Time: 4:00 PM CT
Location: Dickey-Stephens Park (Little Rock, AR)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (4-5 2 games back in the Texas League South)... Arkansas Travelers (4-5 1 game back in the Texas League North)
Starting Pitchers: Carlos Pimentel (0-1 9.00 ERA)... Kyle Hurst (1-0 3.60 ERA)
What to Watch for on the Mound: This is a rematch from this past Monday's game between Frisco and Arkansas... Carlos Pimentel breezed through the first 2 innings in his first start, and got through trouble in the 3rd inning, before getting roughed up a bit in the 4th and 5th innings. Overall, his line was 4+ IP 9 H 4 R 1 BB 5 K, with a wild pitch and a hit batter. Of the 9 hits, 6 of them came in the final 1+ innings. He sat 92-93 with his fastball for most of the game, reaching as high as 95 in the start... Kyle Hurst had a very solid start in the same game and picked up the win for it. He went 5 innings, gave up 6 hits, 2 runs, struck out 3, and did not issue a walk. Both runs came on a homerun given up to Joey Butler. Fortunately for Kyle Hurst, Butler (2 for 2 against Hurst) will not be playing for Frisco this time around.
Catching Fire: Tommy Mendonca homered in each game of the double header on Saturday and went 4 for 7 at the plate. He came into the year with 19 homeruns in 726 career PA in the minor leagues. He hit 10 last year in 477 PA in the California League, which is notorious for being an ofensive ballpark (see Wood, Brandon). But a little over a week into the season and Tommy Mendonca already has 4 homeruns in 33 plate appearances for Frisco. To put it into perspective, if Tommy didn't hit another homerun until July 30th and hit one then, he would equal the amount by the same point that he had in 2010. He had 2 homeruns in the first 3 months last year, which spanned 268 PA. He had 8 the rest of the year, which spanned 206 PA, which is still not great, but it's better. Mix in the 4 he's had to begin the year, and he has 12 in his last 239 PA. Less PA and 6 times the amount of homeruns.
Leading off: Engel Beltre hit 2nd for the Riders for the first 6 games of the season, then moved into the 3 hole with the absence of Butler in the 7th game. For the double header on Saturday, Beltre hit leadoff and with it may have come embraced patience at the plate. Through the first 7 games Beltre walked 1 time and struck out 6 times in 29 at bats. On Saturday, Beltre went to the plate 8 times total, struck out 1 time and walked twice, increasing his walk total to 3 on the season. Beltre hasn't displayed the patience at the plate that one would like to see out of the leadoff role, as his career high walk total is 22, which came in 2007 with all of it coming in short season ball. He walked 21 times in 2010, including 10 times in 47 games in AA. He does have the speed that you'd like to see out of the leadoff spot though.
Brigham Report: Jacob Brigham got his first AA win on Saturday. He pitched ok, as he went 5 innings, gave up 5 hits, 3 runs (all earned), 4 walks, and struck out 4 batters. He had 82 pitches, 48 of which went for strikes (59%) and 4 of the 5 hits were for singles, including 2 that were hit "softly" to the outfield. Two of the four walks were eliminated by double plays and only one of the walks ended up scoring.
Perplexing Numbers: Miguel De Los Santos made his 2nd start of the year and once again struggled with command in the one big, bad inning. He allowed a 2 out, 3 run homerun to Springfield first baseman Matt Adams in the 1st inning, but settled down with 3 consecutive very good innings where he faced the minimum, despite allowing a walk (eliminated by a double play). In the 5th inning, however, De Los Santos walked 3 batters to open the 5th inning, and was then replaced by newly acquired pitcher Ramon Aguero, who allowed all 3 to score in the inning. Miguel's final line was 4+ IP 2 H 6 R (all earned) 5 BB 5 K 1 HR 79 pitches-40 strikes. On the year he has struck out 13 in batters in 8 2/3 innings, but he has also walked 6 batters and given up 10 runs.
Mark It Down: Guilder Rodriguez hit a double in the 4th inning of the first game of the double header. It marked his 45th extra base hit in 2,545 minor league PA and first this season. The double also drove home 2 runs, which ended up being the difference in the game. Through 9 games this year, Rodriguez has 5 RBI.
Another One Bites the Dust: The battle of minor league teams got one shorter as the Modest Nuts gave up an unearned run in their 10-6 win on Saturday night. With 2 more games without an unearned run for both the Riders and the Jacksonville Suns, the battle between the two will continue into at least Sunday. While it may not seem like such a big deal, remember that there are 118 teams ou tthere who have given up an unearned run this year, most of whom have probably played 9 games, although some may not have with rain outs and only 2 that have not. And the Riders are one of them...
