Chatter from the Press Box: Game 91: Corpus Christi Hooks (Xavier Cedeno) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Robbie Erlin)

Time: 7:00 PM CT
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (12-8 2 games back in the Texas League South; 52-38 overall)... Corpus Christi Hooks (9-11 5 games back in the Texas League South; 34-56 overall)
Streak: Lost 1 in a row
Last 10: 7-3
Homestand: 1-1
Series Record: 14-9-2
2011 Record against Corpus Christi: 11-11
All-Time Record against Corpus Christi: 106-100
Record on July 16th since 2004: 2-4
Starting Pitchers: Robbie Erlin (5-0 3.70 ERA) is 0-0 with a 2.70 ERA and 0.90 WHIP in 1 career start against the Corpus Christi Hooks... Xavier Cedeno (4-5 3.82 ERA) is 2-0 with a 1.87 ERA and 0.90 WHIP in 7 career appearances, including 5 starts against the Frisco RoughRiders

What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco sends Robbie Erlin to the mound for the 9th time this season, including his 8th start, while Corpus Christi sends Xavier Cedeno to the mound for the 19th time this season in a battle of each team's franchise strikeout leaders for a single game... Robbie Erlin takes the mound against Corpus Christi for the first time since he struck out 14 Hooks hitters on Sunday June 26th. In his June 26th start against the Hooks, Erlin set a Frisco record for strikeouts in a game and set a personal career high with 14 strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings. Erlin took the no decision in the outing, however, as Frisco lost on a 2-run walkoff homerun by T.J. Steele. In his last start, Erlin gave up 4 hits and 1 run over 7 strong innings with 4 strikeouts and 0 walks against the Arkansas Travelers. Over his last 3 starts, since having back to back rough outings against Midland, Erlin has given up 14 hits, 1 walk, and 3 earned runs over 19 2/3 innings with 24 strikeouts. He is 1-0 during those 3 starts. On the season for Frisco, Erlin has given up 47 hits and 6 walks with 48 strikeouts over 48 2/3 innings. On the season between Myrtle Beach and Frisco, he is 8-2 overall with a 2.87 ERA. He has given up 72 hits and 11 walks with 110 strikeouts over 103 1/3 innings. He leads all full season minor league pitchers with a 0.80 WHIP... The day after Robbie Erlin's 14 strikeout performance, Xavier Cedeno came out and struck out 9 batters in a row to open the game and finished with 14 strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings without issuing a walk and just 1 hit. He did not allow a run either, as his gamescore for the start was an incredible 86. Like Erlin, Cedeno received a no decision in the start, however, as Frisco scored 6 runs over the final 2 innings to win 6-3. Cedeno's 14 strikeouts, however, were a Corpus Christi Hook's single game record for strikeouts by a pitcher. In his last start, Cedeno gave up 7 hits, 1 walk, and 6 runs (4 earned) over 3 2/3 innings with 3 strikeouts against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. This will be Cedeno's 6th start this season against Frisco. He is 2-0 with a 1.47 ERA and 0.88 WHIP in the previous 5 starts, including a 35-3 K-BB ratio.

Hooks Steele Win From Frisco: For the second time this season T.J. Steele hit a homerun in the 9th inning to give Corpus Christi a win over Frisco. The last time it happened was in the start by Robbie Erlin in Corpus Christi. Friday's wasn't a walkoff, but it did enough damage to take a win from Frisco as Corpus Christi won 9-8 in a game that was anything but a pitchers duel. It was T.J. Steele's 3rd game deciding homerun this season and his 5th homerun this season against Frisco. He has 7 homeruns overall.

Richard Bleier Struggles Again: Richard Bleier continued his struggles as a starting pitcher this season as the left hander gave up 8 hits and 7 runs (6 earned) over 5 innings. He struck out 3 batters and did not issue a walk. The big blow was a 5 run 3rd inning for the Hooks. Bleier gave up a solo homerun to J.D. Martinez in the 2nd inning and a 3-run homerun to Chris Wallace in the 3rd inning with 2 outs. Corpus Christi pounded out 5 hits in the 5 run 3rd inning.

