Location: Whataburger Field (Corpus Christi, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (37-29 10 games back in the Texas League South)... Corpus Christi Hooks (24-42 23 games back in the Texas League South)
Streak: Won 1 in a row
Last 10: 5-5
Series Record: 9-8-1
2011 Record against Corpus Christi: 7-7
All-Time Record against Corpus Christi: 102-96
Record on June 18th since 2004: 4-3
Starting Pitchers: Jake Brigham (3-5 5.00 ERA) is 1-1 with a 3.50 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in 3 career starts against the Corpus Christi Hooks... Jonnathan Aristil (3-5 5.51 ERA) is 0-0 with a 3.52 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in 2 career appearances and 1 career start against the Frisco RoughRiders.
What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco sends Jake Brigham to the mound for the 14th start this season, while Corpus Christi sends Jonnathan Aristil to the mound for the 14th time and 13th start... Jake Brigham is coming off of his first win since May 1st in his last start and looks to continue to regain the form that made him the most consistently solid starter in Frisco to open the season. Brigham gave up 6 hits, 2 walks, and 6 runs (3 earned) over 6 innings with 6 strikeouts against Midland on Monday in Frisco's 13-6 victory over the Rockhounds. Brigham went 0-4 in his 7 previous starts before that victory. He defeated the Corpus Christi Hooks on the road on May 1st when he gave up 5 hits, 2 walks, and 1 run over 7 innings with 3 strikeouts. In Brigham's last start against the Hooks, he gave up 5 hits, 3 walks, and 3 runs over 6 innings with 6 strikeouts. On the season, the 23 year old right hander has given up 63 hits and 31 walks over 68 1/3 innings with 61 strikeouts. His FIP this season is 4.34... Jonnathan Aristil has gone up and down on a roller coaster this season so far. In his last appearance, Aristil gave up 3 hits, 6 walks, and 1 run over 4 innings with 2 strikeouts against the San Antonio Missions on the road. At times, Aristil has really struggled with control this season. Over the last 10 games, he has given up 31 walks over 49 2/3 innings. On the season, Aristil has given up 60 hits and 38 walks in 65 1/3 innings with 65 strikeouts. He is 2-1 with a 4.08 ERA in 7 home starts this year. Left handed batters are hitting just .204 against the 24 year old right hander. In 24 career appearances in the Texas League, including 15 starts, he is 4-6 with a 5.18 ERA and has given up 19 homeruns.
Frisco Comes Back From Behind, Evens Series: Frisco was down 4-1 after the 5th inning on Friday, but scored 3 times in the 6th inning and another run in the 8th inning to take a 5-4 lead and held on to beat the Hooks by that score. Frisco moved to 37-29 (.561 winning%) on the season and they are now 12 games up on the Midland Rockhounds, which could remain critical if the San Antonio Missions were to continue their blistering rate all season.
Perez Solid, Not Spectacular: Martin Perez didn't dominate on Friday, but he didn't pitch as bad as his last start either. He threw 62 strikes in 96 pitches and gave up 6 hits, 3 walks, and 4 runs over 5 innings with 5 strikeouts. Corpus Christi's ballpark is known to play towards offense, so giving up homeruns there is not uncommon. Perez gave up 2 homeruns, 1 to Jose Altuve and 1 to James Van Ostrand, who had a big day going 3 for 4 and finishing a triple short of the cycle.
Making Them Count: The Frisco RoughRiders are being powered by Renny Osuna. Ok, sounds kind of interesting, right? Well, the Rider's infielder and reserve South Division All-star, hit his 5th homerun of the season on Friday night, which sets a career high for Osuna. The homerun also was the difference in the game for the Riders as it put them up 5-4. Osuna has hit 3 homeruns in the month of June and all 3 have been game winning homeruns. He hit a homerun on June 1st in the 5th inning which gave the Riders a 5-4 lead, which they held onto. He then hit a game winning 2-run homerun the following night in the 10th inning to give Frisco a 7-5 lead, which they held onto. Then Friday, Osuna's solo homerun in the 8th inning gave Frisco a 5-4 lead, which again they held onto. Osuna is batting .328 this year in the 7th inning or later with 15 RBI in 61 at bats.
