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



Saturday, May 19, 2012

Game 42: San Antonio Missions (TBD) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Carlos Pimentel)

Time: 7:05 PM CT
Location: Dr Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (24-17 First Place in the Texas League South)... San Antonio Missions (19-22 5 games back in the Texas League South)
Streak: L3
Last 10: 4-6
Home stand: 0-1
2012 Series Record: 8-2-1  
2012 Record against San Antonio: 6-3
All-Time Record against San Antonio: 129-128
Record on May 18 since 2003: 6-3
Starting Pitchers: Carlos Pimentel (3-2 2.65 ERA) vs. TBD (N/A)


Grimm Struggles Through Worst Home Start: For the first time in 2012 Justin Grimm looked human at Dr Pepper Ballpark. After entering the game 3-0 with a 0.49 ERA at home in three starts, Grimm gave up 7 hits, 3 walks, and 5 runs over 4 2/3 innings. He also hit a batter and struck out four batters. It was only the second time in nine starts that Grimm gave up more than one earned run in a start and the first time he gave up more than one walk since April 10, the second start of the season. 


Offensive Struggles: The 'Riders offense went the final four innings on Thursday night's game without getting a base hit. Their last hit was a double in the 5th inning of that game by Mike Olt. On Friday night, the 'Riders went the first seven full innings before they finally broke through with a Jared Prince double in the 8th inning to lead off the inning. In total they went 11 2/3 innings without a hit or a run. 


Profar Reaches Base Twice: The story entering the game was Jurickson Profar's hitting streak and thanks to a triple to dead center field in the ninth inning, Profar has extended that streak to 28 games. He extended his on base streak to 37 games with a walk in the first inning. Overall, Profar went 1 for 3 with the walk and a run scored. He is hitting .340 in the month of May and .366 when leading off an inning. 


Strausborger Nabs #8: Ryan Strausborger got off to a flying start in the outfield assists department as he piled up seven outfield assists very early on this season. He never got the eighth until last night though when Cody Decker tried to score on a single to Strausborger in left field. The assist also put him one ahead of Engel Beltre for the most on the team. 




Former 'Riders on the Mound


LHP John Danks (Chicago White Sox) @ Chicago Cubs
LHP Derek Holland (Texas Rangers) @ Houston Astros
RHP Neil Ramirez (Round Rock Express) vs. Fresno Grizzlies
RHP Guillermo Moscoso (Colorado Springs Sky Sox) vs. New Orleans Zephyrs
LHP Michael Ballard (Harrisburg Senators) vs. Bowie BaySox




Minor League Baseball Titanium Sombrero Count: 2

Minor League Baseball Platinum Sombrero Count: 7 

Minor League Baseball Golden Sombrero Count: 155

Minor League Baseball Sombrero Count: 1432



As always...
 
A special thanks to any blog followers from Coward, South Carolina!

Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
Follow Us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/pressboxchatter 
Follow the Extra Bases Live Blog throughout the Game at:http://www.milb.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/


Michael Damman

Friday, May 18, 2012

Game 41: San Antonio Missions (Josh Geer) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Justin Grimm)

Time: 7:05 PM CT
Location: Dr Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (24-16 First Place in the Texas League South)... San Antonio Missions (18-22 6 games back in the Texas League South)
Streak: L2
Last 10: 5-5
Home stand: 0-0
2012 Series Record: 8-2-1  
2012 Record against San Antonio: 6-2
All-Time Record against San Antonio: 129-127
Record on May 18 since 2003: 7-3
Starting Pitchers: Justin Grimm (6-2 1.59 ERA) vs. Josh Geer (0-0 0.00 ERA)




'Riders Fall to Midland, Lose Series: For the second time this season the Frisco RoughRiders lost a series after they fell 8-3 to the Midland Rockhounds on Thursday night. It was the second series loss for the 'Riders against a Texas League South opponent as well and brought their road record to 11-11. 


Murphy Struggles: After going five innings in four straight starts, Tim Murphy struggled on Thursday against the Midland Rockhounds. The southpaw gave up 7 hits, 2 walks, and 6 runs over 3 1/3 innings. Murphy also struck out two batters and induced five ground outs to two fly outs. Murphy made 74 pitches, 42 of which went for strikes.  