Greene's Big Game: Jonathan Greene has had his struggles since the beginning of June, but on Friday he went 2 for 4 with a double, homerun, 4 RBI, and a run scored. His homerun, a 3-run shot, tied the game at 7-7 in the 6th inning. His batting average is still at .298, however, and his OPS is still a solid .832. His 2 hits marked his 5th multi hit game in the last 10 games. The strikeouts have climbed for Jonathan Greene, however, as he has struck out 45 times since June 1st in 39 games with just 8 walks during that span. His 97 strikeouts this season are the 2nd most in the league behind San Antonio's Jaff Decker, who has 100. In fact, Frisco has 3 of the top 6 players in the Texas League in strikeouts this season with Greene (97), Tommy Mendonca (95), and Mike Bianucci (90). Jaff Decker has walked more times (80) than all three of those aforementioned RoughRiders combined (70).

Speaking of Bianucci: Mike Bianucci had a 3 for 4 game on Friday. It was his first multi hit game since July 1st. He also drove in a run and scored a run as well. Bianucci is batting .287 with a .903 OPS against left handed pitchers this year and Xavier Cedeno is a left hander.

#290: Renny Osuna continued his tear of late with another multi hit game as the shortstop went 2 for 4 on Friday with a run scored. The two hits got him to 290 for his career in Frisco, putting him 29 short of Steve Murphy's 319. In his last 10 games, Osuna has 7 multi hit games and is batting .444 over that span with a .479 OBP. His batting average against left handed pitchers this season is .351, although he has hit for more power against right handers. At home this season, Osuna is batting .315. Since the second half began, Osuna is batting .349 with 8 extra base hits in 20 games.

Jose Ruiz's Clutch Triple: While it was Greene's hit that tied the game in the 6th inning, it was Jose Ruiz's 2 RBI triple that helped get Frisco on the board in the 4th inning. He finished the game 1 for 4 with a triple, 3 RBI, and 2 runs scored. At Dr. Pepper Ballpark, Ruiz is now batting .314 with a .947 OPS this season. Of his 29 extra base hits, 20 have come at home. He has posted at least a .789 OPS in each month this season, including a .792 OPS in July so far. With men on base, Ruiz is batting .316 with an .896 OPS.

Tracking Texas League Homeruns: 681 in 714 games (0.954 HR/G)

Term of the Day: Foozle- 1. A play that is weakly or imperfectly performed. 2. For a fielder to fumble a batted ball. 3. For a batter to make an out.

Last Year on This Date: Frisco shutout the Corpus Christi Hooks 7-0 at home. Ryan Tatusko started for Frisco and gave up 6 hits, 1 walk, and struck out 5 batters over the complete game 9 innings. Johnny Whittleman led Frisco's offense with a 3 for 4 game including a double, homerun, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored. Marcus Lemon went 2 for 5 with 2 doubles, RBI, and run scored. Engel Beltre went 2 for 4 with a triple and 2 RBI. James Tomlin went 1 for 3 with a double, walk, and 2 runs scored. Renny Osuna added a 1 for 5 day with a RBI and a stolen base for the Riders. Emerson Frostad, Andy Jenkins, and Guilder Rodriguez each added a hit as well.

Around the Ranger's System

Yesterday's Record: 2-4

Round Rock (AAA) split a double header with the Memphis Redbirds winning game one 6-3 and losing game two 4-1...

Neil Ramirez started game one, but had to come out of the game after 1 2/3 innings. Ramirez had struck out 3 batters and walked 3 without allowing a hit or a run. Derek Hankins relieved Ramirez and allowed 3 runs over 3 1/3 innings pitched. Darren O'Day pitched a scoreless 6th and Cody Eppley pitched a scoreless 7th inning for his 8th save of the season. Chad Tracy went 2 for 4 with a RBI at the plate for Round Rock. Leonys Martin went 1 for 4 at the plate as well. Esteban German led the Express with a 3 for 3 game including a double, RBI, walk, 2 stolen bases, and a run. Matt Kata went 1 for 3 with a homerun and 2 RBI. Guilder Rodriguez added a 2 for 3 game with a RBI, while Joey Butler went 1 for 4 with a double. Chris Davis went 0 for 2 with a sac fly RBI and a walk. Brad Nelson added a hit of his own as well.

