Game 113: San Antonio Missions (Casey Kelly) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Carlos Pimentel)

Time: 6:05 PM CT
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (21-21 6 games back in the Texas League South; 61-51 overall)... San Antonio Missions (27-15 1st place in the Texas League South; 76-36 overall)
Magic Number: 17
Streak: Lost 3 in a row
Last 10: 3-7
Homestand: 0-2
Series Record: 15-12-4
2011 Record against San Antonio: 9-17
All-Time Record against San Antonio: 119-124
Record on August 7th Since 2004: 3-3
Starting Pitchers: Carlos Pimentel (4-8 5.71 ERA) vs. Casey Kelly (10-4 4.15 ERA)


Frisco Gets Down Early, Falls to San Antonio: Last time Frisco faced San Antonio they split the road series against the Missions. If they are going to do that again they will need to win the next two after falling for the second game in as many days to the Missions by a score of 5-1. Frisco gave up 4 runs over the first 4 innings and found themselves down 4-1 early before giving up a run in the 7th. Now, Frisco will have to beat two of the top pitching prospects in the San Diego Padre's system in Casey Kelly and Robbie Erlin.

Snyder Struggles Early, Pitches Into 7th: Ben Snyder has 8 wins this season for Frisco and 11 overall in his career as a RoughRider, but on Saturday he wasn't able to push it to #9 and 12. Snyder gave up 4 runs over the first 4 innings and ended up giving up 5 over 6 2/3 innings in the start. He allowed 8 hits, 2 walks, and did not strikeout a batter.

Inning by Inning Count

1: 19 Pitches- 10 Strikes- 1 Called- 0 Swinging- 6 Fouls- 9 Balls- 3 BPIP- 1 BB
2: 21 Pitches- 14 Strikes- 3 Called- 3 Swinging- 3 Fouls- 7 Balls- 5 BPIP- 2 Hits
3: 20 Pitches- 12 Strikes- 3 Called- 0 Swinging- 4 Fouls- 8 Balls- 5 BPIP- 2 Hits
4: 10 Pitches- 8 Strikes- 0 Called- 1 Swinging- 2 Fouls- 2 Balls- 5 BPIP- 2 Hits
5: 13 Pitches- 8 Strikes- 3 Called- 0 Swinging- 2 Fouls- 5 Balls- 3 BPIP
6: 8 Pitches- 6 Strikes- 2 Called- 0 Swinging- 0 Fouls- 2 Balls- 4 BPIP- 1 Hit
7: 11 Pitches- 3 Strikes- 1 Called- 0 Swinging- 0 Fouls- 8 Balls- 2 BPIP- 1 BB- 1 HIt

Total: 102 Pitches- 61 Strikes- 13 Called- 4 Swinging- 17 Fouls- 41 Balls- 27 BPIP- 2 BB- 8 Hits

Stoneburner Gets Another Multi Hit Game: Davis Stoneburner finished Saturday's game with a 2 for 3 day including a hit by pitch in the 9th inning and the lone run scored. It was his 4th multi hit game in his last 10 as he is now batting .333 (9 for 27) in the month of August and .284 for the season (97 for 341).

Run Production Drought: Mike Bianucci drove in a run on Saturday, which was his 5th in his last 10 games and just his 21st over the 41 games since the second half began. That follows a first half where the designated hitter had 54 RBI in 67 games for Frisco.

Passed Ball Oddity: On Saturday the pressbox saw a first for the Frisco RoughRiders and their opponents. There were 3 passed balls in the same game by the two teams combined. But it wasn't just that, as there were 3 passed balls by 3 different catchers in the same game. Elio Sarmiento, Nick Hundley, and Ali Solis all had a passed ball in the game. It's very rare that there are 1 or 2 passed balls in a game at Frisco, let alone three by three different catchers.


Ali "See Ya Later" Solis: He only had one at bat on Saturday and did not play on Friday, but Ali Solis continued his struggles in Frisco on Saturday. Solis struck out in his one at bat, which was the 12th time that he has struck out in 23 at bats in Frisco this season. He is 1 for 23 in Frisco as well. In other words he has as many hits as trash cans hit in Frisco too. 


Osuna Reaches 317: With 2 hits on Sunday Renny Osuna could tie Steve Murphy's franchise best of 319 hits as a Frisco RoughRider and with 3 hits he would pass Murphy. Osuna went 1 for 4 on Saturday to get to 317 for his career. This is Osuna's 2nd full season in Frisco as he came up late in the 2009 season.


Tracking Texas League Homeruns: 849 homeruns in 888 games (0.956 HR/G)

Term of the Day: Banner Year- A highly successful season enjoyed by a player, a team, or baseball itself.

Last Year on This Date: Frisco lost 10-2 to the San Antonio Missions on the road. Michael Schlact started for Frisco and gave up 5 hits, 3 walks, and 5 runs over 5 innings with 3 strikeouts. Adalberto Flores gave up 5 runs in 2 innings of relief, while Tim Murphy pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Joey Butler and James Tomlin led Frisco with a 2 for 4 day a piece. Jonathan Greene added a 1 for 4 day with a double, RBI, and run scored for the Riders. Marcus Lemon and Davis Stoneburner each had a 1 for 4 day. Andy Jenkins went 1 for 4 with a run scored.

As always...

A special thanks to any blog followers from Magic City, ID!

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
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And Check Out the Riders Insider Blog for more Frisco RoughRiders info: http://ridersinsider.mlblogs.com/

- By Michael Damman

Game 112: San Antonio Missions (Simon Castro) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Ben Snyder)

Time: 7:05 PM CT
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (21-20 5 games back in the Texas League South; 61-50 overall)... San Antonio Missions (26-15 1st place in the Texas League South; 75-36 overall)
Magic Number: 17
Streak: Lost 2 in a row
Last 10: 3-7
Homestand: 0-1
Series Record: 15-12-4
2011 Record against San Antonio: 9-16
All-Time Record against San Antonio: 119-123
Record on August 6th Since 2004: 4-3
Starting Pitchers: Ben Snyder (8-3 4.39 ERA) vs. Simon Castro (3-5 5.34 ERA)

Frisco Loses For First Time On August 5th: For the first time since 2004 Frisco lost on August 5th. It was the only day that Frisco had not lost on before Friday night's 4-2 loss to the San Antonio Missions. Frisco's batters struck out 15 times and their pitchers walked 10 times en route to the loss to the first place Mission's team. Due to Midland winning as well, Frisco's magic number remains at 17 making it harder for the Riders to clinch this homestand if the Missions are to stay in first place in the division in the second half.