Profar Extends Streaks: Jurickson Profar walked in the first inning in a ten pitch at bat to extend his on base streak to 36 games and then singled in the third inning to left field to extend his hitting streak to 27 games. Profar finished the game 1 for 2 with two walks and finished up the 8 game road trip 14 for 36 (.389 average) with 3 walks, 5 extra base hits, 5 RBI, and 5 runs scored. Profar is now batting .292 for the season with a .349 on base percentage and .494 slugging percentage. 


Beltre Gets Two Hits: Engel Beltre went 2 for 4 with a double, 2 runs, and a stolen base. It was his fifth multi hit game in the last ten games and his 13th multi hit game of the season. Beltre is now batting .269 with a .307 on base percentage and .461 slugging percentage for the season. Beltre has been especially good against left handed pitching this year with a .426 average (20 for 47) against southpaws this year. 


Patience Playing Key for Olt: Mike Olt went 1 for 4 with a double and RBI in the game. It was the first game all season for Olt that he saw less than ten pitches in the game. Olt has an on base percentage over .400 over his last ten games, however, and .394 for the season. He has only swung at 38.3 % of the pitches thrown to him this season, which is second lowest on the team next to Guilder Rodriguez (35.7%). In the month of May, Olt is batting .320 with a .460 on base percentage and .540 slugging percentage. 


Road Woes: The Frisco RoughRiders loss on the road brought their record on the road to 11-11 for the season. The 'Riders and Tulsa Drillers are the only teams in the league with a .500 or better record on the road this season and both are at .500 with Tulsa at 9-9. In all, the road team in the Texas League is 59-101 this season (.369 winning percentage). 


Prospect Hot Sheet: Jurickson Profar came in at 10th on Baseball America's weekly prospect hot sheet. Another Ranger farmhand, Cody Buckel, came in at #4 on the list. Buckel is currently dominating in Myrtle Beach to the tune of 3-1 with a 1.14 ERA through 8 starts. The 19 year old is a candidate to get promoted to Frisco at some point this year. He turns 20 on June 18th. 




Former 'Riders on the Mound


RHP Neftali Feliz (Texas Rangers) @ Houston Astros
RHP Luis Mendoza (Kansas City Royals) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks




Minor League Baseball Titanium Sombrero Count: 2

Minor League Baseball Platinum Sombrero Count: 7 

Minor League Baseball Golden Sombrero Count: 151

Minor League Baseball Sombrero Count: 1394



As always...
 
A special thanks to any blog followers from Tightwad, MO!

Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
Follow Us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/pressboxchatter 
Follow the Extra Bases Live Blog throughout the Game at:http://www.milb.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/


Michael Damman

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Game 33: Frisco RoughRiders (Barret Loux) @ Corpus Christi Hooks (Jose Cisnero)

Time: 7:05 PM CT
Location: Whataburger Field (Corpus Christi, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (21-11 First Place in the Texas League South)... Corpus Christi Hooks (13-19 8 games back in the Texas League South)
Streak: W2
Last 10: 8-2
Road Trip: 0-0
2012 Series Record: 8-1-0  
2012 Record against Corpus Christi: 4-4
All-Time Record against Corpus Christi: 116-107
Record on May 10 since 2003: 4-5
Starting Pitchers: Barret Loux (6-0 2.20 ERA) vs. Jose Cisnero (2-2 4.61 ERA)

'Riders Take Ninth Straight Home Series: The 'Riders scored at least two runs in four of five innings from the third inning to the seventh inning and defeated the Midland Rockhounds 9-3 on Tuesday afternoon. The win gave Frisco an eighth series win in nine series this season and gave them their ninth consecutive home series win dating back to last August. Over that stretch, Frisco is an impressive 23-8 at home.


Pimentel Limits Damage: It wasn't his sharpest outing of the season, but Carlos Pimentel gave up just one run over five innings and picked up his third win of the season. Pimentel gave up two hits and four walks with three strikeouts. He made 87 pitches, 53 of which went for strikes and induced five ground outs to three fly outs.

Offensive Outburst: Frisco's offense put together a 12 hit game as every player but Ryan Strausborger had at least one hit in the game. Strausborger reached base via a hit by pitch, however, so every hitter in the lineup reached base at least once. Six different players drove in a run and seven different players scored a run. The only player to not score or drive in a run was lead off hitter Engel Beltre, who reached base three times, twice via a hit and once on a hit by pitch.

