Inland Empire 66ers defeat High Desert in California League (high-A) play. Batting leadoff for Inland Empire, Segura went 3 for 6 with 2 homeruns (his first 2 of the year), 4 RBI, 2 runs, and stole 2 bases. Segura is now batting .364 with 2 homeruns, 8 steals, a .417 OBP, and a .962 OPS. He's also batting .370 over the last 10 games and is batting .450 with runners on base.

As always...

Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
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And Check Out the Riders Insider Blog for more Frisco RoughRiders info: http://ridersinsider.mlblogs.com/

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