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/
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