Welcome to "Chatter from the Pressbox", the website dedicated to the Pressbox of the Frisco RoughRiders, the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers.

Today's Matchups Around the Ranger's System

Today's (5/20) Match-Ups Around the Ranger's System

Round Rock: Martin Perez (3-3 5.27) vs. Fresno Grizzlies: Andrew Kown (3-1 2.61) @ 1:00 PM CT

Myrtle Beach: Kyle Hendricks (1-4 2.91) @ Wilmington Blue Rocks: Sugar Ray Marimon (3-0 2.65) @ 12:30 PM CT

Hickory : Santo Perez (2-2 6.19) @ Asheville Tourists: Daniel Winkler (4-2 6.06) @ 1:05 PM CT



Sunday, July 31, 2011

Game 106: Frisco RoughRiders (Tyler Tufts) @ San Antonio Missions (Simon Castro)

Time: 6:05 PM CT
Location: Nelson Wolff Municipal Stadium (San Antonio, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (19-16 2 games back in the Texas League South; 59-46 overall)... San Antonio Missions (21-14 1st place in the Texas League South; 70-35 overall)
Magic Number: 21
Streak: Lost 1 in a row
Last 10: 5-5
Road Trip: 1-1
Series Record: 15-11-3
2011 Record against San Antonio: 8-14
All-Time Record against San Antonio: 118-121
Record on July 31st since 2004: 4-3:
Starting Pitchers: Tyler Tufts (3-1 2.08 ERA) vs. Simon Castro (3-4 5.65 ERA)

Frisco Falls to San Antonio: Frisco quickly went down 9-0 after 3 innings and lost 11-5 to the Missions to fall to 2 games behind them for the 2nd half and 11 back overall. Frisco is now 4-10 against the Missions in San Antonio this season.

Richard Bleier Struggles: Bleier gave up 9 hits and 9 runs (5 earned) over 2 2/3 innings on Saturday while he struck out 1 batter and walked 1 batter. Bleier is now 2-3 with a 6.98 ERA over 6 starts in the month of July. He has given up 47 hits in 29 2/3 innings during the time span. On the season, Bleier has given up 120 hits in 82 innings in 2011.

Inning by Inning Count

1: 13 Pitches- 9 Strikes- 2 Called- 1 Swinging- 2 Fouls- 4 Balls- 4 BPIP- 1 H
2: 29 Pitches- 20 Strikes- 6 Called- 0 Swinging- 6 Fouls- 9 Balls- 8 BPIP- 5 H
3: 24 Pitches- 15 Strikes- 2 Called- 1 Swinging- 6 Fouls- 9 Balls- 6 BPIP- 3 H- 1 BB- 1 Swinging K- 2 ROE

Total: 66 Pitches- 44 Strikes- 10 Called- 2 Swinging- 14 Fouls- 22 Balls- 18 BPIP- 9 H- 1 BB- 1 Swinging K- 2 ROE

Bottom Of the Order Production: Frisco's bottom of the order produced well in the 11-5 loss as the last four hitters in the lineup combined to go 7 for 15 with a double, triple, 3 RBI, 2 walks, and 5 runs scored. Jonathan Greene went 2 for 4 with a double, walk, and 2 runs scored. Engel Beltre went 1 for 4 adding his 5th triple of the season as well as a RBI and a run scored. Jose Felix went 2 for 3 with a RBI, walk, and 2 runs scored. Mitch Hilligoss continued his hot hitting with a 2 for 4 game with a RBI.

Stoneburner Drives in Two: Davis Stoneburner continued his solid hitting with a 2 for 5 game including 2 RBI. It was his 4th multi hit game in his last 10 games. It was his 6th multi RBI game of the season for Stoneburner. Davis is now batting .281 with a .786 OPS on the season.

Yan's Relief Appearance: Brought up to me by Stephen Harmon, Johan Yan made his 6th appearance of the season for Frisco and for the 5th time he struck out a batter AND walked a batter in the same game. For the season overall, he has walked a batter and struck out a batter in 15 of his 32 appearances this season between Myrtle Beach (High-A) and Frisco (AA).

Brigham Continues to Roll: Jake Brigham pitched another 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief on Saturday, although he let 2 of the 3 runners he inherited to score. Brigham has thrown 13 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings out of the bullpen. He has struck out 20 batters over those innings which span 7 appearances, while walking only 3 and 8 hits during that time.


Erlin and Wieland Traded: As most probably know by now, the Texas Rangers traded Frisco pitchers Robbie Erlin and Joe Wieland to the San Diego Padres for MLB reliever Mike Adams. The trade is interesting on multiple levels and has created uncertainty in Frisco today. First of all, Joe Wieland just pitched a No-Hitter against the San Antonio Missions on Friday. The San Antonio Missions of course are the San Diego Padre's AA team. I wonder how many times in history a player has pitched a no-hitter against a team and then made his next start for that team. Wieland has a chance to do just that. Then there is Robbie Erlin, who was supposed to start for Frisco today against San Antonio. It sure does make the travel for both pitchers easy though, they just have to walk across the field and switch clubhouses.

Tracking the Texas League Homeruns: 812 in 834 games (0.974 HR/G)

Term of the Day: Spray Hitter- A hitter with little power who is able to place the ball unpredictably to any part of the field as opposed to one who tends to hit to one part of the field.

Last Year on This Date: Frisco lost 11-4 to the San Antonio Missions at home. Ben Snyder made the start for Frisco and gave up 7 hits, 1 walk, and 5 runs over 5 innings with 4 strikeouts. Chris Mobley gave up 6 runs over 1 inning of relief. Zach Phillips and Mark Hamburger combined to give up 0 runs over 3 innings of relief. James Tomlin led Frisco with a 3 for 4 game including 2 RBI and a walk. Marcus Lemon went 2 for 5 with a RBI as well. Jonathan Greene and Renny Osuna each added a 2 for 4 game for the Riders. Jose Felix went 1 for 3 with a walk as well, while Emerson Frostad added a 1 for 5 game too.

Around the Ranger's System

Yesterday's Record: 1-4

Round Rock (AAA) gave up 3 runs in the 5th and 6th innings and lost 3-2 to the Nashville Sounds on the road. Ryan Tucker started for Round Rock and gave up 7 hits, 3 walks, and 3 runs over 5 2/3 innings with 4 strikeouts. Pedro Strop and Beau Jones combined for 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief. Joey Butler led Round Rock with a 3 for 4 game including a double and a run scored. Matt Kata added in a 1 for 3 game with a double, hit by pitch, and a RBI. Leonys Martin went 1 for 4 with a RBI as well. Esteban German and Val Majewski each went 1 for 4.

Myrtle Beach (High-A) gave up 3 runs in the 2nd inning and lost 6-1 at home to the Winston-Salem Dash. Miguel De Los Santos started for Myrtle Beach and gave up 1 hit, 4 walks, and 3 runs over 1 2/3 innings with 4 strikeouts. Kasey Kiker gave up 2 runs over 2 2/3 innings, while Trevor Hurley gave up a run over 2 2/3 innings as well. Zach Osborne pitched a scoreless inning of relief as well. Jared Prince led Myrtle Beach with a 2 for 4 game including a double and a run scored. Zach Zaneski got on base 3 times for the Pelicans as he went 1 for 2 with a RBI and 2 walks. David Paisano went 1 for 3 as well with a double. Leury Garcia went 1 for 4 and Santiago Chirino went 1 for 3 as well.

Hickory (Low-A) gave up a run in the 7th inning and lost 6-5 to the Augusta Greenjackets. Cody Buckel started for Hickory and gave up 8 hits, 1 walk, and 5 runs over 4 innings with 2 strikeouts. Ben Rowen took the loss after giving up 1 run over 2 2/3 innings while Francisco Mendoza pitched a scoreless 1 1/3 innings of relief. Jurickson Profar went 2 for 5 in the game for Hickory. Christian Villanueva led the offense with a 2 for 4 game including 2 RBI. Josh Richmond went 2 for 4 with a RBI and Odubel Herrera went 2 for 4 with a stolen base. Jake Skole added a 1 for 5 game while Tomas Telis went 1 for 4 with a double, 2 RBI, and a sac fly for the Crawdads. Braxton Lane added a 1 for 4 game in the 9th spot.

Spokane (Short Season A-Ball) scored 3 runs in the 2nd inning and defeated the Eugene Emeralds 4-3 at home. Santo Perez got the start for Spokane and gave up 3 hits, 4 walks, and 1 run over 4 innings with 4 strikeouts. Chris Hanna got the win after giving up 1 run over 2 innings of relief. Kyle Hendricks gave up 1 run over 2 innings while Matt West picked up the save with a scoreless 9th inning. Trever Adams went 2 for 4 with a double and a RBI at the plate. Ruben Sierra went 2 for 3 with a double and 2 RBI in the 9 spot. Yefry Castillo went 1 for 4 with a solo homerun. Edwin Garcia went 1 for 4 with a run scored.


Minor League Performance of the Day

Michael Saunders has struggled in his time in the majors in his career, but he's found AAA pitching pretty easy to hit. On Saturday, Saunders had an outstanding game earning him the performance of the day. In the Tacoma Rainier's 12-1 win over the Las Vegas 51s, Saunders went 5 for 5 with 2 homeruns, 4 RBI, and 2 runs scored. On the season, Saunders is batting .297/.443/.486/.929 for Tacoma with 8 doubles, 3 triples, 4 homeruns, and 25 RBI in 38 games. He has 35 walks to 45 strikeouts. Michael Saunders ranked as high as the #2 prospect in the Seattle Mariner's organization by Baseball America. He was selected in the 11th round of the 2004 draft by the Seattle Mariners.

As always...

A special thanks to any blog followers from Boone, NC!

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 atwww.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/

- By Michael Damman

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Game 105: Frisco RoughRiders (Richard Bleier) @ San Antonio Missions (Rob Musgrave)

Time: 7:05 PM CT
Location: Nelson Wolff Municipal Stadium (San Antonio, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (19-15 1 game back in the Texas League South; 59-45 overall)... San Antonio Missions (20-14 1st place in the Texas League South; 69-35 overall)
Magic Number: 21
Streak: Won 1 in a row
Last 10: 5-5
Road Trip: 1-0
Series Record: 15-11-3
2011 Record against San Antonio: 8-13
All-Time Record against San Antonio: 118-120
Record on July 30th since 2004: 1-5
Starting Pitchers: Richard Bleier (3-5 6.13 ERA) vs. Rob Musgrave (6-2 3.21 ERA)

Frisco Shuts Out San Antonio In Historic Game: Frisco won for the 4th time in San Antonio on Friday as they scored 3 runs over the first 5 innings and got a historic start from 21 year old right hander Joe Wieland. Frisco defeated the Missions 3-0 in the game and moved to 1 game behind them in the second half.