Ramirez's Short Start: Neil Ramirez was only expected to make about 50 pitches on Friday in his Frisco debut, so the expectations were not for him to last too long in the game. He finished up going 2 1/3 innings in the start, did not allow a hit, walked 2 batters, and struck out 3, all in the first inning. He made 48 pitches, and 30 of them went for strikes. He also threw first pitch strikes to 4 of the 9 batters he faced.

Inning by Inning Count

1: 22 Pitches- 14 Strikes- 4 Called- 4 Swinging- 6 Fouls- 8 Balls- 0 BPIP- 1 Called K- 2 Swinging K- 1 BB
2: 17 Pitches- 9 Strikes- 3 Called- 1 Swinging- 2 Fouls- 8 Balls- 3 BPIP- 1 BB
3: 9 Pitches- 7 Strikes- 2 Called- 0 Swinging- 4 Fouls- 2 Balls- 1 BPIP-

Total: 48 Pitches- 30 Strikes- 9 Called- 5 Swinging- 12 Fouls- 18 Balls- 4 BPIP- 1 Called K- 2 Swinging K- 3 BB

Sarmiento Gets #4: Elio Sarmiento came into 2011 with 7 career triples, including a career high of 3 in a season. On Friday night, Sarmeinto knocked his 4th triple of the season, which is one short of the team high of 5 held by Davis Stoneburner and Engel Beltre. The triple, hit to deep centerfield, was Sarmiento's lone hit for the game.

Twice Is Not Always Nice: Five Frisco RoughRider's hitters struck out at least twice in the game on Friday, including 3 times for both Tommy Mendonca and Jonathan Greene. Stoneburner, Mike Bianucci, and Sarmiento all struck out twice in the game as well. Greene and Mendonca are both over the 120 mark on the season for strikeouts, while Bianucci sits at 110. It is the first time that Frisco has had two players with 120 or more strikeouts in the same season. Since striking out 21 times in 18 games in April (1.17 K/G) , Greene has struck out 105 times over his last 83 games (1.27 K/G) The only Frisco RoughRider to not strikeout in the game was Jose Ruiz, who went 1 for 3 with a hit by pitch.

Speaking of Hit by Pitches: Jose Ruiz's hit by pitch was his 2nd of the season, but more notably it was the 63rd time that a Frisco RoughRider's hitter has been hit by a pitch this season. That is already the 4th most that a Frisco RoughRider's team has been hit by pitches in a season. The record is 77 set by the 2004 team. Jonathan Greene leads the team with 15 on the season, which is one shy of tying Craig Gentry's Frisco RoughRider season high of 16 in 2009.

Snyder Goes for #12: When he takes the mound today, Ben Snyder will be aiming for win #12 as a Frisco RoughRider. He currently is tied with 9 other pitchers at 11 wins for the 10th best total as a Frisco RoughRider. This season Snyder has 8 wins while splitting time between the bullpen and the rotation. Jonathan Greene and Mike Bianucci are also tied for 9th with Chris Davis for the most homeruns as a Frisco RoughRider with 25 each. Greene's 25 come over 3 seasons, while Davis's was over 2 and Bianucci's is over 1. Bianucci's 25 this season is the 3rd best season total by a RoughRider.

Tracking Texas League Homeruns: 840 homeruns in 882 Games (0.952 HR/G)

Term of the Day: Polished Deception- The use of style and grace by a pitcher to mask his mechanical weaknesses.

Last Year on This Date: Frisco lost 8-4 on the road to the San Antonio Missions. Martin Perez started for Frisco and gave up 6 hits, 2 walks, and 4 runs over 2 1/3 innings with 2 strikeouts. Brennan Garr pitched in relief and gave up 5 hits and 2 runs over 2 2/3 innings of relief. Tyler Tufts pitched a scoreless inning of relief, while Mark Hamburger gave up 2 runs over 2 innings of relief. Johnny Whittleman led Frisco's offense with a 2 for 4 game including a walk. Andy Jenkins went 1 for 4 with a RBI and a walk, while Jose Felix went 2 for 4 with a RBI and Jonathan Greene went 2 for 5 with a run scored for the Riders. Marcus Lemon added a hit in 5 at bats with a RBI and Davis Stoneburner went 1 for 4 with a hit by pitch. James Tomlin and Joey Butler each added a hit as well.

As always...

A special thanks to any blog followers from Smileyberg, KS!

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
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And Check Out the Riders Insider Blog for more Frisco RoughRiders info: http://ridersinsider.mlblogs.com/

- By Michael Damman

Game 111: San Antonio Missions (Juan Oramas) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Neil Ramirez)

Time: 7:05 PM CT
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (21-19 4 games back in the Texas League South; 61-49 overall)... San Antonio Missions (25-15 1st place in the Texas League South; 74-36 overall)
Magic Number: 17
Streak: Lost 1 in a row
Last 10: 4-6
Road Trip: 3-4
Series Record: 15-12-4
2011 Record against San Antonio: 9-15
All-Time Record against San Antonio: 119-122
Record on August 5th Since 2004: 7-0
Starting Pitchers: Neil Ramirez (0-0 0.00 ERA) vs. Juan Oramas (6-3 3.43 ERA)

Frisco Loses Rubber Match, Series to Midland: Frisco lost their second consecutive series to the Midland Rockhounds with this one being on the road as the Riders lost 3-1 on Thursday's getaway game. Frisco is now 14-8 this season against Midland and enters a 4 game set with the division leading San Antonio Missions as the first of 3 home series during a 10 game, 11 day homestand. The homestand is the longest of the season as Frisco will take on the Missions and then finish up the last home games of the season against the Texas League North with 3 with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals and 3 with the Tulsa Drillers. They do, however, have a rare off day during the middle of the homestand on Tuesday. I'm not sure the last time Frisco had an off day during the middle of a homestand.


Ross Struggles Early, Dominates Late in AA Debut: Robbie Ross got off to a bit of a tough stretch in the first inning as he allowed three singles and a walk in the first inning en route to 2 early Midland runs. But once the 22 year old got through the first inning jitters he was golden against the Rockhounds. Ross breezed through the second, struck out the side in the third, faced the minimum three batters in the fourth, and after a homerun and a single to leadoff the 5th, Ross retired the next 6 batters to finish his 6 innings. He threw first pitch strikes to 18 of the 23 batters he faced (78%) and ended up with a fine AA debut as he gave up 6 hits, 1 walk, and 3 runs over 6 innings with 6 strikeouts.

