Time: 4:00 PM CT
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (26-23 6 games back in the Texas League South)... Tulsa Drillers (25-23 1 game back in the Texas League North)
Streak: Won 2 in a row
Last 10: 5-5
Series Record: 5-7-1
2011 Record against Tulsa: 2-0
All-Time Record against Tulsa: 60-69
Record since 2004 on May 30th: 4-2 with 1 off day
Starting Pitchers: Brandon Webb (0-0 0.00 ERA) is 0-0 with a 7.00 ERA and 2.33 WHIP in 2 career starts against the Tulsa Drillers... Christian Friedrich (3-3 5.16 ERA) is 0-1 with a 9.64 ERA and 1.93 WHIP in 2 career starts against the Frisco RoughRiders
What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco sends Brandon Webb to the mound for the first time this season, while Tulsa sends Christian Friedrich to the mound for the 10th time this season in a battle of pitchers who went to colleges in Kentucky... For the first time since Opening Day 2009, Brandon Webb will be making a start in professional baseball. The 2006 National League Cy Young Award Winner and 3 time Major League All-Star, has been sidelined since his last start as he has been recovering from right shoulder surgery in August of 2009. Brandon Webb's MLB resume with the Arizona Diamondbacks was as good as almost any pitcher in baseball. He is 87-62 in his career with a 3.27 ERA and 1.24 WHIP. He won the Cy Young in 2006 after going 16-8 with a 3.10 ERA. Webb won 22 games in 2008 with a 3.30 ERA. He has a career 7.5 K/9 ratio and 2.45 K/BB ratio. He was top 2 in the Cy Young race 3 years in a row from 2006-2008, as he led the league in wins in 2 of those years and ERA+ 2 years as well. The 32 year old right handed starter signed a one year deal with Texas on December 26, 2010. He was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 8th round of the 2000 draft out of the University of Kentucky... Christian Friedrich has had an up and down 2011 season so far this year. In his last outing, Friedrich had one of the strangest pitching lines you will ever see in baseball. Friedrich lasted 1 2/3 innings against the Midland Rockhounds and gave up 7 hits, 3 walks, and 10 runs in the start with 1 strikeout. The kicker is that only 2 of the 10 runs were earned. Friedrich was not helped by his defense in that start, which committed 4 errors in the game. In the same game, Midland committed 6 errors, however, which obviously was a very sloppy game. Friedrich on the season has given up 53 hits and 15 walks with 34 strikeouts in 45 1/3 innings this season. In 6 starts on the road, Friedrich is 1-2 with a 6.91 ERA. The 23 year old southpaw was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 1st round of the 2008 draft out of Eastern Kentucky University.
Riders Win Fifth Series In May: With a 9-3 win on Sunday, Frisco guaranteed themselves of a 5th series win in the month of May to just 2 series losses. They moved to 26-23 and gained a game on San Antonio, who lost 5-1 to the Springfield Cardinals. They are also now 18-9 in the month of May, with a chance to tie the franchise high for wins in the month of May (19).
Robbie Erlin Solid in Debut: Robbie Erlin made his AA debut on Sunday for Frisco and while his line wasn't "great", he looked good on the mound. He threw low 90s on his fastball and displayed a good changeup. Robbie Erlin continued his usual season so far by allowing 2 solo homeruns in the start and finished with a line of: 6 IP 6 H 3 R/ER 1 BB 3 K. Erlin threw a lot of strikes, however, which is promising as he had 71 strikes out of 90 pitches thrown in the start. Erlin also threw 1st pitch strikes to 19 of the 25 batters he faced and went to 2 strike counts on 14 of the 25 batters he faced. His issue on Sunday was putting guys away, which he struggled with. At one point in the 2nd inning 10 of 12 pitches were fouled away. Erlin settled down eventually and finished with a solid line. And more importantly, the 20 year old southpaw still has a comfortable margin in his WHIP lead among minor league pitchers.
Greene Heating Back Up?: After hitting just 2 extra base hits in his previous 14 games before Thursday's game, Jonathan Greene has now hit 4 extra base hits in his last 3 games played. Greene went 2 for 3 with 2 doubles on Sunday, drove in 2 runs and walked as well. He now has 3 multi hit games in as many games and is batting .274 with a .782 OPS in the month of May.
Making Things Happen: Leonys Martin went 0 for 2 at the plate on Sunday, but walked twice and hit a sacrifice fly as well. He has walked 8 times over his last 10 games and 10 times total in 16 games for Frisco. He has reached base in 15 of the 16 games and has driven in a run or scored a run in 12 of the 16 games. Over the last 4 games, Martin is 6 for 12 with 4 walks, 1 RBI, and 7 runs scored. He is batting .381 (8 for 21) when behind in the count.
Mendonca Goes Yard, Strikes out: Tommy Mendonca went 1 for 3 on Sunday with a hit by pitch and his 11th homerun of the season. It was his first homerun since May 16th and his 5th in the month of May. Mendonca also struck out for the 34th time in the month of May and has struck out in 10 consecutive games and 12 out of his last 13. At the risk of sounding like Captain Obvious, Mendonca is batting .424/.457/.909/1.366 when he doesn't strikeout this season (9 games) and is batting .265/.310/.456/.766 when he does strikeout (36 games).
Last Year on This Date: Frisco lost 9-2 to the Tulsa Drillers at home. Martin Perez started for Frisco and took the loss after he gave up 8 hits, 2 walks, and 5 runs (4 earned) over 4 innings with 2 strikeouts. Brennan Garr, Ben Snyder, and Evan Reed gave up 4 runs over the final 5 innings of relief. Emerson Frostad went 2 for 4 with a homerun at the plate. Joey Butler went 2 for 4 with a double as well. Marcus Lemon, Elio Sarmiento, and Jacob Kaase each added a hit in the game.
Answer to Yesterday's Question of the Day: Carlos Delgado hit 4 homeruns in a game on September 25, 2003 for the Toronto Blue Jays against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Around the Ranger's System
Yesterday's Record: 4-0
Round Rock (AAA) scored 2 runs in the 9th inning to defeat the Iowa Cubs 9-8. Brett Tomko started for Round Rock and gave up 7 hits, 1 walk, and 5 runs (3 earned) over 2 innings with 2 strikeouts. Beau Jones pitched 4 innings of relief and gave up 4 hits, 1 walk, and 2 runs (1 earned) with 3 strikeouts. Pedro Strop got the win after pitching 1 scoreless inning of relief in the 9th inning. Chris Davis went 4 for 5 and hit a homerun for the 3rd straight game and now has a homerun in 5 of the 6 games he has played in for Round Rock since being sent down to there. He also walked in the game. Taylor Teagarden went 2 for 4 with a homerun, a double, and a walk. Joey Butler went 1 for 4 with a walk and a stolen base. Esteban German went 3 for 6 with a homerun as well.
Myrtle Beach (High-A) scored 9 runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings and won 9-3 in Justin Grimm's debut for Myrtle Beach over the Wilmington Blue Rocks. Grimm gave up just 3 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run over 6 innings with 6 strikeouts in his high-A debut. He was promoted when Erlin was promoted to Frisco. Kennil Gomez gave up 2 hits, 1 walk, and 2 unearned runs in 2 innings of relief with 1 strikeout. Trevor Hurley pitched a scoreless inning of relief as well. Mike Olt went 1 for 2 with 2 walks in the game. Santiago Chirino led the Pelicans with a 3 for 4 day including a homerun and 4 RBI. Ryan Strausborger went 1 for 3 with a walk. Zach Zaneski went 1 for 3 with a RBI and a walk. Mitch Hilligoss and Leury Garcia each went 1 for 4 with 2 RBI a piece. Jared Hoying had 2 hits in the game as well.
Hickory (Low-A) scored a run in the 8th inning and defeated the West Virginia Power 4-3. Roman Mendez started for Hickory and gave up 6 hits, 1 walk, and 3 runs (all earned) over 6 innings with 6 strikeouts. Jorge Reyes picked up the win after giving up 3 hits over 2 shutout innings with 3 strikeouts and 0 walks. Ryan Rodebaugh pitched the 9th for his 5th save of the year. Jurickson Profar went a rare 0 for 5 in the game for Hickory. Alejandro Selen went 2 for 3 with a solo homerun for the Crawdads. Kellin Deglan also had 2 hits in 4 at bats with a double and 2 RBI. Odubel Herrera went 1 for 4 with a double at the plate. Christian Villanueva and Jake Skole each added a hit as well. Hickory went up against last year's #2 overall pick Jameson Taillon who gave up 2 hits, 0 walks, and 1 run over 5 innings with 4 strikeouts against the Crawdads. Taillon now has a 3.10 ERA and 24 strikeouts to 4 walks over 29 innings with 28 hits given up this season in the South Atlantic League.
Minor League Performance of the Day
We've talked about it quite a bit here, but pitching in the California League is never an easy task, especially when you're a pitcher that can struggle with command at times. However, on Sunday the San Jose Giant's Zack Wheeler continued his very nice season by making it look very easy. Wheeler gave up just 3 hits and 1 walk over 7 shutout innings with a season high 12 strikeouts against the Stockton Ports in San Jose's 2-0 win. Wheeler faced the Oakland Athletic's 2010 1st round pick and Fort Worth, TX native Michael Choice and got Choice to strikeout twice swinging before Wheeler also hit him. On the season, Zack Wheeler is 4-2 with a 3.70 ERA and has given up 36 hits and 25 walks in 48 2/3 innings with 62 strikeouts. The 21 year old right handed pitcher was taken 6th overall by the San Francisco Giants in the 2009 draft. He was rated by Baseball America as the #2 prospect in San Francisco's system entering 2011 and was rated by Baseball America as the #55 best prospect in baseball entering 2011.
As always...
Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
Follow the Game Online at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/scoreboard/league.jsp?sid=milb&lid=109
Follow Us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/pressboxchatter
Follow the Extra Bases Live Blog throughout the Game at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/page.jsp?ymd=20100305&content_id=8685092&vkey=multimedia_t540&fext=.jsp&sid=t540
And Check Out the Riders Insider Blog for more Frisco RoughRiders info: http://ridersinsider.mlblogs.com/
Monday, May 30, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Game 48: Tulsa Drillers (Josh Sullivan) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Carlos Pimentel)--- TV GAME---
Time: 7:00 PM CT
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (24-23 7 games back in the Texas League South)... Tulsa Drillers (25-21 1st place in the Texas League North)
Streak: Lost 1 in a row
Last 10: 5-5
Series Record: 5-7-1
2011 Record against Tulsa: 0-0
All-Time Record against Tulsa Drillers: 58-69
Record since 2004 on May 28th: 4-1 with one rain out and off day
Starting Pitchers: Carlos Pimentel (1-3 4.50 ERA) is making his first career start against the Tulsa Drillers... Josh Sullivan (1-2 5.01 ERA) is making his first career start against the Frisco RoughRiders
What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco sends Carlos Pimentel to the mound for the 10th time this season, while Tulsa sends Josh Sullivan to the mound for his 9th appearance and 7th start in the first game of a 3 game set.. Carlos Pimentel will be making his second start in a TV game this season. In his last TV game appearance, Pimentel took the loss after he gave up 5 hits, 2 walks, and 3 runs (2 earned) with 3 strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings pitched. In Pimentel's last outing on the season, he gave up 7 hits and 2 walks over 6 shutout innings against the San Antonio Missions with 3 strikeouts. He received a no decision in the start, which was arguably his best of the season. Over Pimentel's last 6 starts since his last TV game appearance, he is 1-0 with a 3.06 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. On the season, Carlos has given up 48 hits and 20 walks with 35 strikeouts over 44 innings pitched. He has gone 6 starts without a loss after going 0-4 in his first 4 career starts for Frisco... Josh Sullivan will be pitching instead of Juan Nicasio, who was scheduled to pitch before he was promoted to the major league club (Colorado Rockies). Sullivan began the season as a starter for Tulsa as he made 6 starts to begin the year. In those 6 starts, Sullivan gave up 28 hits and 16 walks over 25 1/3 innings with 15 strikeouts as he went 0-2 with a 5.33 ERA. As a reliever he's been better as he has given up 7 hits and 3 walks with 4 strikeouts in 7 innings, posting a 1-0 record and 3.86 ERA in 2 appearances. In his last outing, Sullivan gave up 4 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run in 3 innings of relief with 3 strikeouts against the Springfield Cardinals. In Sullivan's last start he gave up 3 hits and 4 walks in 4 2/3 shutout innings with 2 strikeouts. The 26 year old right handed pitcher was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 5th round of the 2005 draft. Josh Sullivan has dealt with major injury problems throughout his career. He missed nearly all of the 2008 season, as well as the entire 2009 season with Tommy John Surgery. He began last season in extended spring training and finished the year in high-A Modesto (California League).
Riders Fall to Northwest Arkansas: Frisco never seemed to be in the game from the beginning. They were down 2-0 after the top of the 1st inning, and despite scoring a run in their half of the 1st, they never seemed to have a response. Frisco trailed 2-1 after the 1st, 3-1 after the 3rd, and 5-1 after the 4th inning. They seemed to catch momentum in the 4th inning, before a baserunning blunder by Tommy Mendonca killed the rally. Frisco then trailed 7-1 after 7 innings and a 3 run 8th inning never really threatened the lead too much. Frisco fell 7-4 to the Naturals, but didn't lose a game on San Antonio as the entire Texas League South lost on Friday. Frisco is now 16-9 in the month of May, but are 2-5 in their last 7 games.
Jake Brigham Struggles, Gets Ejected: For the second start in a row, Jake Brigham struggled on the mound for Frisco. He gave up 7 hits and 3 walks over 5+ innings, gave up 5 runs (4 earned), and struck out 3 before getting ejected by home plate umpire Seth Buckminster for arguing balls and strikes after a 0 out walk to Kurt Mertins. Brigham has given up 9 hits and 7 walks in his last 2 starts spanning 6 2/3 innings.
Leonys Martin Strikes Again: Leonys Martin was all over the field on Friday night as he went 3 for 5 with 3 singles, a stolen base, and 2 runs scored. The day raised his average to .339 on the season and the steal was his 8th of the year in just in 14 games. He was lifted for pinch runner Travis Adair, however, in the 9th inning after he seemed to have hurt himself on a swing and miss in his final at bat before he then lined a single to right field. It may have just been pre-cautionary, however, as he is slated to start today.
Top of the Order Production: Along with Martin's day, Renny Osuna and Jose Ruiz had outstanding days as well. The top of the order combined to go 8 for 14, accounting for 8 of Frisco's 11 hits in the game. Renny Osuna went 2 for 5, including a double, RBI, and run scored. He also was robbed of a hit in the 9th inning by second baseman Kurt Mertins, who made a diving catch in the outfield to end the game. Jose Ruiz had a 3 for 4 day with 3 doubles and 2 RBI. Ruiz has 8 extra base hits in his last 10 games, including 6 doubles, as he is batting .400 with a 1.142 OPS over the stretch.
Another Multi-Hit Game: Davis Stoneburner went 2 for 3 with a walk on Friday, which marked his 6th multi hit game over his last 10 games. Over the time, he's batting .436 with a 1.079 OPS. Before the last 10 games, he had 2 multi hit games in his previous 26 games this season.
Kurt Mertins' Game: As mentioned before, Mertins made a great catch in the outfield to end the game. He also had a terrific game at the plate as he finished a triple short of the cycle. Mertins went 4 for 4 with a double, homerun, 3 RBI, and a walk for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals.
First Look at the Tulsa Drillers: Due to the way the Texas League works out, this will be the first time that Frisco and Tulsa will play each other and the first of only 6 games at Dr. Pepper Ballpark between the two teams (same with the rest of the Texas League North teams).
Players Of Note:
- Outfielder Tim Wheeler has been the Tulsa Driller's best hitter to date this season as he leads the team with a 1.045 OPS. Wheeler has hit 14 homeruns and driven in 45 runs over 46 games with a team best 119 total bases. Wheeler was taken by the Rockies in the 1st round (supplemental) of the 2009 draft out of Sacramento State University. He was rated the 7th best prospect entering 2010 in the Rockies' system by Baseball America, but fell to 21st after a dismal 2010 season in the California League where Wheeler hit just .249 with a .725 OPS in what is considered a great league for hitters.
- Catcher Willin Rosario finished last season on the DL when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in early August. But, he made enough of an impact last year to rise up the prospect charts. The then 21 year old catcher hit .285 with 19 homeruns in 270 at bats and posted an .894 OPS over 73 games for the Tulsa Drillers. So far this season, the 22 year old Dominican Republic Native is batting .265 with 7 homeruns and a .786 OPS in 136 at bats. He was signed in 2006 as an international free agent and was listed as the #2 prospect in the Colorado Rockie's organization entering the 2011 season.
- Reliever Casey Weathers has struggled this year (14 appearances 6.08 ERA, 11 walks in 13 1/3 innings), but he is one of the higher upside arms in the Rockie's system. Selected in the 1st round of the 2007 draft out of Vanderbilt, Weathers missed the entire 2009 season after going through Tommy John Surgery, like Sullivan. Weathers pitched in short season A ball in 2010 and made his way up to Modesto last season.
TV Game: Today's game between Frisco and Corpus Christi will be shown on TXA 21 beginning at 7:00 PM. The broadcast will be with Aaron Goldsmith, Frisco's radio broadcaster, and Jason Cole, who runs the Lonestar Dugout, a website dedicated to the Texas Ranger's minor league system. It is the second TV game of the season. There will be 8 more this season after tonight. You can learn more about the schedule on the Radio & TV section of the Frisco RoughRiders website.
Last Year on this Date: Frisco defeated the Northwest Arkansas Naturals 3-1 at home. Richard Bleier started and received the win after he gave up 4 hits, 2 walks, and 1 run over 6 innings with 6 strikeouts. Warner Madrigal picked up the save, his 1st of the season, with 2 scoreless innings of relief. Emerson Frostad led the team with 2 hits in the game, as well as 2 RBI. Renny Osuna went 1 for 3 with a run scored. Matt Lawson finished 1 for 2 with a walk as well. Joey Butler, Elio Sarmiento, and Guilder Rodriguez each added a hit of their own. Butler also walked twice in the game.
Answer to Yesterday's Question of the Day: Jimmy Ryan hit for the cycle on July 28th, 1988 and later pitched in the game for the Chicago Cubs, who beat the Detroit Wolverines 21-17 on the day.
Around the Ranger's System
Yesterday's Record: 2-2
Round Rock (AAA) scored 3 runs in the 5th inning and defeated the Iowa Cubs 3-1 on Friday night. Zach Jackson started for Round Rock and won the battle of the Jacksons (Jay Jackson pitched for the Iowa Cubs). Zach Jackson gave up 6 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run over 7 innings without a strikeout. Cody Eppley, Zach Phillips, and Ryan Tucker each pitched 2/3 of an inning of scoreless relief. Esteban German led Round Rock in hits with 2 in the game. Doug Deeds was the only Express hitter without a hit in the game. Chad Tracy finished the game 1 for 3 with a walk. Chris Davis went 1 for 4 with his 7th homerun of the season and 2 RBI in the game.
Myrtle Beach (High-A) scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning and beat the Wilmington Blue Rocks 3-2. Wilfredo Boscan started for Myrtle Beach and gave up 3 hits, 2 walks, and 1 run over 5 2/3 innings with 3 strikeouts. Joe Ortiz picked up the win in relief after he gave up 1 hit and 1 run with 3 strikeouts and 0 walks over 3 innings pitched. Ryan Kelly pitched the final out for his 6th save. Mike Olt went 2 for 4 with a double and 2 RBI for Myrtle Beach. Jared Bolden went 2 for 3 with 2 doubles and a walk for the Pelicans. Zach Zaneski added a double as his hit in the game, while Jared Prince and Santiago Chirino each added a hit as well.
Hickory (Low-A) gave up 2 runs in the 7th and 8th innings to fall to the Charleston RiverDogs 6-4. Cody Buckel started for Hickory and gave up 3 hits and 2 runs with 5 strikeouts and 0 walks over 4 2/3 innings pitched. Ben Rowen took the loss after giving up 4 hits and 4 runs (3 earned) over 3 innings pitched with 3 strikeouts. Jorge Marban and Ben Henry each pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Jurickson Profar went 2 for 5 with his 2nd homerun in as many days. Teodoro Martinez also hit his 2nd homerun in 2 games as he went 2 for 3 in the game with a sac bunt. Jake Skole went 0 for 2 with 2 walks in the game. He now has 23 walks in 41 games this year for Hickory. Alejandro Selen went 1 for 4 with a double. Jonathan Roof and Tomas Telis each had a hit in the game for the Crawdads as well.
Minor League Performance of the Day
Today he is a member of the Texas League, but yesterday Shelby Miller was focusing on dominating hitters in the Florida State League. The Palm Beach Cardinal's right handed pitcher gave up just 3 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run over 7 innings while piling up 12 strikeouts in Palm Beach's 3-2 loss to the Lakeland Flying Tigers. Shelby Miller found out today that he had been promoted by the St. Louis Cardinals from Palm Beach to Springfield and said so on his twitter account (@shelbymiller19). So far on the season, Miller has given up 40 hits and 20 walks over 53 innings with 81 strikeouts. He went 2-3 with a 2.89 ERA in the Florida State League. Miller, a Brownwood, TX native, was selected with the 19th overall pick by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2009 MLB draft. He was rated as the #1 prospect in the St. Louis Cardinals organization by Baseball America entering the 2011 season. He was also listed as the 13th best prospect in baseball by Baseball America.
