Time: 7:00 PM CT
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (12-15 5 games back in the Texas League South)... San Antonio Missions (17-10 1st place in the Texas League South)
Streak: Won 3 in a row
Last 10: 6-4
Series Record: 2-5-1
Record against San Antonio: 4-3
Record Since 2005 on May 6th: 3-3
Starting Pitchers: Jacob Brigham (2-1 4.33 ERA)... Jorge Reyes (1-0 5.70 ERA)
What to Watch for on the Mound: The Frisco RoughRiders and San Antonio Missions send their starting pitchers out to the mound for the 6th time this season... Jacob Brigham is coming off of his strongest start yet when he gave up 5 hits, 2 walks, and 1 run over 7 innings with 3 strikeouts. He induced 9 groundouts to 5 flyouts in the start against Corpus Christi en route to picking up his 2nd win of the season. The start broke a string of 4 consecutive starts with 5 innings pitched and 3 earned runs. In 27 innings pitched this season, Brigham has given up 27 hits and 10 walks with 24 strikeouts. He has 1 start against San Antonio where he gave up 4 hits, 3 walks, and 3 runs over 5 innings. He struck out 6 batters and got a no decision in the start... Jorge Reyes is coming off a rocky outing against the Midland Rockhounds when he gave up 6 hits, 3 walks, and 6 runs (all earned) over 4 2/3 innings with 4 strikeouts. Reyes gave up 2 homeruns in the start as well, which ended up being a no decision. The 23 year old right hander was rated by Baseball America as the #22 prospect in the Padre's organization entering 2010, but dropped out after his 2010 season in the California League. Reyes pitched against the Riders on April 26th and gave up 5 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run over 5 innings with 2 strikeouts in a no decision. On the season, he has given up 30 hits and 7 walks over 23 2/3 innings pitched with 21 strikeouts. Reyes was drafted in the 17th round by the San Diego Padres in the 2009 draft out of Oregon State University.
A Real Winning Streak: After getting off to a nice series win against the Springfield Cardinals to start the year, Frisco lost 5 straight series to Arkansas (2), Springfield, Corpus Christi, and San Antonio. They then split a 4 game series with Corpus Christi. After a 5-3 win over the San Antonio Missions, the Riders have won 3 in a row against the first place Missions and guaranteed their first series win since the opening series. Frisco has also won 6 of their last 10 games and are within 3 games of .500. Frisco is also just a game from being tied for second place in the division.
Top Prospect Struggles A bit: If there is one consistency with Martin Perez in Frisco, it's been that he's been inconsistent. At times he can look outstanding and at others he can look just off. On Thursday he was the latter. The 20 year old southpaw labored through 4+ innings, giving up 6 hits, 4 walks, and 3 runs (all earned) along the way. He struck out 4 batters and threw 94 pitches with 53 strikes. It could have been worse, though, it could have been a lot worse.
Bullpen... Winning: And the reason for why it could have been worse is because Perez left with the bases loaded, 0 outs in the 5th inning, and the Texas League RBI leader Jaff Decker at the plate. Tyler Tufts, however, came in and did a great job all night. He was able to get a groundball right back to him from Decker, which he turned into the good ole' 1-2-3 double play. And then Tufts struck out Kyle Blanks swinging. Tufts ended up earning his win by having one of the best lines this pressbox has seen in relief. He pitched 3 perfect innings with 4 strikeouts and 28 pitches, 21 of which were for strikes. Ben Snyder and Ramon Aguero combined for a scoreless 8th inning and Mark Hamburger pitched a scoreless 9th with 1 hit given up and 2 strikeouts for his 3rd save of the year, but his 1st 1 inning save.
Greene Day: Jonathan Greene provided fireworks for Riders fans with a 2 for 4 day, including a double and a homerun. The homerun was his 4th for the Riders this year, including his 3rd at home. He's currently batting .452 at Dr. Pepper Ballpark (.271 on the road). He has 12 extra base hits already this season, compared to his 20 he had last year.
A New #4 Hitter: For the first time this year, the #4 hitter for the Riders was Jose Ruiz. Tommy Mendonca got the day off for Frisco after his recent struggles (1 for his last 12 with 6 strikeouts). Jose Ruiz ended up going 1 for 4 on the game.
