Chatter from the Press Box: Game 94: Frisco RoughRiders (Joe Wieland) @ San Antonio Missions (Simon Castro)

Time: 7:05 PM CT
Location: Nelson Wolff Municipal Stadium (San Antonio, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (13-10 2 games back in the Texas League South;53-40 overall)... San Antonio Missions (15-8 1st place in the Texas League South; 64-29 overall)
Streak: Lost 1 in a row
Last 10: 7-3
Road Trip: 0-1
Series Record: 14-9-3
2011 Record against San Antonio: 6-11
All-Time Record against San Antonio: 116-118
Record on July 19th since 2004: 4-3
Starting Pitchers: Joe Wieland (1-0 2.05 ERA) is making his first career start against the San Antonio Missions... Simon Castro (2-3 6.08 ERA) is 4-1 with a 1.74 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in 7 career starts against the Frisco RoughRiders.

What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco sends Joe Wieland to the mound for the 5th time this season, while San Antonio sends Simon Castro to the mound for the 9th time in the second game of a four game set... Joe Wieland looks to continue his successful early returns as Frisco looks to even the four game set at 1-1. In his last start against the Corpus Christi Hooks, Wieland gave up 5 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run over 6 innings with 6 strikeouts. Over his four starts for Frisco, Joe has given up 25 hits, 7 walks, and struck out 17 batters over 22 innings. On the season overall, Wieland has given up 103 hits, 11 walks, and has 113 strikeouts over 107 2/3 innings. On the road, Wieland is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in 2 starts for Frisco... Simon Castro hopes to get back on track after having back to back awful starts for San Antonio. In his last start, Castro gave up 5 hits, 1 walk, and 5 runs in just 1/3 of an inning without a strikeout. In his start before that, Castro gave up 9 hits, 1 walk, and 8 runs over 2 2/3 innings with 6 strikeouts. On the season for the Missions, Castro has given up 49 hits, 11 walks, and struck out 33 batters over 37 innings. Overall, he is 4-5 with a 7.75 ERA this season between AA and AAA. Castro has given up 86 hits, 29 walks, and 54 strikeouts over 62 2/3 innings. Last season for San Antonio, Simon Castro went 7-7 with a 3.28 ERA over 26 appearances, including 25 starts.

Frisco Loses in 12 Innings: Andy Parrino's walkoff single in the 12th gave San Antonio a 7-6 win over Frisco. It marked Frisco's 7th loss on the road to San Antonio over 9 games. It marked Frisco's 10th 1 run or extra inning game with San Antonio this season, including the two team's 6th extra inning game against each other this year.

Pimentel Struggles: Carlos Pimentel walked 5 batters, gave up 4 hits, and allowed 5 runs over 3 2/3 innings with just 1 strikeout. It was Pimentel's first worst start this season against San Antonio in 5 starts and his first loss to the team with the best record in the Texas League.

Walk Struggles: Frisco pitchers, which came into Monday's game with a 3.33 BB/9 ratio as a staff, walked 13 San Antonio Missions hitters in the loss. Pimentel walked 5 batters in 3 2/3 innings, Jake Brigham walked 2 over 2 1/3 innings, Adalberto Flores walked 2 over 1 2/3 innings, Johan Yan walked 1 batter in 1 1/3 innings, Fabio Castillo walked 2 over 2 innings, and Corey Young walked 1 batter in 2/3 of an inning.

Other Walk Woes: Frisco also walked just one time offensively in Monday's game giving the team 244 walks for the season. The total is the lowest among teams in AA or higher and 7th lowest in full season minor league baseball. The Lynchburg Hillcats of the Carolina League have the least amount of walks among full season teams with 221. First baseman Jose Ruiz leads Frisco's offense with 32 walks on the season. Guilder Rodriguez, currently in AAA, is the only other RoughRider with 30 or more walks this season as he has 30. Frisco's .332 on base percentage is the 2nd lowest in the Texas League behind Corpus Christi (.323). San Antonio leads the Texas League with a .365 on base percentage.

Bianucci Goes Deep: Mike Bianucci went 2 for 5 with a double, homerun, RBI, and 2 runs scored in Frisco's loss. The homerun was Bianucci's 21st of the year and marked his 3rd game in a row with an extra base hit, including a homerun in 2 of the 3 games. With 21 homeruns, Bianucci ties Jason Hart (2005) for the 5th highest total of homeruns in a single season by a Frisco RoughRiders player.

Stoneburner Extends Hit Streak: With a 3 for 6 game, Davis Stoneburner extended his hitting streak to a modest 8 games as he raised his batting average to .281 with an .807 OPS on the road this season.

Luis Mendoza Shines: Former Frisco RoughRider's pitcher Luis Mendoza pitched a no-hitter on Monday for the Omaha Storm Chasers against the Memphis Redbirds. The game, however, might be more known for what happened afterwards than anything. A hit by Memphis infielder Tyler Greene in the 9th inning has been changed back and forth causing the no-hitter to be in question. Originally ruled an error, Omaha's official scorer has since changed it to a hit and then back to an error again. The controversy was sent to the Pacific Coast League office today. You can see the video of the play here.

Luis Mendoza pitched for Frisco over parts of three seasons in 2006 through 2008. In 2007, Mendoza went 15-4 with a 3.93 ERA in 26 appearances, including 25 starts. He allowed 145 hits, 48 walks, and struck out 93 batters in 148 2/3 innings. He is 2nd to Thomas Diamond in career wins for Frisco.