As always...
Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
Station to Watch the Game on: TXA 21
Follow the Game Online at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/scoreboard/league.jsp?sid=milb&lid=109
Follow Us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/pressboxchatterFollow the Extra Bases Live Blog throughout the Game at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/page.jsp?ymd=20100305&content_id=8685092&vkey=multimedia_t540&fext=.jsp&sid=t540
And Check Out the Riders Insider Blog for more Frisco RoughRiders info: http://ridersinsider.mlblogs.com/
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (24-23 7 games back in the Texas League South)... Tulsa Drillers (25-21 1st place in the Texas League North)
Streak: Lost 1 in a row
Last 10: 5-5
Series Record: 5-7-1
2011 Record against Tulsa: 0-0
All-Time Record against Tulsa Drillers: 58-69
Record since 2004 on May 28th: 4-1 with one rain out and off day
Starting Pitchers: Carlos Pimentel (1-3 4.50 ERA) is making his first career start against the Tulsa Drillers... Josh Sullivan (1-2 5.01 ERA) is making his first career start against the Frisco RoughRiders
What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco sends Carlos Pimentel to the mound for the 10th time this season, while Tulsa sends Josh Sullivan to the mound for his 9th appearance and 7th start in the first game of a 3 game set.. Carlos Pimentel will be making his second start in a TV game this season. In his last TV game appearance, Pimentel took the loss after he gave up 5 hits, 2 walks, and 3 runs (2 earned) with 3 strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings pitched. In Pimentel's last outing on the season, he gave up 7 hits and 2 walks over 6 shutout innings against the San Antonio Missions with 3 strikeouts. He received a no decision in the start, which was arguably his best of the season. Over Pimentel's last 6 starts since his last TV game appearance, he is 1-0 with a 3.06 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. On the season, Carlos has given up 48 hits and 20 walks with 35 strikeouts over 44 innings pitched. He has gone 6 starts without a loss after going 0-4 in his first 4 career starts for Frisco... Josh Sullivan will be pitching instead of Juan Nicasio, who was scheduled to pitch before he was promoted to the major league club (Colorado Rockies). Sullivan began the season as a starter for Tulsa as he made 6 starts to begin the year. In those 6 starts, Sullivan gave up 28 hits and 16 walks over 25 1/3 innings with 15 strikeouts as he went 0-2 with a 5.33 ERA. As a reliever he's been better as he has given up 7 hits and 3 walks with 4 strikeouts in 7 innings, posting a 1-0 record and 3.86 ERA in 2 appearances. In his last outing, Sullivan gave up 4 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run in 3 innings of relief with 3 strikeouts against the Springfield Cardinals. In Sullivan's last start he gave up 3 hits and 4 walks in 4 2/3 shutout innings with 2 strikeouts. The 26 year old right handed pitcher was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 5th round of the 2005 draft. Josh Sullivan has dealt with major injury problems throughout his career. He missed nearly all of the 2008 season, as well as the entire 2009 season with Tommy John Surgery. He began last season in extended spring training and finished the year in high-A Modesto (California League).
Riders Fall to Northwest Arkansas: Frisco never seemed to be in the game from the beginning. They were down 2-0 after the top of the 1st inning, and despite scoring a run in their half of the 1st, they never seemed to have a response. Frisco trailed 2-1 after the 1st, 3-1 after the 3rd, and 5-1 after the 4th inning. They seemed to catch momentum in the 4th inning, before a baserunning blunder by Tommy Mendonca killed the rally. Frisco then trailed 7-1 after 7 innings and a 3 run 8th inning never really threatened the lead too much. Frisco fell 7-4 to the Naturals, but didn't lose a game on San Antonio as the entire Texas League South lost on Friday. Frisco is now 16-9 in the month of May, but are 2-5 in their last 7 games.
Jake Brigham Struggles, Gets Ejected: For the second start in a row, Jake Brigham struggled on the mound for Frisco. He gave up 7 hits and 3 walks over 5+ innings, gave up 5 runs (4 earned), and struck out 3 before getting ejected by home plate umpire Seth Buckminster for arguing balls and strikes after a 0 out walk to Kurt Mertins. Brigham has given up 9 hits and 7 walks in his last 2 starts spanning 6 2/3 innings.
Leonys Martin Strikes Again: Leonys Martin was all over the field on Friday night as he went 3 for 5 with 3 singles, a stolen base, and 2 runs scored. The day raised his average to .339 on the season and the steal was his 8th of the year in just in 14 games. He was lifted for pinch runner Travis Adair, however, in the 9th inning after he seemed to have hurt himself on a swing and miss in his final at bat before he then lined a single to right field. It may have just been pre-cautionary, however, as he is slated to start today.
Top of the Order Production: Along with Martin's day, Renny Osuna and Jose Ruiz had outstanding days as well. The top of the order combined to go 8 for 14, accounting for 8 of Frisco's 11 hits in the game. Renny Osuna went 2 for 5, including a double, RBI, and run scored. He also was robbed of a hit in the 9th inning by second baseman Kurt Mertins, who made a diving catch in the outfield to end the game. Jose Ruiz had a 3 for 4 day with 3 doubles and 2 RBI. Ruiz has 8 extra base hits in his last 10 games, including 6 doubles, as he is batting .400 with a 1.142 OPS over the stretch.
Another Multi-Hit Game: Davis Stoneburner went 2 for 3 with a walk on Friday, which marked his 6th multi hit game over his last 10 games. Over the time, he's batting .436 with a 1.079 OPS. Before the last 10 games, he had 2 multi hit games in his previous 26 games this season.
Kurt Mertins' Game: As mentioned before, Mertins made a great catch in the outfield to end the game. He also had a terrific game at the plate as he finished a triple short of the cycle. Mertins went 4 for 4 with a double, homerun, 3 RBI, and a walk for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals.
First Look at the Tulsa Drillers: Due to the way the Texas League works out, this will be the first time that Frisco and Tulsa will play each other and the first of only 6 games at Dr. Pepper Ballpark between the two teams (same with the rest of the Texas League North teams).
Players Of Note:
- Outfielder Tim Wheeler has been the Tulsa Driller's best hitter to date this season as he leads the team with a 1.045 OPS. Wheeler has hit 14 homeruns and driven in 45 runs over 46 games with a team best 119 total bases. Wheeler was taken by the Rockies in the 1st round (supplemental) of the 2009 draft out of Sacramento State University. He was rated the 7th best prospect entering 2010 in the Rockies' system by Baseball America, but fell to 21st after a dismal 2010 season in the California League where Wheeler hit just .249 with a .725 OPS in what is considered a great league for hitters.
- Catcher Willin Rosario finished last season on the DL when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in early August. But, he made enough of an impact last year to rise up the prospect charts. The then 21 year old catcher hit .285 with 19 homeruns in 270 at bats and posted an .894 OPS over 73 games for the Tulsa Drillers. So far this season, the 22 year old Dominican Republic Native is batting .265 with 7 homeruns and a .786 OPS in 136 at bats. He was signed in 2006 as an international free agent and was listed as the #2 prospect in the Colorado Rockie's organization entering the 2011 season.
- Reliever Casey Weathers has struggled this year (14 appearances 6.08 ERA, 11 walks in 13 1/3 innings), but he is one of the higher upside arms in the Rockie's system. Selected in the 1st round of the 2007 draft out of Vanderbilt, Weathers missed the entire 2009 season after going through Tommy John Surgery, like Sullivan. Weathers pitched in short season A ball in 2010 and made his way up to Modesto last season.
TV Game: Today's game between Frisco and Corpus Christi will be shown on TXA 21 beginning at 7:00 PM. The broadcast will be with Aaron Goldsmith, Frisco's radio broadcaster, and Jason Cole, who runs the Lonestar Dugout, a website dedicated to the Texas Ranger's minor league system. It is the second TV game of the season. There will be 8 more this season after tonight. You can learn more about the schedule on the Radio & TV section of the Frisco RoughRiders website.
Last Year on this Date: Frisco defeated the Northwest Arkansas Naturals 3-1 at home. Richard Bleier started and received the win after he gave up 4 hits, 2 walks, and 1 run over 6 innings with 6 strikeouts. Warner Madrigal picked up the save, his 1st of the season, with 2 scoreless innings of relief. Emerson Frostad led the team with 2 hits in the game, as well as 2 RBI. Renny Osuna went 1 for 3 with a run scored. Matt Lawson finished 1 for 2 with a walk as well. Joey Butler, Elio Sarmiento, and Guilder Rodriguez each added a hit of their own. Butler also walked twice in the game.
Answer to Yesterday's Question of the Day: Jimmy Ryan hit for the cycle on July 28th, 1988 and later pitched in the game for the Chicago Cubs, who beat the Detroit Wolverines 21-17 on the day.
Around the Ranger's System
Yesterday's Record: 2-2
Round Rock (AAA) scored 3 runs in the 5th inning and defeated the Iowa Cubs 3-1 on Friday night. Zach Jackson started for Round Rock and won the battle of the Jacksons (Jay Jackson pitched for the Iowa Cubs). Zach Jackson gave up 6 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run over 7 innings without a strikeout. Cody Eppley, Zach Phillips, and Ryan Tucker each pitched 2/3 of an inning of scoreless relief. Esteban German led Round Rock in hits with 2 in the game. Doug Deeds was the only Express hitter without a hit in the game. Chad Tracy finished the game 1 for 3 with a walk. Chris Davis went 1 for 4 with his 7th homerun of the season and 2 RBI in the game.
Myrtle Beach (High-A) scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning and beat the Wilmington Blue Rocks 3-2. Wilfredo Boscan started for Myrtle Beach and gave up 3 hits, 2 walks, and 1 run over 5 2/3 innings with 3 strikeouts. Joe Ortiz picked up the win in relief after he gave up 1 hit and 1 run with 3 strikeouts and 0 walks over 3 innings pitched. Ryan Kelly pitched the final out for his 6th save. Mike Olt went 2 for 4 with a double and 2 RBI for Myrtle Beach. Jared Bolden went 2 for 3 with 2 doubles and a walk for the Pelicans. Zach Zaneski added a double as his hit in the game, while Jared Prince and Santiago Chirino each added a hit as well.
Hickory (Low-A) gave up 2 runs in the 7th and 8th innings to fall to the Charleston RiverDogs 6-4. Cody Buckel started for Hickory and gave up 3 hits and 2 runs with 5 strikeouts and 0 walks over 4 2/3 innings pitched. Ben Rowen took the loss after giving up 4 hits and 4 runs (3 earned) over 3 innings pitched with 3 strikeouts. Jorge Marban and Ben Henry each pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Jurickson Profar went 2 for 5 with his 2nd homerun in as many days. Teodoro Martinez also hit his 2nd homerun in 2 games as he went 2 for 3 in the game with a sac bunt. Jake Skole went 0 for 2 with 2 walks in the game. He now has 23 walks in 41 games this year for Hickory. Alejandro Selen went 1 for 4 with a double. Jonathan Roof and Tomas Telis each had a hit in the game for the Crawdads as well.
Minor League Performance of the Day
Today he is a member of the Texas League, but yesterday Shelby Miller was focusing on dominating hitters in the Florida State League. The Palm Beach Cardinal's right handed pitcher gave up just 3 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run over 7 innings while piling up 12 strikeouts in Palm Beach's 3-2 loss to the Lakeland Flying Tigers. Shelby Miller found out today that he had been promoted by the St. Louis Cardinals from Palm Beach to Springfield and said so on his twitter account (@shelbymiller19). So far on the season, Miller has given up 40 hits and 20 walks over 53 innings with 81 strikeouts. He went 2-3 with a 2.89 ERA in the Florida State League. Miller, a Brownwood, TX native, was selected with the 19th overall pick by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2009 MLB draft. He was rated as the #1 prospect in the St. Louis Cardinals organization by Baseball America entering the 2011 season. He was also listed as the 13th best prospect in baseball by Baseball America.
As always...
Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
Station to Watch the Game on: TXA 21
Follow the Game Online at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/scoreboard/league.jsp?sid=milb&lid=109
Follow Us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/pressboxchatterFollow the Extra Bases Live Blog throughout the Game at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/page.jsp?ymd=20100305&content_id=8685092&vkey=multimedia_t540&fext=.jsp&sid=t540
And Check Out the Riders Insider Blog for more Frisco RoughRiders info: http://ridersinsider.mlblogs.com/
Friday, May 27, 2011
Game 47: Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Zach Miner) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Jake Brigham)
Time: 7:00 PM CT
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (24-22 7 games back in the Texas League South)... Northwest Arkansas Naturals (22-19 1st place in the Texas League North)
Streak: Won 1 in a row
Last 10: 6-4
Series Record: 5-6-1
Record against Northwest Arkansas: 1-1
All time Record against Northwest Arkansas: 65-65
Record since 2004 on May 27th: 5-1 with one off day
Starting Pitchers: Jake Brigham (2-3 4.56 ERA) is making his first career start against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals... Zach Miner (0-1 4.50 ERA) is also making his first career start against the Frisco RoughRiders.
What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco sends Jake Brigham out to the mound for the 10th time this season, while Northwest Arkansas sends Zach Miner out to the mound for the 3rd time this season in the rubber match of a 3 game set... Jake Brigham had his worst start of the season last time out when he gave up 2 hits, 4 walks, and 5 runs (all earned) in just 1 2/3 innings with 2 strikeouts. The model of consistency on Frisco, it was the first time Brigham hadn't gone at least 5 innings in a start and the first time he had given up more than 3 earned runs in a start. Still, Brigham has put together a pretty solid year otherwise as he has given up 40 hits and 19 walks in 47 1/3 innings with 46 strikeouts. He has struck out at least 6 batters in 5 of his 9 starts to this point. Brigham's 2.42 K/BB ratio is currently 2nd on the team among the starters with more than 1 start. Richard Bleier leads Frisco with a 4.333 K/BB ratio. Even with the bad outing last outing, Brigham still is 1-2 with a 3.95 ERA in 5 May starts. Opponents have hit just .225 against him this season, including a .207 batting average from right handed batters... Zach Miner will be making his 3rd start for the Naturals. He went just 2 innings in his last outing, but gave up 2 hits, 3 walks, and 1 run in the start with 2 strikeouts against the Arkansas Travelers. Miner missed all of the 2010 season with a right elbow injury, which required surgery last May. In 157 career games (35 starts) in the major leagues, Miner is 25-20 with a 4.24 ERA. The 29 year old last pitched in 2009 when he appeared in 51 games for the Detroit Tigers and went 7-5 with a 4.29 ERA. He was drafted by the Braves in the 4th round of the 2000 draft.
Frisco Shuts Out Naturals: Frisco won 3-0 on Thursday afternoon to move to 24-22 on the season and are now 7 back of the San Antonio Missions. Frisco got help from Robbie Diaz, who played in hsi first game since being send down from AAA. Diaz homered to left field to extend the Riders lead from 1-0 to 2-0 and another run was added to give just a bit more cushion. Frisco got a strong start from Martin Perez and Fabio Castillo got his 2nd save of the year.
Martin Perez Strong in Start: For the fourth start in a row and 5th out of 6 starts, Martin Perez worked at least 6 innings in a start. Perez moved to 2-0 on the season after he gave up 5 hits, 2 walks, and struck out 5 batters over 7 shutout innings. In the process he also passed current Chicago White Sox southpaw John Danks for 2nd place on the all time Frisco RoughRider strikeout list with 168 career strikeouts. Perez now trails only Thomas Diamond in strikeouts, who accumulated 310 over parts of 4 seasons with Frisco. Martin Perez has now given up 18 hits, 11 walks, and 2 earned runs over his last 26 2/3 innings pitched over 4 starts and is 1-0 with a 1.47 ERA in 5 starts in the month of May. Among the 50 pitchers with at least 10 starts this season in minor league baseball, Martin Perez is tied with Hayden Simpson of the Peoria Chiefs (Low-A Midwest League) for the fewest decisions with 2.
The Other Martin: Leonys Martin went 1 for 2 in the game with a hit that he turned into a double, a sac bunt, and a hit by pitch. He is now batting .315 with a .393 OBP%, .537 SLG%, .930 OPS, and has 8 extra base hits in 12 games, including 5 doubles. He also has 6 walks to 2 strikeouts on the year.
Stoneburner Keeps Hitting: Davis Stoneburner went 2 for 4 with a RBI double in Thursday's win, which put the Riders on top 1-0 in the first inning and ended up being the difference in the game. It was the 4th game in his last 5 games that Stoneburner has driven in a run, and he now has 6 extra base hits in his last 10 games. During those 10 games, Stoneburner is batting .410 (16 for 39) with a 1.092 OPS.
New Frisco RoughRider: The Texas Rangers announced they will be promoting left handed pitcher Robbie Erlin from Myrtle Beach to Frisco. There had been speculation lately that he and/or Joe Wieland would be promoted given how well both have been doing in Myrtle Beach this season. Robbie Erlin will start for Frisco on Sunday afternoon for his first AA start. For Myrtle Beach this season, Erlin is 3-2 with a 2.14 ERA in 9 starts. He has given up just 25 hits and 5 walks in 54 2/3 innings with 62 strikeouts for the Pelicans. He didn't walk more than 1 batter in any of his 9 starts. Right handed hitters hit just .106 against Erlin. He has the lowest WHIP of any pitcher in minor league baseball this season with a 0.55 WHIP. The next closest is A.J. Griffin of the Burlington Bees (Low-A Midwest League)/Stockton Ports (High-A California League) with a 0.75 WHIP.
Last Year on this Date: Frisco defeated Northwest Arkansas 8-5 at home as the Riders pounded out 15 hits. Tanner Roark started for Frisco and gave up 6 hits, 0 walks, and 5 runs over 5 2/3 innings with 6 strikeouts. Ben Snyder picked up the win, his first of the year, as Josh Lueke, Snyder, and Cody Eppley combined for 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. Emerson Frostad, Taylor Teagarden, and James Tomlin each had 3 hits in the game. Matt Lawson and Wes Bankston each added 2 hits a piece as well. Lawson hit his 3rd homerun of the year at the time. The RoughRiders accumulated 7 extra base hits in the game and got RBIs from 6 different players.
Answer to Yesterday's Question of the Day: Alex Carrasquel, who made his debut on April 23, 1939 for the Washington Senators. He would pitch over 8 seasons and finished with a 50-39 record and 3.73 ERA.
Around the Ranger's System
Yesterday's Record: 4-0
Round Rock (AAA) gave up 3 runs in the 9th inning, but held on to win 6-5 over the Reno Aces. Neil Ramirez started for Round Rock and received a no decision after he gave up 4 hits, 4 walks, and 2 runs over 4 innings with 3 strikeouts. Yhency Brazoban got the win after pitching a scoreless inning of relief. Justin Miller, Zach Phillips, Mark Hamburger, and Pedro Strop each pitched 1 inning of relief as well. Mark Hamburger struck out 2 in his perfect inning of relief. Strop gave up 5 hits and 3 runs with 1 strikeout in his inning of relief. Matt Kata led Round Rock's offense with a 3 for 5 day, including 2 doubles and 2 RBI. Chris Davis went 1 for 3 with 1 RBI for the Express, while Chad Tracy went 1 for 3 with 2 RBI. Joey Butler finished with a 0 for 4 day, including 2 strikeouts.
Myrtle Beach (High-A) scored 2 runs in the 8th inning to defeat the Salem Red Sox 5-4. Robbie Ross started for Myrtle Beach and gave up 5 hits, 3 walks, and 4 runs (all earned) over 6 1/3 innings with 7 strikeouts. Johan Yan got the win in the game after pitching 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, while Zach Osborne picked up his 2nd save of the season. Mike Olt went 1 for 3 with his 8th homerun of the season and a walk. Ryan Strausborger went 1 for 4 at the plate as well for the Pelicans with a double. Former Riders David Paisano and Mitch Hilligoss each had a hit in the game as well. Jared Prince, Santiago Chirino, and Leury Garcia added a hit in the game, too .
Hickory (Low-A) scored 4 runs in the 6th inning and won 6-4 over the Charleston River Dogs for their 3rd win in a row and 4th in 5 games. Luke Jackson started for Hickory and gave up 3 hits and 4 walks with 5 strikeouts over 3 1/3 shutout innings. Colby Killian picked up his 4th win of the season after giving up 3 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs over 2 2/3 innings pitched with 2 strikeouts. Ryan Rodebaugh got his 4th save of the season with 1/3 scoreless inning of relief in the 9th inning. Jurickson Profar went 1 for 4 with his 5th homerun for Hickory. He is now batting .304 with a .979 OPS and 15 extra base hits over the last month. Josh Richmond went 2 for 3 with his 5th homerun for the Crawdads and walked as well. Jake Skole went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI, while Teodoro Martinez also added 2 hits, including his first homerun of the season. Tomas Telis went 0 for 3 with a walk and Andrew Clark and Alejandro Selen each added a hit.
