Time: 7:00 PM CT
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (11-15 6 games back in the Texas League South)... San Antonio Missions (17-9 1st place in the Texas League South)
Streak: Won 2 in a row
Last 10: 5-5
Series Record: 1-5-1
Record against San Antonio: 3-3
Record since 2005 on May 5th: 3-3
Starting Pitchers: Martin Perez (1-0 2.74 ERA)... Aaron Breit (0-1 7.36 ERA)
What to Watch for on the Mound: Martin Perez makes his 6th start for the Riders, while the Missions send Aaron Breit out to the mound for the 8th time, but 3rd start... Martin Perez pitched well in his last start against the Corpus Christi Hooks last Saturday. He went a season high 6 innings and gave up 4 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs (both earned) with 4 strikeouts. Perez also induced 10 groundouts in the start to just 1 flyout. Perez started against San Antonio on April 25th and gave up 5 hits, 3 walks, and 4 runs in 4 innings with 5 strikeouts. On the season, the 20 year old southpaw has gone at least 5 innings and given up 2 runs or less in 3 of his 5 starts. He earned the Pressbox Pitcher of the Month honors for the Riders in April after going 1-0 with a 2.74 ERA in 5 starts. He allowed 18 hits, 10 walks, and struck out 24 batters in 23 innings... Aaron Breit began the year in the Mission's bullpen as he made his first 5 trips to the mound in relief. His last 2 outings have both been starts, however. Breit's last start was against Midland on Saturday and he gave up 8 hits, 1 walk, and 4 runs in 5 innings pitched, but received the victory. He started against Frisco on April 25th against Martin Perez, and gave up 3 hits, 1 walk, and 2 runs in 3 2/3 innings with 5 strikeouts. San Antonio won the game 7-3. On the season, Breit has given up 22 hits and 6 walks in 14 2/3 innings with 15 strikeouts.
Ranger Invasion: The Riders got rehab outings from Neftali Feliz and Tommy Hunter last night in Frisco's 3-2 win over the San Antonio Missions in 10 innings. Feliz started for Frisco and struck out the side in his 1 inning of work. He gave up a hit and worked in the upper 90s, hitting 100 on the stadium gun as well. Tommy Hunter relieved Feliz and allowed 5 baserunners in 4 innings of work. He struck out 5, allowed 2 runs, and made 71 pitches (41 strikes). Hunter is on the DL due to a groin strain, while Feliz is on the DL due to a rotator cuff inflammation.
Riders Heating Up: After winning the first series against the Springfield Cardinals, the Riders lost 5 series in a row. However, since then, the Riders split a 4 game set with Corpus Christi and have now taken the first 2 games against the best team in the league, guaranteeing at least a second series split with the team's best starting pitcher on the mound tonight.
Bleier is Back: Richard Bleier began the season in extended spring training, but made his first appearance on Wednesday night. He gave up 3 hits and 1 walk in 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief with 3 strikeouts. Bleier pitched for Frisco last year going 7-11 with a 5.04 ERA in 28 starts. Bleier gave up 191 hits and 28 walks in 164 1/3 innings with 82 strikeouts.
Riders Pitching: The Frisco RoughRiders got great pitching on Wednesday, as they held the league's best offense in check for 2 runs in the 10 innings. Part of the reason for the success was their ability to pitch with runners in scoring position. The Missions batters came to the plate 10 times with RISP and did not record a hit. The middle of the order for San Antonio, specifically struggled with this. Jaff Decker, Kyle Blanks, James Darnell, and Kyle Phillips were a combined 2 for 18 in the game with 6 strikeouts. It was only the 2nd game all year that Darnell hasn't reached base safely. It was also the first time this season that the combo of James Darnell and Jaff Decker have gone hitless in the same game where both were starting.
Osuna is Heating Up: Renny Osuna went 3 for 4 with a double and 1 RBI on Wednesday helping the Riders get a comeback win. Since returning from the DL due to a broken nose, Renny Osuna is batting .345 (10 for 29) with 4 extra base hits and 5 RBI. He has been hitting mainly leadoff for the Riders and has been an added boost to a team that needed better production from the top of the order. Osuna is batting .462 (6 for 11) against the Missions this season now. He is now 1 hit from tying Dustin Majewski for 7th on the all time hits list for Frisco.
