Game 75: Frisco RoughRiders (Robbie Erlin) @ Corpus Christi Hooks (Erick Abreu)

Time: 6:05 PM CT
Location: Whataburger Field (Corpus Christi, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (1-3 3 games back in the Texas League South; 41-33 overall)... Corpus Christi Hooks (2-2 2 games back in the Texas League South; 27-47 overall)
Streak: Lost 2 in a row
Last 10: 5-5
Road Trip: 0-2
Series Record: 10-8-2
2011 Record against Corpus Christi: 9-9
All-Time Record against Corpus Christi: 104-98
Record on June 26th since 2004: 4-2
Starting Pitchers: Robbie Erlin (4-0 5.28 ERA) is making his first career start against the Corpus Christi Hooks... Erick Abreu (4-1 3.83 ERA) is 4-0 with a 1.70 ERA and a 0.81 WHIP in 18 career appearances, including 4 starts against the Frisco RoughRiders


What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco sends Robbie Erlin to the mound for the 6th time this season, while Corpus Christi sends Erick Abreu to the mound for the 21st time, including his 6th start in the third game of a four game set... Robbie Erlin makes his 6th appearance, but 5th start as he looks to remain unbeaten as a Frisco RoughRider. Frisco is 5-0 when Robbie Erlin appears on the mound, including 4-0 when he starts the game. In his last appearance, Erlin came in after Darren O'Day pitched an inning of rehab work for Frisco to begin the game against Midland on Monday. Erlin gave up 8 hits, 1 walk, and 4 runs over 4 2/3 innings in Frisco's 10-5 victory over the Rockhounds at home. In his last start, Erlin gave up a career most 10 hits, 2 walks, and 6 runs over 5 innings with 5 strikeouts against the Midland Rockhounds on the road in Frisco's 14-7 victory. Erlin has obviously struggled his last 2 appearances after pitching dominantly in his previous 2 appearances. Erlin took a no-hitter into the 7th inning against the San Antonio Missions on June 10th before giving up 5 hits and 4 runs in the 7th inning. On the season for Frisco, Erlin has given up 33 hits and 5 walks with 24 strikeouts over 29 innings. Overall, the 20 year old southpaw has given up 58 hits and 10 walks with 86 strikeouts over 83 2/3 innings... Erick Abreu looks to remain unbeaten against the Frisco RoughRiders as he makes his 6th start of the season for Corpus Christi. In his last start, Abreu gave up 10 hits, 3 walks, and 7 runs in 5 innings with 5 strikeouts against the San Antonio Missions. But, the last time he faced Frisco on June 16th, Abreu gave up 3 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run over 7 innings with 7 strikeouts. On the season in 3 appearances against Frisco, Abreu is 1-0 with a 0.90 ERA and 0.50 WHIP over 10 innings. For the Hooks this season, Abreu has given up 44 hits and 13 walks with 45 strikeouts over 49 1/3 innings. Overall, he has given up 51 hits and 17 walks with 48 strikeouts over 53 2/3 innings. He is 3-1 with a 3.71 ERA in 11 appearances, including 3 starts at Whataburger Field this season.

Corpus Christi Arms Keep Frisco Bats Silent Again: For the third time in four games, including the second game in a row against the Corpus Christi Hooks, Frisco hitters couldn't score more than 2 runs in a game. Frisco lost 7-1 to the Corpus Christi Hooks on Saturday at Whataburger Field. The main culprit was a bad showing from every hitter below the 3rd hitter in the lineup. Frisco wasn't alone, however, as they were actually the only team in the Texas League that lost that did not get shut out. Of the 8 teams in the Texas League, only one (Corpus Christi) scored more than 2 runs in the game.