Ryan Tucker started the second game and gave up 3 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs over 2 1/3 innings with 3 strikeouts. Michael Kirkman gave up 2 runs over 2 1/3 innings of relief while Beau Jones pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Chris Davis went 1 for 3 with a homerun for Round Rock. Joey Butler went 1 for 2 with a double and a walk as well. Robbie Diaz added a hit for the Express, while Leonys Martin went 0 for 3 at the leadoff spot.

Myrtle Beach (High-A) scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 7th inning and scored a run in the 10th to win 4-3 in extra innings over the Salem Red Sox. Justin Grimm started for Myrtle Beach and gave up 5 hits, 1 walk, and 3 runs (2 earned) over 5 innings with 4 strikeouts. Ryan Kelly pitched 3 shutout innings of relief, while Zach Osborne picked up the win after 2 scoreless innings. Jared Bolden led Myrtle Beach with a 3 for 5 game including a RBI. Santiago Chirino went 2 for 3 with a double and a sac bunt. Jared Hoying went 1 for 4 with a double and a RBI, while Travis Adair went 1 for 5 with a triple for the Pelicans. David Paisano reached base three times via a double, walk, and hit by pitch. Jared Prince also went 1 for 3 with a walk and a hit by pitch. Leury Garcia and Zach Zaneski each had a hit as well.

Hickory (Low-A) faced #2 overall pick in the 2010 draft Jameson Taillon and the West Virginia Power and fell 6-5 on Friday. Nick Tepesch started for Hickory and gave up 8 hits, 2 walks, and 5 runs (4 earned) over 6 innings with 4 strikeouts. Colby Killian got the loss after giving up 1 run over 1 inning of relief, while Ben Rowen pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Jameson Taillon finished with a line of: 5 IP 9 H 5 R 1 BB 5 K. Top prospect Jurickson Profar went 2 for 4 with 2 doubles, a RBI, a stolen base, and a run scored. Josh Richmond also went 2 for 4, while Yefry Castilllo and Odubel Herrera each went 2 for 4 as well for the Crawdads. Christian Villanueva went 1 for 4 with a double, RBI, and run scored. Teodoro Martinez added a 1 for 3 day with a RBI, walk, stolen base, and run scored. Kellin Deglan also added a hit of his own.

Spokane (Short Season A-Ball) gave up 3 runs in the 1st inning and fell 8-2 to the Everett AquaSox. Christopher Hanna started for Spokane and gave up 7 hits, 1 walk, and 4 runs (3 earned) over 3 2/3 innings with 6 strikeouts. Leonel De Los Santos gave up 2 runs over 3 innings of relief, while Samuel Robinson gave up 2 runs over 1 1/3 innings. Trever Adams led the Spokane offense with a 2 for 4 game. Nick Vickerson added a 1 for 4 day with a double for the Indians. Hirotoshi Onaka had a 1 for 4 day while Zach Cone went 1 for 3 with a RBI, and a walk. Brett Nicholas went 1 for 3 too with a walk, while Guillermo Pimentel went 1 for 4 with a RBI.

Minor League Performance of the Day

Jose Quintana just made the move into the Tampa Yankee's rotation 4 starts ago and 4 starts in, he had his first dominant start over 5 innings. In Tampa's 1-0 win over the Palm Beach Cardinals, Quintana gave up just 3 hits over 7 shutout innings with 9 strikeouts. He faced Palm Beach's top starter talent wise in Carlos Martinez, who was recently rated as the #4 prospect in baseball by Keith Law. And Quintana outpitched him. Since moving into the rotation, Quintana has given up 12 hits, walked 6 batters, and given up just 2 earned runs over 20 innings with 17 strikeouts. On the season, Quintana has appeared in 21 games and gone 6-0 with 1 save. He has given up 35 hits, walked 18, and struck out 56 batters over 54 innings pitched. The 22 year old southpaw was signed out of Columbia by the New York Yankees as an international signing in 2008.

As always...

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