Minor League Performance of the Day
Darin Gorski has been a strikeout machine so far this season and on Thursday he added to his outstanding strikeout total. In the St. Lucie Met's 5-1 win over the Dunedin Blue Jays in Florida State League play, Gorski gave up just 3 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run (a solo homerun) over 7 2/3 innings while he struck out 13 batters Of the 13 strikeouts, 8 were looking, including 5 of his last 7 strikeouts over the final 2 2/3 innings. On the season, Gorski is 2-0 with a 2.14 ERA and has given up 38 hits and 13 walks in 41 1/3 innings with 63 strikeouts. Darin Gorski was drafted by the New York Mets in the 7th round of the 2009 draft out of Kutztown University.
As always...
Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
Follow the Game Online at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/scoreboard/league.jsp?sid=milb&lid=109
Follow Us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/pressboxchatter
Follow the Extra Bases Live Blog throughout the Game at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/page.jsp?ymd=20100305&content_id=8685092&vkey=multimedia_t540&fext=.jsp&sid=t540
And Check Out the Riders Insider Blog for more Frisco RoughRiders info: http://ridersinsider.mlblogs.com/
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (24-22 7 games back in the Texas League South)... Northwest Arkansas Naturals (22-19 1st place in the Texas League North)
Streak: Won 1 in a row
Last 10: 6-4
Series Record: 5-6-1
Record against Northwest Arkansas: 1-1
All time Record against Northwest Arkansas: 65-65
Record since 2004 on May 27th: 5-1 with one off day
Starting Pitchers: Jake Brigham (2-3 4.56 ERA) is making his first career start against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals... Zach Miner (0-1 4.50 ERA) is also making his first career start against the Frisco RoughRiders.
What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco sends Jake Brigham out to the mound for the 10th time this season, while Northwest Arkansas sends Zach Miner out to the mound for the 3rd time this season in the rubber match of a 3 game set... Jake Brigham had his worst start of the season last time out when he gave up 2 hits, 4 walks, and 5 runs (all earned) in just 1 2/3 innings with 2 strikeouts. The model of consistency on Frisco, it was the first time Brigham hadn't gone at least 5 innings in a start and the first time he had given up more than 3 earned runs in a start. Still, Brigham has put together a pretty solid year otherwise as he has given up 40 hits and 19 walks in 47 1/3 innings with 46 strikeouts. He has struck out at least 6 batters in 5 of his 9 starts to this point. Brigham's 2.42 K/BB ratio is currently 2nd on the team among the starters with more than 1 start. Richard Bleier leads Frisco with a 4.333 K/BB ratio. Even with the bad outing last outing, Brigham still is 1-2 with a 3.95 ERA in 5 May starts. Opponents have hit just .225 against him this season, including a .207 batting average from right handed batters... Zach Miner will be making his 3rd start for the Naturals. He went just 2 innings in his last outing, but gave up 2 hits, 3 walks, and 1 run in the start with 2 strikeouts against the Arkansas Travelers. Miner missed all of the 2010 season with a right elbow injury, which required surgery last May. In 157 career games (35 starts) in the major leagues, Miner is 25-20 with a 4.24 ERA. The 29 year old last pitched in 2009 when he appeared in 51 games for the Detroit Tigers and went 7-5 with a 4.29 ERA. He was drafted by the Braves in the 4th round of the 2000 draft.
Frisco Shuts Out Naturals: Frisco won 3-0 on Thursday afternoon to move to 24-22 on the season and are now 7 back of the San Antonio Missions. Frisco got help from Robbie Diaz, who played in hsi first game since being send down from AAA. Diaz homered to left field to extend the Riders lead from 1-0 to 2-0 and another run was added to give just a bit more cushion. Frisco got a strong start from Martin Perez and Fabio Castillo got his 2nd save of the year.
Martin Perez Strong in Start: For the fourth start in a row and 5th out of 6 starts, Martin Perez worked at least 6 innings in a start. Perez moved to 2-0 on the season after he gave up 5 hits, 2 walks, and struck out 5 batters over 7 shutout innings. In the process he also passed current Chicago White Sox southpaw John Danks for 2nd place on the all time Frisco RoughRider strikeout list with 168 career strikeouts. Perez now trails only Thomas Diamond in strikeouts, who accumulated 310 over parts of 4 seasons with Frisco. Martin Perez has now given up 18 hits, 11 walks, and 2 earned runs over his last 26 2/3 innings pitched over 4 starts and is 1-0 with a 1.47 ERA in 5 starts in the month of May. Among the 50 pitchers with at least 10 starts this season in minor league baseball, Martin Perez is tied with Hayden Simpson of the Peoria Chiefs (Low-A Midwest League) for the fewest decisions with 2.
The Other Martin: Leonys Martin went 1 for 2 in the game with a hit that he turned into a double, a sac bunt, and a hit by pitch. He is now batting .315 with a .393 OBP%, .537 SLG%, .930 OPS, and has 8 extra base hits in 12 games, including 5 doubles. He also has 6 walks to 2 strikeouts on the year.
Stoneburner Keeps Hitting: Davis Stoneburner went 2 for 4 with a RBI double in Thursday's win, which put the Riders on top 1-0 in the first inning and ended up being the difference in the game. It was the 4th game in his last 5 games that Stoneburner has driven in a run, and he now has 6 extra base hits in his last 10 games. During those 10 games, Stoneburner is batting .410 (16 for 39) with a 1.092 OPS.
New Frisco RoughRider: The Texas Rangers announced they will be promoting left handed pitcher Robbie Erlin from Myrtle Beach to Frisco. There had been speculation lately that he and/or Joe Wieland would be promoted given how well both have been doing in Myrtle Beach this season. Robbie Erlin will start for Frisco on Sunday afternoon for his first AA start. For Myrtle Beach this season, Erlin is 3-2 with a 2.14 ERA in 9 starts. He has given up just 25 hits and 5 walks in 54 2/3 innings with 62 strikeouts for the Pelicans. He didn't walk more than 1 batter in any of his 9 starts. Right handed hitters hit just .106 against Erlin. He has the lowest WHIP of any pitcher in minor league baseball this season with a 0.55 WHIP. The next closest is A.J. Griffin of the Burlington Bees (Low-A Midwest League)/Stockton Ports (High-A California League) with a 0.75 WHIP.
Last Year on this Date: Frisco defeated Northwest Arkansas 8-5 at home as the Riders pounded out 15 hits. Tanner Roark started for Frisco and gave up 6 hits, 0 walks, and 5 runs over 5 2/3 innings with 6 strikeouts. Ben Snyder picked up the win, his first of the year, as Josh Lueke, Snyder, and Cody Eppley combined for 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. Emerson Frostad, Taylor Teagarden, and James Tomlin each had 3 hits in the game. Matt Lawson and Wes Bankston each added 2 hits a piece as well. Lawson hit his 3rd homerun of the year at the time. The RoughRiders accumulated 7 extra base hits in the game and got RBIs from 6 different players.
Answer to Yesterday's Question of the Day: Alex Carrasquel, who made his debut on April 23, 1939 for the Washington Senators. He would pitch over 8 seasons and finished with a 50-39 record and 3.73 ERA.
Around the Ranger's System
Yesterday's Record: 4-0
Round Rock (AAA) gave up 3 runs in the 9th inning, but held on to win 6-5 over the Reno Aces. Neil Ramirez started for Round Rock and received a no decision after he gave up 4 hits, 4 walks, and 2 runs over 4 innings with 3 strikeouts. Yhency Brazoban got the win after pitching a scoreless inning of relief. Justin Miller, Zach Phillips, Mark Hamburger, and Pedro Strop each pitched 1 inning of relief as well. Mark Hamburger struck out 2 in his perfect inning of relief. Strop gave up 5 hits and 3 runs with 1 strikeout in his inning of relief. Matt Kata led Round Rock's offense with a 3 for 5 day, including 2 doubles and 2 RBI. Chris Davis went 1 for 3 with 1 RBI for the Express, while Chad Tracy went 1 for 3 with 2 RBI. Joey Butler finished with a 0 for 4 day, including 2 strikeouts.
Myrtle Beach (High-A) scored 2 runs in the 8th inning to defeat the Salem Red Sox 5-4. Robbie Ross started for Myrtle Beach and gave up 5 hits, 3 walks, and 4 runs (all earned) over 6 1/3 innings with 7 strikeouts. Johan Yan got the win in the game after pitching 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, while Zach Osborne picked up his 2nd save of the season. Mike Olt went 1 for 3 with his 8th homerun of the season and a walk. Ryan Strausborger went 1 for 4 at the plate as well for the Pelicans with a double. Former Riders David Paisano and Mitch Hilligoss each had a hit in the game as well. Jared Prince, Santiago Chirino, and Leury Garcia added a hit in the game, too .
Hickory (Low-A) scored 4 runs in the 6th inning and won 6-4 over the Charleston River Dogs for their 3rd win in a row and 4th in 5 games. Luke Jackson started for Hickory and gave up 3 hits and 4 walks with 5 strikeouts over 3 1/3 shutout innings. Colby Killian picked up his 4th win of the season after giving up 3 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs over 2 2/3 innings pitched with 2 strikeouts. Ryan Rodebaugh got his 4th save of the season with 1/3 scoreless inning of relief in the 9th inning. Jurickson Profar went 1 for 4 with his 5th homerun for Hickory. He is now batting .304 with a .979 OPS and 15 extra base hits over the last month. Josh Richmond went 2 for 3 with his 5th homerun for the Crawdads and walked as well. Jake Skole went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI, while Teodoro Martinez also added 2 hits, including his first homerun of the season. Tomas Telis went 0 for 3 with a walk and Andrew Clark and Alejandro Selen each added a hit.
Minor League Performance of the Day
Darin Gorski has been a strikeout machine so far this season and on Thursday he added to his outstanding strikeout total. In the St. Lucie Met's 5-1 win over the Dunedin Blue Jays in Florida State League play, Gorski gave up just 3 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run (a solo homerun) over 7 2/3 innings while he struck out 13 batters Of the 13 strikeouts, 8 were looking, including 5 of his last 7 strikeouts over the final 2 2/3 innings. On the season, Gorski is 2-0 with a 2.14 ERA and has given up 38 hits and 13 walks in 41 1/3 innings with 63 strikeouts. Darin Gorski was drafted by the New York Mets in the 7th round of the 2009 draft out of Kutztown University.
As always...
Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
Follow the Game Online at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/scoreboard/league.jsp?sid=milb&lid=109
Follow Us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/pressboxchatter
Follow the Extra Bases Live Blog throughout the Game at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/page.jsp?ymd=20100305&content_id=8685092&vkey=multimedia_t540&fext=.jsp&sid=t540
And Check Out the Riders Insider Blog for more Frisco RoughRiders info: http://ridersinsider.mlblogs.com/
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Game 46: Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Will Smith) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Martin Perez)
Time: 11:00 AM CT
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (23-22 8 games back in the Texas League South)... Northwest Arkansas Naturals (22-18 1st place in the Texas League North)
Streak: Lost 1 in a row
Last 10: 5-5
Series Record: 5-6-1
Record against Northwest Arkansas: 0-1
All-Time Record against Northwest Arkansas/Wichita: 64-65
Record since 2004 on May 26th: 3-3 with 1 off day
Starting Pitchers: Martin Perez (1-0 2.31 ERA) is making his first career start against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals... Will Smith (3-4 4.91 ERA) is 0-1 with a 12.27 ERA and 3.55 WHIP in 1 career start against the Frisco RoughRiders.
What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco sends Martin Perez out to the mound for the 10th time this season, while Northwest Arkansas sends Will Smith out to the mound for the 9th time in a morning battle of southpaws... Martin Perez gave up 6 hits and 4 walks in 6 innings in his last start against the San Antonio Missions and struck out 6 batters. Perez gave up 1 unearned run in the start. This will be Martin Perez's 4th home start this season and 2nd day game of the season. Over his last three starts, Perez has given up 13 hits, 9 walks, and 3 runs (2 earned) with 20 strikeouts over 19 2/3 innings pitched. On the season, Perez has given up 37 hits and 23 walks with 48 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings. Left handed hitters are batting just .159 against Perez this year... Will Smith gave up 10 hits, 2 walks, and 6 runs (5 earned) over 6 innings with 2 strikeouts in his last outing on Saturday against the Arkansas Travelers. Smith has tended to be very good or very bad early on this year as he has 3 starts with 6 or more innings and 1 or fewer runs given up and 3 starts with 4 or less innings and 4 or more runs given up. This will be Smith's 4th start on the road and 2nd start during the day this season. On the season, Will Smith has given up 58 hits and 11 walks over 40 1/3 innings with 20 strikeouts. Opponents are batting .352 against Smith, including .385 from left handed batters. In the month of May, Smith is 2-2 with a 3.80 ERA in 4 starts.
Richard Bleier Starts Strongs, Struggles in the End: For the third start in a row, Richard Bleier gave up 9 or more hits in a start on Wednesday night. Bleier gave up 9 hits, 1 walk, and 6 runs (all earned) in 6 innings with 3 strikeouts. Bleier pitched well to begin with, breezing through the first 4 innings with just 1 hit given up. However, after gettting the first out of the 5th inning, Bleier gave up a single and committed a throwing error on a fielders choice comeback hit to him. The error opened up flood gates that led to 2 runs being scored in the inning. Bleier then gave up 3 singles in the 6th inning, which led to 1 run being scored. And finally after giving up 3 singles in a row to open the 7th inning (including 1 run), Bleier was replaced by Mike Perconte, who gave up a sacrifice fly and a double, which allowed the final 2 runs on Bleier's tally to score.
Turning into a RBI Man: Renny Osuna never seemed to be much of a run producer for the Frisco RoughRiders with 67 RBI in his career in 191 games played entering 2011. However, with a 2 RBI performance on Wednesday, Osuna now has 19 this season in 30 games, including 13 in 22 games in the month of May. He is batting .320 on the season with a .764 OPS as well.
An Extra Base Hit!: With a double in the bottom of the 3rd inning, Engel Beltre snapped a streak of 91 consecutive plate appearances without an extra base hit. His last one was a double in the 4th inning on April 10th against Arkansas. Beltre finished the game 2 for 3 with a single as well. It was his 7th multi hit game of the season.
In Other News: In case you missed the game, the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Cincinnati Reds 5-4 in 19 innings on Wednesday on ESPN 2. The game lasted 6 hours and 11 minutes and the winning pitcher was Wilson Valdez, a position player, for the Phillies. He became the first position player since 2000 to be the winning pitcher in a major league game. Former Frisco RoughRider John Mayberry Jr. started in center field for the Phillies and finished the game 2 for 4 with a RBI and walk. He came out of the game in a double switch in the 11th inning.
Last Year on this Date: Frisco defeated the Northwest Arkansas Naturals 2-1 at home. Blake Beavan started for Frisco and gave up 4 hits and 0 walks over 7 shutout innings with 5 strikeouts. Matt Harrison got the win with 2 innings of relief. Joey Butler went 1 for 2 with a homerun, 2 walks, 2 runs, and a stolen base. Taylor Teagarden and Andy Jenkins each had 2 hits in the game. James Tomlin added a hit of his own. Renny Osuna went 0 for 3 with a walk and 2 steals.
Around the Ranger's System
Yesterday's Record: 2-2
Round Rock (AAA) lost 7-2 to the Reno Aces. Seth McClung got the start for Round Rock and gave up 6 hits, 4 walks, and 5 runs (all earned) over 4 innings with 3 strikeouts. Beau Jones pitched 2 innings of scoreless relief. Ryan Tucker and Cody Eppley gave up 2 runs over 3 innings of relief. Chad Tracy went 2 for 4 with a double at the plate. Chris Davis went 1 for 4 with his 2nd homerun in 2 games. Joey Butler went 1 for 4 for the Express as well. Doug Deeds chipped in a 3 for 4 day with a double as well, while Kevin Cash added in 2 hits in 4 at bats.
Myrtle Beach (high-A) got another strong pitching performance in a 3-2 win over the Salem Red Sox. Barret Loux got the start and gave up just 3 hits and 2 walks over 6 shutout innings with 5 strikeouts. Mike Olt went 2 for 4 at the plate. Ryan Strausborger went 1 for 3 with a 2-run homerun and a walk. Mitch Hilligoss and Leury Garcia each had a hit a piece. Trevor Hurley, Joe Ortiz, and Ryan Kelly gave up 2 runs over 3 innings of relief. Kelly picked up his 5th save of the year for the Pelicans.
Hickory (low-A) shutout the Charleston Riverdogs 3-0 for their 3rd win in 4 games. Matt Thompson started for Hickory and gave up 6 hits and 0 walks over 5 1/3 shutout innings with 7 strikeouts. Joseph Van Meter and Ryan Rodebaugh pitched the other 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Jurickson Profar went 1 for 1 with 2 walks and a hit by pitch at the plate for Hickory. Tomas Telis went 2 for 3 with a walk as well at the plate. Josh Richmond went 2 for 4 with 2 doubles for the Crawdads and had 2 RBI. Christian Villanueva added a 1 for 3 day at the plate with a RBI. Kellin Deglan and Jake Skole both walked 2 times at the plate.
Minor League Performance of the Day
The Springfield Cardinal's Matt Adams has quietly (well, maybe not exactly quietly) put together a very good start to his 2011 season. On Wednesday the 22 year old slugger added to the season highlights by going 5 for 6 with a homerun, 2 RBI, and 3 runs scored in Springfield's 12-6 victory over the Corpus Christi Hooks. Adams is batting .333 with a Texas League best 14 homeruns and 43 RBI on the season. His OPS is up to 1.028 and he leads the league with 116 total bases. In the month of May, Adams is batting .356 with 17 extra base hits in 22 games, including 9 homeruns. His OPS for the month is 1.174. He was selected in the 23rd round by the St. Louis Cardinals out of little known Slippery Rock University.
As always...
Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
Follow the Game Online at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/scoreboard/league.jsp?sid=milb&lid=109
Follow Us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/pressboxchatter
Follow the Extra Bases Live Blog throughout the Game at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/page.jsp?ymd=20100305&content_id=8685092&vkey=multimedia_t540&fext=.jsp&sid=t540
And Check Out the Riders Insider Blog for more Frisco RoughRiders info: http://ridersinsider.mlblogs.com/
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (23-22 8 games back in the Texas League South)... Northwest Arkansas Naturals (22-18 1st place in the Texas League North)
Streak: Lost 1 in a row
Last 10: 5-5
Series Record: 5-6-1
Record against Northwest Arkansas: 0-1
All-Time Record against Northwest Arkansas/Wichita: 64-65
Record since 2004 on May 26th: 3-3 with 1 off day
Starting Pitchers: Martin Perez (1-0 2.31 ERA) is making his first career start against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals... Will Smith (3-4 4.91 ERA) is 0-1 with a 12.27 ERA and 3.55 WHIP in 1 career start against the Frisco RoughRiders.
What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco sends Martin Perez out to the mound for the 10th time this season, while Northwest Arkansas sends Will Smith out to the mound for the 9th time in a morning battle of southpaws... Martin Perez gave up 6 hits and 4 walks in 6 innings in his last start against the San Antonio Missions and struck out 6 batters. Perez gave up 1 unearned run in the start. This will be Martin Perez's 4th home start this season and 2nd day game of the season. Over his last three starts, Perez has given up 13 hits, 9 walks, and 3 runs (2 earned) with 20 strikeouts over 19 2/3 innings pitched. On the season, Perez has given up 37 hits and 23 walks with 48 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings. Left handed hitters are batting just .159 against Perez this year... Will Smith gave up 10 hits, 2 walks, and 6 runs (5 earned) over 6 innings with 2 strikeouts in his last outing on Saturday against the Arkansas Travelers. Smith has tended to be very good or very bad early on this year as he has 3 starts with 6 or more innings and 1 or fewer runs given up and 3 starts with 4 or less innings and 4 or more runs given up. This will be Smith's 4th start on the road and 2nd start during the day this season. On the season, Will Smith has given up 58 hits and 11 walks over 40 1/3 innings with 20 strikeouts. Opponents are batting .352 against Smith, including .385 from left handed batters. In the month of May, Smith is 2-2 with a 3.80 ERA in 4 starts.
Richard Bleier Starts Strongs, Struggles in the End: For the third start in a row, Richard Bleier gave up 9 or more hits in a start on Wednesday night. Bleier gave up 9 hits, 1 walk, and 6 runs (all earned) in 6 innings with 3 strikeouts. Bleier pitched well to begin with, breezing through the first 4 innings with just 1 hit given up. However, after gettting the first out of the 5th inning, Bleier gave up a single and committed a throwing error on a fielders choice comeback hit to him. The error opened up flood gates that led to 2 runs being scored in the inning. Bleier then gave up 3 singles in the 6th inning, which led to 1 run being scored. And finally after giving up 3 singles in a row to open the 7th inning (including 1 run), Bleier was replaced by Mike Perconte, who gave up a sacrifice fly and a double, which allowed the final 2 runs on Bleier's tally to score.
Turning into a RBI Man: Renny Osuna never seemed to be much of a run producer for the Frisco RoughRiders with 67 RBI in his career in 191 games played entering 2011. However, with a 2 RBI performance on Wednesday, Osuna now has 19 this season in 30 games, including 13 in 22 games in the month of May. He is batting .320 on the season with a .764 OPS as well.
