Chatter from the Press Box: 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...

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