Wieland Tosses No-Hitter: Frisco has had a few great pitching performances against the San Antonio Missions this season and on Friday, Joe Wieland did what Jake Brigham and Robbie Erlin couldn't quite do earlier this season... he finished a no-hitter. Wieland's only blemish on the line was a walk to Andy Parrino in the 4th inning and Parrino was promptly caught stealing on a "strike em out, throw em out" double play. Wieland faced the minimum in all and became the first Frisco RoughRider's pitcher to pitch a 9 inning no-hitter by himself. Joe is also the first RoughRider's starter this season to pitch in the 9th inning. He struck out 7 batters in the start as well and has now given up 1 run or less in 6 of his 7 starts for Frisco. On the season for Frisco, Wieland is now 4-0 with a 1.23 ERA and has given up 35 hits and 11 walks in 44 innings with 36 strikeouts.

Frisco RoughRider's No-Hitters/Perfect Games

2005- A.J. Murray, Steve Karsay, and Scott Feldman vs. Corpus Christi on July 28 (9 inning Perfect Game)
2008- Matt Harison vs. San Antonio on May 18 (7 inning No-Hitter in first game of a double header)
2008- Neftali Feliz and Trey Hodges vs. San Antonio on August 19 (5 1/3 innings no-hitter)
2011- Martin Perez vs. Arkansas on April 19 (5 inning Perfect Game)
2011- Joe Wieland vs. San Antonio on July 29 (9 inning No-Hitter)


Inning By Inning Count

1: 15 Pitches- 10 Strikes- 2 Called- 2 Swinging- 3 Fouls- 5 Balls- 3 BPIP
2: 8 Pitches- 6 Strikes- 1 Called- 0 Swinging- 2 Fouls- 2 Balls- 3 BPIP
3: 8 Pitches- 5 Strikes- 1 Called- 1 Swinging- 0 Fouls- 3 Balls- 3 BPIP
4: 22 Pitches- 14 Strikes- 5 Called- 1 Swinging- 8 Fouls- 8 Balls- 1 BB- 2 Called K
5: 13 Pitches- 8 Strikes- 3 Called- 0 Swinging- 2 Fouls- 5 Balls- 3 BPIP
6: 9 Pitches- 7 Strikes- 3 Called- 1 Swinging- 2 Fouls- 2 Balls- 1 BPIP- 1 Called K- 1 Swinging K
7: 9 Pitches- 8 Strikes- 3 Called- 3 Swinging- 0 Fouls- 1 Ball- 2 BPIP- 1 Swinging K
8: 14 Pitches- 8 Strikes- 2 Called- 2 Swinging- 2 Fouls- 6 Balls- 2 BPIP- 1 Called K
9: 11 Pitches- 8 Strikes- 0 Called- 3 Swinging- 3 Fouls- 3 Balls- 2 BPIP- 1 Swinging K

Total: 109 Pitches- 74 Strikes- 20 Called- 13 Swinging- 22 Fouls- 35 Balls- 19 BPIP- 4 Called K- 3 Swinging K- 1 BB- 0 Hits

Bianucci Hits #25: Mike Bianucci moved into sole possession of the 3rd most homeruns in a single season by a Frisco RoughRider in the franchise's 9 year history with a solo homerun in the 3rd inning. The homerun was his 25th of the season extending his team lead and putting him one short of tying Chad Tracy's 26 in the 2009 season. Bianucci finished the game 2 for 3 with the homerun, a single, and a walk. He also is now tied with Chris Davis for the 9th most homeruns all-time on the career list.

Ruiz Knocks Doubles: Jose Ruiz used 2 doubles to take over the team lead with 24 doubles on the season. The first baseman went 2 for 4 for the game overall including the 2 doubles. Jonathan Greene previously led the team with 23 doubles. Ruiz is batting only .211 over his last 10 games, but he does have 5 doubles and a homerun during that span. Overall on the season, he's batting .278 with 38 extra base hits and an .803 OPS.

Osuna Ends Three Game Skid: After going 0 for 10 over his previous 3 games, Renny Osuna went 2 for 4 with 2 doubles in the game against San Antonio. He moves within 11 hits of tying Steve Murphy's career hit total and 12 away from breaking it. With 7 more road games left before a 10 game homestand, it's unlikely that Osuna will break the record before coming back home, although it's not impossible. His .304 batting average leads the team among qualified players.


Struggles with RISP: Since scoring 19 runs on July 22nd, Frisco has gone 11 for 52 (.212) with RISP as a team. They went 0 for 6 with RISP on Friday night and are 5 for 32 (.156) over the last week.

Tracking Texas League Homeruns: 807 in 826 games (0.977 HR/G)

Term of the Day: Stone Hands- The hands of a poor fielder.

Last Year on This Date: Frisco lost 7-4 at home to the San Antonio Missions as the 5th loss in a row of what would become an 8 game losing streak. Richard Bleier started for Frisco and gave up 8 hits, 1 walk, and 3 runs over 7 1/3 innings with 4 strikeouts. Tim Murphy gave up 4 unearned runs over 2/3 innings of relief, while Adalberto Flores pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Johnny Whittleman led Frisco's offense with a 2 for 4 game including a double and 3 RBI. Joey Butler went 2 for 4 with a triple and 2 runs scored, while Jose Felix went 2 for 4 as well. Marcus Lemon and Renny Osuna each added a hit. James Tomlin went 1 for 4 with a RBI and Elio Sarmiento went 1 for 4 in the game as well.

Around the Ranger's System

Yesterday's Record: 2-3

Round Rock (AAA) scored 4 runs in the 1st inning and 5 runs in the 4th inning and cruised to a 10-1 victory over the Memphis Redbirds at home. Eric Hurley started for Round Rock and moved to 6-0 after giving up 8 hits, 3 walks, and 1 run over 5 innings with 3 strikeouts. Derek Hankins and Michael Kirkman combined for 4 shutout innings of relief. Val Majewski continues to hit well for Round Rock as the veteran minor leaguer went 2 for 4 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI in the game. Andres Blanco went 1 for 3 with 2 RBI, 2 walks, and 2 runs scored. Joey Butler went 2 for 4 with a RBI and a run scored for the Express. Guilder Rodriguez added a 2 for 3 game, while Kevin Cash went 2 for 4 with a RBI and 2 runs scored. Leonys Martin went 0 for 4 with a walk and a run scored and Brad Nelson went 1 for 4 with 2 RBI. Esteban German also added a hit of his own and stole his 33rd base of the season.

Myrtle Beach (High-A) gave up 2 runs in the 3rd inning and lost 3-2 at home to the Winston-Salem Dash. Robbie Ross started for Myrtle Beach and gave up 5 hits, 0 walks, and 2 runs over 7 innings with 7 strikeouts. Kasey Kiker took the loss after giving up 1 unearned run in 2 innings of relief. Jared Bolden went 2 for 3 with a double, triple, RBI, walk, and run scored. Travis Adair extended his consecutive hit streak to 10 for 10, but finished the game 1 for 4 for the Pelicans. Andres James went 1 for 3 with a double, while Santiago Chirino went 1 for 3.

Hickory (Low-A) gave up 2 runs in the 2nd and 3 runs in the 8th and were shutout 5-0 to the Augusta Greenjackets on the road. Joseph Van Meter started for Hickory and gave up 4 hits, 3 walks, and 2 runs over 6 innings with 3 strikeouts. Colby Killian gave up 3 unearned runs over 2 innings of relief. Tomas Telis provided most of the offense for Hickory as he went 2 for 3 with a double. Jurickson Profar added a 1 for 4 game for the Crawdads, while Odubel Herrera went 1 for 3.

Spokane (Short Season A-Ball) gave up 4 runs in the 3rd inning and lost 8-4 at home to the Eugene Emeralds. Victor Payano started for Spokane and took the loss after giving up 6 hits, 2 walks, and 4 runs over 3 innings with 1 strikeout. Phil Klein gave up 2 runs in 1 2/3 innings, while Jose Mavare gave up 1 run over 3 1/3 innings of relief. Matt West gave up a run in the final inning. Rougned Odor went 1 for 4 with a triple and a run scored out of the leadoff spot for Spokane. Edwin Garcia added a 1 for 4 game with a RBI, while Drew Robinson went 1 for 3 with a double and 2 RBI for the Indians. Ruben Sierra added a 1 for 3 game and Guillermo Pimentel and Brett Nicholas each went 1 for 4 in the game with a run scored.

Minor League Performance of the Day

Joe Wieland has put together a fantastic season this year in the minor leagues and no performance displayed that better than what he did in Friday's start. In the Frisco RoughRider's 3-0 victory over the first place San Antonio Missions, Joe Wieland pitched a 9 inning No-Hitter and moved to 4-0 on the season in 7 starts for Frisco. Wieland put up video game numbers for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans for most of this season and hasn't let up in the promotion to the hitters league in Frisco. In 7 starts, Wieland's ERA is 1.23, his K-BB ratio is over 3-1, opponents are hitting .217, and even the homeruns have cut back (2 in 7 starts). Frisco is 7-0 this season when Joe Wieland takes the mound and between high-A and AA, his team is now 15-6 (.714 winning%) on the season. Overall on the season, Wieland has given up 113 hits and 15 walks over 129 2/3 innings with 132 strikeouts. He is 10-3 with a 1.80 ERA. Wieland was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 4th round of the 2008 draft. He was rated by Baseball America as the 22nd best prospect in the organization entering 2011.

As always...

A special thanks to any blog followers from Davie, FL!

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 atwww.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/

- By Michael Damman

Friday, July 29, 2011

Game 104: Frisco RoughRiders (Joe Wieland) @ San Antonio Missions (Jorge Reyes)

Time: 7:05 PM CT
Location: Nelson Wolff Municipal Stadium (San Antonio, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (18-15 2 games back in the Texas League South; 58-45 overall)... San Antonio Missions (20-13 1st place in the Texas League South; 69-34 overall)
Magic Number: 22 (If San Antonio wins second half as well)
Streak: Lost 2 in a row
Last 10: 5-5
Homestand: 4-3
Series Record: 15-11-3
2011 Record against San Antonio: 7-13
All-Time Record against San Antonio: 117-120
Record on July 29th since 2004: 5-2
Starting Pitchers: Joe Wieland (3-0 1.54 ERA) vs. Jorge Reyes (5-2 3.86 ERA)

Frisco Loses Rare Series to Midland: Despite dominating the first 16 games against the Midland Rockhounds this season, Frisco dropped a second straight to the Rockhounds and lost their first series to Midland in 2011. Frisco out hit the Rockhounds 8-5, including at one point after 7 innings an 8-1 advantage, but lost in the runs column 4-2 on Thursday night. The loss was only Frisco's 6th this season to Midland in 19 games. With San Antonio losing to Corpus Christi, however, the Riders remain just 2 back of the Missions with a 4 game set this weekend against San Antonio. It is Frisco's final trip to San Antonio this season, which is a blessing as Frisco is just 3-9 in San Antonio entering this weekend.