McGuiness Stout: Chris McGuiness went 1 for 3 in the game, including his seventh home run of the season, which tied him with Mike Olt for the team lead. He walked once, drove in two runs, and scored two runs as well. He has more home runs this season than he had in either 2009 or 2011. His career high is 19, which he set in 2010 with the Greenville Drive and Bakersfield Blaze. Of his seven home runs, six have come at Dr Pepper Ballpark, where he has a .943 OPS for the season.

Felix Drives in Two: Jose Felix had a big game for Frisco, which has been a rare occasion at home this season. Felix went 2 for 3 with a double, two RBI, two runs, and a stolen base. He is now hitting .264 this season and his home average is up to .218.

Profar Extends Streak: Jurickson Profar singled in the fifth inning, which extended his hitting streak to 19 games and on base streak to 28 games. He has reached base in 29 of the 30 games that he has played in this season. Profar finished the game 1 for 4 with two RBI, a walk, and a run scored.



Former 'Riders On the Mound

LHP Derek Holland (Texas Rangers) @ Baltimore Orioles
RHP Tommy Hunter (Baltimore Orioles) vs. Texas Rangers
RHP Eric Hurley (Salt Lake Bees) vs. Round Rock Express
RHP Omar Poveda (Jacksonville Suns) vs. Mobile BayBears


Minor League Baseball Titanium Sombrero Count: 2

Minor League Baseball Platinum Sombrero Count: 7

Minor League Baseball Golden Sombrero Count: 128

Minor League Baseball Sombrero Count: 1187



As always...
 
A special thanks to any blog followers from Rifle, CO!

Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
Follow Us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/pressboxchatter 
Follow the Extra Bases Live Blog throughout the Game at: http://www.milb.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/


- Michael Damman

Monday, May 7, 2012

Game 31: Midland Rockhounds (A.J. Griffin) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Justin Grimm)

Time: 7:05 PM CT
Location: Dr Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (19-11 First Place in the Texas League South)... Midland Rockhounds (18-12 1 game back in the Texas League South)
Streak: L1
Last 10: 7-3
Home stand: 1-1
2012 Series Record: 7-1-0  
2012 Record against Midland: 1-1
All-Time Record against Midland: 122-108
Record on May 7 since 2003: 5-4
Starting Pitchers: Justin Grimm (5-1 1.62 ERA) vs. A.J. Griffin (3-0 1.93 ERA)


Frisco Falls 3-1 to Midland: The Midland Rockhounds scored a run in each of the first innings and held the 'Riders to just one run for the game. For Frisco it was their fourth loss since April 23rd. With the win, the Rockhounds pulled to within a game of the 'Riders. It sets up a Monday pitching match-up of arguably the two best pitchers in the Texas League right now.

Murphy's Start: After pitching back to back scoreless five inning starts, Tim Murphy had a solid, but not great start. Murphy gave up four hits and three walks over five innings with three strikeouts. He gave up three runs, all earned, over the start, including a home run as well. Of his 71 pitches, 40 of them went for strikes.

Mike Olt's Surge: Mike Olt led Frisco with a three hit game, including a double. Olt finished 3 for 3 with a hit by pitch. He was pulled from the game and replaced by Alex Buchholz later in the game. Olt is now hitting .287 and leads the team with a .959 OPS. Since April 23rd, Olt is batting .306/.452/.592 with 8 extra base hits, 11 RBI, and 12 walks to 13 strikeouts over 14 games.

McGuiness Adds Two XBH: Chris McGuiness went 2 for 4 at the plate on Sunday, including a home run and a double. The home run was his sixth for the season, which puts him one behind Mike Olt for the team lead. McGuiness is hitting .333 over his last ten games and is batting .248 now for the season with a .765 OPS. At Dr Pepper Ballpark, McGuiness is batting .283 with a .604 slugging percentage and .960 OPS. Five of his six home runs have come at home.


Profar Extends Streak: For the first eight innings it seemed like Jurickson Profar might not extend his streaks, but in the ninth inning Profar led off with an infield single to the second baseman, the second straight night with that case, and extended his hitting streak to 17 games and on base streak to 26 games. During the hitting streak, Profar is batting .292/.321/.486 with 10 extra base hits and 4 walks to 14 strikeouts.


