Chatter from the Press Box: Game 99: Corpus Christi Hooks (Erick Abreu) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Joe Wieland)

Time: 6:00 PM CT
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (16-12 1 game back in the Texas League South; 56-42 overall)... Corpus Christi Hooks (13-15 4 games back in the Texas League South; 38-60 overall)
Streak: Won 2 in a row
Last 10: 5-5
Homestand: 2-0
Series Record: 14-10-3
2011 Record against Corpus Christi: 14-12
All-Time Record against Corpus Christi: 109-101
Record on July 24th since 2004: 4-3
Starting Pitchers: Joe Wieland (2-0 1.86 ERA) vs. Erick Abreu (5-2 4.11 ERA)

Frisco Continues Offensive Roll: After a 24 hit, 8 homerun, 19 run performance on Friday, the pressbox was wondering whether the Riders would live up to the old saying that if you score 10 or more one night, expect a low scoring game the next night. Well, the questoin was answered quickly as Frisco jumped out to a 6-3 lead after 3 innings and defeated Corpus Christi 9-5 in front of a sell out crowd of 10,216. With the win, Frisco guaranteed themselves at least a series split with the Hooks and with a San Antonio loss, the Riders sit just 1 back again behind the Missions in the second half. For the season the Riders are 14 games over .500 and are 48-28 (.632 winning%) since May 1st.

Pimentel Struggles Early, Comes On Strong Late: Carlos Pimentel had a bit of an interesting 1-2-3 1st inning as he walked the leadoff hitter Jonathan Villar on four pitches, and then faced Villar on 2nd base with 0 outs after he stole 2nd. But after a Paredes fly out, Pimentel picked off Villar at 2nd and got J.D. Martinez out. Pimentel gave up a walk, 2 singles, and a run in the 2nd inning and then 2 solo homeruns in the 3rd inning. But over the final 3 innings, Pimentel faced the minimum 9 batters and finished the game with a line of: 6 IP 4 H 3 R 3 ER 3 BB 5 K 2 HR. He threw 87 pitches, 51 of which went for strikes. Pimentel also threw first pitch strikes to 15 of the 23 batters he faced.

Bottom of the Order Production: It was the latter three players in Frisco's lineup that did the majority of the damage for Frisco on Saturday.

Engel Beltre followed up Friday's game where he hit his first homerun of the season, with a 2 for 4 game including a double, 3 RBI, and 2 runs scored. His 3 RBI tied a season high for 2011. Over his last 10 games, Beltre is batting .273/.385/.485/.870 with 2 doubles, a triple, and a homerun. He also has walked 4 times with 8 strikeouts.

Jose Felix had a RBI single in the 2nd inning to score Jonathan Greene and added another RBI single in the 3rd inning to score Engel Beltre from 2nd. Felix finished the game 2 for 4 with 2 RBI. Felix is batting .219 for the season, although he is batting .270 over his last 10 games. He has driven in a run in his last 3 games played.

Mitch Hilligoss continues to hit well in his return to Frisco as he went 2 for 3 with 2 doubles, a RBI on a sacrifice fly, and 2 runs scored. He is now batting .357 for Frisco and has 6 extra base hits in 12 games for the Riders.

Stoneburner Reaches Base Three Times: Davis Stoneburner continued his solid hitting of late with a 2 for 4 game including a double, triple, RBI, walk, and 2 runs scored. Stoneburner is batting .317/.383/.561/.944 over his last 10 games On the season, he is now batting .279/.341/.449/.790 with 20 doubles, a team high 5 triples, and 6 homeruns.

Tracking Texas League Homeruns: 759 in 778 games (0.976 HR/G)

Term of the Day: No Prospect- A scout's term for a player who will not reach the major leagues.

Last Year on This Date: Frisco defeated the Corpus Christi Hooks 6-1 at home. Tanner Roark started for Frisco and gave up 5 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run over 7 innings with 8 strikeouts. Ben Snyder pitched 2 scoreless innings of relief. Marcus Lemon led Frisco with a 2 for 3 game including 2 doubles, a run, and a sacrifice bunt. Andy Jenkins went 2 for 4 with a double, homerun, 3 RBI, and 2 runs scored for the Riders. Renny Osuna went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored as well. James Tomlin added a 1 for 4 game with 2 RBI, while Emerson Frostad went 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. Jose Felix and Joey Butler each went 1 for 4 as well.