Carlos Pimentel Starts Strong, Loses Command: Carlos Pimentel allowed just 1 hit in his start, but took his 7th loss of the season after he surrendered 3 consecutive walks to open the 6th inning. Overall, the 21 year old right hander gave up 5 walks and 3 runs over 5 innings with 5 strikeouts. Of his 5 strikeouts, 3 were swinging strikeouts. Pimentel made 96 pitches, 56 of which went for strikes. 13 were called, 10 were swinging, and 22 were fouled off. Of the 11 balls put into play, only 1 went through for a hit.

Inning by Inning Count

1: 19 Pitches- 13 Strikes- 4 Called- 0 Swing- 5 Foul- 5 Balls- 4 BPIP- 1 HBP- 1 H
2: 22 Pitches- 13 Strikes- 2 Called- 4 Swing- 6 Foul- 9 Balls- 1 BPIP- 1 BB- 1 Swing K- 1 Called K
3: 11 Pitches- 8 Strikes- 0 Called- 3 Swing- 3 Foul- 3 Balls- 2 BPIP- 1 Swing K
4: 13 Pitches- 7 Strikes- 4 Called- 0 Swing- 1 Foul- 6 Balls- 2 BPIP- 1 BB- 1 Called K
5: 14 Pitches- 10 Strikes- 2 Called- 3 Swing- 3 Foul- 4 Balls- 2 BPIP- 1 Swing K
6: 17 Pitches- 5 Strikes- 1 Called- 0 Swing- 4 Fouls- 12 Balls- 0 BPIP- 3 BB- 0 Outs

Total: 96 Pitches- 56 Strikes- 13 Called- 10 Swing- 22 Foul- 39 Balls- 11 BPIP- 1 HBP- 2 Called K- 3 Swing K- 5 BB- 1 H

Bianucci Ties Jason Botts: Mike Bianucci went 2 for 4 in the loss on Thursday and hit a solo homerun to leadoff the bottom of the 2nd inning, which tied the game at 1-1 at the time. The homerun was Bianucci's 24th of the season tying him with Jason Botts for the 3rd best season total in Frisco RoughRider's history. Despite a season low month average of .208 in July, Bianucci has hit 7 homeruns in the month, which is tied with April for his most in a single month this year. With 3 games remaining there is a chance he could set a season month high. Over his last 10 games, Bianucci is just 7 for 40. But of his 7 hits, 6 of them have gone for extra bases, including 4 of them over the wall for a homerun. Of the four homeruns, however, three of them have been solo homeruns.

Greene Goes Deep Again: For the third time in four games and fourth time in seven games, Jonathan Greene put one over the wall for a homerun. Greene finished the game 2 for 3 with a homerun and a single. At home this season, Greene is batting .350 with 11 homeruns and 21 total extra base hits over 45 games. His OPS at home this season is 1.032 compared to .712 on the road (.255 batting average). Greene has hit 7 homeruns in the month of July, which is by far a season high for a month total. He hit 2 in April, 3 in May, and 3 in June. So with one more he would match his total from the previous 3 months combined.

Osuna Goes Quiet Against Midland: Renny Osuna has become a very consistent producer for the Frisco RoughRiders over the course of his time, which is why when he goes 0 for 10 over a 3 game series with a team, it becomes very surprising. It marks the first time this season that Osuna has gone 3 games without a hit and the first time since July 17th to July 21st of 2010 that Osuna has done so as a Frisco RoughRider. If you really wanted to stretch the stat, you could say it was his first time in a 3 game set that Osuna played all 3 games and went hitless in all 3 games for Frisco since September 5th-7th, 2009 against... Midland. It may be for the best, however, as it would have taken a ridiculous homestand for him to break the record for hits as a RoughRider. With a hitless series it actually makes it fairly likely that pending a huge road trip, Osuna could break the record at home over the next 10 game homestand beginning a week from today. He currently sits at 306, which is 13 from tying Steve Murphy's 319 and 14 from breaking it.


Hilligoss Doubles Again: For the third game in a row and fifth game out of his last six, Mitch Hilligoss had a double in the game. Hilligoss finished 1 for 3 with a double in the bottom of the 5th. It gives him 6 doubles in 16 games for Frisco this season. Over the 7 game homestand, Hilligoss went 9 for 20 with 6 doubles, 1 homerun, 4 RBI, 5 runs scored, and a walk. Not bad from a guy who has mainly batted 9th in the lineup. He is hitting .433 (13 for 30) with a 1.171 OPS when batting 9th this season for Frisco.

Heating Back up?: Tommy Mendonca went 1 for 3 with a walk on Thursday. He went through a funk for some time, which was totally understandable given the personal tragedy that he has had to deal with. But it would seem that Mendonca is beginning to heat back up, as the third baseman is batting .300 with a 1.039 OPS over his last 10 games with 5 homeruns. It helps that 3 of those homeruns came in one game though. Mendonca brings a season batting average of .303 with 21 homeruns, a team best 74 RBI, and a team best .914 OPS into San Antonio. In the month of June, Mendonca batted .375 with 17 extra base hits, 30 RBI, and a 1.085 OPS. He is batting .356/.412/.583/.995 on the road this season.

Tracking Texas League Homeruns: 803 in 818 Games (0.982 HR/G)

Term of the Day: Major-league arm- The arm of a pitcher with great potential.


Last Year On This Date: Frisco got shutout by the Midland Rockhounds 6-0 on the road. Tanner Roark started for Frisco and gave up 11 hits, 2 walks, and 5 runs over 5 1/3 innings with 2 strikeouts. Beau Jones gave up 1 unearned run over 1 2/3 innings of relief. Brennan Garr pitched the 8th inning of relief scoreless. Engel Beltre led Frisco's offense with a 2 for 4 game including a triple. Marcus Lemon, James Tomlin, Andy Jenkins, Joey Butler, and Elio Sarmiento all went 1 for 4 each. Johnny Whittleman and Renny Osuna both went 1 for 3 each.

Around the Ranger's System

Yesterday's Record: 4-1

Round Rock (AAA) scored 4 runs in the final 2 innings to tie the Memphis Redbirds and won 9-8 on a walkoff wild pitch in the 11th inning. Brett Tomko started for Round Rock and gave up 9 hits, 2 walks, and 6 runs (5 earned) over 6 innings with 7 strikeouts. Darren O'Day gave up 1 run in 1 2/3 innings of relief, while Merkin Valdez gave up 1 run in 1 1/3 innings of relief. Beau Jones pitched 1 1/3 innings scoreless, while Cody Eppley pitched the final 2/3 of an inning and got the win. Val Majewski went 3 for 5 with a homerun, 2 RBI, and a run scored for Round Rock. Joey Butler added 2 hits in 5 at bats with a RBI, stolen base, and a run scored. Leonys Martin went 1 for 3 as the leadoff hitter before being replaced by Chad Tracy. Brad Nelson went 1 for 4 with a homerun and 2 RBI, while Kevin Cash and Matt Kata each doubled for their only hits. Esteban German went 1 for 5 with a RBI, walk, 3 stolen bases, and 2 runs scored. Andres Blanco went 1 for 4 with a double and a RBI.

Myrtle Beach (High-A) scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th and won 7-6 over the Lynchburg Hillcats. Barret Loux started and had a rare bad start as he gave up 4 runs, 3 walks, and 4 runs over 3 1/3 innings with 3 strikeouts. Kennil Gomez gave up a run over 3 2/3 innings of relief, while Zach Osborne pitched 2 innings, gave up a run, and got the win. Travis Adair continued his extremely hot hitting with another 3 for 3 game including a double, RBI, 2 walks, and 2 runs scored. He is 9 for his last 9 with 2 walks over 3 games, including a 6 for 6 double header on Wednesday. Ryan Strausborger and Jared Bolden each went 1 for 4 with a walk and 2 runs scored. Zach Zaneski went 1 for 4 with 2 RBI in the game, while Santiago Chirino went 1 for 3 with a walk. Jared Hoying and David Paisano each added a hit, while Andres James went 1 for 5.

Hickory (Low-A) defeated the Augusta Greenjackets 5-3 on the road on Thursday. Luke Jackson started for Hickory and gave up 4 hits, 2 walks, and 3 runs (1 earned) over 5 innings with 3 strikeouts. Ben Henry and Jimmy Reyes each pitched 2 scoreless innings of relief. Jurickson Profar went 1 for 4 with a triple, walk, and 2 runs scored for Hickory. Kellin Deglan led the offense with 2 hits in 4 at bats including 2 doubles and a run scored. Tomas Telis went 1 for 4 with a solo homerun. Andrew Clark finished 1 for 3 with a double and a walk, while Josh Richmond went 1 for 4 with a triple. Odubel Herrera went 2 for 4, while Christian Villanueva went 1 for 4 with a run scored. Jhonny Gomez also went 1 for 3 with a walk.

Spokane (Short Season A-Ball) scored 6 runs in the last 2 innings and defeated the Eugene Emeralds 11-7 at home. David Perez started for Spokane and did not record an out. He gave up 3 walks, hit a batter, and gave up 4 runs in the start. Nicholas Martinez relieved him and gave up 6 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs (1 earned) over 4 innings with 5 strikeouts. Juan Grullon pitched 2 scoreless innings and Jose Monegro earned the win after giving up a run over 3 innings of relief. Rougned Odor went 3 for 5 with a double and 2 runs scored. Ruben Sierra led the offense with a 3 for 4 game including 2 homeruns, 6 RBI, and 3 runs scored. Zach Cone also went 3 for 5 with 2 doubles and 2 runs scored. Edwin Garcia also added a 3 for 5 game with 3 RBI. Yefry Castillo went 2 for 3 with 2 RBI and 2 walks. Brett Nicholas went 2 for 5 as well, while Nick Vickerson added a hit in 5 at bats.

Minor League Performance of the Day

Taylor Green was once viewed as one of the breakout prospects in the Milwaukee Brewer's system and was seen as a part of their future or as trade bait for some big name players. After down years in 2009 and 2010, Taylor Green is once again enjoying success for the Brewer's AAA team. On Thursday, Green had a day that would make anyone a happy camper. In the Nashville Sound's 13-2 blowout victory over the Oklahoma City Redhawks, Green went 4 for 4 with a double, 2 homeruns, 6 RBI, 2 walks, and scored 5 runs. Over his last 5 games, Green has multi hit games in all 5, and is 12 for 20 with 3 homeruns and 2 doubles. Overall on the season, the 24 year old third baseman is batting .333/.414/.579/.994 with 28 doubles, 17 homeruns, and 67 RBI in 95 games for Nashville. He has walked 45 times to 55 strikeouts. Taylor Green was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 25th round of the 2005 draft.

As always...

A special thanks to any blog followers from Reno, NV!