An Extra Base Hit!: With a double in the bottom of the 3rd inning, Engel Beltre snapped a streak of 91 consecutive plate appearances without an extra base hit. His last one was a double in the 4th inning on April 10th against Arkansas. Beltre finished the game 2 for 3 with a single as well. It was his 7th multi hit game of the season.
In Other News: In case you missed the game, the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Cincinnati Reds 5-4 in 19 innings on Wednesday on ESPN 2. The game lasted 6 hours and 11 minutes and the winning pitcher was Wilson Valdez, a position player, for the Phillies. He became the first position player since 2000 to be the winning pitcher in a major league game. Former Frisco RoughRider John Mayberry Jr. started in center field for the Phillies and finished the game 2 for 4 with a RBI and walk. He came out of the game in a double switch in the 11th inning.
Last Year on this Date: Frisco defeated the Northwest Arkansas Naturals 2-1 at home. Blake Beavan started for Frisco and gave up 4 hits and 0 walks over 7 shutout innings with 5 strikeouts. Matt Harrison got the win with 2 innings of relief. Joey Butler went 1 for 2 with a homerun, 2 walks, 2 runs, and a stolen base. Taylor Teagarden and Andy Jenkins each had 2 hits in the game. James Tomlin added a hit of his own. Renny Osuna went 0 for 3 with a walk and 2 steals.
Around the Ranger's System
Yesterday's Record: 2-2
Round Rock (AAA) lost 7-2 to the Reno Aces. Seth McClung got the start for Round Rock and gave up 6 hits, 4 walks, and 5 runs (all earned) over 4 innings with 3 strikeouts. Beau Jones pitched 2 innings of scoreless relief. Ryan Tucker and Cody Eppley gave up 2 runs over 3 innings of relief. Chad Tracy went 2 for 4 with a double at the plate. Chris Davis went 1 for 4 with his 2nd homerun in 2 games. Joey Butler went 1 for 4 for the Express as well. Doug Deeds chipped in a 3 for 4 day with a double as well, while Kevin Cash added in 2 hits in 4 at bats.
Myrtle Beach (high-A) got another strong pitching performance in a 3-2 win over the Salem Red Sox. Barret Loux got the start and gave up just 3 hits and 2 walks over 6 shutout innings with 5 strikeouts. Mike Olt went 2 for 4 at the plate. Ryan Strausborger went 1 for 3 with a 2-run homerun and a walk. Mitch Hilligoss and Leury Garcia each had a hit a piece. Trevor Hurley, Joe Ortiz, and Ryan Kelly gave up 2 runs over 3 innings of relief. Kelly picked up his 5th save of the year for the Pelicans.
Hickory (low-A) shutout the Charleston Riverdogs 3-0 for their 3rd win in 4 games. Matt Thompson started for Hickory and gave up 6 hits and 0 walks over 5 1/3 shutout innings with 7 strikeouts. Joseph Van Meter and Ryan Rodebaugh pitched the other 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Jurickson Profar went 1 for 1 with 2 walks and a hit by pitch at the plate for Hickory. Tomas Telis went 2 for 3 with a walk as well at the plate. Josh Richmond went 2 for 4 with 2 doubles for the Crawdads and had 2 RBI. Christian Villanueva added a 1 for 3 day at the plate with a RBI. Kellin Deglan and Jake Skole both walked 2 times at the plate.
Minor League Performance of the Day
The Springfield Cardinal's Matt Adams has quietly (well, maybe not exactly quietly) put together a very good start to his 2011 season. On Wednesday the 22 year old slugger added to the season highlights by going 5 for 6 with a homerun, 2 RBI, and 3 runs scored in Springfield's 12-6 victory over the Corpus Christi Hooks. Adams is batting .333 with a Texas League best 14 homeruns and 43 RBI on the season. His OPS is up to 1.028 and he leads the league with 116 total bases. In the month of May, Adams is batting .356 with 17 extra base hits in 22 games, including 9 homeruns. His OPS for the month is 1.174. He was selected in the 23rd round by the St. Louis Cardinals out of little known Slippery Rock University.
As always...
Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
Follow the Game Online at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/scoreboard/league.jsp?sid=milb&lid=109
Follow Us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/pressboxchatter
Follow the Extra Bases Live Blog throughout the Game at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/page.jsp?ymd=20100305&content_id=8685092&vkey=multimedia_t540&fext=.jsp&sid=t540
And Check Out the Riders Insider Blog for more Frisco RoughRiders info: http://ridersinsider.mlblogs.com/
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Game 45: Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Buddy Bauman) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Richard Bleier
Time: 7:00 PM CT
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (23-21 7 games back in the Texas League South)... Northwest Arkansas Naturals (21-18 1st place in the Texas League North)
Streak: Won 1 in a row
Last 10: 6-4
Series Record: 5-6-1
Record against NW Arkansas: 0-0
All-time Record against NW Arkansas/Wichita: 64-64
Record since 2004 on May 25th: 2-3 with 1 rain out and off day
Starting Pitchers: Richard Bleier (0-1 5.50 ERA) is 1-1 with a 4.74 ERA and 1.32 WHIP in 3 career starts against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals... Buddy Bauman (0-2 5.68 ERA) is making his first career start against the Frisco RoughRiders.
What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco sends Richard Bleier out to the mound for his 4th start of the season and 5th appearance, while Northwest Arkansas sends Buddy Bauman out to the mound for his 2nd start of the year and 11th appearance... Richard Bleier got blasted for 11 hits and 6 runs in 3 1/3 innings during his last start. He has given up 20 hits in his last 9 1/3 innings with 9 runs crossing the plate during that time. Frisco's innings pitched leader from a year ago has picked up where he left off from last year, allowing more hits than innings pitched, but walking very few batters. Last year in 164 1/3 innings, Bleier walked just 28 batters and struck out 81 with 191 hits allowed. So far this season, Bleier has allowed 28 hits and just 2 walks in 18 innings pitched with 10 strikeouts. Opponents are batting .354 against him on the season, including a .409 batting average from left handed hitters... Buddy Bauman on the other hand has struggled with command all season long and has still given up more hits than innings pitched. In his first start of the year on May 15th, Bauman gave up 1 hit, 5 walks, and 1 run over 4 innings with 4 strikeouts. In the month of May, he has appeared in 5 games (1 start) and is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA. He has given up 13 hits and 9 walks with 15 strikeouts in 15 innings for the month. On the season, Bauman has given up 30 hits and 17 walks with 24 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings. The 23 year old southpaw made 14 starts and 17 appearances out of the bullpen in 2010 for the Wilmington Blue Rocks (high-A) and gave up 76 hits and 36 walks in 100 1/3 innings with 113 strikeouts. He was 4-2 with a 2.24 ERA for the season. Bauman was drafted in the 7th round of the 2009 draft by the Kansas City Royals out of Missouri State University.
From One Division Leader to Another: After losing 3 of 4 to Texas League South divsion leader San Antonio, Frisco now comes home to play the Northwest Arkansas Naturals and Tulsa Drillers for the first time. Both the Naturals and Drillers are tied a top the Texas League North division.
Winning In May: Despite the series loss to the Missions, Frisco is still 15-7 in the month of May and needs 4 wins to tie a franchise best in wins in the month of May (19 set last season) and 5 to pass it. With just 6 games left in the month, however, it will be tough to achieve this. Last homestand the Riders won 6 out of 8 games, so it may not be impossible.
Heating Up, Cooling Down in May: Two players have gone in completely opposite directions for the RoughRiders as the season has progressed. In the month of April Jonathan Greene was one of the Rider's best hitters (.339 batting average, .994 OPS), while Davis Stoneburner struggled to hit (.188 batting average, .615 OPS). However, in the month of May Stoneburner has been the best hitter on the Rider's (.367 batting average, 1.036 OPS), while Greene has cooled way down (.230 batting average, .639 OPS). For the season, Davis Stoneburner has 13 extra base hits in 118 at bats (31 hits). His percentage of hits for extra bases is highest on the team not named Leonys Martin.
Notes on Northwest Arkansas:
Wil Myers: The biggest name player on the Northwest Arkansas is Wil Myers, who unfortunately has been on the DL with a knee infection. Myers, 20 years old, was drafted as a catcher, but moved to the outfield this spring to fast track his bat to the major leagues. Last season Myers split time between low-A (Burlington) and high-A (Wilmington) and batted .315 with 37 doubles and 14 homeruns in 447 at bats for the season. He put up a .934 OPS as well. This season Myers has hit .284 with 2 doubles and 2 homeruns in 74 at bats for Northwest Arkansas. He has a .749 OPS on the season. Myers was rated by Baseball America as the 2nd best prospect in a loaded Kansas City Royal's system behind Eric Hosmer, who has been up in the majors for over a week. Myers was also rated as the 10th best prospect in baseball by Baseball America. Ironically, on the top 100 list he was rated behind fellow Royal's prospect Mike Moustakas (#9), despite being listed ahead of him in the organizational list. That just goes to show how the trio of Hosmer, Moustakas, and Myers is almost interchangeable.
Other Notable Top 30 Kansas City Royal's prospects on Northwest Arkansas:
4. LHP John Lamb (1-2 3.09 ERA)
6. SS Chris Colon (.250 AVG 2 HR .653 OPS)
8. RHP Chris Dwyer (1-3 5.82 ERA)
17. C Salvador Perez (.269 AVG 3 HR .720 OPS)
21. SS Jeff Bianchi (.244 AVG 1 HR .645 OPS)
22. RHP Patrick Keating (14 G 5 SV 4.91 ERA)
26. OF Derrick Robinson (.241 AVG 9 SB-0 CS .341 OBP)
Offense: Northwest Arkansas's offense has struggled to score runs at times this year. They are batting just .252 (lowest in the Texas League) as a team with a .719 OPS (2nd lowest in the league) so far. They have averaged 4.667 runs per game as well this season, which ranks 5th in the league.
Pitching: The Natural's pitching has been a little better than the offense, but not a ton better. Their team ERA is 4th in the league at 4.49. Their 1.44 team WHIP ranks 6th in the league. They also have the least amount of strikeouts with 261 and are 7th in strikeouts per game.
Affected by Weather: Northwest Arkansas has played just 39 games in the 2011 season so far due to the severe thunderstorms this spring. That is 5 less games than the Frisco RoughRiders have played, which is quite a significant percentage when you're only 44 games into the season so far.
Last Year on this Date: Frisco had the day off
Answer to Yesterday's Question of the Day: Pawtucket Red Sox and Rochester Red Wings and the game went a total of 33 innings played over 2 different days. The game started on Saturday April 18, 1981 and 32 innings were played from the 18th to the morning of the 19th. At 4:07 AM, the game was stopped after 32 innings and 8 hours of play. The game was resumed on June 23rd and lasted one more inning when Pawtucket scored a run in the bottom of the 33rd inning. Cal Ripken Jr. and Wade Boggs were the two most notable player names involved.
For Frisco's part, the most notable name involved is Public Address (PA) announcer John Clemens, who hosted a radio sports segment that did pregame, post game, and between innings during this game. You can read more about it here.
Around the Ranger's System
Yesterday's Record: 1-1
Round Rock (AAA) scored 5 runs in the 5th and 6th innings to defeat the Reno Aces 5-4. Scott Feldman made his 2nd AAA rehab start and gave up 8 hits, 3 walks, and 4 runs (all earned) over 5 2/3 innings with 1 strikeout. Michael Kirkman earned the win with 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Cody Eppley got a hold, while Pedro Strop recorded his 1st save as they combined for 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief as well. Taylor Teagarden and Joey Butler led the team with hits with 2 a piece, including a triple by Teagarden. Chris Davis hit a 3-run homerun as part of a 1 for 3 game. Chad Tracy, Luis Cruz, and Brad Nelson (solo homerun) added a hit a piece as well.
Myrtle Beach (high-A) gave up 6 runs over the final 3 innings and lost 8-1 to the Salem Red Sox. Robbie Erlin started for Myrtle Beach and once again was good. Erlin gave up 5 hits, 0 walks, and 2 runs (1 earned) over 6 innings with 6 strikeouts. He still took the loss, but his ERA dropped to 2.14. Ryan Strausborger went 1 for 3 at the plate with a hit by pitch and stole 2 bases. Mike Olt went 0 for 3 with a walk as well. Santiago Chirino led the Pelicans with a 2 for 4 game including a double. Kennil Gomez and Zach Osborne combined to give up 6 runs over 2 2/3 innings out of the bullpen.
Hickory (low-A) had an off day.
Minor League Performance of the Day
Southpaw James Paxton has struggled with command this season for the Clinton LumberKings (Seattle Mariner's low-A affiliate), but on Tuesday the 22 year old pitcher had better command and the still dominant stuff. Paxton gave up 3 hits, 2 walks, and 1 run over 6 innings with 12 strikeouts in the LumberKing's 7-1 win over the Cedar Rapids Kernels. On the season, Paxton has allowed 22 hits, and 17 walks over 28 1/3 innings with 38 strikeouts. Paxton was drafted in the 1st round by the Blue Jays in the 2009 draft, but did not sign. He was then drafted in the 2010 draft in the 4th round by the Seattle Mariners and signed. Paxton is originally from British Columbia, but went to college at the University of Kentucky.
As always...
Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
Follow the Game Online at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/scoreboard/league.jsp?sid=milb&lid=109
Follow Us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/pressboxchatter
Follow the Extra Bases Live Blog throughout the Game at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/page.jsp?ymd=20100305&content_id=8685092&vkey=multimedia_t540&fext=.jsp&sid=t540
And Check Out the Riders Insider Blog for more Frisco RoughRiders info: http://ridersinsider.mlblogs.com/
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (23-21 7 games back in the Texas League South)... Northwest Arkansas Naturals (21-18 1st place in the Texas League North)
Streak: Won 1 in a row
Last 10: 6-4
Series Record: 5-6-1
Record against NW Arkansas: 0-0
All-time Record against NW Arkansas/Wichita: 64-64
Record since 2004 on May 25th: 2-3 with 1 rain out and off day
Starting Pitchers: Richard Bleier (0-1 5.50 ERA) is 1-1 with a 4.74 ERA and 1.32 WHIP in 3 career starts against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals... Buddy Bauman (0-2 5.68 ERA) is making his first career start against the Frisco RoughRiders.
What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco sends Richard Bleier out to the mound for his 4th start of the season and 5th appearance, while Northwest Arkansas sends Buddy Bauman out to the mound for his 2nd start of the year and 11th appearance... Richard Bleier got blasted for 11 hits and 6 runs in 3 1/3 innings during his last start. He has given up 20 hits in his last 9 1/3 innings with 9 runs crossing the plate during that time. Frisco's innings pitched leader from a year ago has picked up where he left off from last year, allowing more hits than innings pitched, but walking very few batters. Last year in 164 1/3 innings, Bleier walked just 28 batters and struck out 81 with 191 hits allowed. So far this season, Bleier has allowed 28 hits and just 2 walks in 18 innings pitched with 10 strikeouts. Opponents are batting .354 against him on the season, including a .409 batting average from left handed hitters... Buddy Bauman on the other hand has struggled with command all season long and has still given up more hits than innings pitched. In his first start of the year on May 15th, Bauman gave up 1 hit, 5 walks, and 1 run over 4 innings with 4 strikeouts. In the month of May, he has appeared in 5 games (1 start) and is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA. He has given up 13 hits and 9 walks with 15 strikeouts in 15 innings for the month. On the season, Bauman has given up 30 hits and 17 walks with 24 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings. The 23 year old southpaw made 14 starts and 17 appearances out of the bullpen in 2010 for the Wilmington Blue Rocks (high-A) and gave up 76 hits and 36 walks in 100 1/3 innings with 113 strikeouts. He was 4-2 with a 2.24 ERA for the season. Bauman was drafted in the 7th round of the 2009 draft by the Kansas City Royals out of Missouri State University.
From One Division Leader to Another: After losing 3 of 4 to Texas League South divsion leader San Antonio, Frisco now comes home to play the Northwest Arkansas Naturals and Tulsa Drillers for the first time. Both the Naturals and Drillers are tied a top the Texas League North division.
Winning In May: Despite the series loss to the Missions, Frisco is still 15-7 in the month of May and needs 4 wins to tie a franchise best in wins in the month of May (19 set last season) and 5 to pass it. With just 6 games left in the month, however, it will be tough to achieve this. Last homestand the Riders won 6 out of 8 games, so it may not be impossible.
Heating Up, Cooling Down in May: Two players have gone in completely opposite directions for the RoughRiders as the season has progressed. In the month of April Jonathan Greene was one of the Rider's best hitters (.339 batting average, .994 OPS), while Davis Stoneburner struggled to hit (.188 batting average, .615 OPS). However, in the month of May Stoneburner has been the best hitter on the Rider's (.367 batting average, 1.036 OPS), while Greene has cooled way down (.230 batting average, .639 OPS). For the season, Davis Stoneburner has 13 extra base hits in 118 at bats (31 hits). His percentage of hits for extra bases is highest on the team not named Leonys Martin.
Notes on Northwest Arkansas:
Wil Myers: The biggest name player on the Northwest Arkansas is Wil Myers, who unfortunately has been on the DL with a knee infection. Myers, 20 years old, was drafted as a catcher, but moved to the outfield this spring to fast track his bat to the major leagues. Last season Myers split time between low-A (Burlington) and high-A (Wilmington) and batted .315 with 37 doubles and 14 homeruns in 447 at bats for the season. He put up a .934 OPS as well. This season Myers has hit .284 with 2 doubles and 2 homeruns in 74 at bats for Northwest Arkansas. He has a .749 OPS on the season. Myers was rated by Baseball America as the 2nd best prospect in a loaded Kansas City Royal's system behind Eric Hosmer, who has been up in the majors for over a week. Myers was also rated as the 10th best prospect in baseball by Baseball America. Ironically, on the top 100 list he was rated behind fellow Royal's prospect Mike Moustakas (#9), despite being listed ahead of him in the organizational list. That just goes to show how the trio of Hosmer, Moustakas, and Myers is almost interchangeable.
Other Notable Top 30 Kansas City Royal's prospects on Northwest Arkansas:
4. LHP John Lamb (1-2 3.09 ERA)
6. SS Chris Colon (.250 AVG 2 HR .653 OPS)
8. RHP Chris Dwyer (1-3 5.82 ERA)
17. C Salvador Perez (.269 AVG 3 HR .720 OPS)
21. SS Jeff Bianchi (.244 AVG 1 HR .645 OPS)
22. RHP Patrick Keating (14 G 5 SV 4.91 ERA)
26. OF Derrick Robinson (.241 AVG 9 SB-0 CS .341 OBP)
Offense: Northwest Arkansas's offense has struggled to score runs at times this year. They are batting just .252 (lowest in the Texas League) as a team with a .719 OPS (2nd lowest in the league) so far. They have averaged 4.667 runs per game as well this season, which ranks 5th in the league.
Pitching: The Natural's pitching has been a little better than the offense, but not a ton better. Their team ERA is 4th in the league at 4.49. Their 1.44 team WHIP ranks 6th in the league. They also have the least amount of strikeouts with 261 and are 7th in strikeouts per game.
Affected by Weather: Northwest Arkansas has played just 39 games in the 2011 season so far due to the severe thunderstorms this spring. That is 5 less games than the Frisco RoughRiders have played, which is quite a significant percentage when you're only 44 games into the season so far.
Last Year on this Date: Frisco had the day off
Answer to Yesterday's Question of the Day: Pawtucket Red Sox and Rochester Red Wings and the game went a total of 33 innings played over 2 different days. The game started on Saturday April 18, 1981 and 32 innings were played from the 18th to the morning of the 19th. At 4:07 AM, the game was stopped after 32 innings and 8 hours of play. The game was resumed on June 23rd and lasted one more inning when Pawtucket scored a run in the bottom of the 33rd inning. Cal Ripken Jr. and Wade Boggs were the two most notable player names involved.
For Frisco's part, the most notable name involved is Public Address (PA) announcer John Clemens, who hosted a radio sports segment that did pregame, post game, and between innings during this game. You can read more about it here.
Around the Ranger's System
Yesterday's Record: 1-1
Round Rock (AAA) scored 5 runs in the 5th and 6th innings to defeat the Reno Aces 5-4. Scott Feldman made his 2nd AAA rehab start and gave up 8 hits, 3 walks, and 4 runs (all earned) over 5 2/3 innings with 1 strikeout. Michael Kirkman earned the win with 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Cody Eppley got a hold, while Pedro Strop recorded his 1st save as they combined for 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief as well. Taylor Teagarden and Joey Butler led the team with hits with 2 a piece, including a triple by Teagarden. Chris Davis hit a 3-run homerun as part of a 1 for 3 game. Chad Tracy, Luis Cruz, and Brad Nelson (solo homerun) added a hit a piece as well.
Myrtle Beach (high-A) gave up 6 runs over the final 3 innings and lost 8-1 to the Salem Red Sox. Robbie Erlin started for Myrtle Beach and once again was good. Erlin gave up 5 hits, 0 walks, and 2 runs (1 earned) over 6 innings with 6 strikeouts. He still took the loss, but his ERA dropped to 2.14. Ryan Strausborger went 1 for 3 at the plate with a hit by pitch and stole 2 bases. Mike Olt went 0 for 3 with a walk as well. Santiago Chirino led the Pelicans with a 2 for 4 game including a double. Kennil Gomez and Zach Osborne combined to give up 6 runs over 2 2/3 innings out of the bullpen.