Carlos Pimentel's Start: Carlos Pimentel made his first start since June 9th and it wasn't as good as his June 9th start was. After holding the best offense in the league, the San Antonio Missions, to 4 hits, 2 walks, and 1 run over 7 innings on June 9th, Pimentel gave up 9 hits, 1 walk, and 4 runs over 5 1/3 innings to the Corpus Christi Hooks. Pimentel had 4 strikeouts, but gave up 2 homeruns, including a 2-run shot to J.D. Martinez, who hit 2 homeruns in the game.

Davis Stoneburner's Hot Hitting: The one hitter that remains hot in the RoughRider's lineup was Davis Stoneburner, who finished the game 3 for 4 with 2 doubles and a triple. His last 8 hits have all gone for extra bases. Over his last 10 games, Stoneburner has 8 extra base hits and is batting .395 with a 1.108 OPS. In 198 at bats this season, he has 23 extra base hits. One of the areas that I see as something to look for is Stoneburner's ability to hit behind in the count. When behind in the count this season, he is batting .338 with an .863 OPS. In the Texas League, only James Darnell has a better batting average behind in the count and only Darnell and Jermaine Mitchell have a better OPS. Given that Stoneburner's overall OPS is around 200 points lower than both, I would say that Stoneburner does a great job when the count isn't in his favor. In fact he does a good job when both ahead and behind. He likely struggles when the count is even.


Top of the Order Production: Davis Stoneburner wasn't the only RoughRider at the top of the order that produced on Saturday. The top 3 hitters in the lineup, Stoneburner, Guilder Rodriguez, and Renny Osuna were a combined 6 for 11 with 3 extra base hits, a walk, and a RBI. The rest of the lineup, however, was 1 for 20 with 7 strikeouts. Left fielder Travis Adair, the 9th hitter, was responsible for the lone hit from the 4-9 hitters.

Bullpen In the Month of June: The Rider's bullpen has pitched very effective at times this season and in June it has been no different. The bullpen overall has posted a 4.00 ERA and 1.23 WHIP over 101 1/3 innings for the month. And it's been even better if you were to exclude the regular starting pitchers who have played a role in the bullpen due to rehabs and others. Regular relievers have posted a 2.79 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in the month. They have received strong performances from Fabio Castillo (10 G 1.80 ERA 6/7 SVO), Justin Miller (7 G 0.00 ERA), Ben Snyder (8 G 0.66 ERA), Tyler Tufts (9 G 1.64 ERA), and Corey Young (9 G 0.87 ERA).


Tracking Texas League Homeruns: 561 homeruns in 586 games (0.957 HR/G) still pacing most in Texas League history.

Term of the Day: Hoover- 1. A highly adept infielder who appears to sweep or suck up batted balls in the manner of a Hoover vacuum cleaner. 2. A batter adept at hitting successfully with men on base; one who cleans the bases.


Last Year on This Date: Frisco defeated the Corpus Christi Hooks 3-2 on the road to win their 5th in a row, which would become a 7 game winning streak. Ryan Tatusko started for Frisco and earned his 6th win after he gave up 4 hits and 3 walks over 7 shutout innings with 2 strikeouts. Kasey Kiker gave up 2 runs over 1/3 of an inning. Ben Snyder, Evan Reed, and Josh Lueke combined for 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Mitch Hilligoss led Frisco with 3 hits in 4 at bats, including a double and a RBI. Marcus Lemon went 2 for 4 with a walk out of the leadoff spot. Joey Butler added a 1 for 4 day including a triple and a RBI. Taylor Teagarden went 1 for 5 with a RBI, while Jacob Kaase went 1 for 3 with a walk.

Around the Ranger's System

Yesterday's Record: 3-2

Round Rock (AAA) defeated the Oklahoma City Redhawks 4-3 on a walkoff single by Brad Nelson in the 9th inning. Scott Feldman made his 5th rehab start for Round Rock and gave up 5 hits and 2 runs (1 earned) over 6 innings with 5 strikeouts and 0 walks. Darren O'Day pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Zach Phillips gave up 1 run over 2/3 of an inning. Cody Eppley got the win after pitching 1 1/3 innings of relief. Former Riders Chris Davis, Chad Tracy, and Joey Butler each had 3 hits in the game. Davis had a double, Tracy hit a homerun, drove in 2 runs, and scored 2 of his own, while Butler added a double, a steal, and a run scored. Julio Borbon went 1 for 4 with a double, RBI, and walk. Esteban German added a double in 4 at bats, while Matt Kata went 1 for 4.