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 atwww.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/

- By Michael Damman

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Game 103: Midland Rockhounds (Shawn Haviland) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Carlos Pimentel)

Time: 7:05 PM CT
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (18-14 2 games back in the Texas League South; 58-44 overall)... Midland Rockhounds (14-18 6 games back in the Texas League South; 41-61 overall)
Streak: Lost 1 in a row
Last 10: 5-5
Homestand: 4-2
Series Record: 15-10-3
2011 Record against Midland: 13-5
All-Time Record against Midland: 116-102
Record on July 28th since 2004: 4-3
Starting Pitchers: Carlos Pimentel (4-6 5.04 ERA) vs. Shawn Haviland (3-9 7.69 ERA)


Frisco Gives Up 19 Hits, Loses: In the middle game of a rare 3 game set with the Midland Rockhounds, Frisco gave up a season high 19 hits en route to an 8-3 loss to the Rockhounds. The loss was only Frisco's 5th loss this year against Midland and moved Frisco back to 2 games behind the San Antonio Missions, who scored 6 runs late to defeat the Corpus Christi Hooks 12-6.


Rare Bad Start Against Midland for Snyder: In what has become one of Ben Snyder's favorite teams to play over the past couple years, Snyder gave up 12 hits and 7 runs over 4 1/3 innings. His 12 hits allowed were a career high. On the homestand, Ben Snyder struggled with the longball as he gave up 6 homeruns over the 2 starts which spans just 9 1/3 innings. For the season, Snyder has given up 11 homeruns in 73 innings this season. Snyder is now 4-1 against Midland this season in 8 appearances.

Sarmiento Returning With a Bang: In his return since his wife had their baby, Elio Sarmiento has now gone 4 for 6 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI, and a walk. That is after his 2 for 2 game with a double, RBI, and walk in Wednesday's blowout loss.

Mitch Hilligoss Enjoying Time Back in Frisco: Also making the most of his playing time is Mitch Hilligoss, who played first base on Wednesday as Jose Ruiz, the normal starting first baseman, was the DH. Hilligoss went 1 for 2 with a double, RBI, and a walk as well. In 15 games for Frisco this season, Hilligoss is batting .353 (18 for 51) with 5 doubles, a triple, 2 homeruns, and 7 RBI. He has walked 6 times to 4 strikeouts. Over 39 games with Frisco in the last 2 years, Hilligoss is batting .323/.400/.469/.869 in 151 plate appearances. He has hit 9 doubles, 2 triples, and 2 homeurns with 17 RBI as well and has 18 walks to 18 strikeouts.

Fluke Or Sign Of Improvement?: Engel Beltre didn't have a hit in the loss, but he did walk once in 4 plate appearances. The walk was his 6th in the month of July and 6th since the All-star Break (which coincided with the month of July). In that time he has played in 26 games. In 55 games in the first half, Beltre walked 8 times, so already Beltre is nearly at his walk total in half of the time.

Hit By Pitch #15: Jonathan Greene got hit by a pitch from Jason Bergmann to leadoff the bottom of the 5th. For Greene, the hit by pitch was his 15th of the season putting him one short of Craig Gentry's Frisco RoughRider season high of 16 in a season.

Attendance Woes: Recently Frisco has had trouble drawing and the numbers showed in attendance. The heat has been miserable everywhere this year and Dallas is no exception. Over the last 3 games, Frisco has had a total attendance of 11,454 combined. The 3 game total is the worst in Frisco's history and the first time that Frisco has had 3 consecutive games under 5,000.

Tied At 791: With a solo homerun in the 7th inning off of Corpus Christi reliever Chris Hicks, Blake Tekotte's homer gave the Texas League 791 homeruns this season. The total is fairly insignificant, right now, but the homerun did mean the Texas League has the same amount of homeruns on July 27th that the league had for the entire year last season. With one homerun they will surpass that total and I would expect that to happen today. The number is really a minor, meaningless number in a season where the league is on pace to break the record for homeruns in a season by a healthy margin. The league is on pace for 1,087 homeruns and the current record is 1,066 set back in 1998. There have only been 3 seasons with more than 1,000 homeruns by the league.

Blog on the Pressbox: Reid Copeland, the Frisco RoughRider's Media Relations assistant, was nice enough to do a blog on the Frisco RoughRider's Pressbox Staff on the Rider's Insider Blog. Check it out as it was well done. All of the "A" team for the pressbox has been with Frisco at least 5 years, so we've all been around to see a lot of cool, wacky, and interesting moments in Frisco RoughRider's play.

Tracking Texas League Homeruns: 791 in 810 games (0.977 HR/G)

Term of the Day: Choke- To play badly in a crucial situation or lose one's resolve; to fail at the moment of maximium expectation. Players, managers, coaches, and umpires have all been accused of choking.

Last Year On This Date: Frisco got crushed 14-3 on the road against the Midland Rockhounds. Michael Schlact started for Frisco and gave up 8 hits, 4 walks, and 8 runs over 2 innings without a strikeout. Kasey Kiker gave up 6 runs over 1/3 of an inning of relief. Adalberto Flores and Tim Murphy combined for 5 2/3 innings of shutout relief. Emerson Frostad led Frisco's offense with a 3 for 4 game including a triple and a RBI. Engel Beltre went 2 for 4 at the plate. James Tomlin added 2 hits in 5 at bats as well for the Riders. Andy Jenkins added a 1 for 4 game with a RBI, while Joey Butler and Renny Osuna each went 1 for 4 with a stolen base. Jose Felix and Marcus Lemon each added a hit as well.

Around the Ranger's System

Yesterday's Record: 3-2

Round Rock (AAA) crushed the Memphis Redbirds 13-4 at home. Zach Jackson started for Round Rock and gave up 5 hits, 3 walks, and 4 runs (3 earned) over 5 innings with 5 strikeouts. Mark Hamburger pitched 2 scoreless innings of relief, while Pedro Strop and Cody Eppley combined for 2 scoreless innings as well. Brad Nelson led Round Rock's offense with a 3 for 4 game with a double, 3 RBI, 2 runs, and a sacrifice fly. Val Majewski went 4 for 5 with a double, homerun, 4 RBI, and run scored for the Express. Matt Kata added a 2 for 5 game with a homerun, 3 RBI, and a run scored. Joey Butler reached base 3 times as he went 1 for 3 with 2 walks and 2 runs scored. Esteban German led off with a 2 for 5 game with a double, stolen base, and 3 runs scored. Chad Tracy doubled in 5 at bats with a RBI and a run scored, while Nick Green and Kevin Cash each added a hit.

Myrtle Beach (High-A) swept a double header with the Lynchburg Hillcats. They won by scores of 4-0 and 5-0 as Lynchburg managed just 4 hits over the 14 innings.

Justin Grimm started the first game of the double header and gave up 3 hits, 1 walk, and struck out 4 batters over 6 shutout innings. Ryan Rodebaugh pitched the 7th inning in the game. Travis Adair led Myrtle Beach's offense with a 3 for 3 game including a double and a run scored. Santiago Chirino added 2 hits in 3 at bats, including a homerun, 3 RBI, and scored 2 runs for the Pelicans. David Paisano went 1 for 2 with a double, RBI, and a hit by pitch. Leury Garcia led off with a 1 for 3 game including a walk.

Chad Bell started the second game and gave up just 1 hit, 0 walks, and struck out 4 over 5 innings. Joe Ortiz pitched the last 2 perfect innings. Travis Adair also went 3 for 3 in the second game with a RBI and 2 runs scored meaning he went 6 for 6 for the day. Vincent DiFazio went 2 for 3 with a RBI. Jared Prince added a 1 for 3 game with a double and 2 RBI. Santiago Chirino added 1 hit in 3 at bats, while Andres James went 2 for 3 with a double, walk, and run scored as the leadoff hitter.

Hickory (Low-A) had the day off.

Spokane (Short Season A-Ball) gave up 2 runs in the top of the 3rd inning and lost 3-2 to the Eugene Emeralds at home. Nicholas McBride started for Spokane and gave up 5 hits, 1 walk, and 3 runs over 5 innings with 2 strikeouts. Carlos Melo pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, while Jerad Eickhoff pitched 2 1/3 shutout innings of relief. Yefry Castillo went 1 for 3 with a double and a RBI. Guillermo Pimentel went 1 for 3 with a solo homerun for the Indians as well. Edwin Garcia and Zach Cone each added a hit as well.

Minor League Performance of the Day

Matt Moore, who is pretty much listed by anyone as one of the best pitching prospects in baseball, had a pretty good AAA debut on July 22nd. But that was nothing on his encore performance. In the Durham Bull's 4-0 victory over the Gwinnett Braves, the 22 year old southpaw went up against another highly regarded southpaw in Mike Minor and out pitched him pitch for pitch. Moore gave up just 3 hits and walked 2 while striking out a season high 13 batters in the victory. Moore made 103 pitches and 68 of them went for strikes. On the season, Moore is 9-3 with a 2.03 ERA in 20 starts. He has given up just 74 hits and 32 walks in 115 1/3 innings with 151 strikeouts. Matt Moore was an 8th round selection by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2007 draft. Moore was rated by Baseball America as the #2 prospect in the Tampa Bay Ray's organization entering 2011 and was rated by Baseball America as the 15th best prospect in baseball entering 2011. He was recently listed by Baseball America as the #3 prospect in baseball in their mid season top 50 list.

As always...

A special thanks to any blog followers from Bellevue, OH!

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 atwww.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/

- By Michael Damman

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Game 102: Midland Rockhounds (Jason Bergmann) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Ben Snyder)

Time: 7:05 PM CT
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (18-13 1 game back in the Texas League South; 58-43 overall)... Midland Rockhounds (13-18 6 games back in the Texas League South; 40-61 overall)
Streak: Won 1 in a row
Last 10: 6-4
Homestand: 4-1
Series Record: 15-10-3
2011 Record against Midland: 13-4
All-Time Record against Midland: 116-101
Record on July 27th since 2004: 3-4
Starting Pitchers: Ben Snyder (8-2 4.06 ERA) vs. Jason Bergmann (0-6 7.01 ERA)


Frisco Gives Up Lead, Wins 7-3: Frisco took a 3-2 lead into the 7th inning on Tuesday night, but gave up a homerun to Wes Timmons in the 7th inning. Frisco answered with 4 runs in the 8th inning to win the first game of a three game set with the Midland Rockhounds. The homerun, given up by Erlin, cost him his 6th win and first since July 4th, but the team got the win in the end.

Erlin Solid In Start:
Robbie Erlin struggled early as he faced 7 batters in a 2 run Midland 1st inning. However, the 20 year old southpaw settled down to finish with a very good line. Erlin gave up 7 hits, 1 walk (his first since a June 26th start), and 3 runs over 7 innings with 4 strikeouts. He threw only 87 (59 strikes) pitches over the 7 innings despite throwing 19 pitches in the 1st inning alone. Of the 29 batters he faced, Erlin got ahead with a strike to 17 of them (59%). On the season he is at 65.1% for the season for first pitch strikes.


Mendonca Goes Deep: Tommy Mendonca had one of three Frisco homeruns on Tuesday and went 2 for 4 in the win over Midland. His homerun came in the 4th inning and gave Frisco a 3-2 lead at the time. On the season, Mendonca is now batting .456 with 12 extra base hits in 17 games against the Midland Rockhounds. His OPS during that time is 1.319 against Midland.