Around the Ranger's System

Yesterday's Record: 1-4

Round Rock (AAA) gave up 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th and lost 6-5 to the Omaha Storm Chasers in 11 innings. Brett Tomko started for Round Rock and gave up 6 hits, 2 walks, and 3 runs over 6 innings with 1 strikeout. Beau Jones gave up 2 runs over 1 1/3 innings of relief, while Cody Eppley pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Pedro Strop took the loss after giving up a run in the 11th inning. Joey Butler led Round Rock's offense with a 3 for 4 game including a double, walk, stolen base, and run scored. Nick Green went 2 for 6 with a double, homerun, and 3 RBI. Taylor Teagarden chipped in a 3 for 5 game with a RBI, while Esteban German went 2 for 5 with a double, walk, and stolen base. Guilder Rodriguez also went 2 for 4 with a RBI and walk. Matt Kata and Chad Tracy each had a hit of their own while Leonys Martin went 0 for 4 with 2 sacrifice bunts.

Myrtle Beach (High-A) gave up a run in the bottom of the 8th inning and lost 1-0 to the Frederick Keys on the road. Robbie Ross started for Myrtle Beach and gave up 5 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run over 8 innings with 6 strikeouts. Leury Garcia led off for Myrtle Beach and went 1 for 3 at the plate. He also made his 27th error of the season. Travis Adair also added a hit for the Pelicans in 3 at bats. Vincent DiFazio had the only other hit for Myrtle Beach who managed 3 hits against Nicholas Haughian.

Hickory (Low-A) scored 6 runs in the first 2 innings, but lost 12-10 to the Delmarva Shorebirds at home. Matt Thompson started for Hickory and gave up 6 hits, 5 walks, and 6 runs over 1 1/3 innings pitched with 1 strikeout. Ben Henry gave up 1 run over 4 2/3 innings pitched in relief, while Jorge Marban took the loss after giving up 5 runs (2 earned) over 3 innings. Josh Richmond led Hickory with a 2 for 4 game at the plate with a homerun, 3 RBI, walk, and run scored. Jurickson Profar went 1 for 4 with 2 RBI, a walk, stolen base, and run scored for the Crawdads. Odubel Herrera went 2 for 5 with a double and a run scored, while Tomas Telis went 2 for 4 with a RBI, walk, and run scored. Andrew Clark went 1 for 4 with a double and 2 RBI, while Christian Villanueva went 1 for 4 with a 2-run homerun and a walk. Jake Skole added a 1 for 4 game with a walk and 2 runs scored and Jhonny Gomez added a hit of his own.

Spokane (Short Season A-Ball) gave up 2 runs in the 3rd inning and lost 3-1 to the Tri-City Dust Devils at home. David Perez started for Spokane and gave up 2 hits, 3 walks, and 2 runs over 3 innings with 2 strikeouts. Nicholas Martinez pitched in relief and gave up a run over 5 innings. Matt West pitched a scoreless 9th inning with 2 strikeouts. Brett Nicholas led Spokane with a 1 for 3 game including a double, walk, and run scored. Trever Adams added a double in 4 at bats for the Indians. Rougned Odor went 1 for 4 as well, while Hanser Alberto went 1 for 4. Drew Robinson also went 1 for 4 with a RBI. Zach Cone went 0 for 3 with a walk.

Minor League Performance of the Day

The Salt Lake Bees took a 14-0 lead after 2 innings on Saturday night and Kevin Richardson was part of the reason why. In Salt Lake's 18-9 win over the Tacoma Rainiers, former Frisco RoughRider Kevin Richardson went 3 for 5 with 2 homeruns and 7 RBI. He also scored 3 runs in the game. On the season, the veteran minor league catcher is batting .269 with 13 doubles, 1 triple, 9 homeruns, and 38 RBI in 54 games for Salt Lake. He has an .845 OPS as well. During his career in Frisco, Kevin Richardson batted .252 with 37 homeruns and drove in 112 runs in 224 games. He posted a .776 OPS for the Riders over parts of four seasons.

As always...

A special thanks to any blog followers from Shrewsbury, NJ!