What a Relief: Justin Miller provided 3 outstanding innings of relief for Frisco on Friday, which lowered his WHIP to a team low 1.11. Miller also earned his team best 6th win of the season when Osuna hit his homerun in the 8th inning. Miller gave up just 1 hit and 0 walks over the 3 innings of shutout relief and struck out 5 batters. The hit, a leadoff single by Jimmy Paredes in the 7th, was eliminated when Paredes was caught stealing at second base during the next at bat. Miller has been a big part of a bullpen that has gone 21-10 on the season. Over 34 1/3 innings this season, Miller has given up 29 hits, 9 walks, and struck out 36 batters. He has a 2.88 ERA, 6 wins, 4 saves, and the 1.11 WHIP.
Mendonca Extends Streak, Increases OPS: A ho hum 2 for 4 day with a double and a RBI extended Tommy Mendonca's road on base streak to 33 games this season and 39 overall dating back to last year. He is now up to .416/.464/.686/1.150 on the road with 21 extra base hits and 36 RBI in 33 games. He is batting .433 with a 1.240 OPS in June with 13 extra base hits and 21 RBI in 16 games. And he's gone the last 3 games without a strikeout, which is the first time he has gone 3 consecutive games without a strikeout this season.
Federico Hernandez Walks Three Times: I mentioned this on twitter last night, but it bears repeating since it shows how silly the game of baseball can be at times. Corpus Christi Hooks catcher Federico Hernandez hit 9th for the Hooks on Friday and there's no surprise why. The 23 year old catcher came in batting .148 with a .420 OPS on the season. In other words, Mendonca has almost as high of a batting average on the road as Hernandez has had in OPS this season. But on Friday, the Riders feared Hernandez more than any player on the Hooks. I mean there is no other explanation needed because Hernandez walked 3 times on Friday in 4 plate appearances. The rest of the players in the game (for both sides) walked a combined 2 times! And it's not like Hernandez is a very patient hitter, he had walked 7 times on the season coming into the game in 160 plate appearances. His on base percentage went up 14 points on Friday and his OPS is now up to .432.
College World Series Begins Today: It's a great weekend of sports with the College World Series opening, interleague play going on, and the U.S. Open going as well. Today the College World Series begins with UNC facing Vanderbilt and Florida facing Texas. I know the members of the pressbox staff will be watching at least the Florida/Texas game, if not part of the UNC/Vanderbilt game as well. Vanderbilt/UNC begins at 1 PM CT, with Florida/Texas going at 6 PM CT.
Tracking Texas League Homeruns: 486 in 520 games (0.935 HR/G)
Term of the Day: Grandstand Player- A player who seeks the adulation of the crowd by routinely making easy plays look difficult.
Last Year on This Date: Frisco got clobbered by the Corpus Christi Hooks by the score of 14-1 on the road. Martin Perez started for Frisco and gave up 5 hits, 4 walks, and 8 runs (7 earned) over 1 1/3 innings with 1 strikeout. Brennan Garr gave up 9 hits and 5 runs over 2 2/3 innings of relief. Evan Reed gave up 1 run over 3 innings of relief. Jacob Kaase, a position player, finished the game with a scoreless 8th inning, including 2 strikeouts. Marcus Lemon went 2 for 4 at the plate for Frisco. James Tomlin added 2 hits of his own in 4 at bats. Elio Sarmiento went 1 for 4 and drove in the lone run for the Riders. Wes Bankston and Matt Lawson each had a hit as well.
Around the Ranger's System
Yesterday's Record: 3-2
Round Rock (AAA) managed just 3 hits and lost 4-0 to the Omaha Storm Chasers at home. Neil Ramirez started for Round Rock and gave up 6 hits, 3 walks, and 4 runs (3 earned) over 5 innings with 6 strikeouts in a similar start to other top prospect Martin Perez. Former RoughRider Mark Hamburger pitched 3 shutout innings of relief without allowing a hit. He walked 1 batter and struck out one batter. Manny Delcarmen pitched a scoreless 9th inning. Luis Cruz had 2 of Round Rock's 3 hits in the game and both were singles. Doug Deeds had the other single in 3 at bats. Joey Butler went 0 for 3 with a strikeout, while Chris Davis went 0 for 4. Former RoughRider and Ranger Luis Mendoza started for Omaha and gave up just 3 hits over 8 shutout innings with 2 strikeouts and 1 walk given up.