Greene Hits a Moon Shot: Perhaps no homerun was as impressive as Jonathan Greene's 2nd inning game tying 2-run shot off of A.J. Griffin. Greene pulled a pitch that may have actually gone out of the ballpark and into the street in left field. For Greene, the no doubter was his 14th of the season and 2nd in as many games. The blast was Greene's only hit of the game, but it was definitely a big hit.

The Other Big Homerun: Davis Stoneburner also went 1 for 4 in the game, but his homerun to leadoff the 8th inning was the start of a 4 run inning and the difference in the game. It was Stoneburner's 7th homerun of the season and gave him 32 extra base hits in 295 at bats this season.

Robbie Diaz's Game: Robbie Diaz batted 4th for Frisco as Mike Bianucci got a rare day off, and the RoughRiders didn't miss a beat in the 4 hole. Robbie Diaz went 3 for 3 with a walk in the game and scored 2 runs as well. The former major league catcher is 9 for 15 (.600 AVG) since being sent down from Round Rock in the absence of Elio Sarmiento, who's wife recently gave birth to their newest child. In 17 games for Frisco this season, Diaz is batting .357 (20 for 56) with a double and 3 homeruns.

Speaking of Sarmiento: Elio Sarmiento was back in the lineup on Tuesday and went 2 for 4 with a double and a RBI in his return. On the season for Frisco he is now batting .276 with an .816 OPS in split time at the catchers spot.


Brigham Racking Up Strikeouts: Jake Brigham extended his team lead in strikeouts on Tuesday as he struck out the side in the top of the 8th inning to give him 88 strikeouts on the season. Brigham now has 17 strikeouts over his last 5 relief appearances, which spans 9 1/3 innings pitched. Brigham has gone 6 consecutive relief outings without giving up a run as well. Right handed batters are hitting just .228 (49 for 215) against him this season with a .661 OPS against him.


Tracking Texas League Homeruns: 784 in 802 games (0.978 HR/G)

Term of the Day: Irrevocable Waivers- A form of waivers in which the club placing the player on waivers cannot withdraw the waiver request if another team claims the player. If the player is claimed by another club, the player's former team receives no compensation.

Last Year on This Date: Frisco lost 14-9 on the road to the Midland Rockhounds. Martin Perez started for Frisco and gave up 6 hits, 1 walk, and 7 runs (6 earned) over 1/3 of an inning without a strikeout. Ben Snyder pitched 3 2/3 innings of shutout relief. Brennan Garr gave up 4 runs over 1 1/3 innings of relief, while Beau Jones gave up 2 runs over 1 2/3 innings. Evan Reed gave up a run over 1 inning of relief as well. Marcus Lemon led Frisco's offense with a 4 for 6 game including a double, RBI, and run scored. Emerson Frostad went 3 for 6 with a double, triples, 2 RBI, and a run scored. Renny Osuna added a 2 for 5 day with a double, RBI, and a run for the Riders, while James Tomlin also went 2 for 6. Andy Jenkins and Joey Butler each went 1 for 3 with a double, and a RBI. Butler added 2 walks and Jenkins added a walk and a sac fly. Johnny Whittleman and Engel Beltre each added a hit as well in 4 at bats.


As always...

A special thanks to any blog followers from Turlock, CA!

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 atwww.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/

- By Michael Damman

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Game 101: Midland Rockhounds (A.J. Griffin) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Robbie Erlin)

Time: 7:05 PM CT
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (17-13 2 games back in the Texas League South; 57-43 overall)... Midland Rockhounds (13-17 6 games back in the Texas League South; 40-60 overall)
Streak: Lost 1 in a Row
Last 10: 5-5
Homestand: 3-1
Series Record: 15-10-3
2011 Record against Midland: 12-4
All-Time Record against Midland: 115-101
Record on July 26th Since 2004: 3-3
Starting Pitchers: Robbie Erlin (5-2 4.37 ERA) is 2-0 with a 9.31 ERA and 2.17 WHIP in 2 career appearances, including 1 start against the Midland Rockhounds... A.J. Griffin (2-2 4.84 ERA) is making his first career start against the Frisco RoughRiders.

Frisco Loses Series Finale With Corpus, Wins Series: After outscoring the Corpus Christi Hooks 30-10 over the first 3 games of the series, Frisco dropped the fourth game by a score of 9-3. The Hooks took a commanding 8-2 lead after 4 innings and the game finished with a run added on both sides.

Bleier's Start: Richard Bleier struggled on Monday and did not get past the 4th inning for the 2nd time this season in 11 starts. Bleier gave up 9 hits and 8 runs over his 3 1/3 innings. He struck out 1 batter and did not walk anybody. Of his 9 hits given up, 8 of them were singles. As a starting pitcher this season he now has given up 76 singles out of 91 hits given up (83.5%). The rest of the starters have given up 306 singles out of 465 hits given up (65.8%) Frisco has averaged 11 hits given up per Richard Bleier start this season.

Greene Hits a HR, Reaches #14: Jonathan Greene was one of the few Frisco players with a good offensive showing. Greene went 2 for 3 with a solo homerun (his 13th), added a RBI single to total 2 RBI for the game, and was hit by a pitch for the 14th time this season. He is now 2 short of tying Craig Gentry's Frisco RoughRider record of 16 hit by pitches in a season. Greene leads the Texas League in strikeouts with 113, but continues to produce at the plate with a .299 batting average, 13 homeruns, 56 RBI, and an .847 OPS.

Mendonca Reaches Base Three Times: Tommy Mendonca also had a solid day at the plate with a 1 for 3 game including a RBI single to right field. He also walked and was hit by a pitch for the 9th time this season. His walk came on a 12 pitch at bat in the 7th inning where he fouled off 7 pitches in the total at bat, including 6 after getting down 0-2 early with a foul and a swinging strike. Mendonca's RBI gives him a team best 73 RBI for the season.

Stoneburner's 4 Game Set: Davis Stoneburner went 2 for 5 with a stolen base in the series finale with the Corpus Christi Hooks. It finished up a 4 game set where Davis went 8 for 17 with 2 doubles, a triple, 3 RBI, 2 walks, and a stolen base. He is now batting .333 with an .896 OPS over his last 10 games and is batting .297 with a .786 OPS at home this season. Overall, he is batting .282 with a .788 OPS. He is now 2nd on the team in steals and has only been thrown out 3 times in 15 tries.

Speaking of a Great Series: The Corpus Christi Hooks may have only won 1 out of the 4 games, but one of the problems definitely wasn't their leadoff hitter shortstop Jonathan Villar, who was rated by Baseball America as the #3 prospect in the Houston Astro's organization entering 2011. Villar went 3 for 5 with a triple, homerun, 3 RBI, and 3 runs scored in the final game and finished up the 4 game set 7 for 15 with 3 homeruns, 6 RBI, 3 walks, 5 runs scored, and a stolen base. The 20 year old switch hitter came into the series batting .212 with 4 homeruns and 11 RBI in 156 at bats. He leaves with a .234 average, 7 homeruns, and 17 RBI over 171 at bats. Over his last 10 games, Villar is batting .333 with 8 extra base hits and a 1.247 OPS.


New Page Added: Make sure to check out the new page that the Pressbox has added labeled "Expanded Hitting Stats". I have put together an in depth look into hitting statistics of the Frisco RoughRider's hitters with pitch by pitch analysis. It is sure to be an informative page.

Tracking Texas League Homeruns: 775 in 794 games (0.976 HR/G)

Term of the Day: Bud Black Market- A punning term to describe the 1990-1991 free-agent market because of the $10 million contract that pitcher Bud Black signed with the San Francisco Giants. The contract, widely viewed as exorbitant for 33-year-old pitcher with a career record of 83-83, raised the bar for what other free agents would demand and get that offseason.


Last Year on This Date: Frisco lost 6-5 to the Corpus Christi Hooks at home. Ryan Tatusko started for Frisco and gave up 6 hits, 2 walks, and struck out 3 over 6 shutout innings. Kasey Kiker and Brennan Garr combined to give up 6 runs over 0 innings of relief. Tim Murphy, Adalberto Flores, and Beau Jones pitched 3 scoreless innings of relief. Renny Osuna led Frisco's offense with a 3 for 4 game including a double, triple, homerun, 3 RBI, and scored 2 runs. Marcus Lemon had a 2 for 5 game with a RBI for the Riders. Engel Beltre added a 1 for 4 game with a stolen base. Joey Butler and Elio Sarmiento each went 1 for 4 while Johnny Whittleman went 1 for 4 with a RBI.

Around the Ranger's System

Yesterday's Record: 2-3

Round Rock (AAA) scored in 6 out of their 9 innings to the plate and defeated the Omaha Storm Chasers 9-2 on the road. Ryan Tucker started for Round Rock and gave up 6 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run over 5 innings with 5 strikeouts. Michael Kirkman gave up 1 run over 2 inning despite 5 walks and 2 hits allowed in relief. Merkin Valdez and Darren O'Day each pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Brad Nelson led Round Rock's offense with a 3 for 4 game including a homerun, 2 RBI, a walk, and 2 runs scored. Matt Kata added 3 hits in 5 at bats with a double, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored. Joey Butler went 2 for 5 with 2 RBI, while Chad Tracy went 1 for 4 with a double, RBI, walk, and 2 runs scored for the Express. Leonys Martin added a 1 for 5 day for Round Rock with a RBI, while Esteban German and Guilder Rodriguez each went 2 for 5. Guilder added a RBI as well. Taylor Teagarden added in a 2 for 5 game including his 10th homerun of the season, a solo homerun. Nick Green added a hit in 5 at bats.

Myrtle Beach (High-A) gave up 2 runs in the 4th inning and lost 4-1 to the Lynchburg Hillcats at home. Wilfredo Boscan started for Myrtle Beach and gave up 7 hits, 0 walks, and 3 runs over 7 innings with 6 strikeouts. Kennil Gomez also gave up a run over 1 inning of relief. Jared Hoying had the lone extra base hit for Myrtle Beach as he went 1 for 4 with a double. Travis Adair and Santiago Chirino each added a hit for the Pelicans as well.

Hickory (Low-A) gave up 3 runs in the top of the 10th inning and lost 4-2 to the Delmarva Shorebirds in 10 innings. Roman Mendez gave up 3 hits, 2 walks, and 1 run over 6 innings with 4 strikeouts. Ben Rowen gave up 3 unearned runs in 4 innings of relief. Odubel Herrera led Hickory's offense with a 3 for 5 game including a double and a RBI. Jake Skole went 2 for 2 at the plate as well with a walk, a sacrifice bunt, and a hit by pitch. Christian Villanueva went 2 for 4 with a RBI and a walk. Jurickson Profar went 0 for 3 with 2 walks, while Josh Richmond added a hit (a double) and Braxton Lane had a hit in 3 at bats.