Inning By Inning Count

1: 24 Pitches- 12 Strikes- 3 Called- 2 Swinging- 3 Fouls- 12 Balls- 4 BPIP- 1 Swinging K- 1 BB- 1 Hit
2: 10 Pitches- 7 Strikes- 2 Called- 0 Swinging- 2 Fouls- 3 Balls- 3 BPIP
3: 13 Pitches- 9 Strikes- 3 Called- 3 Swinging- 3 Fouls- 4 Balls- 0 BPIP- 3 Swinging K
4: 9 Pitches- 7 Strikes- 1 Called- 1 Swinging- 2 Fouls- 2 Balls- 3 BPIP- 1 Hit
5: 21 Pitches- 14 Strikes- 1 Called- 1 Swinging- 8 Fouls- 7 Balls- 4 BPIP- 1 Swinging K- 2 Hits
6: 14 Pitches- 10 Strikes- 4 Called- 1 Swinging- 3 Fouls- 4 Balls- 2 BPIP- 1 Called K

Total: 91 Pitches- 59 Strikes- 14 Called- 8 Swinging- 21 Fouls- 32 Balls- 16 BPIP- 1 Called K- 5 Swinging K- 1 BB- 6 Hits

Greene Continues to Hit: For the first time in quite some time since early in the season, Jonathan Greene leads the Frisco RoughRiders in batting average with a .301 average. That is thanks to a 2 for 3 game on Thursday with a walk and his 4th stolen base of the season. Greene is batting .324 with a .970 OPS over his last 10 games and .304 since July 1st. He's proven to be able to hit anybody and has excelled in situations that most guys who strikeout a lot probably would not. With runners in scoring position, Greene is batting .320/.402/.515/.917 this season. With the bases empty he is batting .301 and with runners on, he's batting .302. He is hitting .307 against left handers, but also .299 against right handers. He has consistently produced for Frisco this season, no matter the situation.

Ruiz Gets 2 Hits Again: For the third straight game, Jose Ruiz went 2 for 4 and he added his 3rd double in the last 3 games. Ruiz had 5 2 hit games on the 7 game road trip and reached base in 6 of the 7 games. Now he comes back home to a ballpark that he has hit .297/.356/.560/.916 this season. Although he will have to defy the odds opponent wise:

vs. San Antonio:  .256/.327/.395/.722--- 86 AB
vs. Northwest Arkansas:  .200/.190/.350/.540 --- 20 AB
vs. Tulsa Drillers:  .273/.333/.455/.788---22 AB
Total: .250/.308/.398/.706---128 AB

With 2 Hits, Osuna Is 5 Away: Renny Osuna went 2 for 5 in the game against Midland on Thursday which puts him 4 hits away from tying all-time leader Steve Murphy, who had 319 hits as a Frisco RoughRider, and is 5 away from becoming the all-time hits leader. Hint: Ranger's brass, now wouldn't be a very nice time to promote Renny Osuna to AAA. Osuna is also a double from reaching 20 this season for Frisco and would become the 6th Frisco RoughRider with 20+ doubles, which would be a first in team history. Over roughly 2 seasons with Frisco, Osuna has been a .285 hitter and has knocked 47 doubles, 8 triples, 12 homeruns, and stolen 33 bases. His 8 homeruns this season are two times the amount of his next best season.

Offense: For the second consecutive game, the Frisco RoughRider's lineup finished one hitter shy of having everybody in the lineup with a hit. On Wednesday it was Renny Osuna who went 0 for 5 and on Thursday it was Mitch Hilligoss who went 0 for 4 in the game. The offense has not had trouble with getting hits, but it has had trouble getting runners in from second or third. On Thursday the offense went 2 for 13 with RISP and left 11 on base as a team total.

Ya(w)n: Just another ho hum scoreless performance from Johan Yan, the 22 year old right handed reliever for Frisco. Yan got promoted from Myrtle Beach (High-A) when Martin Perez was promoted to AAA and has been nothing short of consistently good for Frisco thus far. Yan has appeared in 8 games, has pitched 12 2/3 innings, allowed 7 hits, 0 runs, walked 5, and struck out 7. This season between high-A and AA, Yan has appeared in 34 games, pitched 54 innings, given up 40 hits, walked 18 batters, struck out 55, and has just a 1.17 ERA out of the bullpen. 


Tracking Texas League Homeruns: 834 Homeruns in 874 Games (0.954 HR/G)

Term of the Day: Gonfalonia Interruptus- A facetious, psudo-medical term for the struggles of a team bogged down in its quest for the pennant.

Last Year on This Date: Frisco defeated the Midland Rockhounds 7-3 at home. Ben Snyder started for Frisco and gave up 6 hits, 3 walks, and 3 runs over 5 innings with 2 strikeouts. Chris Mobley pitched a scoreless inning of relief and Beau Jones pitched 3 scoreless innings of relief for his 3rd save. Johnny Whittleman led Frisco's lineup with a 3 for 4 game including a double, 2 RBI, walk, and run scored. Davis Stoneburner went 2 for 3 with a walk in the game for the Riders. Jonathan Greene went 1 for 4 with a homerun and 2 RBI. Marcus Lemon reached base three times with 3 walks. Elio Sarmiento and James Tomlin each added a hit as well, while Andy Jenkins added a hit and a RBI.

As always...

A special thanks to any blog followers from Beebeetown, IA!

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 at: www.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

Game 110: Frisco RoughRiders (Robbie Ross) @ Midland Rockhounds (Gary Daley)

Time: 7:00 PM CT
Location: Citibank Ballpark (Midland, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (21-18 2 games back in the Texas League South; 61-48 overall)... Midland Rockhounds (18-21 5 games back in the Texas League South; 46-63 overall)
Magic Number: 17
Streak: Won 1 in a Row
Last 10: 5-5
Road Trip: 3-3
Series Record: 15-11-4
2011 Record against Midland: 14-7
All-Time Record against Midland: 117-104
Record on August 4th Since 2004: 3-3
Starting Pitchers: Robbie Ross (0-0 0.00 ERA) vs. Gary Daley (4-4 4.68 ERA)

Frisco Back On Winning End: After Losing a tough 11 inning game to San Antonio on Monday and a slugfest on Tuesday, Frisco took advantage of 3 Midland errors and scored in 4 different innings en route to a 6-3 victory over the Midland Rockhounds. The win pushed their magic number to 17 to clinch a playoff spot as long as San Antonio were to win the division for the second half. Or Frisco could use their up coming 4 game home series with the Missions to take over first place alone.

