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

Today's Matchups Around the Ranger's System

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

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

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

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



Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Game 25: San Antonio Missions (Anthony Bass) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Carlos Pimentel

Time: 7:00 PM CT
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (9-15 8 games back in the Texas League South)... San Antonio Missions (17-7 1st place in the Texas League South)
Streak: Lost 1 in a row
Last 10: 3-7
Series Record: 1-5-1
Record against San Antonio: 1-3
Record Since 2005 on May 3rd: 4-2
Starting Pitchers: Carlos Pimentel (0-3 6.11 ERA)...Anthony Bass (3-1 3.45 ERA)

What to Watch for on the Mound: Riders send Carlos Pimentel to the mound for the 5th time this season, while the Missions send Anthony Bass out to the mound for the 6th time this year... After getting off to a rocky start in his first 2 starts, Carlos Pimentel has made back to back solid starts for the Riders. Last time out, Pimentel gave up 4 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run in 6 innings against the Missions with 6 strikeouts. Unfortunately for Pimentel he got a no decision, but the Riders did win with him on the mound for the first time. His 6 strikeouts in the start was the most he's had since August 23rd, 2009 in low-A. In his last 2 outings combined, Pimentel has given up 9 hits, 3 walks, and 4 runs (3 earned) in 11 2/3 innings pitched with 9 strikeouts. On the season, Pimentel has given up 23 hits and 7 walks in 17 2/3 innings pitched with 15 strikeouts... Anthony Bass was the opposing pitcher in the game against Carlos Pimentel and Bass was just as effective as he gave up 3 hits, 2 walks, and 1 run in 6 innings with 3 strikeouts. Bass has been effective in 4 of his 5 starts this season with 3 starts where he has given up 2 runs or less in the 5 starts. On the season, Bass has given up 26 hits, 7 walks, and has struck out 18 batters in 28 2/3 innings pitched. Opponents are batting .245 against Bass and his WHIP is 1.15. Anthony Bass entered 2011 as the 22nd best prospect in the Padre's organization according to Baseball America.

From Career Bests to Career Worsts: Miguel De Los Santos continued his roller coaster season by giving up a career worst 8 hits and 9 runs, all earned, in 2 1/3 innings pitched in the final game of an 8 game road trip. He took the loss in the Rider's 15-6 loss to the Corpus Christi Hooks. The start comes one start after De Los Santos had gone a career best 7 innings against the San Antonio Missions with 10 strikeouts. He also gave up the most runs by a Frisco RoughRider pitcher since Omar Poveda gave up 9 runs (also all earned) on 8 hits in 2 2/3 innings against the Missions on August 10, 2009. The start for De Los Santos brought his ERA from 5.23 to 8.22. He gave up more hits and runs in the start than he had in the previous 3 starts combined.

Pitching Woes: After giving up 58 runs over the previous 14 games dating back to the start of the Arkansas road series, and 50 runs over the previous 13 games, the Riders gave up 15 runs on Monday. It was the most the Riders had given up all season long and the most they had given up in a game since the Riders lost 16-3 at Corpus Christi on May 9th, 2008. Mike Perconte relieved De Los Santos on Monday by giving up 7 hits and 6 runs in 2 1/3 innings pitched, including a grand slam given up to J.D. Martinez. Martinez now has 27 RBI, which is 2nd to San Antonio's James Darnell (29).

Top of the Order Damage: While the offense did manage to score 6 runs, most of the damage came from the top 4 hitters in the lineup. They were a combined 4 for 14 with a homerun, 5 RBI, 4 runs, and 2 walks. The bottom 5 hitters in the lineup went a combined 1 for 17 with 2 walks and 2 runs scored. Renny Osuna got his 205th hit a Frisco RoughRider as he went 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored.

Bianucci Takes Team Lead: After Tommy Mendonca tied Bianucci with 7 homeruns on Sunday, Michael Bianucci broke the tie with his 8th homerun of the year. The 3-run homerun came in the top of the 3rd inning and brought the Riders to within 2 at the time with a 6-4 score. The Hooks scored 7 in the bottom of the 3rd, however, and never looked back. Bianucci didn't get his 8th homerun until June 12th last season and didn't get 20 RBI until June 7th. This year he has 8 homeruns and 20 RBI on May 2nd.

Guilder Rodriguez's Streak: When the Riders moved Guilder Rodriguez to the 2 hole in the lineup, he had walked just 1 time all season in 18 games. Since moving into the 2 hole on April 28th, Rodriguez has walked in 5 consecutive games and now has 7 walks on the season, which is 3 short of the team lead for walks (Jose Ruiz with 10). He also has stolen a base in 3 straight games as well and has reached base in 7 straight games.

Walk Totals Adding Up: The Riders have walked 22 times in their last 6 games, including 4 on Monday. In the 4 game series with the Hooks, Frisco walked 14 times. Their 22 walks over the last 6 games is more than they had in their previous 12 games combined and the same total that they had in their previous 13 games combined. Over the last 6 games, the Riders record is 3-3, so the patience has helped them win games.