Myrtle Beach (High-A) gave up 3 runs in the 8th inning, but held on to defeat the Frederick Keys 6-5 at home. With the win Myrtle Beach clinched the first half title and will be going to the playoffs later this year. Joe Wieland stated for Myrtle Beach and gave up 9 hits, 0 walks (surprise!), and 5 runs (2 earned) over 7 2/3 innings with 6 strikeouts. He earned his 6th win of the year and his ERA stands at 2.10. Ryan Kelly and Johan Yan combined for 1 1/3 innings pitched of scoreless relief. Yan picked up his 7th save of the season. Leury Garcia went 3 for 4 with a homerun, 3 RBI, a walk, and 3 runs scored for Myrtle Beach. Jared Prince went 2 for 5 with a double and a RBI for the Pelicans. Santiago Chirino also added 2 hits in 3 at bats with a double and a RBI. Former RoughRiders Mitch Hilligoss and David Paisano each added a hit in the game as well. Jared Bolden went 1 for 3 with a double.
Hickory (Low-A) scored 6 runs in the 5th inning and defeated the Charleston RiverDogs 10-2 to win their 6th straight game. It also is their 10th win in their last 11 games and 12th in their last 14. Cody Buckel started for Hickory and gave up 5 hits and 1 run over 5 innings with 8 strikeouts. He did not issue a free pass. Colby Killian gave up a run in 1 inning of relief, but Nicholas McBride and Jorge Marban combined for 3 innings of shutout relief. Tomas Telis led Hickory with a 3 for 5 day including a homerun, 3 RBI, and 3 runs scored. Odubel Herrera went 2 for 5 with a double, RBI, stolen base, and 2 runs scored out of the 2 spot in the lineup. Jurickson Profar went 1 for 3 with a double, 2 walks, a stolen base, and a run scored out of the leadoff spot. Christian Villanueva added a 1 for 4 day including a triple and RBI for the Crawdads. Josh Richmond went 1 for 2 with a RBI, sacrifice fly, and a walk as well. Jake Skole, Andrew Clark, and Kellin Deglan each added a hit as well in the game.
Spokane (Short-Season A) got crushed 14-2 in their first game of the season. Highly touted pitcher David Perez started for Spokane and after starting off strong, struggled his last 1+ innings. Perez gave up 5 hits, 2 walks, and 4 runs over 3 innings with 8 strikeouts. Chris Hanna gave up 5 runs in 1 inning of relief. Chance Sossamon was the only pitcher for Spokane to pitch an inning without giving up a run. Carlos Melo, Jose Monegro, and Andres Perez-Lobo finished out the final 4 innings of relief with 5 runs given up. Jorge Alfaro went 2 for 3 with a homerun, RBI, and a walk at the plate. 17 year old Roughned Odor went 1 for 5 out of the leadoff spot for the Indians. Hanser Alberto added a 1 for 4 day including a triple and a RBI. Guillermo Pimentel, Ruben Sierra Jr., and Nick Vickerson each had hits in the game.
Minor League Performance of the Day
Taijuan Walker has been dominant at times this year for the Clinton Lumberkings and on Friday he was dominant once again. In Clinton's 1-0 loss to the Kane County Cougars, Walker gave up just 2 hits, 2 walks, and 1 run over 7 innings. Walker tied a season high with 11 strikeouts in the loss. He also induced 6 groundouts to 2 flyouts in the start. On the season, Walker moved to 2-3 with a 2.40 ERA. He has given up just 36 hits and 16 walks over 45 innings with 56 strikeouts. The 18 year old right hander was selected in the first round of the 2010 draft by the Seattle Mariners. He was rated by Baseball America as the 4th best prospect in the Seattle Mariner's organization.
As always...
Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
Follow the Game Online at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/scoreboard/league.jsp?sid=milb&lid=109
Follow Us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/pressboxchatter
Follow 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/
Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
Follow the Game Online at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/scoreboard/league.jsp?sid=milb&lid=109
Follow Us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/pressboxchatter
Follow 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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