Richard Bleier Better In Win: Bleier moved to 4-6 on the season with one of his better starts. He gave up 8 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs (1 earned) over 5 innings with 2 strikeouts.

Inning By Inning Count

1: 18 Pitches- 8 Strikes- 4 Called- 1 Swinging- 2 Fouls- 10 Balls- 1 BPIP- 1 Swinging K- 2 BB
2: 10 Pitches- 7 Strikes- 3 Called- 1 Swinging- 0 Fouls- 3 Balls- 3 BPIP-
3: 18 Pitches- 10 Strikes- 4 Called- 0 Swinging- 1 Foul- 8 Balls- 5 BPIP- 4 Hits
4: 20 Pitches- 14 Strikes- 4 Called- 1 Swinging- 3 Fouls- 6 Balls- 6 BPIP- 3 Hits- 1 ROE
5: 16 Pitches- 10 Strikes- 4 Called- 0 Swinging- 3 Fouls- 6 Balls- 3 BPIP- 1 Called K-1 Hit

Total: 82 Pitches- 49 Strikes- 19 Called- 3 Swinging- 9 Fouls- 33 Balls- 18 BPIP- 1 Called K- 1 Swinging K- 2 Balls- 8 Hits- 1 ROE


Stoneburner Has 2nd Straight 3 Hit Game: For the second day in a row, Frisco second baseman Davis Stoneburner went 3 for 5 with a double in the game and scored 2 runs as well. Stoneburner also stole his 14th base of the season which ties him with Guilder Rodriguez (now in AAA) for the team lead. Stoneburner is now hitting .286 for the season with an OPS closing in on .800 at .792.

Mendonca Goes Deep: For the first time since July 26th Tommy Mendonca sent a ball over the wall for a homerun. He went 2 for 5 with the homerun and 2 RBI. It was also his 6th homerun this season against Midland in 84 at bats. He has a team best 22 RBI against the Rockhounds this season.


Raking Midland: There is something about the Midland Rockhounds that makes Frisco hitters go nuts against their pitching. Frisco could put together a lineup on any given day that features:

Position-Name- Batting Line vs. Midland:
C- Elio Sarmiento: .455/.514/.939/1.453
1B- Jose Ruiz: .333/.426/.614/1.041
2B- Davis Stoneburner: .414/.469/.672/1.141
3B- Tommy Mendonca: .429/.500/.738/1.238
SS- Renny Osuna: .209/.263/.314/.577
LF- Mitch Hilligoss: .353/.389/.529/.918
CF- Engel Beltre: .197/.234/.246/.280
RF- Jonathan Greene: .360/.388/.533/.921
DH- Mike Bianucci: .284/.344/.605/.949

When you have four players with an OPS above 1.000 and three more with an OPS above .900, I think you've got a pretty good chance of scoring some runs.

Justin Miller Steps Up: There may not be a reliever who has been better than Justin Miller for the Frisco RoughRiders this season. He has been nails late in the games for Frisco this season, especially of late. Miller went the entire month of June without allowing a run and gave up just 2 in July in 15 innings. Well, in August, he's gotten off to a pretty good start as well with 2 superb innings on Wednesday to help Frisco win the game. Miller did not allow a baserunner over 2 innings and struck out 2 batters. His swing and miss% of 12.4% is among the best of Frisco's bullpen and his strike% (65.9) and 1st pitch strike% (63.2) are very good as well. He also has been very tough to score upon even when given baserunners as Miller has allowed just 3 of 17 inherited runners score.  To go further, Miller has been especially good in the 8th inning, which could be an inning he could fill in the future at a higher level.

8th Inning
Strike%: 68.9
Swing and Miss%: 14.6
1st Pitch Strike%: 63.3
Inherited Runners-Scored: 7-1 (14.3% scored)
1st Batters Faced- Hits-Strikeouts: 14-3-3

Overall:
vs. LHB: .192/.306/.288/.594
vs. RHB: .205/.254/.303/.557

Tracking the Texas League Homeruns: 830 homeruns in 866 games (0.958 HR/G)

Term of the Day: Human Rain Delay- A batter who takes considerable time preparing to receive each pitch by warming up, swinging the bat, pounding his spikes, moving in and out of the batter's box, adjusting his helmet or batting gloves, calling time, etc. The term was applied specifically to Mike Hargrove and Carlton Fisk.


Last Year on This Date: Frisco lost 7-2 to the Midland Rockhounds at home. Richard Bleier started for Frisco and gave up 8 hits and 5 runs over 7 innings with 6 strikeouts and 0 walks. Tyler Tufts worked a scoreless inning of relief, while Mark Hamburger gave up 2 runs over an inning of work as well. Johnny Whittleman went 2 for 4 with a double at the plate for Frisco while James Tomlin added a 2 hit game in 4 at bats as well. Jonathan Greene went 1 for 4 with a solo homerun for the Riders. Jose Felix, Renny Osuna, and Marcus Lemon each added a hit as well.

As always...

A special thanks to any blog followers from Oddville, KY!

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 at: www.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

Game 109: Frisco RoughRiders (Richard Bleier) @ Midland Rockhounds (Ethan Hollingsworth)

Time: 6:30 PM CT
Location: Citibank Ballpark (Midland, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (20-18 3 games back in the Texas League South; 60-48 overall)... Midland Rockhounds (19-19 4 games back in the Texas League South; 46-62 overall)
Magic Number: 19
Streak: Lost 2 in a row
Last 10: 4-6
Road Trip: 2-3
Series Record: 15-11-4
2011 Record against Midland: 13-7
All-Time Record against Midland: 116-104
Record on August 3rd Since 2004: 3-4
Starting Pitchers: Richard Bleier (3-6 6.48 ERA) vs. Ethan Hollingsworth (4-3 3.78 ERA)

Frisco Gets Down Early, Loses to Midland In Slugfest: Frisco's pitching didn't come to pitch on Monday and the team lost their third straight game to the Midland Rockhounds after winning 13 of their first 16 games against the Oakland Athletic's AA team. Frisco found themselves down 12-3 after 5 innings and even a 2 run 6th and 3 run 8th inning effort felt futile in the blowout loss.

Pimentel Struggles to Worst Start: Carlos Pimentel had the worst start of his career on Monday when he gave up 10 hits, 6 walks, and a career worst 10 runs over 3 2/3 innings. His -4 game score was the first negative game score by a Frisco RoughRider's starter this season and the first by a Texas Ranger's minor league pitcher. Amazingly he threw 101 pitches in 3 2/3 innings, although his 49 strikes was a season best for roughly 4 innings!