Adjusting to AA Pitching: When Travis Adair got promoted from Myrtle Beach to Frisco, he was batting .365 for the Pelicans. But then, Adair went through a 3 game period where he was 0 for 11, still looking for that first AA hit. However, since then Adair has adjusted well. Travis went 3 for 4 with a double and a RBI on Wednesday and is batting 7 for 15 (.467) over the last 4 games with 2 RBI and 3 runs. His batting average for Frisco is up to .269 now.
Patience Guilder: Guilder Rodriguez may have gone walk-less on Tuesday to end his walk streak at 5 games, but he made up for the 0 walks on Wednesday by walking twice in 5 trips to the plate, although 1 of the walks was an intentional walk in the 10th inning. Still, Guilder Rodriguez has walked 8 times over the last 7 games bringing his season total to 9 walks. He has had multi walk games twice during that time, which is something he did only 4 times all year last season. Rodriguez went 1 for 2 in last night's game with the 2 walks and a sacrifice bunt. His on base percentage is .395 over the last 10 games and he's been on base at least 1 time in the 7 games he's played in since moving into the #2 hole in the lineup.
Last Year on this Date: Frisco defeated the San Antonio Missions 4-2 on the road. Tanner Roark picked up the victory for Frisco, his 4th win at the time, after pitching 6 effective innings where he gave up 4 hits and 2 runs with 4 strikeouts and no walks. Adalberto Flores and Alexi Ogando pitched 2 scoreless innings before Evan Reed picked up his 2nd save of the season. Marcus Lemon went 2 for 5 at the plate with a stolen base. Wes Bankston went 3 for 5 with a double, homerun, and RBI. Guilder Rodriguez added a triple in the game. Andy Jenkins was the lone Rider without a hit in the game, but did walk 3 times.
Around the Ranger's System:
Round Rock (AAA) lost 3-1 to the Iowa Cubs. Michael Kirkman made the start for Round Rock and gave up 7 hits, 2 walks, and 3 runs (2 earned) in 7 innings with 4 strikeouts. Despite getting his 3rd loss, it was Kirkman's best start of the season so far. Zach Phillips pitched 1 scoreless inning of relief with 1 hit allowed and 1 strikeout. The Express managed just 4 hits and 2 walks in the game against Iowa. Chad Tracy went 1 for 4 at the plate. Former Angel Ramon Ortiz made the start for Iowa and gave up 4 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run in 7 innings.
Myrtle Beach (high-A) shutout the Potomac Nationals 3-0. Joseph Wieland made the start for Myrtle Beach and gave up just 2 hits and a hit batter over 6 shutout innings with 13 strikeouts. Wieland did not issue a walk in what is his best start of the year. Joseph Ortiz and Johan Yan pitched 3 scoreless innings of relief with 2 strikeouts. Leury Garcia went 2 for 5 at the plate with a run for Myrtle Beach. Jared Bolden went 2 for 4 with a double and a RBI to extend his RBI streak to 5 games and 8 of the last 9 games.
Hickory (low-A) had the day off.
Minor League Performance of the Day:
After a very nice first season, Joseph Wieland hasn't had an easy last 2 years in the minor leagues. But for Myrtle Beach in 2011, the story has been a very different tune. On Wednesday he struck out 13 batters over 6 innings, gave up only 2 hits, and didn't walk a batter for the 3rd straight game. The Pelicans won 3-0 in the game. Wieland hasn't walked a hitter since he walked Andy Wilkins in the top of the 6th on April 18th against the Winston-Salem Dash. Wieland has faced 74 batters since then, 24 of which have headed back to the dugout after strike three. On the season, Wieland has given up 28 hits and just 3 walks over 31 innings with 41 strikeouts. He has given up 2 homeruns on the season, both of which came in the same game. His 2.03 ERA is the 4th best in the Carolina League, his 1.00 WHIP is the 5th best, and his 41 strikeouts are the best in the league. The 21 year old right hander was a 4th round pick by the Rangers in the 2008 draft.
As always...
Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
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