Bell Mowing 'Em Down: Chad Bell put together another tremendous relief appearance for Frisco. Over his last three outings, Bell has pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, given up one hit, and struck out 11 batters without issuing a walk. Overall, he has thrown 70.4 percent of his pitches for strikes and has struck out 13 batters in 9 2/3 innings. In his last two appearances in Frisco, Bell has thrown 63 pitches with 48 going for strikes... 76.2 percent strike percentage.

The C+ Team: If you ever wanted to know what a minor league baseball clubhouse manager does during the day, you can find out here on the 'Riders Insider Blog



Former 'Riders on the Mound

LHP Matt Harrison (Texas Rangers) @ Baltimore Orioles
RHP Blake Beavan (Seattle Mariners) vs. Detroit Tigers
RHP Edinson Volquez (San Diego Padres) vs. Colorado Rockies
LHP Martin Perez (Round Rock) vs. Memphis Redbirds
RHP Jesse Chavez (Las Vegas 51s) vs. Salt Lake Bees


Minor League Baseball Titanium Sombrero Count: 2

Minor League Baseball Platinum Sombrero Count: 7

Minor League Baseball Golden Sombrero Count: 123

Minor League Baseball Sombrero Count: 1114


As always...
A special thanks to any blog followers from Dunmovin, CA!
Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
Follow Us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/pressboxchatter 
Follow the Extra Bases Live Blog throughout the Game at: http://www.milb.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/


- Michael Damman

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Game 30: Midland Rockhounds (Gary Daley) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Tim Murphy)

Time: 7:05 PM CT
Location: Dr Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (19-10 First Place in the Texas League South)... Midland Rockhounds (17-12 2 games back in the Texas League South)
Streak: W2
Last 10: 8-2
Home stand: 1-0
2012 Series Record: 7-1-0  
2012 Record against Midland: 1-0
All-Time Record against Midland: 122-107
Record on May 5 since 2003:
Starting Pitchers: Tim Murphy (1-2 4.95 ERA) vs. Gary Daley (3-1 4.05 ERA)


'Riders Come Back Late, Take First Game: Frisco took an early 1-0 lead in the 4th inning, but the Rockhounds tied the game up at 1-1 by the 5th inning and took the lead with a run in the 7th inning. Frisco scored a couple runs, however, in the bottom of the 7th and finished off Midland 3-2 with very good pitching and timely hitting. Frisco is now one game behind the Tulsa Drillers for the best record in the Texas League. They also have the fourth best record in Double-A baseball behind Tulsa, Akron Aeros, and Reading Phillies.

Brigham Solid Once Again: Given a second chance in Frisco's rotation this year after being removed from the rotation last season, Jake Brigham is taking advantage of the second chance. Brigham did not surrender a walk against the most patient team in minor league baseball and struck out five batters over six solid innings. Brigham gave up four hits and one run, which came on a home run. If there has been one area that has hurt Brigham specifically this season, it is the long ball. Brigham has given up 1.43 home runs per nine innings this year.

Beltre's Big Hits: Engel Beltre added to his multi RBI games with a 2 for 4 game, including a solo home run and a game winning RBI single in the seventh inning. For Beltre, it was his sixth multi RBI game of the season already, which exceeds the five that he had last season in 118 games for Frisco.

Profar Extends On Base Streak/Hit Streak: Jurickson Profar went 1 for 4 with an infield single to second base. The hit extended his hit streak to 16 games and on base streak to 25 games for the season.


Boscan, Ortiz Throw Strikes: Frisco likely would not have won last night's game if not for the bullpen work from Wilfredo Boscan and Joe Ortiz. Wilfredo pitched 2/3 of an inning and recorded two strikeouts. He threw 17 pitches, 10 of which went for strikes. Joe Ortiz was better as he went 1 2/3 perfect innings with 2 strikeouts en route to his third save of the season. Ortiz threw 20 pitches, 16 of which went for strikes.


Michael Choice Back in the Area: It wasn't the best way to come back to the DFW area, but Michael Choice played in his first game in the DFW area since starring at the University of Texas-Arlington. Choice went to Mansfield Timberview High School and from there went to UTA where he starred as a power hitting and walk machine. The Oakland Athletics chose him in the 1st round with the 10th overall pick of the 2010 draft. He spent his first full season in high-A Stockton last year where Choice hit .285 with 30 home runs and 61 walks. He produced a .918 OPS for the season. He didn't start strong last year, but finished the season with a 1.001 OPS in the second half and he seems to be taking a similar route this year. So far this season for the Midland Rockhounds, Choice is batting .250, including one home run and 17 walks with a .671 OPS. Choice finished the game 0 for 4 with three strikeouts.