Inning By Inning Count

1: 16 Pitches- 8 Strikes- 2 Called- 2 Swinging- 1 Foul- 8 Balls- 3 BPIP- 1 BB- 1 ROE
2: 29 Pitches- 16 Strikes- 7 Called- 2 Swinging- 1 Foul- 13 Balls- 6 BPIP- 1 Called K- 1 BB- 5 Hits-
3: 28 Pitches- 11 Strikes- 1 Called- 2 Swinging- 2 Fouls- 17 Balls- 6 BPIP- 2 BB- 3 Hits
4: 28 Pitches- 14 Strikes- 7 Called- 0 Swinging- 3 Fouls- 14 Balls- 4 BPIP- 2 BB- 2 Hits

Total: 101 Pitches- 49 Strikes- 17 Called- 6 Swinging- 7 Fouls- 52 Balls- 19 BPIP- 1 Called K- 6 BB- 10 Hits- 1 ROE

Offense Does Show Up: Even in the loss there are always positives and it would seem that an offense that had gone surprisingly silent recently woke up in the loss. Over their previous 9 games, the offense had scored 30 runs and instead they broke out for 8 runs in the loss.


Doubles Galore: Frisco set a season high with 7 doubles in the game, including 2 by Davis Stoneburner, Mike Bianucci, and Jose Ruiz. Renny Osuna added a double as well for the 7th double. Bianucci and Ruiz both have 26 doubles on the season now as they are tied for the team best. For Stoneburner it gives him 22 now for the season and Osuna now has 19 doubles this season. One more double by Renny Osuna would give the 2011 RoughRiders 6 players with 20+ doubles which would be a first in the franchise's 9 year existence.

Greene Continues Power Surge: Two games into the month of August and Greene leads the team in homeruns for the month with his first. Greene swatted 7 homeruns in the month of July after hitting 8 in the first 3 months of the season. Greene has 20 within his grasp now with just 4 more to go. He has hit 20 or more homeruns 2 times in his minor league career coming into this season. Greene finished 3 for 4 with the homerun, 2 RBI, and scored 2 runs in the game.

Stoneburner's Day: Davis Stoneburner went 3 for 5 with 2 doubles, a RBI, and a run scored against Midland. He has moved into a regular role in the #2 spot in the lineup and is hitting .275/.338/.465/.802 when batting second.

Ruiz Knocks In Two: Jose Ruiz is the player with the best shot at setting a high for Frisco RoughRiders with 60+ RBI and he just chipped 2 more away as the first baseman went 2 for 4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI. Now batting .277 with 26 doubles, 12 homeruns, and 52 RBI for the season. With 8 more, Frisco will have 4 players at 60+ RBI for the second time in team history, as the 2008 team achieved 4 as well. Last season the team did not have a single player with 60+ RBI as Joey Butler's 59 RBI led the team.

Tracking Texas League Homeruns: 823 homeruns in 858 games (0.959 HR/G)

Term of the Day: Timing- The ability of a batter to judge the speed and path of a pitched ball in correlation with his swing.

Last Year on This Date: Frisco defeated the Midland Rockhounds 9-3 at home. Erasmo Ramirez started for Frisco and gave up 6 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs (1 earned) over 4 1/3 innings with 2 strikeouts. Chris Mobley pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief and earned the win, while Adalberto Flores gave up 1 run over 3 innings for the save. Joey Butler led Frisco with a 2 for 3 game including a homerun, 4 RBI, 2 runs, and a sacrifice fly. Emerson Frostad went 2 for 3 with a double, 3 RBI, a walk, and 2 runs scored. Marcus Lemon added a 2 for 4 game with 3 runs scored. James Tomlin went 3 for 4 with a double and 2 run scored for the Riders. Johnny Whittleman added 2 hits in 4 at bats with a double and 2 RBI. Jonathan Greene added a hit in 4 at bats.

Around the Ranger's System

Yesterday's Record: 1-4

Round Rock (AAA) gave up a run in 6 of their 8 innings on defense and got shutout by the Nashville Sounds 7-0 on the road. Brett Tomko started for Round Rock and gave up 8 hits, 4 walks, and 4 runs (2 earned) over 6 innings with 4 strikeouts. Pedro Strop gave up a run in 1 inning of relief, while Darren O'Day gave up 2 runs in 1 inning of relief. Former Rider Guilder Rodriguez went 2 for 3 in the loss. Nick Green added 2 hits in 4 at bats with a double for the Express. Joey Butler and Matt Kata each went 1 for 4 as well.

Myrtle Beach (High-A) scored 3 runs in the 2nd inning and defeated the Kinston Indians 5-3 on the road. Wilfredo Boscan started for Myrtle Beach and gave up 2 hits, 1 walk, and 2 unearned runs over 5 1/3 innings with 6 strikeouts. Kennil Gomez gave up a run over 1 2/3 innings of relief, while Joe Ortiz got the save with 2 scoreless innings. Vincent DiFazio powered Myrtle Beach with a 3 for 4 game including 2 homeruns and 4 RBI. Santiago Chirino went 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored for the Pelicans. Jared Prince added a 2 for 3 day, while Leury Garcia and Travis Adair each added a hit as well.

Hickory (Low-A) gave up 2 runs in the 4th inning and fell 3-2 to the Hagerstown Suns at home. Luke Jackson started and took the loss after giving up 5 hits, 3 walks, and 3 runs (2 earned) over 5 innings with 2 strikeouts. Ben Henry, Jorge Marban, and Francisco Mendoza combined for 3 shutout innings of relief. Tomas Telis led Hickory with a 2 for 4 game at the plate. Odubel Herrera went 1 for 3 with a RBI, while Kellin Deglan went 1 for 3 with a run scored for the Crawdads. Jurickson Profar drove in a run and went 1 for 4 while Andrew Clark went 1 for 4 as well.

Spokane (Short Season A-Ball) got their best start of the season from Nicholas McBride, but lost 3-1 to the Vancouver Canadians. McBride got a no-decision after giving up 3 hits and 1 run over 7 innings with 4 strikeouts and 0 walks. Andres Perez-Lobo took the loss after giving up 2 runs in 1 inning of relief. Rougned Odor led Spokane with a 2 for 4 game at the plate. Jorge Alfaro added a 1 for 3 day for the Indians. Drew Robinson and Hanser Alberto also added 1 for 3 games.