Spokane (Short Season A-Ball) was up 6-2 after 5 innings and defeated the Boise Hawks 8-2 on the road. Santo Perez started for Spokane and earned the win after giving up 4 hits, 1 walk, and 2 runs over 6 innings with 2 strikeouts. Kyle Hendricks and Chris Hanna combined for 3 scoreless innings of relief. Trever Adams led Spokane's offense with a 3 for 5 game including a double, homerun, 3 RBI, walk, and 2 runs scored. Former Rider Edwin Garcia went 2 for 5 at the plate with a RBI as well. Hirotoshi Onaka led off for the Indians and went 0 for 3 with 3 walks. Drew Robinson went 1 for 4 with a double, 2 RBI, and a sacrifice fly. Nick Vickerson went 0 for 0 with 4 walks and a hit by pitch. Ruben Sierra Jr., Yefry Castillo, and Jorge Alfaro each added a hit as well for Spokane.

Minor League Performance of the Day

Roberto Lopez continued the trend of the Texas League this season by hitting lots of homeruns in games. In the Arkansas Traveler's 5-2 victory over the Tulsa Drillers on Monday, the Traveler's left fielder went 3 for 4 with a double, 2 homeruns, 3 RBI, and scored 2 runs. Arkansas hit 4 homeruns despite only scoring 5 runs in the game overall. On the season, the 25 year old left fielder is batting .288 with an .815 OPS. Lopez has hit 15 doubles, 5 homeruns, and driven in 23 runs over 191 at bats (54 games).  His 2 homeruns were his first homeruns since June 12th. Lopez was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in the 25th round of the 2008 draft.

As always...

A special thanks to any blog followers from Left Hand, WV!

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/

- By Michael Damman

Monday, July 25, 2011

Game 100: Corpus Christi Hooks (Dallas Keuchel) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Richard Bleier)

Time: 7:05 PM CT
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (17-12 1 game back in the Texas League South; 57-42 overall)... Corpus Christi Hooks (13-16 5 games back in the Texas League South; 38-61 overall)
Streak: Won 3 in a row
Last 10: 5-5
Homestand: 3-0
Series Record: 14-10-3
2011 Record against Corpus Christi: 15-12
All-Time Record against Corpus Christi: 110-101
Record on July 25th since 2004: 4-3
Starting Pitchers: Richard Bleier (3-4 5.45 ERA) vs. Dallas Keuchel (8-6 3.04 ERA)

Frisco Wins Low Scoring Game: After defeating the Corpus Chris Hooks 19-4 on Friday and 9-5 on Saturday, Frisco proved to be able to win a close, low scoring game with 2 solo homeruns in their 2-1 win over the Hooks on Sunday. The win guaranteed a series victory over the Hooks as Frisco improved to 50-29 (.633 winning%) against any team not named the San Antonio Missions this season. Frisco is still a game behind the Missions in the second half, who beat the Midland Rockhounds 4-2 on Sunday.


Wieland Solid Again: Joe Wieland continued his breakthrough season with another very solid outing on Sunday in AA play. The 21 year old right hander gave up 8 hits and 1 walk over 6 shutout innings with 5 strikeouts. He improved his record to 3-0 for Frisco and lowered his ERA to 1.54 in the Texas League. In 35 innings for Frisco, Wieland has now given up 35 hits and 10 walks with 29 strikeouts. He has given up 1 earned run or less in 5 of his 6 starts for the Riders. In 3 starts at Dr. Pepper Ballpark, Wieland is now 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA (2 earned runs in 18 IP) with 18 hits, 5 walks, and 12 strikeouts. He has given up 2 earned runs over 17 innings against the Hooks with 2 walks and 16 strikeouts over his 3 starts against them.

Ruiz Continues Dr. Pepper Ballpark Beatdown:
Frisco's first baseman Jose Ruiz seems to have a knack for getting big extra base hits at home this season and Sunday was no different. The 26 year old went 2 for 3 at the plate with a double and a solo homerun. The solo homerun gave Frisco a 1-0 lead in the 5th inning. He now has 26 extra base hits in 44 home games this season helping him to a .317/.371/.602/.973 batting line at Dr. Pepper Ballpark this year. Compare that to the 10 extra base hits he has in 43 road games and a .253/.325/.347/.672 batting line. Ruiz is also batting well in the month of July as he has 13 extra base hits in 22 games for the month. His .516 slugging% for the month is a season best for any month.

Bianucci's Blast the Difference: Designated Hitter Mike Bianucci blasted his 23rd homerun of the season to left field in the 7th inning and the solo homerun proved to be the difference in the 2-1 win. Bianucci's homerun got him to the 70 RBI mark as well joining Tommy Mendonca (72) with 70 or more RBI. They are the only teammates in the Texas League with 70 or more RBI.

Teammates with 70 or more RBI

166- Mobile Baybears (Southern League)- Paul Goldschmidt (93) and Ryan Wheeler (73)
163- Lake Elsinore Storm (California League) Nathan Freiman (89) and Jedd Gyorko (74)
159- Reno Aces (Pacific Coast League)- Cody Ransom (89) and Collin Cowhill (70)
159- Modesto Nuts (California League)- Kent Matthes (81) and Nolan Arenado (78)
155- High Desert Mavericks(California League)- Denny Almonte (80) and Dennis Raben (75)
146- Visalia Rawhide (California League)- Matthew Davidson (76) and Bobby Borchering (70)
142- Frisco RoughRiders (Texas League)- Tommy Mendonca (72) and Mike Bianucci (70)


Teammates with 20 or more HR

44- Round Rock Express (Pacific Coast League)- Chris Davis (24) and Chad Tracy (20)
43- Frisco RoughRiders (Texas League)- Mike Bianucci (23) and Tommy Mendonca (20)

43- Harrisburg Senators (Eastern League)- Tyler Moore (23) and Bill Rhinehart (20)
41- Tacoma Rainiers (Pacific Coast League)- Mike Carp (21) and Alex Liddi (20)

Teammates with 20 or more HR and 70 or more RBI

Frisco RoughRiders (Texas League)- Mike Bianucci (23/70) and Tommy Mendonca (20/72)


Justin Miller Goes Lower: On May 23rd, Justin Miller gave up a run in an inning against the San Antonio Missions. He blew a potential save, but picked up the win in the appearance. It was his 4th blown save of the season, and it was his last blown save. His ERA after the appearance stood at 4.01. Since then, Miller has made 17 appearances. He has given up a run in just 1 of those 17 appearances. Sunday was the 6th time out of the 17 that he has gone at least 2 innings and not given up a run. His ERA now stands at 2.10 with a 1.01 WHIP. He has had 5 save opportunities since and has picked up a save in all 5 appearances. Miller has also picked up 2 wins since. He has 7 wins and 7 saves for the season. For the season,  he has inherited 16 baserunners and only 3 have scored and 2 of the 3 came in the May 23rd appearance against San Antonio. Since then he has gone 7 for 7 in keeping the inherited runners from scoring.


Tracking Texas League Homeruns: 765 homeruns in 786 games (0.973 HR/G)... Previous best in Texas League history: 0.952 HR/G

Term of the Day: Peak Value- The value of a player to his team at his highest clearly established level of performance; e.g., the argument that Mickey Mantle was a greater player than Willie Mays presumes that peak value is the proper interpretation of "greater player". The term was introduced by Bill James in his Baseball Abstract (1985).

Last Year on This Date: Frisco shutout the Corpus Christi Hooks 4-0 at home. Richard Bleier started for Frisco and gave up 6 hits, 1 walk, struck out 3 batters over the complete 9 innings. He picked up his 6th win of the season. Joey Butler led Frisco's offense with a 3 for 4 game including 2 runs scored. Johnny Whittleman went 2 for 4 with a homerun, 2 RBI, and a run scored for the Riders. Renny Osuna went 2 for 3 with 2 RBI and a walk at the plate. Jose Felix and James Tomlin each went 2 for 4 as well. Marcus Lemon had the lone other hit for Frisco.

Around the Ranger's System

Yesterday's Record: 3-2

Round Rock (AAA) scored 2 runs in the 6th and a run in the 8th to defeat the Omaha Storm Chasers 3-1 on the road. Eric Hurley started for Round Rock and gave up 5 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run over 7 innings with 4 strikeouts. Mark Hamburger pitched a scoreless 8th inning, while Darren O'Day picked up the save with a scoreless 9th inning. Joey Butler led Round Rock's offense with a 2 for 3 game including a walk. Kevin Cash went 2 for 4 with a RBI, while Nick Green went 2 for 5. Chad Tracy and Esteban German each went 1 for 4 with a run scored. Brad Nelson went 1 for 3 with a double, RBI, walk, and run scored for the Express. Matt Kata also went 1 for 3 with a double and a RBI.

Myrtle Beach (High-A) gave up 4 runs in the 3rd inning and lost 6-1 to the Frederick Keys. Miguel De Los Santos started for Myrtle Beach and gave up 6 hits, 3 walks, and 5 runs (1 earned) over 6 innings with 6 strikeouts. Ryan Kelly gave up 1 unearned run over 1 inning of relief while Trevor Hurley pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Santiago Chirino went 1 for 3 with a RBI for Myrtle Beach. Jared Bolden added a 1 for 4 game for the Pelicans.

Hickory (Low-A) gave up 2 runs in the 9th inning, but beat the Delmarva Shorebirds 7-6 with a run in the 9th inning via an error. Joseph Van Meter started for Hickory and gave up 6 hits, 2 walks, and 4 runs (2 earned) over 5 innings with 4 strikeouts. Colby Killian pitched 2 scoreless innings of relief, while Francisco Mendoza gave up a run over 1 1/3 innings of relief. Jimmy Reyes picked up the win with 2/3 of an inning of shutout relief. Jurickson Profar led Hickory's offense with a 3 for 5 game including a RBI and 3 runs scored. Jake Skole went 2 for 2 with a double, RBI, 3 walks, and a run scored for the Crawdads. Odubel Herrera went 2 for 4 with a stolen base and a run scored. Tomas Telis added a 1 for 4 game with a double, stolen base, and a run scored. Josh Richmond also went 1 for 3 with a walk. Andrew Clark added a 1 for 2 game with a RBI and 2 walks.

Spokane (Short Season A-Ball) gave up 9 runs in the 5th inning and lost 13-6 to the Boise Hawks. Victor Payano started for Spokane and gave up 7 hits,  walk, and 7 runs over 4 innings with 1 strikeout. Leonel De Los Santos gave up 2 runs in 0 innings pitched, while Andres Perez-Lobo gave up 1 run over 1 1/3 innings pitched. Phil Klein gave up 3 runs over the final 2 innings. Hirotoshi Onaka led Spokane's offense with a 2 for 4 game including 2 triples, a RBI, a walk, and a run scored. Yefry Castillo added a 2 for 4 game including a triple and 2 RBI. Zach Cone went 1 for 3 with a stolen base for the Indians. Guillermo Pimentel went 1 for 3 with a walk, while Hanser Alberto went 1 for 3 with a RBI on a sacrifice fly. Rougned Odor also went 1 for 3, while Ruben Sierra Jr. went 1 for 1 with a double and a RBI.