Hickory (low-A) had an off day.
Minor League Performance of the Day
Southpaw James Paxton has struggled with command this season for the Clinton LumberKings (Seattle Mariner's low-A affiliate), but on Tuesday the 22 year old pitcher had better command and the still dominant stuff. Paxton gave up 3 hits, 2 walks, and 1 run over 6 innings with 12 strikeouts in the LumberKing's 7-1 win over the Cedar Rapids Kernels. On the season, Paxton has allowed 22 hits, and 17 walks over 28 1/3 innings with 38 strikeouts. Paxton was drafted in the 1st round by the Blue Jays in the 2009 draft, but did not sign. He was then drafted in the 2010 draft in the 4th round by the Seattle Mariners and signed. Paxton is originally from British Columbia, but went to college at the University of Kentucky.
As always...
Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
Follow the Game Online at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/scoreboard/league.jsp?sid=milb&lid=109
Follow Us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/pressboxchatter
Follow the Extra Bases Live Blog throughout the Game at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/page.jsp?ymd=20100305&content_id=8685092&vkey=multimedia_t540&fext=.jsp&sid=t540
And Check Out the Riders Insider Blog for more Frisco RoughRiders info: http://ridersinsider.mlblogs.com/
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Notes on an Off Day
Next Game: Tomorrow night at 7:00 PM at Dr. Pepper Ballpark vs. the Northwest Arkansas Naturals
Record: 23-21 7 games back in the Texas League South
Series Record: 5-6-1
Record since 2004 on May 24th: 5-1 with 1 game rained out
Streak: Won 1 in a row
Last 10: 6-4
Rider's Salvage One: After giving up 4 runs in the 9th inning, Davis Stoneburner hit a go ahead solo homerun in the top of the 10th inning and Frisco scored one more run to defeat the San Antonio Missions 6-4 in the 4th game of the 4 game set. The win marked the second time this year that Frisco has lost 3 of 4 games in San Antonio. Frisco is now 5-7 against the San Antonio Missions this season and 115-114 against them all time.
Carlos Pimentel's Strong start: He didn't get the win in the start, but Carlos Pimentel had arguably his best start of the year. Pimentel gave up 7 hits and 2 walks with 3 strikeouts over 6 shutout innings against San Antonio. Over his last 6 starts, Pimentel has received 5 no decisions and 1 win and has posted a 3.06 ERA in that time. He has worked 6 or more innings in 4 of the 6 starts.
Running Wild: If there is one thing that Leonys Martin has displayed in every game he's played in for Frisco so far, it's that he can be a game changer with his legs. He's aggressive and shows natural instincts on the basepaths. On Tuesday, he made an impact all over the diamond with his legs. He finished the game 3 for 5 with a triple, double, walk (intentional), 3 RBI, and 2 steals. Martin reached base in the 1st inning due to a throwing error by the shortstop and then stole 2nd and 3rd base. He doubled to right field in the 2nd inning, which scored Davis Stoneburner from 2nd. Martin singled to centerfield in the 4th inning to score Stoneburner again from 2nd base. Martin popped out in the 6th inning and was intentionally walked in the 8th inning after a wild pitch. Then in the 10th inning Martin tripled to left fielder Jaff Decker, and was thrown out at home attempting the inside the park homerun. The hit still scored one player, to give Frisco their 6th run of the game.
Overall, Martin has 7 extra base hits in 11 games and his 2 steals gave him 7 on the year, which is tied for the team lead, despite coming to Frisco a little less than two weeks ago.
Stoneburner Extends Streaks: Davis Stoneburner matched a career best with 4 hits in the game on Tuesday in 5 at bats. He had the game winning homerun in the 10th inning and 3 singles as well to give him 7 total bases in the game, a team high. The hits extended his hit streak to 10 games and on base streak to 12 games. He also has driven in a run in 3 straight games. In the month of May, Davis is hitting .367 with a 1.036 OPS. He is batting .321 in day games with a .948 OPS compared to .210 with a .645 OPS in night games.
Bianucci's RBI Drought Ends: Michael Bianucci got his 31st RBI of the season on May 14th when he drove in 2 runs. Since then he went 6 games without a RBI until Tuesday. Bianucci drove in his 32nd RBI of the season on a single in the 1st inning to score Leonys Martin. The 6 game drought was his longest of the season and longest since he went 10 games from August 12th-August 22nd without a RBI last season.
Another Blown Save, Another Win: Riders reliever Justin Miller inherited a not so good situation on Tuesday and managed to make it worse again. Fabio Castillo began the 9th inning with a 4-0 lead and gave up a walk, single, and double to open the 9th inning. Miller inherited runners on 2nd and 3rd with 0 outs and a 4-1 lead. Miller got two quick outs without allowing a run to score, but finished the inning by going hit by pitch, bases loaded walk, and single before he got the third out of the inning. The blown save was Miller's 4th of the season, however, in the same game he got his team best 5th win of the year as well. His ERA on the road this season is 6.94 with a .313 opponents batting average against. His home ERA is 1.38 with an opponents batting average against of .152.
Last Year on This Date: Frisco defeated San Antonio 9-6 in 12 innings on the road. Martin Perez started for Frisco and gave up 5 hits, 2 walks, and 4 runs (all earned) over 4 2/3 innings with 2 strikeouts. Adalberto Flores picked up his 1st win of the year with 2 shutout innings of relief, while Cody Eppley got his 3rd save of the year with a scoreless 12th inning. Emerson Frostad went 4 for 6 for Frisco with a triple and 2 RBI. Taylor Teagarden had a 3 for 6 day with a homerun and 2 RBI. Renny Osuna and Joey Butler each had 2 hits a piece as well. Frisco won 9-6 thanks to a 2 out bases loaded double by Osuna.
Answer to Yesterday's Question of the Day: Pittsburgh Pirates. You can read more about the story here.
Around the Ranger's System
Yesterday's Record: 2-1
Round Rock (AAA) led 5-3 after 3 innings, but fell to the Reno Aces 9-7 in the end. Derek Hankins started for Round Rock and had another rough outing as he gave up 7 hits, 4 walks, 7 runs (6 earned) in 5 innings with 3 strikeouts. Hankins gave up 2 homeruns in the start as well. Zach Phillips and Yhency Brazoban gave up 2 runs (1 earned) in 4 innings of relief. Brad Nelson and Luis Cruz each went deep for the Express at the plate. Joey Butler went 1 for 3 with a double, RBI, and walk.
Myrtle Beach (high-A) had the day off.
Hickory (low-A) scored 13 runs in the final 5 innings and defeated the Rome Braves 15-5. Justin Grimm got the start for Hickory and gave up 9 hits, 1 walk, and 4 runs (all earned) over 4 1/3 innings with 2 strikeouts. Reliever Colby Killian got the win with 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Top prospect Jurickson Profar went 3 for 5 with 2 doubles, a triple, 2 RBI, a walk, and 3 runs scored at the plate for HIckory. Profar's SLG% is now up to .513 for the season, including .758 over his last 10 games. Tomas Telis went 3 for 5 with 2 doubles, 3 RBI, a walk, and 3 runs scored as well. Jake Skole added 3 hits of his own in 6 at bats, including a double and a run scored. Jhonny Gomez and Alejandro Selen each had 2 hits, while Andrew Clark, Christian Villanueva, and Odubel Herrera had a hit a piece. Five different hitters had 2 or more RBI for the Crawdads.
Minor League Performance of the Night
The Jupiter Hammerheads (Florida Marlin's affiliate) and Clearwater Threshers (Philadelphia Phillie's affiliate) of the Florida State League played a 23 inning game on Tuesday night, which lasted 5 hours and 37 minutes long. Jupiter defeated Clearwater 2-1 in the 23rd inning. Alejandro Ramos got the win for Jupiter with a scoreless inning of relief, while former Midland Rockhounds reliever Justin Friend took the loss for Clearwater. Two position players pitched in relief for Clearwater a total of 4 innings of scoreless relief. There were 31 hits in the game combined between the two teams. In total there were 14 half innings between the two teams where the batters went down in order out of 46 possible half innings. And both teams were a combined 5 for 34 with RISP.
Record: 23-21 7 games back in the Texas League South
Series Record: 5-6-1
Record since 2004 on May 24th: 5-1 with 1 game rained out
Streak: Won 1 in a row
Last 10: 6-4
Rider's Salvage One: After giving up 4 runs in the 9th inning, Davis Stoneburner hit a go ahead solo homerun in the top of the 10th inning and Frisco scored one more run to defeat the San Antonio Missions 6-4 in the 4th game of the 4 game set. The win marked the second time this year that Frisco has lost 3 of 4 games in San Antonio. Frisco is now 5-7 against the San Antonio Missions this season and 115-114 against them all time.
Carlos Pimentel's Strong start: He didn't get the win in the start, but Carlos Pimentel had arguably his best start of the year. Pimentel gave up 7 hits and 2 walks with 3 strikeouts over 6 shutout innings against San Antonio. Over his last 6 starts, Pimentel has received 5 no decisions and 1 win and has posted a 3.06 ERA in that time. He has worked 6 or more innings in 4 of the 6 starts.
Running Wild: If there is one thing that Leonys Martin has displayed in every game he's played in for Frisco so far, it's that he can be a game changer with his legs. He's aggressive and shows natural instincts on the basepaths. On Tuesday, he made an impact all over the diamond with his legs. He finished the game 3 for 5 with a triple, double, walk (intentional), 3 RBI, and 2 steals. Martin reached base in the 1st inning due to a throwing error by the shortstop and then stole 2nd and 3rd base. He doubled to right field in the 2nd inning, which scored Davis Stoneburner from 2nd. Martin singled to centerfield in the 4th inning to score Stoneburner again from 2nd base. Martin popped out in the 6th inning and was intentionally walked in the 8th inning after a wild pitch. Then in the 10th inning Martin tripled to left fielder Jaff Decker, and was thrown out at home attempting the inside the park homerun. The hit still scored one player, to give Frisco their 6th run of the game.
Overall, Martin has 7 extra base hits in 11 games and his 2 steals gave him 7 on the year, which is tied for the team lead, despite coming to Frisco a little less than two weeks ago.
Stoneburner Extends Streaks: Davis Stoneburner matched a career best with 4 hits in the game on Tuesday in 5 at bats. He had the game winning homerun in the 10th inning and 3 singles as well to give him 7 total bases in the game, a team high. The hits extended his hit streak to 10 games and on base streak to 12 games. He also has driven in a run in 3 straight games. In the month of May, Davis is hitting .367 with a 1.036 OPS. He is batting .321 in day games with a .948 OPS compared to .210 with a .645 OPS in night games.
Bianucci's RBI Drought Ends: Michael Bianucci got his 31st RBI of the season on May 14th when he drove in 2 runs. Since then he went 6 games without a RBI until Tuesday. Bianucci drove in his 32nd RBI of the season on a single in the 1st inning to score Leonys Martin. The 6 game drought was his longest of the season and longest since he went 10 games from August 12th-August 22nd without a RBI last season.
Another Blown Save, Another Win: Riders reliever Justin Miller inherited a not so good situation on Tuesday and managed to make it worse again. Fabio Castillo began the 9th inning with a 4-0 lead and gave up a walk, single, and double to open the 9th inning. Miller inherited runners on 2nd and 3rd with 0 outs and a 4-1 lead. Miller got two quick outs without allowing a run to score, but finished the inning by going hit by pitch, bases loaded walk, and single before he got the third out of the inning. The blown save was Miller's 4th of the season, however, in the same game he got his team best 5th win of the year as well. His ERA on the road this season is 6.94 with a .313 opponents batting average against. His home ERA is 1.38 with an opponents batting average against of .152.
Last Year on This Date: Frisco defeated San Antonio 9-6 in 12 innings on the road. Martin Perez started for Frisco and gave up 5 hits, 2 walks, and 4 runs (all earned) over 4 2/3 innings with 2 strikeouts. Adalberto Flores picked up his 1st win of the year with 2 shutout innings of relief, while Cody Eppley got his 3rd save of the year with a scoreless 12th inning. Emerson Frostad went 4 for 6 for Frisco with a triple and 2 RBI. Taylor Teagarden had a 3 for 6 day with a homerun and 2 RBI. Renny Osuna and Joey Butler each had 2 hits a piece as well. Frisco won 9-6 thanks to a 2 out bases loaded double by Osuna.
Answer to Yesterday's Question of the Day: Pittsburgh Pirates. You can read more about the story here.
Around the Ranger's System
Yesterday's Record: 2-1
Round Rock (AAA) led 5-3 after 3 innings, but fell to the Reno Aces 9-7 in the end. Derek Hankins started for Round Rock and had another rough outing as he gave up 7 hits, 4 walks, 7 runs (6 earned) in 5 innings with 3 strikeouts. Hankins gave up 2 homeruns in the start as well. Zach Phillips and Yhency Brazoban gave up 2 runs (1 earned) in 4 innings of relief. Brad Nelson and Luis Cruz each went deep for the Express at the plate. Joey Butler went 1 for 3 with a double, RBI, and walk.
Myrtle Beach (high-A) had the day off.
Hickory (low-A) scored 13 runs in the final 5 innings and defeated the Rome Braves 15-5. Justin Grimm got the start for Hickory and gave up 9 hits, 1 walk, and 4 runs (all earned) over 4 1/3 innings with 2 strikeouts. Reliever Colby Killian got the win with 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Top prospect Jurickson Profar went 3 for 5 with 2 doubles, a triple, 2 RBI, a walk, and 3 runs scored at the plate for HIckory. Profar's SLG% is now up to .513 for the season, including .758 over his last 10 games. Tomas Telis went 3 for 5 with 2 doubles, 3 RBI, a walk, and 3 runs scored as well. Jake Skole added 3 hits of his own in 6 at bats, including a double and a run scored. Jhonny Gomez and Alejandro Selen each had 2 hits, while Andrew Clark, Christian Villanueva, and Odubel Herrera had a hit a piece. Five different hitters had 2 or more RBI for the Crawdads.
Minor League Performance of the Night
The Jupiter Hammerheads (Florida Marlin's affiliate) and Clearwater Threshers (Philadelphia Phillie's affiliate) of the Florida State League played a 23 inning game on Tuesday night, which lasted 5 hours and 37 minutes long. Jupiter defeated Clearwater 2-1 in the 23rd inning. Alejandro Ramos got the win for Jupiter with a scoreless inning of relief, while former Midland Rockhounds reliever Justin Friend took the loss for Clearwater. Two position players pitched in relief for Clearwater a total of 4 innings of scoreless relief. There were 31 hits in the game combined between the two teams. In total there were 14 half innings between the two teams where the batters went down in order out of 46 possible half innings. And both teams were a combined 5 for 34 with RISP.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Game 43: Frisco RoughRiders (Jake Brigham) @ San Antonio Missions (Jorge Reyes)
Time: 4:05 PM CT
Location: Nelson Wolff Municipal Stadium (San Antonio, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (22-20 7 games back in the Texas League South).. San Antonio Missions (29-13 1st place in the Texas League South)
Streak: Lost 2 in a row
Last 10: 7-3
Series Record: 5-5-1
Record against San Antonio: 4-6
All time Record against San Antonio: 114-113
Record since 2004 on May 22nd: 4-3
Starting Pitchers: Jake Brigham (2-2 3.74 ERA) is 0-1 with a 4.63 ERA in 2 career starts against San Antonio... Jorge Reyes (2-0 3.93 ERA) is 0-0 with a 1.00 ERA in 2 career starts against Frisco
What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco and San Antonio send Jake Brigham and Jorge Reyes to the mound for the 9th time this season... Jake Brigham turned in a strong performance last Tuesday during a day game when he gave up just 2 hits and 2 walks over 6 shutout innings and recorded a season best 8 strikeouts in the outing. Brigham has gone at least 6 innings in his last 4 starts and has gone at least 5 innings in all 8 starts this season. He also has given up less hits than innings pitched in 5 consecutive starts this year. Brigham has given up 3 earned runs in 6 of the 8 starts he has made. In the two that he hasn't given up 3 earned runs, he has given up 1 earned run combined. On the season, Brigham has given up 48 hits and 15 walks with 44 strikeouts in 45 2/3 innings. In 4 starts in May, Brigham is 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA... Jorge Reyes has struggled to go deep into games this season, but he has pitched effectively in most, giving up 2 runs or less in 6 of the 8 starts. In his last outing, Reyes gave up 7 hits and 1 unearned run in 5 innings with 6 strikeouts against Corpus Christi last Tuesday. He has gone 5 or more innings in just 4 of the 8 starts, however. On the season, Reyes has given up 41 hits and 9 walks with 37 strikeouts in 36 2/3 innings pitched. He is 1-0 with a 3.57 ERA in 4 starts in May.
Riders Lose Second Straight: Frisco gave up 4 runs in the 8th inning and lost 9-5 on a walkoff grand slam by Missions first baseman Kyle Blanks, who is a career .289 hitter with an .823 OPS against the RoughRiders in 41 career games. They have lost 5 of 6 games on the road to San Antonio.
Martin Perez's Solid Effort: Martin Perez wasn't as sharp as he was on Monday against Midland, but he still gave up just 1 unearned run over 6 innings. Perez allowed 10 baserunners (6 hits, 4 walks), but was able to escape jams with just the one unearned run. He also moved into a tie for 3rd on the all time Frisco strikeout list with 6 strikeouts on the night. Perez needs just 4 strikeouts to tie John Danks for 2nd all time and 5 to pass him.
Leonys Martin Leads Way: Leonys Martin led the Rider's offense with a 3 hit day including a double and he also stole his 5th base in 9 attempts. It was Martin's 3rd multi hit game in 9 games and 7th straight game getting on base. It was also his 6th straight game with at least one stolen base attempt. He singled to center in the 1st, had an infield single to the second baseman in the 3rd, and doubled to left field in the 5th inning showing ability to hit to all fields. In the 9 games that he has been a part of for Frisco, Leonys Martin is batting .429 (6 for 14) when leading off an inning, including .333 (3 for 9) in the 1st inning.
Targeting #35: Jonathan Greene Jonathan Greene once got hit by 36 pitches in a single season, so he is not accustomed to not being hit by pitches. In fact, in his career he has gotten hit by 90 pitches in the minor leagues. Greene got hit again on Saturday for the 7th time this season, including 4 times by San Antonio Missions pitching.
Mendonca Keeps Hitting: For the fifth time in his last 10 games, Tommy Mendonca had 2 hits in a game. He went 2 for 4 with his 9th double of the season, including his 4th in the last 6 games. He also has drawn 4 walks in those 6 games, which has helped improve his walk to strikeout ratio a bit. He had 4 walks in his first 34 games this season and has 4 in those 6 games since. Mendonca also has reached base in 14 consecutive games now.
Burning in May: Davis Stoneburner's bases loaded, bases clearing double in the 4th inning gave him an 8 game hitting streak and 10 game on base streak. He didn't start, but came in after Engel Beltre left the game after the second inning after being hit by a pitch. Stoneburner is now batting .325 (13 for 40) with a .947 OPS in the month of May. He has 6 extra base hits in the month as well. For the season, 12 of Stoneburner's 26 hits have gone for extra bases.
Last Year on this Date: Frisco defeated the San Antonio Missions 3-2 in 13 innings. Richard Bleier started for Frisco and gave up 8 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run over 6 innings pitched. Adalberto Flores, Ben Snyder, Brennan Garr, and Cody Eppley combined to give up 1 run over the final 7 innings of relief. Wes Bankston led the way with a 3 for 5 game including a double and a walk. Renny Osuna and Joey Butler each had 2 hits as well. Emerson Frostad, James Tomlin, and Guilder Rodriguez each had a hit a piece.
Answer to Yesterday's Question of the Day: Babe Ruth
Around the Ranger's System:
Yesterday's Record: 2-2
Round Rock (AAA) took a 6-4 lead after 5 innings and won 9-4 over the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. Neil Ramirez started for Round Rock and gave up 7 hits and 4 runs (3 earned) over 3 2/3 innings pitched with 5 strikeouts. He also hit a batter and threw 2 wild pitches in the start. Yhency Brazoban, Michael Kirkman, Yoshinori Tateyama, and Pedro Strop combined for 5 1/3 innings of shutout relief. They allowed just 3 hits and struck out 11 batters over that time. Every hitter, but Chad Tracy had a hit for the Express. Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz each homered in the game and combined for 4 RBI, 2 runs, and 3 times on base in 8 plate appearances. Joey Butler had a 2 for 4 game with a double and a RBI.
Myrtle Beach (high-A) lost 9-3 to the Wilmington Blue Rocks. Wilfredo Boscan got the start and gave up 9 hits, 4 walks, and 6 runs (all earned) over 4 1/3 innings with 2 strikeouts. Mike Olt went 3 for 3 with a double, walk and a RBI. Ryan Strausborger went 1 for 4 with a double and run. Jared Bolden went 2 for 3, while Jared Hoying also went 2 for 4 with a solo homerun. Zach Zaneski and Mitch Hilligoss each added a hit.