Minor League Performance of the Day

C.J. Cron wasn't in professional baseball before this summer and the first round pick hasn't taken much time in adjusting to professional pitching. The Angel's top pick had a big day for the Orem Owlz in Orem's 8-3 win over the Ogden Raptors. In the game Cron went 4 for 5 with a double, 3 homeruns, 4 RBI, and 3 runs scored. The first baseman is hitting .298 with 11 homeruns and 32 RBI in 29 games for Orem so far. His OPS for the season is .971. C.J. Cron was selected with the 17th overall pick by the Los Angeles Angels in the 2011 draft. He went to college at the University of Utah.

As always...

A special thanks to any blog followers from Hardscrabble, DE!

Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
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And Check Out the Riders Insider Blog for more Frisco RoughRiders info: http://ridersinsider.mlblogs.com/

- By Michael Damman

Game 108: Frisco RoughRiders (Carlos Pimentel) @ Midland Rockhounds (Shawn Haviland)

Time: 6:30 PM CT
Location: Citibank Ballpark (Midland, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (20-17 2 games back in the Texas League South; 60-47 overall)... Midland Rockhounds (18-19 4 games back in the Texas League South; 45-62 overall)
Magic Number: 19
Streak: Lost 1 in a row
Last 10: 5-5
Road Trip: 2-2
Series Record: 15-11-4
2011 Record against Midland: 13-6
All-Time Record against Midland: 116-103
Record on August 2nd since 2004: 3-2
Starting Pitchers: Carlos Pimentel (4-7 5.06 ERA) vs. Shawn Haviland (4-9 7.42 ERA)

Frisco Loses Finale on Balk with Missions, Splits Series: Frisco and San Antonio played extra baseball for the 7th time this season in 24 meetings and for the 4th time out of those 7 extra inning games, Frisco was on the losing end. Frisco had not gone a 4 game set with San Antonio this season without going extra innings so the odds were Monday was going to be an extra inning game given the first three had ended by the 9th inning. However, this loss ended oddly with Tanner Scheppers balking in the game winning run with the bases loaded and 2 outs in the 11th inning.

Snyder Terrific: Ben Snyder had a rough start against Midland in the last time he took the mound, but on Monday he was much, much better. The other positive news for him is that he won't pitch against Midland over the next four days. Against the Missions Snyder gave up 3 hits, 4 walks, and 1 run over 7 strong innings with 4 strikeouts. It was his longest start of his career.

Inning by Inning Count

1: 19 Pitches- 12 Strikes- 7 Called- 0 Swinging- 3 Fouls- 7 Balls- 2 BPIP- 2 Called K- 1 Hit
2: 11 Pitches- 8 Strikes- 3 Called- 2 Swinging- 2 Fouls- 3 Balls- 1 BPIP- 1 Called K- 1 Swinging K
3: 15 Pitches- 6 Strikes- 2 Called- 0 Swinging- 1 Foul- 9 Balls- 3 BPIP- 2 BB- 1 Hit
4: 11 Pitches- 6 Strikes- 3 Called- 0 Swinging- 0 Fouls- 5 Balls- 3 BPIP- 1 BB
5: 9 Pitches- 8 Strikes- 3 Called- 0 Swinging- 1 Foul- 1 Ball- 4 BPIP- 1 Hit
6: 11 Pitches- 8 Strikes- 3 Called- 0 Swinging- 2 Fouls- 3 Balls- 3 BPIP
7: 16 Pitches- 8 Strikes- 3 Called- 0 Swinging- 3 Fouls- 8 Balls- 2 BPIP- 1 BB

Total: 92 Pitches- 56 Strikes- 24 Called- 2 Swinging- 12 Fouls- 36 Balls- 18 BPIP- 3 Called K- 1 Swinging K- 4 BB- 3 Hits

Osuna's Multi Hit Game: The only RoughRider with more than one hit in the game was Renny Osuna, who's 2 hits brought him to 312 for his Frisco career. With 4 games to go on the road trip, Osuna is 8 hits away from becoming Frisco's all-time hits leader with 320. Steve Murphy (2007-2009) holds the current high with 319 hits. It would be nice if Osuna could break the record in Frisco though with a 10 game homestand coming up it would seem the only things standing in the way would be a promotion to AAA or an injury.

The 60 RBI Club: Jonathan Greene's RBI single in the 2nd inning represented his 60th RBI of the season. To some that may not seem like a huge deal, but to the Statistical Research Department of the Frisco RoughRiders, the RBI represents the third Frisco RoughRider (Tommy Mendonca, 76, and Mike Bianucci, 72) with 60 or more RBIs this season. That means the 2011 Frisco RoughRiders team is the 3rd Frisco team in the 9 year franchise history to have 3 players with 60 or more RBI joining 2003 and 2008. With 10 more RBI from Greene they would be the first Frisco team with 70 or more RBI by 3 players. With Jose Ruiz at 50 and Renny Osuna at 48, there's also a chance to add a couple more to the list of players with 60 or more RBI.

Strikeout Woes: While the homeruns and RBI from the trio of Tommy Mendonca (21 and 76), Mike Bianucci (25 and 72) , and Jonathan Greene (15 and 60) have been tremendous this year for Frisco, they have also come with a price. The trio has struck out 343 times this season and walked just 79 times. It is the first time that Frisco has had 3 players with 100+ strikeouts in a season. A 4.34 K/BB ratio is much higher than you want from your top 3 run producers. Already the second team with 2 players with 20+ homeruns in Frisco's history, if Greene could have an August like his July (7 homeruns) he would join Mendonca and Bianucci as the only Riders trio with 20+ homeruns in a season. I think they'd settle for the first Frisco trio with 15+ homeruns and 60+ RBI though.

Tracking Texas League Homeruns: 820 homeruns in 850 games (0.965 HR/G) still outpacing the record (0.952 HR/G)

Term of the Day: Factory Set- A complete set of baseball cards assembled and collated by the manufacturer rather than by a dealer or collector. It is sold directly to a dealer or card-shop owner, and is not available through the usual retail outlets. The set usually includes a distinct box with a security seal or inner packing to secure the cards.


Last Year on This Date: Frisco lost 4-2 to the San Antonio Missions at home. Michael Schlact started for Frisco and gave up 7 hits, 2 walks, and 4 runs over 5 1/3 innings with 4 strikeouts. Brennan Garr pitched 2 2/3 innings of scoreless ball, while Tyler Tufts pitched a scoreless inning as well. James Tomlin went 3 for 4 with a homerun, RBI, and 2 runs for Frisco. Joey Butler added a 2 for 4 day with a RBI. Renny Osuna went 1 for 3 with a walk for the Riders, while Andy Jenkins also went 1 for 3. Johnny Whittleman chipped in a 1 for 4 game.


