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



Friday, July 1, 2011

Game 78: SpringfIeld Cardinals (Shelby Miller) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Carlos Pimentel)

Time: 7:00 PM CT
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (3-4 2 games back in the Texas League South; 43-34 overall)... Springfield Cardinals (1-6 5 games back in the Texas League North; 33-44 overall)
Streak: Won 2 in a row
Last 10: 5-5
Homestand: 1-0
Series Record: 10-9-2
2011 Record against Springfield: 4-3
All-Time Record against Springfield: 43-39
Record on July 1st since 2004: 4-3
Starting Pitchers: Carlos Pimentel (3-4 4.56 ERA) is making his first career start against the Springfield Cardinals... Shelby Miller (3-1 1.69 ERA) is making his first career start against the Frisco RoughRiders

What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco sends Carlos Pimentel to the mound for his 16th appearance, including his 14th start this season, while Springfield sends Shelby Miller to the mound for his 6th start of the season in the second game of a three game set... Carlos Pimentel looks to rebound from a tough start on the road against the Corpus Christi Hooks. Pimentel gave up 9 hits, 1 walk, and 4 runs over 5 1/3 innings with 4 strikeouts last Saturday against the Hooks. Still, he went 2-1 with a 3.81 ERA in the month of June as he gave up 22 hits, 11 walks, and struck out 14 batters over 26 innings. Pimentel continues to get better as the season goes along as well. On the season, he has given up 75 hits and 34 walks with 54 strikeouts in 75 innings. Carlos Pimentel is 1-2 with a 5.35 ERA in 7 home starts this season... Shelby Miller makes his first start against the Frisco RoughRiders as arguably the best pitching prospect in the game looks to continue a terrific start. In his last start, Miller gave up 3 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs over 6 innings with 8 strikeouts. The Brownwood, Texas native has gone at least 6 innings in all 5 AA starts this season and hasn't given up more than 2 earned runs in a start. His best start came on June 15th when Miller gave up 4 hits and 2 walks over 8 shutout innings with 8 strikeouts against the Arkansas Travelers. On the season, Miller has given up 26 hits and 8 walks with 33 strikeouts in 32 innings for Springfield. Overall, he has given up 66 hits and 28 walks over 85 innings with 114 strikeouts. He is 5-4 with a 2.44 ERA in 14 starts between high-A and AA. Miller, a 2009 first round pick for the St. Louis Cardinals, was rated by Baseball America as the 13th best prospect in the game entering 2011.


Frisco Blows Lead in 8th, Wins In Walkoff Fashion: Frisco had control for most of the game on Thursday, but a 3 run 8th inning for Springfield, capped by an Eric Duncan 2-run homerun off of Frisco reliever Tanner Scheppers gave Springfield the lead. A Guilder Rodriguez RBI single in the 8th inning tied the game at 6-6 though, and Frisco won on a walkoff hit by Davis Stoneburner in the 9th inning after a throwing error on a pickoff, followed by a wild pitch allowed Jonathan Greene to go 1st to 3rd forcing two intentional walks with 1 out. Frisco won 7-6 to win their 2nd straight game and move them to within a game of .500 for the second half of the season.

Ben Snyder's Start: Outside of a 3 run 5th inning, Snyder pitched effectively in getting out of trouble against Springfield. His final line was: 5 IP 7 H 3 R/ER 1 BB 3 K. Snyder breezed through the first 2 innings with 6 up, 6 down. After going through an umpire delay as the home plate umpire had to leave after being hit, Snyder gave up 2 singles to start the 3rd inning and faced 2nd and 3rd with 1 out, but he retired the next two batters, Jose Garcia and Ryan Jackson, without allowing a run to score. Snyder allowed the first two batters to reach in the 4th inning as well, before getting the next three in order. In the 5th inning, Snyder faced the bases loaded with 1 out and the first run scored via a balk and an Alex Castellanos double with two outs, on what seemed to be a misplay by Leonys Martin, allowed the last 2 runs to score.

Home Again: Mike Bianucci had a road trip to forget as he went 0 for 16 at Corpus Christi with 8 strikeouts. So needless to say Bianucci was happy to be home in Frisco. Mike homered in the 2nd inning to leadoff the inning, then doubled in the 3rd inning with 1 out. A single to 5th inning to score Renny Osuna put him a triple short of the cycle. In the 9th inning, Bianucci was up with Greene on 1st, but after the error on the pickoff, the wild pitch, and a 3-1 count, Bianucci was intentionally walked for the 4th ball. He finished the game 3 for 4 with 7 total bases and 2 RBI. He even added a stolen base for good measure.