Osuna Passes Majewski: Renny Osuna used a 2 for 4 day to pass Dustin Majewski for 7th on the all time Frisco hits list with 211 career hits. Osuna also has had a RBI in 3 straight games at the top of the order as he continues to hit at the top. In the 3 game set with the Missions so far, Osuna is batting 6 for 12 with a double, homerun, and 4 RBI.
Butler Is Back: After hitting .276 with a .771 OPS for Round Rock, Joey Butler was sent back down to Frisco today. He is here to replace Jose Ruiz who was placed on the temporary inactive list. Butler was hitting .314 with 2 homeruns in 6 games for Frisco before being promoted to the Express earlier this year. He hit .277 last year with 10 homeruns and 58 RBI for Frisco.
On this Date Last year: Frisco defeated the San Antonio Missions 2-0 thanks to a complete game 3-hitter by Richard Bleier. Kevin Richardson provided all of the offense that Bleier needed with a RBI single in the 6th and an insurance solo homerun in the 9th. Marcus Lemon went 2 for 4 with a double to raise his season average to .305 at the time.
MLB Notes: The Kansas City Royals called up former Northwest Arkansas Natural and top prospect Eric Hosmer to the big leagues. Hosmer was batting .439 for the Omaha Stormchasers (AAA) this season so far. Last year for the Naturals, he batted .313 with a .980 OPS and 30 extra base hits in 195 AB. I will also say that the combination of Hosmer and Moustakas definitely left an impression on this pressbox, even though they only played a few games in Frisco. Both are definitely special talents.
Around the Ranger's System:
Round Rock (AAA) defeated the Iowa Cubs 9-2. Neil Ramirez started for Round Rock and gave up 4 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs (earned) with 5 strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. Brian Barden went 4 for 6 with a double and 2 RBI including 2 singles and a RBI in 3 at bats off of his former teammate Todd Wellemeyer, who started for Iowa. Craig Gentry went 2 for 4 with a double and 3 RBI. He also stole his 4th base for the Express. Chris Mobley and Justin Miller pitched 3 2/3 of scoreless relief with 3 strikeouts.
Myrtle Beach (high-A) took a lead in the top of the 9th, but gave up a run in the 9th as well, and lost in the 10th inning 4-3 to the Salem Red Sox. Ryan Kelly started for Myrtle Beach and gave up 7 hits, 3 walks, and 2 runs in 4 2/3 innings with 3 strikeouts. Wilfredo Boscan pitched 4 2/3 innings of relief and gave up 5 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run with 5 strikeouts. Michael Olt went 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs. Jared Hoying went 2 for 4 with a double and 2 RBIs. Jared Bolden and Ryan Strausborger both went hitless in 4 at bats at the plate. Strausborger walked once, but was caught stealing for the 4th time this year.
Hickory (low-A) tied the game in the top of the 8th inning, but gave up 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th to lose 4-2 to the Greensboro Grasshoppers. Roman Mendez made the start for Hickory and gave up 7 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs (1 earned) in 6 innings with 7 strikeouts. Jurickson Profar went 1 for 4 with a walk at the plate. Tomas Telis went 2 for 4 at the plate as well. Christian Villanueva extended his hitting streak to 15 games and his reached base safely streak to 20 games with a 1 for 3 day and a walk. Teodoro Martinez went 2 for 3 for the Crawdads. Kellin Deglan provided fireworks with a solo homerun as part of a 1 for 4 day. Cody Buckel took the loss in the game after giving up 2 runs, 1 hit, and 2 walks in 2 innings of relief.
Minor League Performance of the Day:
It's been a while since Brandon Moss was considered a prospect in the minor leagues. But on Thursday, Moss had a day for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs that takes you back to 2005 and remember why he was a top 100 prospect in the game by Baseball America. In the IronPig's 10-3 victory over the Charlotte Knights in the International League, Moss went 2 for 4 with 2 homeruns, 7 RBI, a walk, and 2 runs. He hit a grand slam off of former San Antonio Missions pitcher Corey Kluber in the 5th inning and a 3-run homerun off of Jensen Lewis in the 9th inning. Moss, who is now 27 years old, was taken in the 8th round by the Boston Red Sox in the 2002 draft. He is playing in the Philadelphia Phillie's organization, which is his 3rd club to play for in his career.
As always...
Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
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