Tracking Texas League Homeruns: 715 homeruns in 738 games (0.969 HR/G)

Term of the Day: Second Division- The bottom half of a league's standings at any given time (the last four teams in an eight-team league or the last five teams in a ten-team league) before 1969, when each of the two major leagues was broken into two divisions.

Last Year on This Date: Frisco defeated the San Antonio Missions 5-2 on the road. Tanner Roark gave up 4 hits, 3 walks, and struck out 4 batters over 5 2/3 shutout innings. Tim Murphy pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings, while Beau Jones gave up 2 runs over 0 innings. Evan Reed picked up his 4th save of the year with 2 shutout innings of relief. Joey Butler went 2 for 3 with 2 doubles, a walk, and 2 runs scored at the plate. Johnny Whittleman went 2 for 3 with a double, 2 RBI, a walk, and a run scored for the Riders. James Tomlin went 1 for 3 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base as well. Andy Jenkins added 2 hits in 3 at bats with 2 RBI. Engel Beltre and Taylor Teagarden added a hit a piece as well.

Around the Ranger's System

Yesterday's Record: 4-1

Round Rock (AAA) scored 2 runs in the 8th inning to tie the game and defeated the New Orleans Zephyrs 5-4 in 10 innings on a walkoff homerun by Brad Nelson. Brett Tomko started for Round Rock and gave up 7 hits, 2 walks, and 4 runs over 6 innings with 6 strikeouts. Michael Kirkman added 2 2/3 innings of shutout relief, while Mark Hamburger earned the win after pitching 1 1/3 innings of relief. Matt Kata led the offense with a 2 for 3 game including 2 homeruns, 3 RBI, a walk, and 2 runs scored. Brad Nelson also hit 2 homeruns while going 2 for 4 with 2 RBI, a walk, and 3 runs scored for the Express. Chris Davis went 1 for 5 with a double, while Joey Butler also went 1 for 5 with a double. Taylor Teagarden also added a hit, while Chad Tracy added 2 walks in 5 plate appearances.

Myrtle Beach (High-A) crushed the Wilmington Blue Rocks 10-1 at home. Robbie Ross picked up his 9th win of the season after giving up 4 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run over 7 innings with 3 strikeouts. Kasey Kiker added 2 scoreless innings of relief. Travis Adair led Myrtle Beach's offense with a 4 for 5 game with a RBI. Leury Garcia went 3 for 5 with a double, homerun, 3 RBIs, and 2 runs scored. Jared Bolden also added a 2 for 5 game including a homerun, 3 RBI, and 2 runs scored for the Pelicans. Jared Prince went 2 for 4 with a double, RBI, walk, and run scored. Jared Hoying went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and a stolen base. Zach Zaneski, Santiago Chirino, and Andres James added a hit as well.

Hickory (Low-A) shutout the Delmarva Shorebirds 5-0 on the road. Roman Mendez started for Hickory and gave up 7 hits, 1 walk, and struck out 8 batters over 6 innings. Andrew Doyle added 2 scoreless innings of relief, while Francisco Mendoza pitched a scoreless inning. Jurickson Profar went 4 for 5 with 3 doubles and 3 RBI at the plate. Christian Villanueva went 2 for 4 with a homerun, RBI, and a run scored for the Crawdads. Jake Skole added a 2 for 4 game with a stolen base. Andrew Clark and Alejandro Selen each added a hit as well.

Spokane (Short Season A-Ball) gave up 5 runs in the 9th inning and won 8-7 over the Boise Hawks. David Perez started for Spokane and didn't record an out. He gave up 1 hit, 3 walks, and 3 runs. Leonel De Los Santos gave up 3 runs in 4 innings of relief, while Andres Perez-Lobo gave up 1 unearned run over 4 innings. Carlos Melo picked up the win after a scoreless inning of relief. Brett Nicholas went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI, a walk, and 2 runs scored in the game. Rougned Odor went 1 for 3 with a RBI, 2 hit by pitches, and a stolen base. Trever Adams added a 2 for 5 game with a double and a RBI for the Indians. Jorge Alfaro also added 2 hits in 4 at bats with a double, while Drew Robinson went 1 for 3 with a double, 2 RBI, and a walk. Guillermo Pimentel and Edwin Garcia each added a hit as well.

Minor League Performance of the Day

Yadiel Rivera continued his string of great play lately with a huge day for the Helena Brewers of the Pioneer League. In Helena's 12-3 win over the Casper Ghosts, Rivera went 5 for 5 with 2 doubles, a triple, a homerun, 4 RBI, and added a walk for good measure. His single completed the cycle. The 19 year old shortstop's 5 hits marked his 6th consecutive game with 2 or more hits in a game. Yadiel doubled to left field in the first inning, hit a homerun to left-center field in the second inning, walked in the 4th inning, doubled again to centerfield in the 6th inning, tripled to left field in the 8th inning, and completed the cycle with a single to centerfield in the 9th inning. On the season, Rivera is now batting .331 with 7 doubles, 3 triples, and 8 homeruns in 27 games. His OPS is currently at .985. Yadiel Rivera was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 9th round of the 2010 draft out of a Puerto Rico high school. Rivera was rated by Baseball America as the 21st best prospect in the Milwaukee Brewers system.

As always...

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