First Look at San Antonio in Frisco: The Missions come into town on an impressive roll. They are in first place in the Texas League South by a health margin, a 5 game lead. They just swept the Midland Rockhounds, who are in second place in the division and have taken 7 of 8 against Midland this season. They are 11-2 in their last 13 games as well to get to a 17-7 record. Their offense scored 17 runs in last night's win over Midland, which marked the 5th time they've scored 10 or more runs this year and the 16th time they've scored 5 or more runs in a game. Their offense carries a team OPS of .974 and a team OBP of .400 into the series against the Riders. They average 5 extra base hits a game with 123 extra base hits in 24 games this season. Frisco was able to hold the Mission's offense in check in San Antonio, however, despite losing 3 of the 4. They gave up 19 runs over the 4 games.

Last Year on this Date: Frisco defeated the Corpus Christi Hooks on the road 6-1 in front of 5,736 people at Whataburger Field. Current RoughRider Martin Perez got the win after giving up 4 hits, 3 walks, and 1 run in 5 innings with 4 strikeouts. Wes Bankston, Matt Lawson, and Renny Osuna all hit homeruns for the Riders. Marcus Lemon went 3 for 4 at the plate with a RBI. Matt Lawson is currently batting .271 with a homerun for the Akron Aeros (Cleveland Indian's AA team). Marcus Lemon is batting .286 (14 for 49) with 1 extra base hit for the Mississippi Braves (Atlanta Brave's AA team).

Ranger Invasion: The Texas Rangers announced that on Wednesday at Dr. Pepper Ballpark, former Riders and rehabbing Rangers Tommy Hunter and Neftali Feliz will pitch in the Riders game against the San Antonio Missions on rehab. Hunter will start the game and likely go 3-4 innings in the game.

Tracking Ethier: Andre Ethier played in the Texas League for the Midland Rockhounds back in 2005, before everyone knew his name nationally. Now, he's in the midst of a 28 game hitting streak for the Los Angeles Dodgers. As remarkable as that sounds, and it is a lot of games, it's only half of Joe DiMaggio's record 56 game hitting streak.


Around the Ranger's System: 

Round Rock (AAA) defeated the Iowa Cubs 5-0. Derek Hankins started for Round Rock and pitched 5 shutout innings, giving up 2 hits and 1 walk with 3 strikeouts. Yhency Brazoban and Mark Lowe combined for 4 shutout innings of relief with 7 strikeouts and 1 hit allowed. They did not issue a walk. Former Rider Joey Butler hit his first AAA homerun, a 3-run homerun, to cap off a 4 run 4th inning. He finished 1 for 4 with 2 runs as well. Craig Gentry, also a former Rider, went 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. Chad Tracy went 0 for 3 with a walk.

Myrtle Beach (high-A) scored 2 runs in the 9th inning to tie the game 2-2, but gave up run in the bottom of the 9th to fall to the Potomac Nationals 3-2. Barret Loux got the start for Myrtle Beach and had by far his best career start to date. Loux gave up 1 hit and 2 walks with 10 strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings of shutout baseball. He did throw 2 wild pitches and induced 5 groundouts to 3 flyouts. Kennil Gomez got the loss after giving up 4 hits, 1 walk, and 2 runs (both earned) in 1 2/3 innings. He did not record a strikeout. Michael Olt went 0 for 3 with a walk in the game at the plate. Jared Bolden went 1 for 4 with his 1st homerun of the season, a 2-run homerun, in the 9th inning. He has now driven in a run in 3 straight games and 6 of his last 7 games.

Hickory (low-A) defeated the Kannapolis Intimidators 3-2 on a walkoff homerun by Christian Villanueva. Matt Thompson started for Hickory and gave up 5 hits, 2 walks, and 1 unearned run in 6 innings pitched with 3 strikeouts. He also threw 2 wild pitches and got 8 groundball outs to 5 flyball outs. Jurickson Profar went 1 for 4 at the plate while Tomas Telis went 1 for 3 with a hit by pitch. Villanueva went 2 for 4 with a single and the walkoff homerun. Villanueva has 3 consecutive 2 hit games and 3 games in a row with a RBI. The 2 hit day extended his hitting streak to 14 games and he has reached base safely in 17 straight games.

Minor League Performance of the Day:

On a day when there were multiple pitchers with 10 strikeout days, the performance of the day has to be Daniel Robertson of the San Antonio Missions. The 25 year old outfielder got a double in his last at bat to complete the cycle against the Midland Rockhounds in the Mission's 17-6 victory. Robertson went 4 for 6 in the game with 6 RBI in the leadoff role for San Antonio. He tripled in his first at bat and scored on a Jaff Decker groundout. He hit a solo homerun in the 3rd inning to give the Mission's a 2-0 lead. He singled home two runs in the 6th inning. And Robertson hit a bases loaded, bases clearing double in the 8th inning to complete the cycle and 6 RBI day. Robertson was a 33rd round pick by the Padres in the 2008 draft. He is batting .301 on the year with a .991 OPS.

As always...

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

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