Hickory (low-A) scored 2 runs in the top of the 8th inning and defeated the Rome Braves 5-4. Roman Mendez started for Hickory and gave up 6 hits, 2 walks, and 4 runs (all earned) over 5 1/3 innings with 6 strikeouts. Joseph Van Meter and Ryan Rodebaugh finished the game with 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Teodoro Martinez went 2 for 5 with a RBI out of the leadoff spot. Andrew Clark added 2 hits as well. Christian Villanueva went 1 for 2 with 2 walks, while Jhonny Gomez went 1 for 3 with a walk. Alejandro Selen added a 1 for 4 day with 2 RBI (his first 2 of the year for Hickory). 2010 1st round supplemental pick from McKinney, Matt Lipka, had a 2 for 5 day with a RBI for the Rome Braves. He is batting .264 on the year for the Braves.
Minor League Performance of the Day
For the Second straight day, the performance of the day will go to a player in the Washington Nationals organization. On Saturday Nationals pitching prospect Brad Peacock, who actually got minor league performance of the day his start before on May 13th, had another terrific start. Peacock got the victory in the Harrisburg Senator's 7-2 victory over the Binghamton Mets in the Eastern League. Peacock gave up just 1 hit, 2 walks, and 1 run (on a solo homerun) over 6 innings with 10 strikeouts. Peacock faced 21 batters and had 2 GB-2 FB in the start. On the season, he is now 6-1 with a 2.05 ERA in 8 games/7 starts. He has given up 31 hits and 9 walks in 48 1/3 innings with 66 strikeouts, including 38 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings in the month of May.
As always...
Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
Follow the Game Online at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/scoreboard/league.jsp?sid=milb&lid=109
Follow Us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/pressboxchatter
Follow the Extra Bases Live Blog throughout the Game at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/page.jsp?ymd=20100305&content_id=8685092&vkey=multimedia_t540&fext=.jsp&sid=t540
And Check Out the Riders Insider Blog for more Frisco RoughRiders info: http://ridersinsider.mlblogs.com/
Location: Nelson Wolff Municipal Stadium (San Antonio, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (22-20 7 games back in the Texas League South).. San Antonio Missions (29-13 1st place in the Texas League South)
Streak: Lost 2 in a row
Last 10: 7-3
Series Record: 5-5-1
Record against San Antonio: 4-6
All time Record against San Antonio: 114-113
Record since 2004 on May 22nd: 4-3
Starting Pitchers: Jake Brigham (2-2 3.74 ERA) is 0-1 with a 4.63 ERA in 2 career starts against San Antonio... Jorge Reyes (2-0 3.93 ERA) is 0-0 with a 1.00 ERA in 2 career starts against Frisco
What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco and San Antonio send Jake Brigham and Jorge Reyes to the mound for the 9th time this season... Jake Brigham turned in a strong performance last Tuesday during a day game when he gave up just 2 hits and 2 walks over 6 shutout innings and recorded a season best 8 strikeouts in the outing. Brigham has gone at least 6 innings in his last 4 starts and has gone at least 5 innings in all 8 starts this season. He also has given up less hits than innings pitched in 5 consecutive starts this year. Brigham has given up 3 earned runs in 6 of the 8 starts he has made. In the two that he hasn't given up 3 earned runs, he has given up 1 earned run combined. On the season, Brigham has given up 48 hits and 15 walks with 44 strikeouts in 45 2/3 innings. In 4 starts in May, Brigham is 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA... Jorge Reyes has struggled to go deep into games this season, but he has pitched effectively in most, giving up 2 runs or less in 6 of the 8 starts. In his last outing, Reyes gave up 7 hits and 1 unearned run in 5 innings with 6 strikeouts against Corpus Christi last Tuesday. He has gone 5 or more innings in just 4 of the 8 starts, however. On the season, Reyes has given up 41 hits and 9 walks with 37 strikeouts in 36 2/3 innings pitched. He is 1-0 with a 3.57 ERA in 4 starts in May.
Riders Lose Second Straight: Frisco gave up 4 runs in the 8th inning and lost 9-5 on a walkoff grand slam by Missions first baseman Kyle Blanks, who is a career .289 hitter with an .823 OPS against the RoughRiders in 41 career games. They have lost 5 of 6 games on the road to San Antonio.
Martin Perez's Solid Effort: Martin Perez wasn't as sharp as he was on Monday against Midland, but he still gave up just 1 unearned run over 6 innings. Perez allowed 10 baserunners (6 hits, 4 walks), but was able to escape jams with just the one unearned run. He also moved into a tie for 3rd on the all time Frisco strikeout list with 6 strikeouts on the night. Perez needs just 4 strikeouts to tie John Danks for 2nd all time and 5 to pass him.
Leonys Martin Leads Way: Leonys Martin led the Rider's offense with a 3 hit day including a double and he also stole his 5th base in 9 attempts. It was Martin's 3rd multi hit game in 9 games and 7th straight game getting on base. It was also his 6th straight game with at least one stolen base attempt. He singled to center in the 1st, had an infield single to the second baseman in the 3rd, and doubled to left field in the 5th inning showing ability to hit to all fields. In the 9 games that he has been a part of for Frisco, Leonys Martin is batting .429 (6 for 14) when leading off an inning, including .333 (3 for 9) in the 1st inning.
Targeting #35: Jonathan Greene Jonathan Greene once got hit by 36 pitches in a single season, so he is not accustomed to not being hit by pitches. In fact, in his career he has gotten hit by 90 pitches in the minor leagues. Greene got hit again on Saturday for the 7th time this season, including 4 times by San Antonio Missions pitching.
Mendonca Keeps Hitting: For the fifth time in his last 10 games, Tommy Mendonca had 2 hits in a game. He went 2 for 4 with his 9th double of the season, including his 4th in the last 6 games. He also has drawn 4 walks in those 6 games, which has helped improve his walk to strikeout ratio a bit. He had 4 walks in his first 34 games this season and has 4 in those 6 games since. Mendonca also has reached base in 14 consecutive games now.
Burning in May: Davis Stoneburner's bases loaded, bases clearing double in the 4th inning gave him an 8 game hitting streak and 10 game on base streak. He didn't start, but came in after Engel Beltre left the game after the second inning after being hit by a pitch. Stoneburner is now batting .325 (13 for 40) with a .947 OPS in the month of May. He has 6 extra base hits in the month as well. For the season, 12 of Stoneburner's 26 hits have gone for extra bases.
Last Year on this Date: Frisco defeated the San Antonio Missions 3-2 in 13 innings. Richard Bleier started for Frisco and gave up 8 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run over 6 innings pitched. Adalberto Flores, Ben Snyder, Brennan Garr, and Cody Eppley combined to give up 1 run over the final 7 innings of relief. Wes Bankston led the way with a 3 for 5 game including a double and a walk. Renny Osuna and Joey Butler each had 2 hits as well. Emerson Frostad, James Tomlin, and Guilder Rodriguez each had a hit a piece.
Answer to Yesterday's Question of the Day: Babe Ruth
Around the Ranger's System:
Yesterday's Record: 2-2
Round Rock (AAA) took a 6-4 lead after 5 innings and won 9-4 over the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. Neil Ramirez started for Round Rock and gave up 7 hits and 4 runs (3 earned) over 3 2/3 innings pitched with 5 strikeouts. He also hit a batter and threw 2 wild pitches in the start. Yhency Brazoban, Michael Kirkman, Yoshinori Tateyama, and Pedro Strop combined for 5 1/3 innings of shutout relief. They allowed just 3 hits and struck out 11 batters over that time. Every hitter, but Chad Tracy had a hit for the Express. Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz each homered in the game and combined for 4 RBI, 2 runs, and 3 times on base in 8 plate appearances. Joey Butler had a 2 for 4 game with a double and a RBI.
Myrtle Beach (high-A) lost 9-3 to the Wilmington Blue Rocks. Wilfredo Boscan got the start and gave up 9 hits, 4 walks, and 6 runs (all earned) over 4 1/3 innings with 2 strikeouts. Mike Olt went 3 for 3 with a double, walk and a RBI. Ryan Strausborger went 1 for 4 with a double and run. Jared Bolden went 2 for 3, while Jared Hoying also went 2 for 4 with a solo homerun. Zach Zaneski and Mitch Hilligoss each added a hit.
Hickory (low-A) scored 2 runs in the top of the 8th inning and defeated the Rome Braves 5-4. Roman Mendez started for Hickory and gave up 6 hits, 2 walks, and 4 runs (all earned) over 5 1/3 innings with 6 strikeouts. Joseph Van Meter and Ryan Rodebaugh finished the game with 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Teodoro Martinez went 2 for 5 with a RBI out of the leadoff spot. Andrew Clark added 2 hits as well. Christian Villanueva went 1 for 2 with 2 walks, while Jhonny Gomez went 1 for 3 with a walk. Alejandro Selen added a 1 for 4 day with 2 RBI (his first 2 of the year for Hickory). 2010 1st round supplemental pick from McKinney, Matt Lipka, had a 2 for 5 day with a RBI for the Rome Braves. He is batting .264 on the year for the Braves.
Minor League Performance of the Day
For the Second straight day, the performance of the day will go to a player in the Washington Nationals organization. On Saturday Nationals pitching prospect Brad Peacock, who actually got minor league performance of the day his start before on May 13th, had another terrific start. Peacock got the victory in the Harrisburg Senator's 7-2 victory over the Binghamton Mets in the Eastern League. Peacock gave up just 1 hit, 2 walks, and 1 run (on a solo homerun) over 6 innings with 10 strikeouts. Peacock faced 21 batters and had 2 GB-2 FB in the start. On the season, he is now 6-1 with a 2.05 ERA in 8 games/7 starts. He has given up 31 hits and 9 walks in 48 1/3 innings with 66 strikeouts, including 38 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings in the month of May.
As always...
Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
Follow the Game Online at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/scoreboard/league.jsp?sid=milb&lid=109
Follow Us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/pressboxchatter
Follow the Extra Bases Live Blog throughout the Game at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/page.jsp?ymd=20100305&content_id=8685092&vkey=multimedia_t540&fext=.jsp&sid=t540
And Check Out the Riders Insider Blog for more Frisco RoughRiders info: http://ridersinsider.mlblogs.com/
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Game 42: Frisco RoughRiders (Martin Perez) @ San Antonio Missions (Rob Musgrave)
Time: 7:05 PM CT
Location: Nelson Wolff Municipal Stadium (San Antonio, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (22-19 6 games back in the Texas League South)... San Antonio Missions (28-13 1st place in the Texas League South)
Streak: Lost 1 in a row
Last 10: 8-2
Series Record: 5-5-1
Record against San Antonio: 4-5
All time Record against San Antonio: 114-112
Record since 2004 on May 21st: 4-2
Starting Pitchers: Martin Perez (1-0 2.66 ERA this season) is 4-2 with a 5.01 ERA in 9 career appearances/8 starts against the San Antonio Missions ... Rob Musgrave (3-1 4.15 ERA) is 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in 2 appearances against the Frisco RoughRiders
What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco sends Martin Perez out to the mound for the 9th time, while San Antonio sends Rob Musgrave to the mound for his 4th start and 7th appearance for the Missions this season... Martin Perez made his last start this past Monday and he was as sharp as he has ever been in Frisco. Perez set career bests in innings pitched with 7 2/3 and strikeouts with 10 strikeouts in the game. His curveball was outstanding, he threw strikes, and kept his pitch count down for most of the game. Unfortunately for Perez, he got a no decision after giving up 4 hits, 1 walk, and 2 runs (both earned) in 7 2/3 innings. This will be Martin's 9th start and 10th appearance in his career against the San Antonio Missions. In his first 8 starts this season, Perez has just 1 decision. Frisco is 3-0 in Perez's starts in May and have won his last 4 outings. They are 6-2 when Perez is on the mound. On the season, Martin Perez has given up 31 hits and 19 walks with 42 strikeouts in 40 2/3 innings pitched. Left handed batters are hitting just .132 against the Ranger's #1 prospect this season... Rob Musgrave will be making his 4th start this season in the Texas League. In his last start this past Monday, Musgrave gave up 6 hits, 2 walks, and 5 runs (4 earned) in 5 innings against the Corpus Christi Hooks and took the loss in the start. Musgrave has made 2 appearances against Frisco with his last coming on May 6th. He gave up 1 hit and 0 walks over 3 shutout innings of relief and earned the win in the game. On the season Musgrave has given up 18 hits and 10 walks with 22 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings pitched. Left handed hitters are batting .162 against him this season.
Round One Goes to San Antonio: Continuing where they left off against the Riders at home, San Antonio defeated Frisco 8-7 in game one of the four game set between the top 2 teams in the Texas League South. Of the 9 games the two teams have faced each other in this season, five of them have been decided by one run. Frisco is 1-4 in 1 those 5 games.
Bleier Struggles: Richard Bleier had one of his worst outings as a Frisco RoughRider on Friday when he gave up 11 hits and 6 runs (all earned) over 3 1/3 innings pitched. The start marked the third straight start by a Frisco RoughRiders starter with a game score of 40 or less after they had gotten 2 stellar outings from Perez and Brigham. Bleier was given a 2-0 lead after 2 innings, but the lead was erased as San Antonio scored 4 in the 3rd and 2 in the 4th inning to take a 6-2 lead after 4 innings.
Offense Gets Hits: Despite the lineup looking more like a minor league lineup than the major league looking lineup of the past few days with Hamilton and Cruz, the Riders managed to get 13 hits, 2 walks, and 7 runs against San Antonio. Four players had 2 or more hits in the game for Frisco and four different players drove in runs. Only Engel Beltre and Guilder Rodriguez were hitless in the game.
Welcome Back (kind of) Travis Adair: If you thought that Travis Adair was sent back down to Myrtle Beach or was hurt and placed on the DL, well we don't blame you really. Due to the incoming presence of Leonys Martin, Engel Beltre being back from the DL, and then subsequently Nelson Cruz and Josh Hamilton rehabbing from the Rangers, Travis Adair hadn't started for Frisco in around a week. He wasn't hurt or sent down, he was just the odd man out in unfortunate circumstances. However, on Friday, Adair made up for lost time by going 2 for 4 with his first 2 homeruns as a Frisco RoughRider! Now that's a way to make up for lost time.
Ripping San Antonio: Renny Osuna came into yesterday's game with a .450 batting average on the season against the Missions. If you thought he couldn't raise it, well you're wrong. Osuna went 4 for 5 with a RBI in the game and is now batting .520 with a 1.258 OPS in 25 AB's against the Missions this year. He has accumulated a team best 18 total bases against San Antonio this season as well.
Keep on Running: If there is one area of the RoughRiders that Leonys Martin has really stood out on, it's in steals and stolen base attempts. Despite being here just over a week, Martin is already 2nd on the team in stolen base attempts with 8 (in 8 games). Of course he has been thrown out in half of those, so he still has to work on that, but he (and the team as they let him) has definitely shown a willingness to run early on.
Last Year on this Date: Frisco defeated the San Antonio Missions 2-1 on the road. Tanner Roark picked up the victory for Frisco after giving up just 3 hits and 1 walk over 7 shutout innings with 3 strikeouts. Warner Madrigal pitched an inning of scoreless relief. Beau Jones gave up a run in 2/3 of an inning, while Evan Reed picked up his 3rd save with a scoreless 1/3 of an inning. Matt Lawson went 2 for 4 at the plate for Frisco. Wes Bankston and Renny Osuna each had a double in the game as well. Osuna and Joey Butler each scored a run for the Riders.
Answer to Yesterday's Question of the Day: Second base
Around the Ranger's System
Yesterday's Record: 0-4
Round Rock (AAA) gave up runs in the 7th and 9th inning to fall 5-4 to the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. Seth McClung started for Round Rock and gave up 8 hits, 1 walk, and 4 runs (all earned) over 6 2/3 innings with 2 strikeouts. Zach Phillips pitched a scoreless inning of relief, while Pedro Strop took the loss after giving up 1 run in 1 1/3 innings. Josh Hamilton went 1 for 4 with a double in rehab. Nelson Cruz went 3 for 4 with a homerun and 2 RBI. Chad Tracy went 2 for 4 with a double as well. Luis Cruz, batting 8th, went 3 for 4 with 2 RBI.
Myrtle Beach (high-A) gave up 4 runs in the 8th inning to break a 2-2 tie and lost 6-4 to the Wilmington Blue Rocks. Robbie Ross took the mound for Myrtle Beach and gave up 8 hits, 3 walks, and 2 unearned runs over 5 innings with 3 strikeouts. Ryan Kelly took the loss after giving up 3 hits, 1 walk, and 4 runs (3 earned) over 2 1/3 innings. Mike Olt went 1 for 3 with his 7th homerun and a walk. Zach Zaneski had a 2 for 4 day with 2 RBI. Ryan Strausborger and Mitch Hilligoss (double) each added a hit of their own. David Paisano had his first RBI for the Pelicans.
Hickory (low-A) scored a run in the 9th inning, but couldn't pull off a comeback as they lost 6-5 to the Rome Braves. Luke Jackson made his first start of the year for Hickory and gave up 4 hits, 2 walks, and 4 runs (all earned) over 4 innings with 4 strikeouts. Colby Killian took the loss after giving up 2 runs over 2 innings. Jorge Marban pitched 2 perfect innings of relief. Jurickson Profar set a career best with 4 hits in 5 at bats in the game. He had a double, 2 RBI, and stole a base. Josh Richmond, Jake Skole, and Jhonny Gomez each had 2 hits in the game. Odubel Herrera went 1 for 5 with a double and a RBI. Jonathan Roof went 1 for 3 with a sac fly RBI.
Minor League Performance of the Day
Bryce Harper has torn the cover off of the baseball for over a month now and he continued that on Friday. In the Hagerstown Sun's 5-4 loss to the Greensboro Grasshoppers, Bryce Harper went 2 for 3 with a double, homerun, 3 RBI, walk, and stolen base. He is batting .364 on the season and now is tied for the league lead with 10 homeruns and has 34 RBI to go with it. Have we mentioned that he should still just be graduating from high school, not ripping baseballs in full season leagues? Since April 20th, essentially a month long, Harper is batting .416 with a .491 OBP, .802 SLG, 1.293 OPS, and has 21 extra base hits in 27 games. He leads the league in that time in: AVG, extra base hits, total bases, doubles, homeruns, RBI, intentional walks, OBP, SLG, OPS, and is 4th in runs. Yea, that's pretty good for last year's #1 overall pick. Needless to say, I think Harper has done better than most could expect a kid his age to do in full season ball with the hype he has received.
As always...
Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
Follow the Game Online at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/scoreboard/league.jsp?sid=milb&lid=109
Follow Us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/pressboxchatter
Follow the Extra Bases Live Blog throughout the Game at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/page.jsp?ymd=20100305&content_id=8685092&vkey=multimedia_t540&fext=.jsp&sid=t540
And Check Out the Riders Insider Blog for more Frisco RoughRiders info: http://ridersinsider.mlblogs.com/
Location: Nelson Wolff Municipal Stadium (San Antonio, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (22-19 6 games back in the Texas League South)... San Antonio Missions (28-13 1st place in the Texas League South)
Streak: Lost 1 in a row
Last 10: 8-2
Series Record: 5-5-1
Record against San Antonio: 4-5
All time Record against San Antonio: 114-112
Record since 2004 on May 21st: 4-2
Starting Pitchers: Martin Perez (1-0 2.66 ERA this season) is 4-2 with a 5.01 ERA in 9 career appearances/8 starts against the San Antonio Missions ... Rob Musgrave (3-1 4.15 ERA) is 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in 2 appearances against the Frisco RoughRiders
What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco sends Martin Perez out to the mound for the 9th time, while San Antonio sends Rob Musgrave to the mound for his 4th start and 7th appearance for the Missions this season... Martin Perez made his last start this past Monday and he was as sharp as he has ever been in Frisco. Perez set career bests in innings pitched with 7 2/3 and strikeouts with 10 strikeouts in the game. His curveball was outstanding, he threw strikes, and kept his pitch count down for most of the game. Unfortunately for Perez, he got a no decision after giving up 4 hits, 1 walk, and 2 runs (both earned) in 7 2/3 innings. This will be Martin's 9th start and 10th appearance in his career against the San Antonio Missions. In his first 8 starts this season, Perez has just 1 decision. Frisco is 3-0 in Perez's starts in May and have won his last 4 outings. They are 6-2 when Perez is on the mound. On the season, Martin Perez has given up 31 hits and 19 walks with 42 strikeouts in 40 2/3 innings pitched. Left handed batters are hitting just .132 against the Ranger's #1 prospect this season... Rob Musgrave will be making his 4th start this season in the Texas League. In his last start this past Monday, Musgrave gave up 6 hits, 2 walks, and 5 runs (4 earned) in 5 innings against the Corpus Christi Hooks and took the loss in the start. Musgrave has made 2 appearances against Frisco with his last coming on May 6th. He gave up 1 hit and 0 walks over 3 shutout innings of relief and earned the win in the game. On the season Musgrave has given up 18 hits and 10 walks with 22 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings pitched. Left handed hitters are batting .162 against him this season.