Minor League Performance of the Day

On a day when hitting was rampant throughout the minor leagues, it was Kent Matthes's day that took home the performance of the day. The 24 year old slugger for the Modesto Nuts of the California League had a huge day in Modesto's 13-9 win over the High Desert Mavericks. Matthes went 4 for 5 with 3 homeruns, a double, 7 RBI, and scored 4 runs. His 3 homeruns were part of a Rider's like 7 homerun performance by the Modesto Nuts. On the season, Kent Matthes is now batting .330 with 36 doubles, 3 triples, 20 homeruns, 81 RBI, and 63 runs scored. He also has a .372 on base percentage, a .631 slugging percentage, and a 1.003 OPS. In the month of July, Matthes is batting .350 with 8 homeruns, 28 RBI, and a 1.055 OPS over 23 games, and that may be his worst month since April. Kent Matthes was a 4th round pick by the Colorado Rockies in the 2009 draft.

As always...

A special thanks to any blog followers from Humacao, Puerto Rico!

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 atwww.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/

- By Michael Damman

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Game 99: Corpus Christi Hooks (Erick Abreu) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Joe Wieland)

Time: 6:00 PM CT
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (16-12 1 game back in the Texas League South; 56-42 overall)... Corpus Christi Hooks (13-15 4 games back in the Texas League South; 38-60 overall)
Streak: Won 2 in a row
Last 10: 5-5
Homestand: 2-0
Series Record: 14-10-3
2011 Record against Corpus Christi: 14-12
All-Time Record against Corpus Christi: 109-101
Record on July 24th since 2004: 4-3
Starting Pitchers: Joe Wieland (2-0 1.86 ERA) vs. Erick Abreu (5-2 4.11 ERA)

Frisco Continues Offensive Roll: After a 24 hit, 8 homerun, 19 run performance on Friday, the pressbox was wondering whether the Riders would live up to the old saying that if you score 10 or more one night, expect a low scoring game the next night. Well, the questoin was answered quickly as Frisco jumped out to a 6-3 lead after 3 innings and defeated Corpus Christi 9-5 in front of a sell out crowd of 10,216. With the win, Frisco guaranteed themselves at least a series split with the Hooks and with a San Antonio loss, the Riders sit just 1 back again behind the Missions in the second half. For the season the Riders are 14 games over .500 and are 48-28 (.632 winning%) since May 1st.

Pimentel Struggles Early, Comes On Strong Late: Carlos Pimentel had a bit of an interesting 1-2-3 1st inning as he walked the leadoff hitter Jonathan Villar on four pitches, and then faced Villar on 2nd base with 0 outs after he stole 2nd. But after a Paredes fly out, Pimentel picked off Villar at 2nd and got J.D. Martinez out. Pimentel gave up a walk, 2 singles, and a run in the 2nd inning and then 2 solo homeruns in the 3rd inning. But over the final 3 innings, Pimentel faced the minimum 9 batters and finished the game with a line of: 6 IP 4 H 3 R 3 ER 3 BB 5 K 2 HR. He threw 87 pitches, 51 of which went for strikes. Pimentel also threw first pitch strikes to 15 of the 23 batters he faced.

Bottom of the Order Production: It was the latter three players in Frisco's lineup that did the majority of the damage for Frisco on Saturday.

Engel Beltre followed up Friday's game where he hit his first homerun of the season, with a 2 for 4 game including a double, 3 RBI, and 2 runs scored. His 3 RBI tied a season high for 2011. Over his last 10 games, Beltre is batting .273/.385/.485/.870 with 2 doubles, a triple, and a homerun. He also has walked 4 times with 8 strikeouts.

Jose Felix had a RBI single in the 2nd inning to score Jonathan Greene and added another RBI single in the 3rd inning to score Engel Beltre from 2nd. Felix finished the game 2 for 4 with 2 RBI. Felix is batting .219 for the season, although he is batting .270 over his last 10 games. He has driven in a run in his last 3 games played.

Mitch Hilligoss continues to hit well in his return to Frisco as he went 2 for 3 with 2 doubles, a RBI on a sacrifice fly, and 2 runs scored. He is now batting .357 for Frisco and has 6 extra base hits in 12 games for the Riders.

Stoneburner Reaches Base Three Times: Davis Stoneburner continued his solid hitting of late with a 2 for 4 game including a double, triple, RBI, walk, and 2 runs scored. Stoneburner is batting .317/.383/.561/.944 over his last 10 games On the season, he is now batting .279/.341/.449/.790 with 20 doubles, a team high 5 triples, and 6 homeruns.

Tracking Texas League Homeruns: 759 in 778 games (0.976 HR/G)

Term of the Day: No Prospect- A scout's term for a player who will not reach the major leagues.

Last Year on This Date: Frisco defeated the Corpus Christi Hooks 6-1 at home. Tanner Roark started for Frisco and gave up 5 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run over 7 innings with 8 strikeouts. Ben Snyder pitched 2 scoreless innings of relief. Marcus Lemon led Frisco with a 2 for 3 game including 2 doubles, a run, and a sacrifice bunt. Andy Jenkins went 2 for 4 with a double, homerun, 3 RBI, and 2 runs scored for the Riders. Renny Osuna went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored as well. James Tomlin added a 1 for 4 game with 2 RBI, while Emerson Frostad went 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. Jose Felix and Joey Butler each went 1 for 4 as well.

Around the Ranger's System

Yesterday's Record: 1-4

Round Rock (AAA) gave up 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th and lost 6-5 to the Omaha Storm Chasers in 11 innings. Brett Tomko started for Round Rock and gave up 6 hits, 2 walks, and 3 runs over 6 innings with 1 strikeout. Beau Jones gave up 2 runs over 1 1/3 innings of relief, while Cody Eppley pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Pedro Strop took the loss after giving up a run in the 11th inning. Joey Butler led Round Rock's offense with a 3 for 4 game including a double, walk, stolen base, and run scored. Nick Green went 2 for 6 with a double, homerun, and 3 RBI. Taylor Teagarden chipped in a 3 for 5 game with a RBI, while Esteban German went 2 for 5 with a double, walk, and stolen base. Guilder Rodriguez also went 2 for 4 with a RBI and walk. Matt Kata and Chad Tracy each had a hit of their own while Leonys Martin went 0 for 4 with 2 sacrifice bunts.

Myrtle Beach (High-A) gave up a run in the bottom of the 8th inning and lost 1-0 to the Frederick Keys on the road. Robbie Ross started for Myrtle Beach and gave up 5 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run over 8 innings with 6 strikeouts. Leury Garcia led off for Myrtle Beach and went 1 for 3 at the plate. He also made his 27th error of the season. Travis Adair also added a hit for the Pelicans in 3 at bats. Vincent DiFazio had the only other hit for Myrtle Beach who managed 3 hits against Nicholas Haughian.

Hickory (Low-A) scored 6 runs in the first 2 innings, but lost 12-10 to the Delmarva Shorebirds at home. Matt Thompson started for Hickory and gave up 6 hits, 5 walks, and 6 runs over 1 1/3 innings pitched with 1 strikeout. Ben Henry gave up 1 run over 4 2/3 innings pitched in relief, while Jorge Marban took the loss after giving up 5 runs (2 earned) over 3 innings. Josh Richmond led Hickory with a 2 for 4 game at the plate with a homerun, 3 RBI, walk, and run scored. Jurickson Profar went 1 for 4 with 2 RBI, a walk, stolen base, and run scored for the Crawdads. Odubel Herrera went 2 for 5 with a double and a run scored, while Tomas Telis went 2 for 4 with a RBI, walk, and run scored. Andrew Clark went 1 for 4 with a double and 2 RBI, while Christian Villanueva went 1 for 4 with a 2-run homerun and a walk. Jake Skole added a 1 for 4 game with a walk and 2 runs scored and Jhonny Gomez added a hit of his own.

Spokane (Short Season A-Ball) gave up 2 runs in the 3rd inning and lost 3-1 to the Tri-City Dust Devils at home. David Perez started for Spokane and gave up 2 hits, 3 walks, and 2 runs over 3 innings with 2 strikeouts. Nicholas Martinez pitched in relief and gave up a run over 5 innings. Matt West pitched a scoreless 9th inning with 2 strikeouts. Brett Nicholas led Spokane with a 1 for 3 game including a double, walk, and run scored. Trever Adams added a double in 4 at bats for the Indians. Rougned Odor went 1 for 4 as well, while Hanser Alberto went 1 for 4. Drew Robinson also went 1 for 4 with a RBI. Zach Cone went 0 for 3 with a walk.

Minor League Performance of the Day

The Salt Lake Bees took a 14-0 lead after 2 innings on Saturday night and Kevin Richardson was part of the reason why. In Salt Lake's 18-9 win over the Tacoma Rainiers, former Frisco RoughRider Kevin Richardson went 3 for 5 with 2 homeruns and 7 RBI. He also scored 3 runs in the game. On the season, the veteran minor league catcher is batting .269 with 13 doubles, 1 triple, 9 homeruns, and 38 RBI in 54 games for Salt Lake. He has an .845 OPS as well. During his career in Frisco, Kevin Richardson batted .252 with 37 homeruns and drove in 112 runs in 224 games. He posted a .776 OPS for the Riders over parts of four seasons.

As always...

A special thanks to any blog followers from Shrewsbury, NJ!

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 atwww.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/

- By Michael Damman

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Game 98: Corpus Christi Hooks (Ross Seaton) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Carlos Pimentel)--- TV GAME

Time: 7:05 PM CT
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (15-12 2 games back in the Texas League South; 55-42 overall)... Corpus Christi Hooks (13-14 4 games back in the Texas League South; 38-59 overall)
Streak: Won 1 in a row
Last 10: 5-5
Homestand: 1-0
Series Record: 14-10-3
2011 Record against Corpus Christi: 13-12
All-Time Record against Corpus Christi: 108-101
Record on July 23rd since 2004: 4-3

Starting Pitchers: Carlos Pimentel (3-6 5.07 ERA) vs. Ross Seaton (4-6 5.71 ERA)

Frisco Offense Sets Records in Rout: If people, fans, and families in attendance on Friday came for the fireworks, well the fireworks after the game must have been quite a let down after the fireworks that took place during the game. The Rider's offense let go an explosion that has never been seen by a Frisco RoughRider's offense on any other day. They tied or broke franchise records for runs (19- tied), hits (24), and homeruns (8) in a game en route to a 19-4 victory over the Corpus Christi Hooks, while moving another game closer to San Antonio.


Snyder Takes Team Lead: Ben Snyder gave up a season high 4 homeruns in Frisco's win on Friday, but still picked up his team best 8th win of the season in the blowout victory for Frisco. Snyder gave up 5 hits over 5 innings and 4 of the 5 hits were put into the stands. He did not issue a walk and struck out 4.