Leonys Martin Back At #1: Frisco fans should be happy to see centerfielder Leonys Martin back in the RoughRider's lineup at the leadoff spot. He finished the game 1 for 4 with a double, 2 RBI, a hit by pitch, and his 9th stolen base of the year for Frisco in 23 games. Martin last played for Frisco on June 8th, missing 19 games due to a lower back injury. In 23 games this season, Martin has now been hit by 3 pitches, which over the course of 140 games would be around 18 hit by pitches in a AA season.


Extra Base Streak Ends: Davis Stoneburner wasn't able to extend his extra base hit streak to 10 hits, but he did go 2 for 4 with a walk, the game winning RBI, and 2 runs scored. He finished up the month of June with a .329/.384/.487/.871 line including 8 doubles and 2 triples in 18 games. He is also still batting .329 when behind in the count with an .831 OPS.

Two More: Speaking of hit by pitches, Jonathan Greene finished the game on Thursday 0 for 3 with 2 hit by pitches and a run scored. He now has 10 hit by pitches on the season, putting him 6 short of tying Craig Gentry's record of 16 in a season with 63 games remaining in the season. Frisco as a team has been hit by 10 pitches by the Springfield Cardinals in the 7 games that they have played against each other this season.

Scheppers Roughed Up for First Time in AA: When Tanner Scheppers first came to Frisco in 2010 he made a mark for his sheer dominance in AA. The 2009 Texas Ranger's first round supplemental pick, got roughed up on Thursday for the first time in his AA career. Scheppers gave up just 1 earned run in 11 innings for Frisco in 2010 and struck out 19 batters in 11 innings. He gave up only 3 hits, didn't walk a batter, and only 1 run. Over his first 4 appearances in 2011, most of the same held true. He had only given up 1 hit in 6 2/3 innings and hadn't given up a run. He had struck out 10 batters and only walked 2. On Thursday though, Scheppers gave up 2 hits, walked 2 batters, and gave up his first homerun of 2010, a shot to right centerfield, just left of the Pool area, by former New York Yankee's top prospect Eric Duncan. To be fair to Tanner Scheppers, he seems to have gotten squeezed in both outings in Frisco. His 3-2 pitch to Alex Castellanos looked very borderline. But nonetheless, over his time in Frisco, Scheppers now has given up 6 hits and 4 walks over 18 1/3 innings with 30 strikeouts. He is 1-0 with a 1.96 ERA, a 0.55 WHIP, and a 14.7 K/9 with a 2.00 BB/9.

Who Was Hot in June?:

3B Tommy Mendonca: .375/.451/.635/1.086 104 AB 11 2B 2 3B 4 HR 30 RBI 11 BB-25 K

C Elio Sarmiento: .326/.396/.744/1.140 43 AB 5 2B 2 3B 3 HR 14 RBI 4 BB-11 K

INF Renny Osuna: Hit 5 homeruns for the month, his career best SEASON homerun total was 4.

RHP Justin Miller: 8 G 1-0 record 2/2 SV/SVO 13 2/3 IP 8 H 4 BB 15 K 0.00 ERA 0.88 WHIP

LHP Ben Snyder 10 G/2 GS 3-1 record 23 2/3 IP 19 H 5 BB 16 K 1.90 ERA 1.01 WHIP

Beginning of 4th of July Weekend: This weekend should be a fun time at Dr. Pepper Ballpark as not only will there be great baseball going on, but also fireworks every night beginning tonight and running through Monday. So come out to the ballpark and enjoy a weekend of baseball and fireworks!

Tracking Texas League Homeruns: 576 in 610 games (0.944 HR/G)

Term of the Day: Wins Above Average- A statistical index representing the number of wins a position player contributes to his team through batting, fielding, and base stealing when compared to the average player. There are several specific versions of this measure, differing in the details of its computation. It is similar to the concept of total player rating. Abbreviation: WAA

Last Year on This Date: Frisco fell 4-3 to the Springfield Cardinals at home. Tanner Roark started for Frisco and gave up 5 hits, 4 walks, and 1 unearned run over 5 innings with 3 strikeouts. Beau Jones got a blown save after giving up 2 runs in 2 innings of relief and Adalberto Flores took the loss after giving up 1 run over 2 innings of relief. Joey Butler led Frisco with a 3 for 4 day including a RBI. Emerson Frostad went 2 for 3 with a RBI and a walk for the Riders. Matt Lawson and Guilder Rodriguez each contributed a hit a piece as well.