Former 'Riders on the Mound

RHP Tommy Hunter (Baltimore Orioles) @ Boston Red Sox
RHP Joe Wieland (San Diego Padres) vs. Miami Marlins
LHP Michael Kirkman (Round Rock Express) vs. Memphis Redbirds
RHP Doug Mathis (Pawtucket Red Sox) @ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees
LHP Robbie Erlin (San Antonio Missions) @ Corpus Christi Hooks
RHP Kyle Hendricks (Myrtle Beach Pelicans) @ Lynchburg Hillcats


Minor League Baseball Titanium Sombrero Count: 2

Minor League Baseball Platinum Sombrero Count: 6

Minor League Baseball Golden Sombrero Count: 122

Minor League Baseball Sombrero Count: 1087



As always...
 
A special thanks to any blog followers from Gassville, AR!
 
Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
Follow Us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/pressboxchatter 
Follow the Extra Bases Live Blog throughout the Game at: http://www.milb.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/


- Michael Damman

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Game 29: Midland Rockhounds (Murphy Smith) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Jake Brigham)

Time: 7:05 PM CT
Location: Dr Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (18-10 First Place in the Texas League South)... Midland Rockhounds (17-11 1 game back in the Texas League South)
Streak: W1
Last 10: 7-3
Home stand: 0-0
2012 Series Record: 7-1-0  
2012 Record against Midland: 0-0
All-Time Record against Midland: 121-107
Record on May 5 since 2003: 5-3
Starting Pitchers: Jake Brigham (2-1 3.41 ERA) vs. Murphy Smith (3-0 2.66 ERA)


'Riders Take Another Series: Frisco scored four runs in an inning twice on Friday night against the San Antonio Missions and defeated them 9-3 to take their seventh series in eight tries this season. Frisco wrapped up a four game road trip and returns home with an 18-10 record and first place in the division. The 'Riders are 9-3 in their last 12 games as they face off against the second best team in the division.

Loux Sits Alone: Barret Loux didn't have his best outing of the season, but received his sixth win of the season for Frisco. The win puts him a top both major leagues and minor leagues as the fastest pitcher to six wins this season. Loux went five innings against the Missions and gave up four hits, one walk, and three runs with five strikeouts. He gave up two home runs in the start, but got four ground ball outs to six fly outs. It was Barret's first start this season where he gave up more than two runs.

Olt Homers, Reaches Base Three Times: Mike Olt continued his relatively quiet surge towards the top of the OPS charts in the Texas League. Olt went 1 for 3 with a three-run home run, two walks, and scored two runs. He is now 9th in the league in OPS (.951) for the season, but ranks 3rd in OPS in the Texas League since April 20th (1.051). His seven home runs for the season are tied for second in the league behind San Antonio's Nathan Freiman, who has ten for the season. Olt is also in the top ten in walks, extra base hits, total bases, and RBI.

Profar Extends Streak: Jurickson Profar went 2 for 4 at the plate with a RBI and extended his hitting streak to 15 games and on base streak to 24 games. Profar has reached base in 25 of the 26 games that he has played in. He is batting .326 with a .383 on base percentage and .581 slugging percentage over his last ten games and is now up to a .262 average and .807 OPS for the season overall.

Felix Continues to Shine on Road: Jose Felix added two more hits in four at bats on Friday and is now hitting .314 on the road this season with a .781 OPS. He is batting just .133 at home with a .288 OPS and is batting .231 with a .552 OPS overall for the season. With runners in scoring position, however, Felix is hitting .313 (5 for 16) and .308 with runners on (8 for 26).

Triple Heavy: Ryan Strausborger went 2 for 5 with a triple and two runs scored on Friday. The triple was his fourth of the season and Frisco's 19th as a team. The fourth triple tied him with teammates Jurickson Profar and Engel Beltre for the Texas League lead. In fact, Frisco has five players with three or more triples this season. Only two other players in the league have three triples that aren't on Frisco's roster.

The Real Ross Wolf: Ross Wolf didn't have a great outing in his first appearance, but since then he has thrown 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief with four strikeouts, two hits allowed, and zero walks. Wolf will be an asset in the 'Riders bullpen. 