Myrtle Beach (High-A) scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning and defeated the Potomac Nationals 11-3 at home. Barret Loux started for Myrtle Beach and gave up 7 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs over 6 innings with 7 strikeouts. Trevor Hurley gave up 1 run in 2 innings of relief, while Ryan Kelly pitched an inning of scoreless relief as well. Jared Prince went 3 for 3 with a RBI and a walk in the game. Andres James went 3 for 5 with 2 RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base. David Paisano went 3 for 5 with a RBI and run scored. Leury Garcia went 2 for 5 with a walk and a stolen base. Mitch Hilligoss and Jared Hoying each had 2 hits as well. Chris McGuiness, Vincent DiFazio, and Jared Bolden each had a hit in the game for the Pelicans. Myrtle Beach was 10 for 22 with RISP as a team.

Hickory (Low-A) scored 7 runs in the first 4 innings and defeated the West Viriginia power 9-4 at home. Matt Thompson started for Hickory and gave up 4 hits, 9 walks, and 3 runs (2 earned) over 5 innings with 4 strikeouts. Jorge Marban gave up 1 run over 2 innings of relief, while Ben Henry pitched 2 scoreless innings. Kellin Deglan went 2 for 4 with a homerun for Hickory. Josh Richmond added a 2 for 4 day with a triple and 2 runs scored. Jonathan Roof went 2 for 4 and stole 2 bases to give him 12 on the year. Jurickson Profar went 1 for 4 with a triple and a RBI, while Jake Skole added a 1 for 4 day including a RBI. Yefry Castillo led the Crawdads with a 3 for 4 day, while Andrew Clark added 2 hits in 3 at bats with a RBI on a sac fly. Alejandro Selen homered as his only hit in 4 at bats, but it was a 3-run shot.

Spokane (Short Season A-Ball) fell 10-4 to the Boise Hawks for their 3rd loss on the season. Richard Alvarez started for Spokane and gave up 3 hits, 4 walks, and 3 runs (2 earned) over 3 innings with 2 strikeouts. Kyle Hendricks took the loss after giving up 2 runs in 1 inning of relief. Chris Hanna was the only pitcher for Spokane to not allow a run. Carlos Melo gave up 3 runs over 1 1/3 innings, while Andres Perez-Lobo gave up 2 runs in 1 2/3 innings. Trever Adams went 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored in the game. Zach Cone did not get a multi hit game for his first non-multi hit game as a professional. He went 1 for 5 with a triple for the Indians. Brett Nicholas went 2 for 4 with a double, RBI, and walk. Ruben Sierra Jr. went 2 for 3 with a double and a RBI. Carson Vitale and Ryan Rua each added a hit.

Minor League Performance of the Day

Brian Fletcher missed a month of the season already, but he has been making up for it since coming back to Midwest League play. The Kane County Cougar's outfielder went 1 for 4 with a homerun on Friday and then on Saturday he went 3 for 3 with a double, 2 homeruns, and 7 RBI in Kane County's 11-5 win over the Peoria Chiefs. The 22 year old outfielder is now hitting .336 with a .941 OPS on the season for Kane County. In 37 games, he has 12 doubles, 2 triples, 5 homeruns, and 28 RBI. He missed a month due to a hamstring injury, but has come back with a flourish. Brian Fletcher was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 18th round of the 2010 draft. He had 49 career homeruns for Auburn, which is tied with Frank Thomas for 3rd most all time in school history.

As always...

Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
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- By Michael Damman