Time: 7:05 PM CT
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (15-17 7 games back in the Texas League South)... Corpus Christi Hooks (12-20 10 games back in the Texas League South)
Streak: Won 2 in a row
Last 10: 7-3
Series Record: 3-5-1
Record against Corpus Christi: 3-5
Record since 2005 on May 12th: 2-2 with 2 days off (2010 and 2005)
Starting Pitchers: Jake Brigham (2-2 4.28 ERA)... Ross Seaton (1-1 5.13 ERA)
What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco and Corpus Christi send Jake Brigham and Ross Seaton out to the mound for the 7th time this season... Jake Brigham continued his very consistent season in his last start. Last Friday, Brigham gave up 4 hits and 3 runs (all earned) over 6 2/3 innings with 6 strikeouts and did not issue a walk. He took a perfect game through 6 1/3 innings pitched against the San Antonio Missions before surrendering a single to Jaff Decker. It was the first time since 2007, when minor league baseball box scores have done play by play, that a Rider had taken a perfect game into the 7th inning. We do know that A.J. Murray, Steve Karsay, and Scott Feldman combined to throw a perfect game on July 28th, 2005. On the season, Brigham has allowed 31 hits, walked 10 batters, and struck out 30 in 33 2/3 innings of work. He has allowed 3 earned runs in 5 of his 6 starts. This is Brigham's 3rd start against Corpus Christi this season. He has allowed 13 hits, 2 walks, and 4 earned runs in 12 innings in the other 2 combined with 7 strikeouts. Brigham's top game score this season is 64, while his low is 41. He has been the most consistent RoughRider starter to date...
After getting off to a bit of a rocky start, Ross Seaton has continued to throw solidly over his last 4 or so starts. In his last start against Midland last Friday, Seaton gave up 7 hits, 1 walk, and 4 runs (all earned) in 6 2/3 innings with 2 strikeouts. He gave up 4 of the 7 hits in a 3 run 5th inning. Seaton had thrown 3 "quality starts" in a row before his last start. He has faced Frisco twice this season and allowed 11 hits, 4 walks, and 4 earned runs in 13 2/3 innings with 6 strikeouts. On the season Seaton has allowed 41 hits and 9 walks in 33 1/3 innings with 20 strikeouts. His best game score came on April 21st at Frisco when he had a 63. His season low was 21 on April 9th at Tulsa.
Leonys Martin To Make Debut Tonight: The anticipated debut of outfielder Leonys Martin will come tonight as he is expected to be batting leadoff and playing centerfield. The 23 year old outfielder signed a $15.5 million, 5 year major league deal with the Texas Rangers on May 4th. They held a press conference yesterday and for more coverage you can check out Richard Durrett at ESPN or the Rider's very own Insider Blog. It will be interesting to see how Frisco handles the outfield situation with Martin and another player on his way back.
Engel Beltre Back, Hamburger Delivered in AAA debut: On the same day that Leonys Martin makes his professional baseball debut, Engel Beltre will be returning from his 15 game suspension. The outfielder, who has played 396 of his 413 games in the minor leagues in centerfield, will be moving over to the corner outfield spot for at least one game. As said earlier it will be interesting to see how the RoughRiders handle this situation because they have two players who are primarily centerfielders now, or at least have been in the past... While new faces are the talk in Frisco right now, it should also be mentioned that Mark Hamburger got the promotion to AAA and delivered in his debut for Round Rock. The right handed reliever gave up 3 hits and 0 walks in 2 shutout innings of relief with 2 strikeouts. He also induced 3 groundouts in the outing.
Power Back in Frisco: Last season the RoughRiders really struggled with power. Their team leaders at the end of the year were Joey Butler and Andy Jenkins with 10 homeruns each. It was the least amount of players they've had with 10+ homeruns in a season and the lowest team leading total in franchise history. It's only May 12th, but already Michael Bianucci has 11 homeruns, Tommy Mendonca has 9 homeruns, and Jonathan Greene has shown glimpses with 4 homeruns so far. Bianucci is tied for the Texas League lead in homeruns along with San Antonio's Cody Decker. Tommy Mendonca is 5th in the league with 9 homeruns. Frisco as a team is second in the Texas League in homeruns behind the San Antonio Missions.