Around the Ranger's System

Yesterday's Record: 2-1

Round Rock (AAA) scored 2 runs in each of 4 different innings and defeated the Nashville Sounds 9-4 on the road. Zach Jackson started for Round Rock and gave up 8 hits, 3 walks, and 4 runs (3 earned) over 6 innings with 2 strikeouts. Michael Kirkman and Cody Eppley combined for 3 shutout innings of relief. Leonys Martin went 2 for 6 with a RBI in the game. Chad Tracy added a 2 for 4 game with 2 RBI and a walk. Esteban German added a 2 for 4 game with 2 walks for the Express. Nick Green added a 2 for 5 game with a double and a RBI. Brad Nelson powered up with a 2 for 5 game including a homerun and 2 RBI. Val Majewski added a 2 for 4 game with a RBI and a walk. Matt Kata and Guilder Rodriguez each added a hit in the game as well.

Myrtle Beach (High-A) had the day off.

Hickory (Low-A) scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th and beat the Hagerstown Suns 14-13 in 10 innings. Nick Tepesch started for Hickory and gave up 9 hits, 1 walk, and 5 runs over 5 innings with a strikeout. Andrew Doyle gave up 4 runs in 0 innings of relief. Colby Killian gave up 3 runs in 1 2/3 innings as well, while Ben Rowen gave up a run in 2 1/3 innings and Jimmy Reyes got the win after pitching a scoreless 10th inning. Jurickson Profar went 2 for 4 with 2 walks and 3 runs scored. Christian Villanueva went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI, a walk, 2 stolen bases, and 3 runs scored. Andrew Clark went 3 for 5 with 2 RBI. Alejandro Selen added a 3 for 5 game with a double, homerun, 3 RBI, and 2 runs scored for the Crawdads. Odubel Herrera added a 3 for 5 game with a RBI, a stolen base, and 2 runs scored. Josh Richmond added a 1 for 4 game with 3 RBI and Tomas Telis and Jhonny Gomez each went 1 for 5.  

Spokane (Short Season A-Ball) had the day off

Minor League Performance of the Day

Jhiomar Veras had his entire season practically on Monday. In the Florida Marlin's Gulf Coast League team's 17-5 win over the St. Louis Cardinal's Gulf Coast League team, Veras went 5 for 5 with a double, 2 homeruns, 8 RBI, and 3 runs scored. He came into the game with 0 homeruns, 1 RBI, and 2 doubles through 18 games. He left with 2 homeruns, 9 RBI, and 3 doubles. On the season, the 21 year old outfielder is batting .175 with a .656 OPS. Jhiomar Veras was drafted in the 15th round of the 2011 draft by the Florida Marlins out of Western Oklahoma State College.

As always...

A special thanks to any blog followers from Farmington, CT!

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
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And Check Out the Riders Insider Blog for more Frisco RoughRiders info: http://ridersinsider.mlblogs.com/

- By Michael Damman

Game 107: Frisco RoughRiders (Ben Snyder) @ San Antonio Missions (Casey Kelly

Time: 7:05 PM CT
Location: Nelson Wolff Municipal Stadium (San Antonio, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (20-16 1 game back in the Texas League South; 60-46 overall)... San Antonio Missions (21-15 1st place in the Texas League South; 70-36 overall)
Magic Number: 19
Streak: Won 1 in a row
Last 10: 6-4
Road Trip: 2-1
Series Record: 15-11-3
2011 Record against San Antonio: 9-14
All-Time Record against San Antonio: 119-121
Record on August 1st Since 2004: 5-1
Starting Pitchers: Ben Snyder (8-3 4.68 ERA) vs. Casey Kelly (10-4 4.29 ERA)

                                   Ben Snyder's Spray Chart As a Starting Pitcher

White On Field= Outs; Blue On Field= Hits; White Beyond Fence= HR; Red= Error

Frisco Comes From Behind, Guaranteed Split: In what has been extremely rare this season, the Frisco RoughRiders came back against the San Antonio Missions and won guaranteeing themselves a series split with the Misssions. Frisco got down 3-0 after the 1st inning, but scored 4 unanswered runs to defeat the Missions 4-3 in what was a bullpen game for Frisco after Robbie Erlin was traded to the Padres and ultimately their opponent, the Missions. This will be Frisco's second split or better against San Antonio and the first time they haven't lost a series to the Missions since May 3rd-6th. They had lost 3 consecutive series to the first place team. It is also only San Antonio's 11th split or worse this season. Frisco has 14 splits or worse this year.

Frisco Closes Out Third Straight Winning Month: Since getting off to an 8-14 start in April, Frisco has just kept on winning throughout the rest of the season. Frisco is 52-32 since May 1st (.619 winning%), which is good for the second best record in the Texas League during that time behind San Antonio, which is 55-29 (.655 winning%) since May 1st.

Tufts Gets the Start: Southpaw Robbie Erlin was scheduled to start for Frisco on Sunday, but with the trade to San Diego, it was Tyler Tufts that got the call instead. Tufts gave up 5 hits, 1 walk, and 3 runs over 2 innings without a strikeout in his first start of the season. In 28 appearances as a reliever, Tufts has posted a 2.08 ERA and has given up 41 hits, 4 walks, and struck out 34 batters over 39 innings.


Inning By Inning Count

1: 23 Pitches- 16 Strikes- 4 Called- 1 Swinging- 4 Fouls- 7 Balls- 7 BPIP- 1 BB- 4 Hits
2: 18 Pitches- 11 Strikes- 2 Called- 2 Swinging- 3 Fouls- 7 Balls- 4 BPIP- 0 BB- 1 Hit

Ruiz Drives In 2: Jose Ruiz had a good game for the Riders going 2 for 4 with 2 RBI. He's been struggling at the plate lately, so the game was a much needed productive effort from the first baseman. Over his last 10 games, Ruiz is batting .225 with a .687 OPS. In the month of July Ruiz batted .246 with a season low .746 OPS. He did drive in a season best 17 runs though.

Beltre Finishes Up Best Month: It wasn't pretty and numbers wise it still wasn't that pretty, but Engel Beltre went 1 for 3 with a double and a walk in the last game of July. He finished the month batting .252/.310/.364/.674 with 8 extra base hits in 29 games. It is progress though as Beltre posted a season best in OBP, SLG, and OPS for a month. He also finished with almost as many walks in the month of July (7) as the rest of the season combined (8).

Joe Wieland Dominates July: Even though he is now a San Antonio Mission, everything that Joe Wieland did for Frisco does not just automatically go away. The right hander finished up the month of July 4-0 with a 1.15 ERA in 6 starts for Frisco. He concluded the month and his time in Frisco by no-hitting the team that he will now make his next start for.