Around the Ranger's System

Yesterday's Record: 3-2

Round Rock (AAA) scored 4 runs in the 2nd inning and defeated the Nashville Sounds 6-5 at home. Scott Feldman started for Round Rock and gave up 8 hits, 1 walk, and 3 runs over 6 innings with 1 strikeout. Darren O'Day gave up 2 runs in 2 innings of relief, while Tommy Hunter picked up his first save with a scoreless inning in the 9th as part of the Texas Rangers day at Round Rock. Julio Borbon went 4 for 5 for Round Rock with 2 RBI, 2 steals, and 2 runs scored. Mike Napoli went 0 for 2 with a RBI and a walk as well on rehab. Joey Butler went 2 for 4 with 2 doubles, a RBI, and 2 runs scored for the Express. Esteban German fresh off his big day went 2 for 2 with 2 walks. Omar Quintanilla added 3 hits in 5 at bats with a RBI. Brian Barden and Chad Tracy each added a hit.

Myrtle Beach (High-A) lost 1-0 to the Kinston Indians at home as they gave up run in the top of the 9th inning. Barret Loux pitched dominantly for Myrtle Beach as he gave up 6 hits, 1 walk, and struck out 11 batters over 6 shutout innings. Joe Ortiz took the loss after giving up 1 run over 3 innings of relief. Santiago Chirino led Myrtle Beach with a 2 for 3 day. Leury Garcia went 1 for 4 at the plate, while Jared Prince went 1 for 3 and was hit by a pitch. Chris McGuiness, Zach Zaneski, and Mitch Hilligoss each added a hit as well for the Pelicans.

Hickory (Low-A) gave up 5 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning and lost 6-5 on the road to the Kannapolis Intimidators. Matt Thompson started for Hickory and gave up 2 hits, 4 walks, and 1 run over 5 innings with 6 strikeouts. Ben Rowen pitched 2 scoreless innings of relief. Jorge Marban took the loss after giving up 5 runs (2 earned) over 2/3 of an inning, while Ben Henry pitched the last 1/3 of an inning. Jurickson Profar went 1 for 5 with a homerun and 2 RBI. Odubel Herrera went 2 for 4 with a double for Hickory as well. Andrew Clark pinch ran for Jhonny Gomez at first base and finished the game 2 for 2 with 2 doubles and a RBI. Jonathan Roof went 2 for 3 for the Crawdads in the 9 spot in the lineup and added a walk as well. Tomas Telis doubled for his lone hit in 4 at bats, while Josh Richmond went 1 for 4 with a triple. Each of them drove in a run. Jake Skole and Gomez each added a hit as well.

Spokane (Short Season A-Ball) scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning and defeated the Yakima Bears 6-4 at home. Richard Alvarez started for Spokane and gave up 7 hits and 4 runs over 4 1/3 innings with 4 strikeouts and 0 walks. Juan Grullon got his 4th win in 5 appearances with 3 2/3 innings of shutout relief. Matt West picked up his 2nd save with a scoreless 9th inning. Ruben Sierra Jr. led Spokane with a 2 for 4 day including a double, homerun, and 2 RBI. Trever Adams added 2 hits in 4 at bats as well, while Nick Vickerson added 2 hits in 3 at bats with a walk. Rougned Odor had a 1 for 4 day for the Indians. Drew Robinson went 1 for 4 with 2 RBI and Edwin Garcia went 1 for 4 with a RBI. Zach Cone went 0 for 3 with a hit by pitch and a run scored.

Minor League Performance of the Day

Once a rising prospect in the Milwaukee Brewer's system, Angel Salome is now back in high-A with the Seattle Mariners organization. But, what a better way to start off his season with the High Desert Mavericks than the way he started off. In High Desert's 10-6 win over the Lancaster JetHawks, Salome went 4 for 5 with a triple, 2 homeruns, 2 RBI, and 3 runs scored. He accumulated 12 total bases on the day and helped his team to victory. It was only Salome's 6th game this season as he spent his first 5 games with the Mariner's rookie league team. Last season over 73 games in the Milwaukee Brewer's minor league system, Salome batted .286 with a .787 OPS and 18 doubles and 7 homeruns. Salome had 3 plate appearances at the major league level in 2008 and went 0 for 3 with 1 strikeout in those. Still just 25 years old, Salome is trying to make his way back to a former familiar status as a prospect.


As always...

Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
Follow the Game Online at: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/scoreboard/league.jsp?sid=milb&lid=109
Follow Us on Twitter 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

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