Second Place: With the series win against the Midland Rockhounds, Frisco moved into a tie for second place with the Midland Rockhounds. It's pretty interesting because not too long ago, the Riders were not in good shape and stuck in the cellar of the Texas League South. However, they are still 7 games behind the Missions as San Antonio continues to beat everybody else in the league.
Homestand: Frisco prepares for an 8 game homestand coming up. They will play 4 against Corpus Christi and 4 against Midland. The homestand is the second longest of the season behind a 10 game homestand from August 5th to the 15th with a day off on the 9th.
Around the Ranger's System:
Round Rock (AAA) scored 3 runs in the top of the 10th inning and held on to win 7-5 over the Tuscon Padres. Zach Jackson made the start for Round Rock and gave up 8 hits, 4 walks, and 4 runs (all earned) over 6 innings with 2 strikeouts. Hamburger pitched 2 shutout innings of relief with 2 strikeouts. Pedro Strop and Justin Miller combined to give up 1 run over 2 innings of relief with 4 strikeouts. Endy Chavez went 2 for 5 with a triple, homerun, and 4 RBI. Brian Barden went 2 for 5 with 2 RBI. Robbie Diaz went 2 for 4 with 3 runs scored.
Myrtle Beach (high-A) took both games of a double header against the Kinston Indians with scores of 6-0 and 2-0. Myrtle Beach pitchers combined to throw 14 scoreless innings with 5 total hits allowed... Joseph Wieland started game one with a complete game shutout. He faced the minimum through 7 innings, giving up 2 hits and 2 strikeouts with 0 walks. Both hits were erased by double plays induced. Wieland hasn't walked a batter in his last 95 batters faced, which spans 4 starts without a walk issued. Mitch Hilligoss went 1 for 3 with a double and 2 RBI in the first game. Jared Hoying went 1 for 3 with RBI, walk, and 2 runs in the first game. Ryan Strausborger went 1 for 4 with a RBI in game one, while Mike Olt went 0 for 2 with a sac fly and RBI in game one as well... Ryan Kelly started the second game and gave up 3 hits and 2 walks over 6 shutout innings with 4 strikeouts. He induced 9 groundouts to 2 flyouts.Strausborger went 1 for 3 with a homerun and 2 RBI in game two. Mitch Hilligoss went 1 for 1 with a walk in game two. Mike Olt went 0 for 2 in the second game. Jared Hoying went 1 for 2 with a walk in the second game.
Hickory (low-A) got shutout 2-0 by the Savannah Sand Gnats on Wednesday. Ronald Rojas started for Hickory and took the tough loss after he gave up 6 hits, 3 walks, and 1 run over 6 innings with 3 strikeouts. Nick Tepesch relieved Rojas and gave up 3 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run over 2 innings with 2 strikeouts. Jurickson Profar went 1 for 4 with a double at the plate for Hickory. Teodoro Martinez, Tomas Telis, Andrew Clark, and Christian Villanueva all added a hit of their own to give the Crawdads 5 hits in the game. Jake Skole went 0 for 1 with 3 walks at the plate. Villanueva and Martinez each had a stolen base in the game.
Minor League Performance of the Day
Perhaps the most decorated high school player in the history of high school baseball with only Josh Hamilton likely rivaling him, the player who left high school two years early to get his GED, attend a JUCO college, and pursue pro baseball sooner, is proving to be a man among boys in A ball. Bryce Harper continued to tear the cover off the baseball on Wednesday. The 2010 1st overall pick by the Washington Nationals, had a 4 for 5 day in the Hagerstown Sun's 11-5 win over the Delmarva Shorebirds. Harper finished with 3 singles and a grand slam, which was his 8th homerun of the season. He drove in 5 runs in the game and scored 2 runs of his own. Harper is currently on a 15 game hitting streak and has seen his average rise to .396 for the season. He is batting .500 with 2 homeruns, 11 RBIs, and a 1.305 OPS in 10 games in May. His OPS of 1.184 now ranks 5th in minor league baseball and first in the South Atlantic League. Not bad for a player who should be a senior in high school right now.
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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