Chatter from the Press Box: 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...

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