Mendonca Channels His Inner Nate Gold: The last time the Frisco RoughRiders offense scored 19 runs in a game came on July 13, 2006 against the Tulsa Drillers at Dr. Pepper Ballpark. That day Nate Gold, who was in the middle of a franchise record setting 34 homerun season, went 4 for 6 with 3 homeruns, 6 RBI, and 4 runs scored for Frisco. Just a little over five years later, against the Hooks in a 19-4 win, Tommy Mendonca went 4 for 6 with 3 homeruns, 6 RBI, and 3 runs scored for the Riders. The only difference between the two games for those two players was the one run scored. With 20 homeruns, Mendonca and Bianucci have become the first Frisco duo to have 20 or more homeruns in a season since Nate Gold (34) and Kevin Mahar (20) did so in 2006 and only the 2nd pair to hit 20 or more in the same season in Frisco's 9 year history.

5+ RBI Performances:

7 RBI

Jason Botts (7/21/04)- 3 for 6 with 2B, 2 HR 2 R
Nate Gold (8/3/06)- 3 for 5 with 2 HR 3 R
Steve Murphy (5/2/08)- 3 for 6 with 2 HR 3 R
Tim Smith (7/4/09)- 2 for 5 with 2 HR 2 R 1 BB

6 RBI

Brandon Larson (5/20/05)- 3 for 4 with 2B, 2 HR 2 R
Nate Gold (7/13/06)- 4 for 6 with 3 HR 4 R
Brandon Boggs (6/10/07)- 2 for 4 with 2 HR 2 R
Salomon Manriquez (6/12/07)- 4 for 5 with 2 HR 3 R
Johnny Whittleman (7/4/09)- 2 for 2 with 2 HR 3 R 3 BB
Mike Bianucci (6/3/11)- 3 for 6 with 2 2B
Tommy Mendonca (7/22/11)- 4 for 6 with 3 HR 3 R


5 RBI

Laynce Nix (5/12/03)- 4 for 5 with 2B, HR, 3 R
Pat Boyd (5/23/04)- 2 for 3 with 3B, HR, 2 R
Will Smith (6/10/04)- 2 for 3 with 2 HR 2 R
Ian Kinsler (6/19/04)- 2 for 4 with 2 HR 2 R 1 BB
Julio Mosquera (8/5/04)- 2 for 4 with HR, R
Nate Gold (5/19/06)- 2 for 3 with 2 HR, 3 R, 2 BB
Casey Benjamin (8/8/06)- 3 for 4 with 2B, HR, R
Adam Fox (6/23/08)- 3 for 5 with HR, 3 R
Renny Osuna (8/15/10)- 3 for 5 with HR, R
Andy Jenkins (8/29/10)- 2 for 4 with 2B, HR, R
Jonathan Greene (6/19/11)- 2 for 5 with 2 HR 2 R  BB
Elio Sarmiento (6/21/11)- 2 for 3 with 2B, HR, R, BB


Renny Eclipses 300: Renny Osuna's leadoff triple in the 1st inning to right field was his 300th hit for his career for the Frisco RoughRiders. He became the second RoughRider to reach the plateau in the 9 year history of the franchise. The first to do so was Steve Murphy, who accumulated a franchise record 319 hits over parts of four seasons. Renny finished 4 for 6 in the game with a triple, RBI, and 3 runs scored. He was one of three Frisco hitters with 4 hits in the game, joining Mendonca and Robbie Diaz. With 303 hits now for his career, Osuna stands 16 away from Murphy's total. With four more games like Friday, Osuna would tie the record this homestand!

Hilligoss Acclimating to AA Pitching Again: Mitch Hilligoss has found himself in AA each of the past two seasons for the second half and each of the two seasons he has been a productive hitter. After batting .294 with a .718 OPS in Myrtle Beach last season, Hilligoss got a 79 at bat audition in AA at the end of the year where he batted .304 with a .771 OPS and drove in 10 runs over 24 games. After hitting .253 with a .637 OPS this season for Myrtle Beach, Hilligoss again got the call to AA, and again he has hit well. With a 3 for 5 game on Friday, Hilligoss is now batting .333 (13 for 39) with a double, triple, 2 homeruns, and a .973 OPS.

First Pitch Thunder: Frisco hitters didn't take many pitches on Friday, but that was mainly because they were too busy depositing the first pitch they would see beyond the infield. Frisco hitters went 8 for 10 with 2 singles, 2 doubles, and 4 homeruns when they put the first pitch into play. The first four homeruns were all hit on the first pitch of the at bat.


Beltre Goes Deep: Engel Beltre had what seemed like a break through season last year when the toolsy, but raw outfielder had 15 doubles, 8 triples, and 6 homeruns between high-A and AA. Of his 8 triples, 4 of them came for Frisco. But Beltre suffered a homerun drought to finish last season and began this year with an even longer one. His homerun on Friday, which was crushed to right field, was Beltre's 1st homerun of the season and ended a 505 plate appearance homerun drought. He finished the game 2 for 5 with the homerun, 2 RBI, and a run scored. Beltre also stole a base and was caught stealing going from second to third. The enigmatic outfielder seems to be hitting the ball better lately and taking much better at bats. His strikeout in the 3rd inning on Friday was probably one of his better at bats this year as he fouled off 5 pitches and saw 10 total pitches in the at bat.


Kody Hinze Continues to Kill Frisco Pitching: Over his last 5 games against Frisco, Kody Hinze is batting 9 for 20 with 4 doubles and a homerun. He has 7 consecutive 2 hit games and 8 of his last 9 games have been 2 hits or more. He is batting .450 with a 1.250 OPS in 5 games against Frisco. Overall since being promoted to Corpus Christi, Hinze is batting .365 with 4 doubles, 3 homeruns, and 8 RBI in 14 games with a 1.019 OPS. For the Lancaster Jethawks of the California League, Hinze batted .323 with 20 doubles, 22 homeruns, and 70 RBI in 80 games with a 1.083 OPS.

Tracking Texas League Homeruns: 753 homeruns in 770 games (0.978 HR/G)

Term of the Day: Pebble Hit- A base hit made when a rock, pebble, stone, or other field irregularity causes the ball to bounce away from the fielder.

Last Year on This Date: Frisco lost 6-5 at home to the Corpus Christi Hooks. Michael Schlact started for Frisco and gave up 10 hits and 6 runs over 5 1/3 innings with 3 strikeouts and 0 walks. Adalberto Flores pitched 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, while Brennan Garr pitched the 9th inning scoreless. James Tomlin led Frisco's offense with a 4 for 5 game including a double, homerun, 2 RBI, and a run scored. Andy Jenkins added a 3 for 4 game with a double and run scored. Marcus Lemon had a 2 for 5 game with 2 runs scored for the Riders as well. Emerson Frostad and Taylor Teagarden each added a hit, while Renny Osuna had 2 in 4 at bats, including a double and a RBI.

Around the Ranger's System

Yesterday's Record: 1-4

Round Rock (AAA) gave up 5 runs in the 5th inning and lost 10-4 to the Omaha Storm Chasers on the road. Zach Jackson started for Round Rock and gave up 12 10 hits, 2 walks, and 7 runs over 5 innings with 2 strikeouts. Michael Kirkman gave up 3 runs (1 earned) in 2 innings of relief, while Derek Hankins pitched a scoreless 8th inning. Leonys Martin led Round Rock's offense with a 4 for 6 game including a double, RBI, and 2 runs scored. Chris Davis went 2 for 3 with a double and RBI before being pulled during the game for Esteban German, who finished 2 for 2 with a double and a RBI. Chad Tracy went 1 for 3 with a RBI and 2 walks for the Express. Nick Green went 2 for 3 with a walk, while Kevin Cash added 2 hits in 4 at bats. Joey Butler had a hit in the game in 5 at bats and Guilder Rodriguez and Brad Nelson each added a hit as well.

Myrtle Beach (High-A) was shutout 2-0 by the Frederick Keys on the road. Barret Loux started for Myrtle Beach and gave up 5 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs over 6 1/3 innings with 10 strikeouts. Joe Ortiz pitched a scoreless inning of relief, while Zach Osborned did not give up a run in the final 2/3 of an inning of relief. Jared Bolden went 2 for 4 at the plate with a double for Myrtle Beach. Zach Zaneski and Andres James each went 1 for 3 with a double for the Pelicans as well. Santiago Chirino added a 1 for 3 day, too.

Hickory (Low-A) gave up 8 runs in the 4th inning and lost 12-9 to the Greensboro Grasshoppers at home. Luke Jackson started for Hickory and gave up 4 hits, 2 walks, and 6 runs (5 earned) over 3 innings with 7 strikeouts. Ben Rowen gave up 5 unearned runs in 1 inning of relief. Andrew Doyle pitched 3 innings of shutout relief, while Colby Killian gave up a run in 1 inning and Francisco Mendoza pitched a last inning of scoreless relief. Josh Richmond led Hickory's offense with a 2 for 4 game including a double, homerun, RBI, walk, and 3 runs scored. Jurickson Profar added a 1 for 4 game with a double, RBI, walk, run, and stole home for the Crawdads. Kellin Deglan and Jhonny Gomez each went 2 for 4 with a run scored. Andrew Clark went 1 for 5 with a RBI, while Christian Villanueva and Tomas Telis each went 1 for 5 with a run scored. Jake Skole went 1 for 3 with a triple, 2 RBI, walk, and run. Odubel Herrera added a hit as well.

Spokane (Short Season A-Ball) gave up 3 runs in the 5th inning and lost 4-2 to the Tri-City Dust Devils at home. Nicholas McBride started for Spokane and gave up 11 hits and 4 runs over 4 2/3 innings with 4 strikeouts and 0 walks. Juan Grullon pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings in relief, while Jose Monegro finished the final 2 innings as well. Rougned Odor went 1 for 3 at the plate with a walk, while Trever Adams also went 1 for 3 with a walk. Drew Robinson added the only power for Spokane with a 1 for 4 game including a solo homerun. Brett Nicholas and Yefry Castillo each went 1 for 4 for the Indians. Hanser Alberto went 1 for 3 with a walk, while Hirotoshi Onaka went 0 for 2 with 2 walks.

Minor League Performance of the Day

In a day when hitting owned in Frisco, it was Tommy Mendonca's day that came out on top. Mendonca went 4 for 6 with 3 homeruns, 6 RBI, and 3 runs scored in Frisco's 19-4 victory over the Corpus Christi Hooks. The two teams combined for 12 homeruns hit in the game, finishing 9 homeruns short of the record for most homeruns hit in a single Texas League game, which was set way back in 1902. Tommy Mendonca deposited pitches in the 1st, 2nd, and 7th innings over the wall for homeruns. His first homerun went into the pool making it the 4th splash ball in Frisco this season alone. Before this season there had been just 1 hit into the pool in right field. On the season, Mendonca is batting .305 with 20 homeruns, 71 RBI, and a .923 OPS.


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- By Michael Damman