Round One Goes to San Antonio: Continuing where they left off against the Riders at home, San Antonio defeated Frisco 8-7 in game one of the four game set between the top 2 teams in the Texas League South. Of the 9 games the two teams have faced each other in this season, five of them have been decided by one run. Frisco is 1-4 in 1 those 5 games.
Bleier Struggles: Richard Bleier had one of his worst outings as a Frisco RoughRider on Friday when he gave up 11 hits and 6 runs (all earned) over 3 1/3 innings pitched. The start marked the third straight start by a Frisco RoughRiders starter with a game score of 40 or less after they had gotten 2 stellar outings from Perez and Brigham. Bleier was given a 2-0 lead after 2 innings, but the lead was erased as San Antonio scored 4 in the 3rd and 2 in the 4th inning to take a 6-2 lead after 4 innings.
Offense Gets Hits: Despite the lineup looking more like a minor league lineup than the major league looking lineup of the past few days with Hamilton and Cruz, the Riders managed to get 13 hits, 2 walks, and 7 runs against San Antonio. Four players had 2 or more hits in the game for Frisco and four different players drove in runs. Only Engel Beltre and Guilder Rodriguez were hitless in the game.
Welcome Back (kind of) Travis Adair: If you thought that Travis Adair was sent back down to Myrtle Beach or was hurt and placed on the DL, well we don't blame you really. Due to the incoming presence of Leonys Martin, Engel Beltre being back from the DL, and then subsequently Nelson Cruz and Josh Hamilton rehabbing from the Rangers, Travis Adair hadn't started for Frisco in around a week. He wasn't hurt or sent down, he was just the odd man out in unfortunate circumstances. However, on Friday, Adair made up for lost time by going 2 for 4 with his first 2 homeruns as a Frisco RoughRider! Now that's a way to make up for lost time.
Ripping San Antonio: Renny Osuna came into yesterday's game with a .450 batting average on the season against the Missions. If you thought he couldn't raise it, well you're wrong. Osuna went 4 for 5 with a RBI in the game and is now batting .520 with a 1.258 OPS in 25 AB's against the Missions this year. He has accumulated a team best 18 total bases against San Antonio this season as well.
Keep on Running: If there is one area of the RoughRiders that Leonys Martin has really stood out on, it's in steals and stolen base attempts. Despite being here just over a week, Martin is already 2nd on the team in stolen base attempts with 8 (in 8 games). Of course he has been thrown out in half of those, so he still has to work on that, but he (and the team as they let him) has definitely shown a willingness to run early on.
Last Year on this Date: Frisco defeated the San Antonio Missions 2-1 on the road. Tanner Roark picked up the victory for Frisco after giving up just 3 hits and 1 walk over 7 shutout innings with 3 strikeouts. Warner Madrigal pitched an inning of scoreless relief. Beau Jones gave up a run in 2/3 of an inning, while Evan Reed picked up his 3rd save with a scoreless 1/3 of an inning. Matt Lawson went 2 for 4 at the plate for Frisco. Wes Bankston and Renny Osuna each had a double in the game as well. Osuna and Joey Butler each scored a run for the Riders.
Answer to Yesterday's Question of the Day: Second base
Around the Ranger's System
Yesterday's Record: 0-4
Round Rock (AAA) gave up runs in the 7th and 9th inning to fall 5-4 to the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. Seth McClung started for Round Rock and gave up 8 hits, 1 walk, and 4 runs (all earned) over 6 2/3 innings with 2 strikeouts. Zach Phillips pitched a scoreless inning of relief, while Pedro Strop took the loss after giving up 1 run in 1 1/3 innings. Josh Hamilton went 1 for 4 with a double in rehab. Nelson Cruz went 3 for 4 with a homerun and 2 RBI. Chad Tracy went 2 for 4 with a double as well. Luis Cruz, batting 8th, went 3 for 4 with 2 RBI.
Myrtle Beach (high-A) gave up 4 runs in the 8th inning to break a 2-2 tie and lost 6-4 to the Wilmington Blue Rocks. Robbie Ross took the mound for Myrtle Beach and gave up 8 hits, 3 walks, and 2 unearned runs over 5 innings with 3 strikeouts. Ryan Kelly took the loss after giving up 3 hits, 1 walk, and 4 runs (3 earned) over 2 1/3 innings. Mike Olt went 1 for 3 with his 7th homerun and a walk. Zach Zaneski had a 2 for 4 day with 2 RBI. Ryan Strausborger and Mitch Hilligoss (double) each added a hit of their own. David Paisano had his first RBI for the Pelicans.
Hickory (low-A) scored a run in the 9th inning, but couldn't pull off a comeback as they lost 6-5 to the Rome Braves. Luke Jackson made his first start of the year for Hickory and gave up 4 hits, 2 walks, and 4 runs (all earned) over 4 innings with 4 strikeouts. Colby Killian took the loss after giving up 2 runs over 2 innings. Jorge Marban pitched 2 perfect innings of relief. Jurickson Profar set a career best with 4 hits in 5 at bats in the game. He had a double, 2 RBI, and stole a base. Josh Richmond, Jake Skole, and Jhonny Gomez each had 2 hits in the game. Odubel Herrera went 1 for 5 with a double and a RBI. Jonathan Roof went 1 for 3 with a sac fly RBI.
Minor League Performance of the Day
Bryce Harper has torn the cover off of the baseball for over a month now and he continued that on Friday. In the Hagerstown Sun's 5-4 loss to the Greensboro Grasshoppers, Bryce Harper went 2 for 3 with a double, homerun, 3 RBI, walk, and stolen base. He is batting .364 on the season and now is tied for the league lead with 10 homeruns and has 34 RBI to go with it. Have we mentioned that he should still just be graduating from high school, not ripping baseballs in full season leagues? Since April 20th, essentially a month long, Harper is batting .416 with a .491 OBP, .802 SLG, 1.293 OPS, and has 21 extra base hits in 27 games. He leads the league in that time in: AVG, extra base hits, total bases, doubles, homeruns, RBI, intentional walks, OBP, SLG, OPS, and is 4th in runs. Yea, that's pretty good for last year's #1 overall pick. Needless to say, I think Harper has done better than most could expect a kid his age to do in full season ball with the hype he has received.
As always...
Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
Follow the Game Online at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/scoreboard/league.jsp?sid=milb&lid=109
Follow Us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/pressboxchatter
Follow the Extra Bases Live Blog throughout the Game at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/page.jsp?ymd=20100305&content_id=8685092&vkey=multimedia_t540&fext=.jsp&sid=t540
And Check Out the Riders Insider Blog for more Frisco RoughRiders info: http://ridersinsider.mlblogs.com/
Friday, May 20, 2011
Game 41: Frisco RoughRiders (Richard Bleier) @ San Antonio Missions (Anthony Bass)
Time: 7:05 PM CT
Location: Nelson Wolff Municipal Stadium (San Antonio, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (22-18 5 games back in the Texas League South)... San Antonio Missions (27-13 1st place in the Texas League South)
Streak: Won 4 in a row
Last 10: 9-1
Series Record: 5-5-1
Record against San Antonio: 4-4
All time Record against San Antonio: 114-111
Record Since 2004 on May 20th: 4-2
Starting Pitchers: Richard Bleier (0-0 3.07 ERA)... Anthony Bass (5-2 3.78 ERA)
What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco sends Richard Bleier to the mound for his 3rd start of the season and 4th appearance, while the Missions send Anthony Bass to the mound for the 9th time this season... Richard Bleier received a no decision in his last outing after giving a solid, but not great performance. Bleier gave up 9 hits and 3 runs over 6 innings with a strikeout against the Corpus Christi Hooks last Sunday in a loss to the Hooks. He did not issue a walk in the start. Bleier faced San Antonio in his first outing of the year when he relieved the rehab tandem of Neftali Feliz and Scott Feldman. Bleier gave up 3 hits and 1 walk over 3 2/3 shutout innings. This will be Bleier's 9th start and 10th appearance against the Missions. He is 1-4 with a 5.84 ERA in the previous 9 appearances/8 starts before tonight. He has given up 58 hits in 44 2/3 innings against the Missions in his career... Outside of a couple rougher outings, Anthony Bass has put together a nice year so far this season. In his last outing, Bass gave up 3 hits, 4 walks, and a run over 6 innings against the Corpus Christi Hooks and earned his 5th win of the season, which is tied for 2nd in the Texas League behind Stephen Dodson's 6 wins out of relief for the Tulsa Drillers. One of the two rougher outings for Bass, however, came against Frisco on May 3rd when he received his 2nd loss of the season. Bass gave up 8 hits and 5 runs over 7 innings with 9 strikeouts. This will be Bass's 3rd start of the season against Frisco. He gave up 3 hits, 2 walks, and a run over 6 innings in the other start against the RoughRiders. On the season, Bass has given up 43 hits and 13 walks with 40 strikeouts over 47 2/3 innings.
Frisco Picks Up First Sweep: Frisco came back from down 4-0 after 2 innings against the Midland Rockhounds to defeat them 7-4 and pick up their first sweep of the 2011 season. A 5 run third inning pulled the Riders ahead 5-4 and runs in the 5th and 8th inning sealed the victory. It pulled the Riders to 10 games over .500 in the month of May (14-4) and marked their 4th series victory in a row. Frisco had been 0-3 when going for the sweep this season prior to yesterday's win.
Chris Mobley Struggles in First Start Since 2004: I don't think the expectations for Chris Mobley were for him to go 5 innings when the team entered Thursday's game, however, Mobley struggled to get through the 2nd inning anyways. He gave up 5 hits, 2 walks, and 4 runs (all earned) over 2 innings with 1 strikeout. He struggled to throw strikes and when he did, they were usually hit somewhere well.
Pitch Count by Inning (Strikes/Pitches)
1- 14/24
2- 14/33
Bullpen Key: While usual reliever Mobley struggled, the rest of the bullpen work was outstanding. Adalberto Flores pitched 3 shutout innings to earn his 1st win of the year. Flores gave up 2 hits, 2 walks, and struck out 4 batters. Ramon Aguero pitched 2 shutout innings himself and gave up 0 hits and 1 walk to get his 3rd hold. Fabio Castillo earned his first save with 2 shutout innings of relief as he gave up 1 hit, 1 walk, and struck out 1 batter.
Hamilton Finishes Up Frisco Rehab: Josh Hamilton's rehab is not fully complete as he will play 3 games for the Round Rock Express over the weekend, but his rehab with the Riders is finished after 2 games and 2 wins. Hamilton went 0 for 3 with a walk, RBI, and 2 runs on Thursday. Frisco definitely benefited from the major leaguers being in town as well, as attendance was outstanding for both games that Hamilton was in town.
Offense Solid: The Riders offense managed 7 hits and 6 walks on Thursday and scored 7 runs. Guilder Rodriguez had the lone extra base hit, a triple. Five different Riders (Hamilton, Renny Osuna, Jonathan Greene, Jose Ruiz, and Rodriguez) drove in a run in the game as well.
Big Series Coming Up: When Frisco went to San Antonio the last time, the Riders were a meager 6-10 and were 3-9 in their last 12 games, while the Missions were 10-6 and 9-4 in their last 13 games. The two teams were on opposite end of the spectrums. Frisco then lost 3 of 4 to the Missions and seemed to have been sent into oblivion, especially as they entered May 7 games behind the Missions and in last place in the South. Frisco, however, enters San Antonio this time having won 14 of their last 18 games and are currently half of a game behind Tulsa for the 2nd best record in the Texas League. They remain 5 games back from the Missions in the South division, but a series win this weekend could be big for Frisco. A series loss, however, could be big for the Missions as well, as they would get even more room between them and the next closest team.
Keeping the Mission's Bats Cooled Down: After batting .315/.397/.569/.966 as a team in the month of April, the San Antonio Missions are "only" batting .266/.363/.459/.822 as a team in the month of May. The task for Frisco pitchers will be to do what they've done to the Missions in the 8 games they've faced them this season. San Antonio is batting just .203 with a team OPS of .694 against Frisco pitchers this season in the 8 games. They have "only" hit 26 extra base hits in the 8 games against Frisco as well. It sounds even more impressive when you consider that the Corpus Christi Hooks have done the next best job against the Missions hitters and they still have an .881 OPS against the Hooks this season.
Last Year on this Date: Frisco defeated the Midland Rockhounds on the road 4-2 as Blake Beavan started and picked up his 6th win. Beavan gave up 5 hits, 1 walk, and 2 runs over 8 innings with 2 strikeouts. Cody Eppley picked up his first save with a scoreless 9th inning of relief. Matt Lawson provided most of the offense with a 3 for 5 day and 2 RBI. Joey Butled doubled and drove in the other 2 runs in the game. James Tomlin finished with 2 hits, while Butler, Renny Osuna, Andy Jenkins, Elio Sarmiento, and Guilder Rodriguez each had a hit a piece.
Yesterday's Answer to the Question of the Day: Brooks Robinson
Around the Ranger's System
Yesterday's Record: 3-1
Round Rock (AAA) scored 5 runs in the 2nd inning and 3 in the 4th to win 8-3 over the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. Scott Feldman started on rehab for Round Rock and gave up 8 hits and 3 runs over 6 innings with 3 strikeouts and 0 walks. He got his 2nd win on rehab so far. Chad Tracy provided the power for the Express lineup as he went 2 for 4 with 2 homeruns and drove in 4 runs. Esteban German went 4 for 5 with 2 RBI at the top of the order. Michael Kirkman and Ryan Tucker pitched the final 3 innings of shutout ball for Round Rock.
Myrtle Beach (high-A) got another great starting pitching outing and defeated the Winston-Salem Dash 3-1. Barret Loux took the mound for Myrtle Beach and gave up 4 hits, 2 walks, and a run over 6 innings with 5 strikeouts. Joseph Ortiz pitched the final 3 innings for his 3rd save of the season. The 20 year old southpaw's ERA is now down to 1.29. Zach Zaneski went 2 for 3 with 2 homeruns and 2 RBI at the plate for the Pelicans. Ryan Strausborger went 1 for 3 with a sac fly RBI as well. Mike Olt went 0 for 3 with a walk for Myrtle Beach.
Hickory (low-A) tied the game 2-2 in the 8th inning, but lost 3-2 in 11 innings to the Greensboro Grasshoppers. Nick Tepesch started for Hickory and gave up 3 hits, 1 walk, and 2 runs over 6 innings with 3 strikeouts. Ben Henry and Jimmy Reyes pitched 3 innings of shutout relief before Ryan Rodebaugh gave up a homerun to Ryan Fisher in the 11th inning in his second inning of work. Jurickson Profar went 1 for 4 with 2 walks at the for Hickory. Tomas Telis, Andrew Clark, and Josh Richmond each had 2 hits in the game. Jake Skole went 1 for 3 with 2 walks.
Minor League Performance of the Day
While his teammate Desmond Jennings steals the show often, Leslie Anderson had what was probably a career night. The Durham Bull's first baseman went 4 for 5 with 2 homeruns, 6 RBI, 2 runs, and 10 total bases in Durham's 12-6 victory over the Louisville Bats. Desmond Jennings went 3 for 5 with 2 doubles, a homerun, RBI, 3 runs, and a stolen base in the same game as well. Anderson, a 29 year old first baseman who defected from Cuba before the 2010 season, has struggled in AAA this season for Durham. Through Thursday's game Anderson is batting just .239 with 4 homeruns in 138 at bats and has an OPS of .649. Last season, Anderson batted .302 with an .801 OPS between high-A, AA, and AAA. He signed with the Rays on March 11, 2010, for $3.75 million over 4 seasons.
As always...
Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
Follow the Game Online at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/scoreboard/league.jsp?sid=milb&lid=109
Follow Us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/pressboxchatter
Follow the Extra Bases Live Blog throughout the Game at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/page.jsp?ymd=20100305&content_id=8685092&vkey=multimedia_t540&fext=.jsp&sid=t540
And Check Out the Riders Insider Blog for more Frisco RoughRiders info: http://ridersinsider.mlblogs.com/
Location: Nelson Wolff Municipal Stadium (San Antonio, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (22-18 5 games back in the Texas League South)... San Antonio Missions (27-13 1st place in the Texas League South)
Streak: Won 4 in a row
Last 10: 9-1
Series Record: 5-5-1
Record against San Antonio: 4-4
All time Record against San Antonio: 114-111
Record Since 2004 on May 20th: 4-2
Starting Pitchers: Richard Bleier (0-0 3.07 ERA)... Anthony Bass (5-2 3.78 ERA)
What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco sends Richard Bleier to the mound for his 3rd start of the season and 4th appearance, while the Missions send Anthony Bass to the mound for the 9th time this season... Richard Bleier received a no decision in his last outing after giving a solid, but not great performance. Bleier gave up 9 hits and 3 runs over 6 innings with a strikeout against the Corpus Christi Hooks last Sunday in a loss to the Hooks. He did not issue a walk in the start. Bleier faced San Antonio in his first outing of the year when he relieved the rehab tandem of Neftali Feliz and Scott Feldman. Bleier gave up 3 hits and 1 walk over 3 2/3 shutout innings. This will be Bleier's 9th start and 10th appearance against the Missions. He is 1-4 with a 5.84 ERA in the previous 9 appearances/8 starts before tonight. He has given up 58 hits in 44 2/3 innings against the Missions in his career... Outside of a couple rougher outings, Anthony Bass has put together a nice year so far this season. In his last outing, Bass gave up 3 hits, 4 walks, and a run over 6 innings against the Corpus Christi Hooks and earned his 5th win of the season, which is tied for 2nd in the Texas League behind Stephen Dodson's 6 wins out of relief for the Tulsa Drillers. One of the two rougher outings for Bass, however, came against Frisco on May 3rd when he received his 2nd loss of the season. Bass gave up 8 hits and 5 runs over 7 innings with 9 strikeouts. This will be Bass's 3rd start of the season against Frisco. He gave up 3 hits, 2 walks, and a run over 6 innings in the other start against the RoughRiders. On the season, Bass has given up 43 hits and 13 walks with 40 strikeouts over 47 2/3 innings.
Frisco Picks Up First Sweep: Frisco came back from down 4-0 after 2 innings against the Midland Rockhounds to defeat them 7-4 and pick up their first sweep of the 2011 season. A 5 run third inning pulled the Riders ahead 5-4 and runs in the 5th and 8th inning sealed the victory. It pulled the Riders to 10 games over .500 in the month of May (14-4) and marked their 4th series victory in a row. Frisco had been 0-3 when going for the sweep this season prior to yesterday's win.
Chris Mobley Struggles in First Start Since 2004: I don't think the expectations for Chris Mobley were for him to go 5 innings when the team entered Thursday's game, however, Mobley struggled to get through the 2nd inning anyways. He gave up 5 hits, 2 walks, and 4 runs (all earned) over 2 innings with 1 strikeout. He struggled to throw strikes and when he did, they were usually hit somewhere well.
Pitch Count by Inning (Strikes/Pitches)
1- 14/24
2- 14/33
Bullpen Key: While usual reliever Mobley struggled, the rest of the bullpen work was outstanding. Adalberto Flores pitched 3 shutout innings to earn his 1st win of the year. Flores gave up 2 hits, 2 walks, and struck out 4 batters. Ramon Aguero pitched 2 shutout innings himself and gave up 0 hits and 1 walk to get his 3rd hold. Fabio Castillo earned his first save with 2 shutout innings of relief as he gave up 1 hit, 1 walk, and struck out 1 batter.
Hamilton Finishes Up Frisco Rehab: Josh Hamilton's rehab is not fully complete as he will play 3 games for the Round Rock Express over the weekend, but his rehab with the Riders is finished after 2 games and 2 wins. Hamilton went 0 for 3 with a walk, RBI, and 2 runs on Thursday. Frisco definitely benefited from the major leaguers being in town as well, as attendance was outstanding for both games that Hamilton was in town.
Offense Solid: The Riders offense managed 7 hits and 6 walks on Thursday and scored 7 runs. Guilder Rodriguez had the lone extra base hit, a triple. Five different Riders (Hamilton, Renny Osuna, Jonathan Greene, Jose Ruiz, and Rodriguez) drove in a run in the game as well.
Big Series Coming Up: When Frisco went to San Antonio the last time, the Riders were a meager 6-10 and were 3-9 in their last 12 games, while the Missions were 10-6 and 9-4 in their last 13 games. The two teams were on opposite end of the spectrums. Frisco then lost 3 of 4 to the Missions and seemed to have been sent into oblivion, especially as they entered May 7 games behind the Missions and in last place in the South. Frisco, however, enters San Antonio this time having won 14 of their last 18 games and are currently half of a game behind Tulsa for the 2nd best record in the Texas League. They remain 5 games back from the Missions in the South division, but a series win this weekend could be big for Frisco. A series loss, however, could be big for the Missions as well, as they would get even more room between them and the next closest team.
Keeping the Mission's Bats Cooled Down: After batting .315/.397/.569/.966 as a team in the month of April, the San Antonio Missions are "only" batting .266/.363/.459/.822 as a team in the month of May. The task for Frisco pitchers will be to do what they've done to the Missions in the 8 games they've faced them this season. San Antonio is batting just .203 with a team OPS of .694 against Frisco pitchers this season in the 8 games. They have "only" hit 26 extra base hits in the 8 games against Frisco as well. It sounds even more impressive when you consider that the Corpus Christi Hooks have done the next best job against the Missions hitters and they still have an .881 OPS against the Hooks this season.