Former 'Riders on the Mound

LHP Derek Holland (Texas Rangers) @ Cleveland Indians
LHP C.J. Wilson (Los Angeles Angels) vs. Toronto Blue Jays
RHP Omar Poveda (Jacksonville Suns) @ Birmingham Barons


Minor League Baseball Titanium Sombrero Count: 2

Minor League Baseball Platinum Sombrero Count: 6

Minor League Baseball Golden Sombrero Count: 118

Minor League Baseball Sombrero Count: 1048




As always...
 
A special thanks to any blog followers from Robbers Roost, AZ!
 
Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
Follow Us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/pressboxchatter 
Follow the Extra Bases Live Blog throughout the Game at: http://www.milb.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/


- Michael Damman

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Game 27: Frisco RoughRiders (Carlos Pimentel) @ San Antonio Missions (Keyvius Sampson)

Time: 7:05 PM CT
Location: Nelson Wolff Municipal Stadium (San Antonio, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (17-9 First Place in the Texas League South)... San Antonio Missions (8-18 9 games back in the Texas League South)
Streak: W4
Last 10: 8-2
Road Trip: 2-0
2012 Series Record: 6-1-0  
2012 Record against San Antonio: 5-1
All-Time Record against San Antonio: 128-126
Record on May 3 since 2003: 6-3
Starting Pitchers: Carlos Pimentel (2-1 1.35 ERA) vs. Keyvius Sampson (1-1 4.50 ERA)



Frisco Takes Second Low Scoring Game: Less than 24 hours after defeating the San Antonio Missions 2-0, the RoughRiders beat them 2-1 in another low scoring game. Frisco pushed their winning streak to four games and have guaranteed themselves at least a split with the Missions on the road.

A Grimm Five: Justin Grimm was lights out once again as the 23 year old right hander continues to prove nearly untouchable. Grimm went 5 innings and gave up three hits, no walks, and one run, while striking out five batters. Grimm has given up one run or less in five of his six starts. With win number five, he moved in to a tie with teammate Barret Loux, Trevor Bauer, Trevor May, and two other pitchers for the most wins in minor league baseball this season. Overall on the season, Grimm is 5-1 with a 1.62 ERA. He has given up 23 hits and 6 walks over 33 1/3 innings with 32 strikeouts.


Olt Stays Hot: After going 2 for 3 with a walk on Tuesday, Mike Olt continued his surge with a 2 for 4 game that included two doubles. Mike Olt is hitting .278 with a .422 on base percentage and .556 slugging percentage over his last ten games. After hitting under .200 against southpaws just about a week ago, Olt is already back up to normal levels against them. For the season, he is batting .290/.371/.645/1.017 against left handed pitchers. And overall .274/.373/.547/.920 against everybody.

Beltre's Speed: Engel Beltre went 2 for 5 with a double and a stolen base on Tuesday and followed that up with a 1 for 4 game with a stolen base on Wednesday. Beltre now has 11 steals, which is 5 short of what he had all of last season for the 'Riders. He is batting .364 with a .928 OPS against left handed pitchers right now as well.


Profar's Power Surge: We've talked about Profar's early struggles here before, but over the last two weeks Jurickson Profar has turned into an extra base hit machine. Since April 19th, Profar is tied for the lead in extra base hits among hitters in Double-A with 10. Part of that was included in Wednesday night's win, when Profar went 1 for 4 with his sixth double of the season. He now has five doubles and four triples over his last ten games and is riding a 13 game hitting streak. He's reached base in 22 consecutive games and 23 of his 24 games overall.



Former 'Riders on the Mound

LHP John Danks (Chicago White Sox) vs. Cleveland Indians
RHP Neil Ramirez (Round Rock Express) vs. New Orleans Zephyrs


Minor League Baseball Titanium Sombrero Count: 2

Minor League Baseball Platinum Sombrero Count: 6

Minor League Baseball Golden Sombrero Count: 112

Minor League Baseball Sombrero Count: 967





As always...
A special thanks to any blog followers from Deadman Reach, AK!
Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
Follow Us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/pressboxchatter 
Follow the Extra Bases Live Blog throughout the Game at: http://www.milb.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/


- Michael Damman

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Game 25: Frisco RoughRiders (Tim Murphy) @ San Antonio Missions (Robbie Erlin)