Pitching Rules July For Frisco: The Riders ended up going 17-12 in the month of July, which was the best record in the Texas League South for the month and second best in the league behind Northwest Arkansas's 18-11 record. Frisco finished 5 games over .500 for the month due to their stifling pitching, carried by the man above. After posting ERA's of 4.68, 4.46, and 4.64, the Riders pitching staff had a 3.81 ERA in the month of July.

Here are some of the highlighted pitchers

Joe Wieland- See Above

Robbie Erlin- Also now with San Antonio, the southpaw went 1-2 with a 3.77 ERA in 5 starts in the month of July. He struck out 23 batters and gave up just 1 walk over 31 innings.

Justin Miller- Appeared in 10 games out of the bullpen and posted just a 1.20 ERA. He went 1-0 and gave up 10 hits and 7 walks in 15 innings with 14 strikeouts.

Corey Young- The left hander from Shrewsbury, New Jersey gave up 7 hits and 4 walks in 9 2/3 innings with 4 strikeouts. In his 10 appearances, Young had a 0.93 ERA.

Jake Brigham- The right hander started the 2011 season in the rotation and after a little bit of struggle in his transition to the bullpen, Brigham has taken the bull by the horns and been extremely successful and important for Frisco. Brigham appeared in 8 games in July and in 16 innings he has given up 12 hits, 4 walks, struck out 22 batters, and posted a 1.69 ERA. Opponents hit .197 against Brigham in July.

Johan Yan- The quirky delivery of Yan hasn't been up in AA that long but the right hander has already made an impact on Frisco. In 6 appearances, Yan has pitched 9 2/3 innings struck out 6 batters, walked 5, and opponents are hitting .176 against him. He hasn't given up an earned run yet and is 2-0 record wise.

Tanner Scheppers- The hard throwing right hander who is recovering from top prospect status just a year or two ago, made 10 appearances in July and in 12 2/3 innings, he struck out 10 batters, walked 2, and gave up 13 hits with a 2.84 ERA.

Tracking Texas League Homeruns: 817 in 842 games (0.970 HR/G)

Term of the Day: Stat Rat- A player who pays too much attention to his individual performance.

Last Year on This Date: Frisco got shutout by San Antonio at home 5-0. Martin Perez started for Frisco and gave up 8 hits, 2 walks, and 4 runs (3 earned) over 6 innings with 5 strikeouts. Chris Mobley gave up 1 run over 1 inning and Beau Jones pitched 2 scoreless innings of relief. Emerson Frostad provided the only power for Frisco as he went 1 for 4 with a double. James Tomlin went 1 for 4 and Jose Felix went 1 for 3 for the Riders.

Around the Ranger's System

Yesterday's Record: 4-0

Round Rock (AAA) scored a run in 6 of their 9 innings at the plate and defeated the Nashville Sounds 8-4 on the road. Martin Perez started for Round Rock and gave up 8 hits, 2 walks, and 4 runs over 5 innings with 3 strikeouts. Mark Hamburger pitched 2 innings of shutout relief, while Darren O'Day and Merkin Valdez each pitched a scoreless inning. Esteban German led Round Rock with a 5 for 5 day including 2 doubles, 2 RBI, 2 runs scored, and a stolen base. Kevin Cash went 3 for 4 with a double, homerun, 2 RBI, 2 runs scored, and a walk. Matt Kata added a 2 for 4 game including a homerun, 2 RBI, walk, and 2 runs scored for the Express. Chad Tracy went 2 for 5 as well with a RBI. Nick Green and Val Majewski each added a hit as well. Former Rider Joey Butler went 0 for 5 with 5 strikeouts at the plate.

Myrtle Beach (High-A) had their game postponed.

Hickory (Low-A) scored 4 runs in the 5th inning and shutout the Augusta Greenjackets 7-0 on the road. Roman Mendez started for Hickory and gave up 3 hits, 3 walks, and struck out 7 over 6 shutout innings. Jorge Marban pitched 2 scoreless innings of relief, while Matt Thompson pitched a scoreless inning of his own. Christian Villanueva led Hickory with a 3 for 4 game including a RBI, walk, 2 stolen bases, and 2 runs scored. Alejandro Selen added a 3 for 5 game with 2 doubles, 3 RBI, and a run scored for the Crawdads. Josh Richmond went 2 for 5 with 2 doubles, a RBI, and a run scored. Braxton Lane went 3 for 4 with a RBI, walk, stolen base, and run scored. Jurickson Profar went 0 for 3 with 2 walks. Andrew Clark and Odubel Herrera each added a hit as well.

Spokane (Short Season A-Ball) scored 4 runs in the 2nd inning and defeated the Eugene Emeraldes 8-6 at home. Will Lamb started for Spokane and got the win after giving up 4 hits, 5 walks, and 3 runs over 5 innings with 6 strikeouts. Richard Alvarez gave up 3 runs over 2 2/3 innings of relief, while Jerad Eickhoff earned the save with a scoreless 1 1/3 innings. Hirotoshi Onaka went 3 for 5 with a homerun, 3 RBI, and a run scored at the plate for Spokane. Jorge Alfaro went 2 for 3 with a double and 2 runs scored as well. Hanser Alberto finished 2 for 4 with a double, RBI, and 2 runs scored, while Yefry Castillo went 2 for 4 with a triple and a RBI for the Indians. Edwin Garica, Trever Adams, Ruben Sierra Jr., and Drew Robinson each added a hit as well.

Minor League Performance of the Day

Ryan Langerhans was acquired by the Arizona Diamondbacks just a couple days ago, but he's already made an impact on their AAA team, the Reno Aces. In the Ace's 5-4 loss to Fresno, Langerhans went 4 for 5 with 2 homeruns, 4 RBI, drew a walk, and scored 2 runs as well. In his first 3 games for the Reno Aces, Langerhans is 6 for 11 with 3 homeruns, 7 RBI, has a double, a walk, and has scored 3 runs. His OPS over the 3 games is 2.083. On the season overall, Langerhans is batting .324 with 19 homeruns and 44 RBI in 60 games in AAA. His AAA OPS is 1.050 for the season. In his major league career, Langerhans holds a career batting average of .226 with 33 homeruns in 1,459 plate appearances over 9 seasons. Langerhans turned 31 in January of 2011. He was drafted in the 3rd round by the Atlanta Braves in the 1998 draft.

As always...

A special thanks to any blog followers from Guasave, Mexico!

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 at: www.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