Last Year on this Date: Frisco defeated the Midland Rockhounds on the road 4-2 as Blake Beavan started and picked up his 6th win. Beavan gave up 5 hits, 1 walk, and 2 runs over 8 innings with 2 strikeouts. Cody Eppley picked up his first save with a scoreless 9th inning of relief. Matt Lawson provided most of the offense with a 3 for 5 day and 2 RBI. Joey Butled doubled and drove in the other 2 runs in the game. James Tomlin finished with 2 hits, while Butler, Renny Osuna, Andy Jenkins, Elio Sarmiento, and Guilder Rodriguez each had a hit a piece.
Yesterday's Answer to the Question of the Day: Brooks Robinson
Around the Ranger's System
Yesterday's Record: 3-1
Round Rock (AAA) scored 5 runs in the 2nd inning and 3 in the 4th to win 8-3 over the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. Scott Feldman started on rehab for Round Rock and gave up 8 hits and 3 runs over 6 innings with 3 strikeouts and 0 walks. He got his 2nd win on rehab so far. Chad Tracy provided the power for the Express lineup as he went 2 for 4 with 2 homeruns and drove in 4 runs. Esteban German went 4 for 5 with 2 RBI at the top of the order. Michael Kirkman and Ryan Tucker pitched the final 3 innings of shutout ball for Round Rock.
Myrtle Beach (high-A) got another great starting pitching outing and defeated the Winston-Salem Dash 3-1. Barret Loux took the mound for Myrtle Beach and gave up 4 hits, 2 walks, and a run over 6 innings with 5 strikeouts. Joseph Ortiz pitched the final 3 innings for his 3rd save of the season. The 20 year old southpaw's ERA is now down to 1.29. Zach Zaneski went 2 for 3 with 2 homeruns and 2 RBI at the plate for the Pelicans. Ryan Strausborger went 1 for 3 with a sac fly RBI as well. Mike Olt went 0 for 3 with a walk for Myrtle Beach.
Hickory (low-A) tied the game 2-2 in the 8th inning, but lost 3-2 in 11 innings to the Greensboro Grasshoppers. Nick Tepesch started for Hickory and gave up 3 hits, 1 walk, and 2 runs over 6 innings with 3 strikeouts. Ben Henry and Jimmy Reyes pitched 3 innings of shutout relief before Ryan Rodebaugh gave up a homerun to Ryan Fisher in the 11th inning in his second inning of work. Jurickson Profar went 1 for 4 with 2 walks at the for Hickory. Tomas Telis, Andrew Clark, and Josh Richmond each had 2 hits in the game. Jake Skole went 1 for 3 with 2 walks.
Minor League Performance of the Day
While his teammate Desmond Jennings steals the show often, Leslie Anderson had what was probably a career night. The Durham Bull's first baseman went 4 for 5 with 2 homeruns, 6 RBI, 2 runs, and 10 total bases in Durham's 12-6 victory over the Louisville Bats. Desmond Jennings went 3 for 5 with 2 doubles, a homerun, RBI, 3 runs, and a stolen base in the same game as well. Anderson, a 29 year old first baseman who defected from Cuba before the 2010 season, has struggled in AAA this season for Durham. Through Thursday's game Anderson is batting just .239 with 4 homeruns in 138 at bats and has an OPS of .649. Last season, Anderson batted .302 with an .801 OPS between high-A, AA, and AAA. He signed with the Rays on March 11, 2010, for $3.75 million over 4 seasons.
As always...
Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
Follow the Game Online at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/scoreboard/league.jsp?sid=milb&lid=109
Follow Us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/pressboxchatter
Follow the Extra Bases Live Blog throughout the Game at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/page.jsp?ymd=20100305&content_id=8685092&vkey=multimedia_t540&fext=.jsp&sid=t540
And Check Out the Riders Insider Blog for more Frisco RoughRiders info: http://ridersinsider.mlblogs.com/
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Game 40: Midland Rockhounds (Ethan Hollingsworth) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Chris Mobley)
Time: 7:00 PM CT
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (21-18 5 games back in the Texas League South)... Midland Rockhounds (17-22 9 games back in the Texas League South)
Streak: Won 3 in a row
Last 10: 8-2
Series Record: 5-5-1
Record against Midland: 6-1
All time record against Midland: 109-98
Record since 2004 on May 19th: 4-3
Starting Pitchers: Chris Mobley (0-0 3.38 ERA)... Ethan Hollingsworth (2-2 3.92 ERA)
What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco will have Chris Mobley make his first start of the season, while Midland will send Ethan Hollingsworth to the mound for the 8th time... Chris Mobley last started a game on July 18th, 2004, when he was a 20 year old pitching for the Florida Marlin's short-season A team, the Jamestown Jammers of the New York Pen League. Mobley has been a reliever ever since then. With Frisco this season, Mobley has made 3 appearances and has given up 3 hits, 1 walk, and 3 runs (1 earned) in 2 2/3 innings with 3 strikeouts. Last year for the Riders he appeared in 14 games and given up 25 hits and 14 walks in 28 1/3 innings with 26 strikeouts. Mobley is 28-23 with a 3.48 ERA in 344 career appearances in the minor leagues... Ethan Hollingsworth has put together a pretty solid season so far for the Midland Rockhounds. In his last start, Hollingsworth gave up 3 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs in 5 innings with 4 strikeouts. He got a no decision his last time against Frisco despite giving up just 3 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run over 8 strong innings with 6 strikeouts. Midland won the game 2-1 in the 9th inning. For the season, Hollingsworth has given up 41 hits and 9 walks with 25 strikeouts in 39 innings.
Riders Power Winning Streak to 3 Games: Frisco led at 3 different points in Wednesday night's game against Midland and ended up winning 8-7. The win gave Frisco 3 straight wins and gives them a 6-1 record against Midland this season, including 5 wins in a row against the Rockhounds.
Frisco Rangers: With Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz in the 3 and 4 holes in the lineup, Frisco looked more like a major league offense on Wednesday than they did a minor league offense. Josh Hamilton went 2 for 4 in the game with a 2-run homerun to left field in the 3rd inning to put Frisco on top 2-1 at the time, and Hamilton beat out an infield single, which went deep into the hole at shortstop in the 5th inning. Cruz went 0 for 4 although he lined out to the shortstop to end the 1st inning.
Carlos Pimentel Struggles: After pitching better in 4 of his previous 5 starts, Pimentel struggled on Wednesday as he gave up 4 hits, 3 walks, and 4 runs (all earned) over just 3 innings. It was the first time a RoughRiders starting pitcher failed to get through at least 5 innings since Martin Perez went 4 innings on May 5th. Pimentel seemed to fall in love with his breaking pitches in the start and it cost him a bit of wildness as he gave up the 3 walks and 2 wild pitches.
Pitch Count by Inning (Strikes/Pitches)
1- 11/20
2- 8/8
3- 12/20
4- 10/20
Total: 41/68
Jose Ruiz Does It Again: For the second game in a row, first baseman Jose Ruiz hit a homerun late in the game to give Frisco the win. He hit a walkoff shot in the 9th on Tuesday to give the Riders a 1-0 win, and on Wednesday, Ruiz hit a 2-run homerun in the bottom of the 8th to a break a 6-6 tie and give Frisco their eventual 8-7 win. Ruiz also doubled twice in the game to give him 8 total bases in the game. He is now 8 for 16 with 3 homeruns and 2 doubles in 5 games since coming back from his child's birth.
A New Leader in the Bullpen: While Ben Snyder was 1 out from getting his 5th win in his last 5 appearances against Midland, Justin Miller ended up getting the win in his relief outing, which gives him a team high 4 wins on the season. He had been stuck in a tie at 3 with 2 other relievers, Snyder and Mike Perconte. All three pitched on Wednesday as well. The bullpen is now 14-7 on the season, which gives them the same amount of wins as the Corpus Christi Hooks have as a team.
A Single Short: It probably seems at times that singles are the hardest hit to get for Midland's centerfielder Jermaine Mitchell. That hasn't been the case throughout his career, but this season it would seem so. Mitchell hit a towering homerun to lead off the game which landed beyond the pool in right field. He walked in the 3rd inning, got on via a force out in the 4th and stole 2nd base, hit a double to centerfield, which looked like a possible stand up triple if not for a very nice cut off by Leonys Martin in the 7th inning, and then hit his 11th triple of the season in the 9th inning. Altogether, he fell a single short of the cycle for the game and now has 11 triples, 6 doubles, 6 homeruns, and 30 singles on the season. The Texas League record for triples by the way is 30. Mitchell is on pace for 39 triples this season.
Last Year On this Date: Frisco lost 9-1 to the Midland Rockhounds. Martin Perez took the loss after giving up 7 hits, 3 walks, and 7 runs (all earned) over 3 1/3 innings with 6 strikeouts. Ben Snyder and Warner Madrigal finished up the rest of the 4 2/3 innings of relief with 3 hits and 2 runs (both earned) given up. Marcus Lemon tripled and scored the lone run on a James Tomlin sacrifice fly. Frisco managed just 4 hits and 1 walk against the Rockhounds.
Yesterday's Question of the Day Answer: 1950
Around the Ranger's System:
Yesterday's Record: 3-2
Round Rock (AAA) Had an off day. They come home to play the Colorado Springs Sky Sox tonight. Scott Feldman will be on the mound on rehab for the Express and Josh Hamilton will join Round Rock beginning Friday for the weekend.
Myrtle Beach (high-A) gave up a run in the 7th and then 3 in the 8th inning of game one of the double header to lose 6-3, but came back and won 6-4 in the second game of the double header... Robbie Erlin started game one for Myrtle Beach and gave up just 3 hits and 2 runs (both on solo homeruns) over 6 2/3 innings with 9 strikeouts. Johan Yan took the loss after giving up 3 hits, 2 walks, and 4 runs (all earned) over 1 inning. Mike Olt went 0 for 2 with 2 walks in the game, while Ryan Strausborger went 1 for 4. Leury Garcia, Jared Prince, David Paisano, and Santiago Chirino each got a hit in the game as well... Kennil Gomez started the second game and pitched 5 shutout innings as the Pelicans held on to win 6-4. Jared Hoying went 2 for 3 with a double, walk, and RBI at the plate. Jared Bolden went 2 for 3 with a homerun and 3 RBI. Leury Garcia, Mitch Hilligoss, Jared Prince, and Breit Nicholas all added a hit a piece in the game as well.
Hickory (low-A) played a double header as well and split theirs too. Hickory lost 3-2 in game one but came back and won 5-0 in the second game... Justin Grimm started the first game and gave up 7 hits, 3 walks, and 3 runs (2 earned) over 5 innings with 4 strikeouts. Jurickson Profar went 1 for 3 with a double and a walk. It was the 5th game this season where Profar has doubled and walked in the same game. Andrew Clark went 1 for 1 with 2 walks. Odubel Herrera went 1 for 3 with a double. Jake Skole added a RBI as part of a 1 for 3 day... Matt Thompson started the second part of the double header and gave up 5 hits and 2 walks over 6 1/3 shutout innings with 7 strikeouts. Teodoro Martinez batted leadoff and went 2 for 4 with a double. Josh Richmond went 2 for 3 and homered twice with 3 RBI. Tomas Telis, Andrew Clark, and Yefry Castillo added a hit a piece. Odubel Herrera went 1 for 2 with a triple and a walk, while Skole went 1 for 2 with a RBI and a walk.
Minor League Performance of the Day
Kane County Cougar's starter Sugar Ray Marimon has been good this season. On Wednesday, however, he was great. Marimon limited the Cedar Rapid Kernel's hitters to no hits and 2 walks over 7 2/3 innings with 7 strikeouts. Chas Byrne finished off the Kernel's for the 9 inning no-hitter. Sugar Ray improved his record to 3-2 and lowered his season ERA to 2.75. The 22 year old right handed pitcher from Columbia, also has struck out 36 batters in 39 1/3 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting just .201 against him on the season. Over his last 4 starts, Marimon has given up 2 runs in 23 2/3 innings with 11 hits given up and 4 walks while he has struck out 22 batters. Sugar Ray Marimon was signed by the Kansas City Royals as an international free agent in November of 2006.
As always...
Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
Follow the Game Online at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/scoreboard/league.jsp?sid=milb&lid=109
Follow Us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/pressboxchatter
Follow the Extra Bases Live Blog throughout the Game at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/page.jsp?ymd=20100305&content_id=8685092&vkey=multimedia_t540&fext=.jsp&sid=t540
And Check Out the Riders Insider Blog for more Frisco RoughRiders info: http://ridersinsider.mlblogs.com/
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (21-18 5 games back in the Texas League South)... Midland Rockhounds (17-22 9 games back in the Texas League South)
Streak: Won 3 in a row
Last 10: 8-2
Series Record: 5-5-1
Record against Midland: 6-1
All time record against Midland: 109-98
Record since 2004 on May 19th: 4-3
Starting Pitchers: Chris Mobley (0-0 3.38 ERA)... Ethan Hollingsworth (2-2 3.92 ERA)
What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco will have Chris Mobley make his first start of the season, while Midland will send Ethan Hollingsworth to the mound for the 8th time... Chris Mobley last started a game on July 18th, 2004, when he was a 20 year old pitching for the Florida Marlin's short-season A team, the Jamestown Jammers of the New York Pen League. Mobley has been a reliever ever since then. With Frisco this season, Mobley has made 3 appearances and has given up 3 hits, 1 walk, and 3 runs (1 earned) in 2 2/3 innings with 3 strikeouts. Last year for the Riders he appeared in 14 games and given up 25 hits and 14 walks in 28 1/3 innings with 26 strikeouts. Mobley is 28-23 with a 3.48 ERA in 344 career appearances in the minor leagues... Ethan Hollingsworth has put together a pretty solid season so far for the Midland Rockhounds. In his last start, Hollingsworth gave up 3 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs in 5 innings with 4 strikeouts. He got a no decision his last time against Frisco despite giving up just 3 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run over 8 strong innings with 6 strikeouts. Midland won the game 2-1 in the 9th inning. For the season, Hollingsworth has given up 41 hits and 9 walks with 25 strikeouts in 39 innings.
Riders Power Winning Streak to 3 Games: Frisco led at 3 different points in Wednesday night's game against Midland and ended up winning 8-7. The win gave Frisco 3 straight wins and gives them a 6-1 record against Midland this season, including 5 wins in a row against the Rockhounds.
Frisco Rangers: With Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz in the 3 and 4 holes in the lineup, Frisco looked more like a major league offense on Wednesday than they did a minor league offense. Josh Hamilton went 2 for 4 in the game with a 2-run homerun to left field in the 3rd inning to put Frisco on top 2-1 at the time, and Hamilton beat out an infield single, which went deep into the hole at shortstop in the 5th inning. Cruz went 0 for 4 although he lined out to the shortstop to end the 1st inning.
Carlos Pimentel Struggles: After pitching better in 4 of his previous 5 starts, Pimentel struggled on Wednesday as he gave up 4 hits, 3 walks, and 4 runs (all earned) over just 3 innings. It was the first time a RoughRiders starting pitcher failed to get through at least 5 innings since Martin Perez went 4 innings on May 5th. Pimentel seemed to fall in love with his breaking pitches in the start and it cost him a bit of wildness as he gave up the 3 walks and 2 wild pitches.
Pitch Count by Inning (Strikes/Pitches)
1- 11/20
2- 8/8
3- 12/20
4- 10/20
Total: 41/68
Jose Ruiz Does It Again: For the second game in a row, first baseman Jose Ruiz hit a homerun late in the game to give Frisco the win. He hit a walkoff shot in the 9th on Tuesday to give the Riders a 1-0 win, and on Wednesday, Ruiz hit a 2-run homerun in the bottom of the 8th to a break a 6-6 tie and give Frisco their eventual 8-7 win. Ruiz also doubled twice in the game to give him 8 total bases in the game. He is now 8 for 16 with 3 homeruns and 2 doubles in 5 games since coming back from his child's birth.
A New Leader in the Bullpen: While Ben Snyder was 1 out from getting his 5th win in his last 5 appearances against Midland, Justin Miller ended up getting the win in his relief outing, which gives him a team high 4 wins on the season. He had been stuck in a tie at 3 with 2 other relievers, Snyder and Mike Perconte. All three pitched on Wednesday as well. The bullpen is now 14-7 on the season, which gives them the same amount of wins as the Corpus Christi Hooks have as a team.
A Single Short: It probably seems at times that singles are the hardest hit to get for Midland's centerfielder Jermaine Mitchell. That hasn't been the case throughout his career, but this season it would seem so. Mitchell hit a towering homerun to lead off the game which landed beyond the pool in right field. He walked in the 3rd inning, got on via a force out in the 4th and stole 2nd base, hit a double to centerfield, which looked like a possible stand up triple if not for a very nice cut off by Leonys Martin in the 7th inning, and then hit his 11th triple of the season in the 9th inning. Altogether, he fell a single short of the cycle for the game and now has 11 triples, 6 doubles, 6 homeruns, and 30 singles on the season. The Texas League record for triples by the way is 30. Mitchell is on pace for 39 triples this season.
Last Year On this Date: Frisco lost 9-1 to the Midland Rockhounds. Martin Perez took the loss after giving up 7 hits, 3 walks, and 7 runs (all earned) over 3 1/3 innings with 6 strikeouts. Ben Snyder and Warner Madrigal finished up the rest of the 4 2/3 innings of relief with 3 hits and 2 runs (both earned) given up. Marcus Lemon tripled and scored the lone run on a James Tomlin sacrifice fly. Frisco managed just 4 hits and 1 walk against the Rockhounds.
Yesterday's Question of the Day Answer: 1950
Around the Ranger's System:
Yesterday's Record: 3-2
Round Rock (AAA) Had an off day. They come home to play the Colorado Springs Sky Sox tonight. Scott Feldman will be on the mound on rehab for the Express and Josh Hamilton will join Round Rock beginning Friday for the weekend.
Myrtle Beach (high-A) gave up a run in the 7th and then 3 in the 8th inning of game one of the double header to lose 6-3, but came back and won 6-4 in the second game of the double header... Robbie Erlin started game one for Myrtle Beach and gave up just 3 hits and 2 runs (both on solo homeruns) over 6 2/3 innings with 9 strikeouts. Johan Yan took the loss after giving up 3 hits, 2 walks, and 4 runs (all earned) over 1 inning. Mike Olt went 0 for 2 with 2 walks in the game, while Ryan Strausborger went 1 for 4. Leury Garcia, Jared Prince, David Paisano, and Santiago Chirino each got a hit in the game as well... Kennil Gomez started the second game and pitched 5 shutout innings as the Pelicans held on to win 6-4. Jared Hoying went 2 for 3 with a double, walk, and RBI at the plate. Jared Bolden went 2 for 3 with a homerun and 3 RBI. Leury Garcia, Mitch Hilligoss, Jared Prince, and Breit Nicholas all added a hit a piece in the game as well.
Hickory (low-A) played a double header as well and split theirs too. Hickory lost 3-2 in game one but came back and won 5-0 in the second game... Justin Grimm started the first game and gave up 7 hits, 3 walks, and 3 runs (2 earned) over 5 innings with 4 strikeouts. Jurickson Profar went 1 for 3 with a double and a walk. It was the 5th game this season where Profar has doubled and walked in the same game. Andrew Clark went 1 for 1 with 2 walks. Odubel Herrera went 1 for 3 with a double. Jake Skole added a RBI as part of a 1 for 3 day... Matt Thompson started the second part of the double header and gave up 5 hits and 2 walks over 6 1/3 shutout innings with 7 strikeouts. Teodoro Martinez batted leadoff and went 2 for 4 with a double. Josh Richmond went 2 for 3 and homered twice with 3 RBI. Tomas Telis, Andrew Clark, and Yefry Castillo added a hit a piece. Odubel Herrera went 1 for 2 with a triple and a walk, while Skole went 1 for 2 with a RBI and a walk.
Minor League Performance of the Day
Kane County Cougar's starter Sugar Ray Marimon has been good this season. On Wednesday, however, he was great. Marimon limited the Cedar Rapid Kernel's hitters to no hits and 2 walks over 7 2/3 innings with 7 strikeouts. Chas Byrne finished off the Kernel's for the 9 inning no-hitter. Sugar Ray improved his record to 3-2 and lowered his season ERA to 2.75. The 22 year old right handed pitcher from Columbia, also has struck out 36 batters in 39 1/3 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting just .201 against him on the season. Over his last 4 starts, Marimon has given up 2 runs in 23 2/3 innings with 11 hits given up and 4 walks while he has struck out 22 batters. Sugar Ray Marimon was signed by the Kansas City Royals as an international free agent in November of 2006.
As always...
Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
Follow the Game Online at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/scoreboard/league.jsp?sid=milb&lid=109
Follow Us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/pressboxchatter
Follow the Extra Bases Live Blog throughout the Game at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/page.jsp?ymd=20100305&content_id=8685092&vkey=multimedia_t540&fext=.jsp&sid=t540
And Check Out the Riders Insider Blog for more Frisco RoughRiders info: http://ridersinsider.mlblogs.com/
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