Time: 7:05 PM CT
Location: Nelson Wolff Municipal Stadium (San Antonio, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (15-9 First Place in the Texas League South)... San Antonio Missions (8-16 7 games back in the Texas League South)
Streak: W2
Last 10: 6-4
Road Trip: 0-0
2012 Series Record: 6-1-0  
2012 Record against San Antonio: 3-1
All-Time Record against San Antonio: 126-126
Record on May 1 since 2003: 6-3
Starting Pitchers: Tim Murphy (0-2 6.60 ERA) vs. Robbie Erlin (0-0 2.87 ERA)

'Riders Take Sixth Series of 2012: Frisco gave up 3 runs in the first inning and another run in the second inning and quickly found themselves down 4-0 to the Corpus Christi Hooks. However, the 'Riders stormed back with 2 runs in the 3rd inning, 3 runs in the 5th inning, and 2 more in the sixth inning. They scored at least a run in their final four innings at the plate and defeated the Hooks 9-4 to take their sixth series out of seven possible this season and their fourth in a row at home.


Home Comfort: With another home winning series, Frisco is now 10-4 at home this season. In fact, dating back to last season, the RoughRiders have taken eight consecutive series at home. Their last home series loss came August 5th-8th against the San Antonio Missions.

Brigham Struggles Early, Dominates Late: Jake Brigham seemed to have developed just from the beginning of his start yesterday to the end of it. The starter turned reliever turned starter again gave up two hits, a walk, and four runs (one earned) through the first two innings. Over his final five innings, he gave up one hit and struck out seven batters without allowing a run. At times in the start he looked unhittable. Brigham finished with 7 innings, four hits, four runs (one earned), one walk, and ten strikeouts. Of his 93 pitches, 62 of them went for strikes.

Zaneski Goes Yard... Twice: Zach Zaneski entered Monday's game with 0 home runs for the season and his last home run came on June 4th of last season. It had been 186 at bats between Frisco and Myrtle Beach since his last home run. On Monday, however, Zaneski made the Hooks pay twice. First with a solo shot to left field that completely left Dr Pepper Ballpark. Zaneski later took the Hooks deep again in the 5th inning on a shot to left field, just inside the foul pole. Zach finished the game 2 for 4 with the two home runs, four RBI, and two runs scored.


Buchholz Breakout: Alex Buchholz hasn't gotten playing time every day, but he has taken advantage of the playing time that he has gotten. That was no different on Monday when Buchholz went 2 for 3 with a triple, home run, RBI, walk, and three runs. Buchholz now has a triple in three consecutive games and is riding a six game hitting streak.

McGuiness Wraps Up Home Stand: Few players on Frisco had a better home stand than 'Riders first baseman Chris McGuiness. He went 1 for 3 with two walks on Monday and the first baseman was 10 for 30 (.333) with a double, two home runs, five RBI, scored six runs, and put up a .961 OPS over the eight game home stand. Overall for the season, McGuiness is now hitting .247 with seven extra base hits and a .779 OPS.


Castillo Continues to Cruise: Fabio Castillo put up two more innings of zeros on Monday in relief. The 23 year old right hander has now turned in five consecutive outings without giving up a run spanning 9 1/3 innings.


A Successful April: Frisco wrapped up a successful April with a 15-9 record and sole possession of first place in the Texas League South. The 'Riders were considered one of the most talented teams in minor league baseball entering the season and haven't done much to disprove that theory. For Frisco, the 15-9 record is tied with 2007 for the second best in franchise history. The only season that the 'Riders have had a better start was 2008 when they went 18-7 in April.




Former 'Riders on the Mound

RHP Neftali Feliz (Texas Rangers) @ Toronto Blue Jays
RHP Edinson Volquez (San Diego Padres) vs. Milwaukee Brewers
LHP Michael Kirkman (Round Rock Express) @ New Orleans Zephyrs
RHP Doug Mathis (Pawtucket Red Sox) @ Toledo Mud Hens
LHP Robbie Erlin (San Antonio Missions) vs. Frisco RoughRiders
RHP Kyle Hendricks (Myrtle Beach Pelicans) @ Frederick Keys


Minor League Baseball Titanium Sombrero Count: 2

Minor League Baseball Platinum Sombrero Count: 6

Minor League Baseball Golden Sombrero Count: 107

Minor League Baseball Sombrero Count: 907





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- Michael Damman