Trout Fishing: When Mike Trout left Frisco, the Riders pitchers were probably not too sad to see him go. Trout finished off a ho hum first 2 games with a flourish in the 3rd when he went 3 for 4 with 2 homeruns and 5 RBI. Throughout the series he showed a lot of why he's the #2 prospect in baseball. He showed the power (2 homers), the speed (a bunt single in game 2), and patience (walked 2 times and got on base 7 times out of 14 PA's). He can do a lot of things on the baseball field, but I would guess more than anything it's the speed and patience that intrigues a lot of baseball people. He stole 56 bases last year and has 3 through 9 games this year. He walked 73 times last year to 85 strikeouts and he has walked 7 times this year to 7 strikeouts.
Around the Ranger's System:
Round Rock (AAA) defeated Omaha on Saturday by a score of 9-6. Doug Deeds had 2 doubles for the Express and former Riders Joey Butler and Chad Tracy went 2 for 7 with 2 walks and 4 RBI. Tanner Scheppers gave up 4 hits and 3 runs in 2 innings, but did not give up a walk and struck out 3 batters. Former Rider Cody Eppley pitched a scoreless 9th for his 2nd save. The pitching staff had 12 strikeouts to just 2 walks.
Myrtle Beach (high-A) showed great efficiency by scoring 11 runs on just 7 hits in their 11-4 blasting of Lynchburg. 7 of the 11 runs came in the 9th inning, however to blow things wide open. Jared Hoying had 2 homeruns for the Pelicans and 3 RBI. With the 2 for 4 day he is now hitting .400 on the young season. Barret Loux, who was drafted 6th overall in the 2010 draft, but didn't sign with Arizona, then was granted free agency and signed with Texas, made the start for Myrtle Beach and went 5 solid innings, giving up 5 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, and struck out 4 batters. Tyler Tufts, who was with Frisco briefly last year, got the save.
Hickory (low-A) scored 6 times in the 1st inning and 3 times in the 5th to win 9-5 over the Kannapolis Intimidators. Teodoro Martinez and Jake Skole combined to go 5 for 10 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI, and a stolen base in the game. Justin Grimm made the start for Hickory and went 4 innings, gave up 2 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), walked 3, and struck out 5.
Minor League Game of the Night:
In other minor league news, a former affiliate of the Ranger's, the Bakersfield Blaze, are part of the game of the day probably. Bakersfield is down 20-19 against the Inland Empire 66ers in the top of the 9th inning. The two teams have combined for 44 hits and 7 errors. Inland Empire scored 10 runs in the 6th inning to go from down 16-7 to ahead 17-16 at that point. They were tied 19-19 going into the 9th inning. Dillon Baird for the Inland Empire is 5 for 5 with 2 homeruns, 1 double, 2 walks, and 5 RBI in the game.
As always...
Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
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Sunday, April 17, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Game 8 & 9: Frisco RoughRiders (Brigham/De Los Santos) @ Springfield Cardinals (Hooker/Castillo)
Times: Double header with game 1 starting at 2:07 PM CT
Location: Hammons Field (Springfield, MO)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (3-4 2.5 games back in the Texas League South)... Springfield Cardinals (3-4 1.5 games back in the Texas League North)
Starting Pitchers: Jacob Brigham (0-0 5.40 ERA) vs. Deryk Hooker (0-0 4.15 ERA)... Miguel De Los Santos (0-0 7.71 ERA) vs. Richard Castillo (0-1 0.00 ERA)
What to Watch for on the Mound: With the rain out last night, the same starting pitchers that were scheduled to start yesterday will start in game one. In game two, Miguel De Los Santos will be making his 2nd start of the year and Richard Castillo will be making his 1st start of the year... Miguel De Los Santos pitched 4 2/3 innings against the Arkansas Travelers last Sunday in an 11-4 Frisco win. He pitched outstanding for the first 3 innings, when he threw just 35 pitches (27 for strikes) and struck out 6 of the first 10 batters he faced, including 5 strikeouts in a row. His 4th inning was rough, however, as he gave up 3 doubles in a row at one point and followed that up by giving up a homerun. He finished the game with 6 hits, 1 walk, and 8 strikeouts after 83 pitches (55 strikes)... Richard Castillo makes his first AA start today after 2 relief appearances, including one against the Riders. He appeared on April 8th against Frisco in the 10th inning and took the loss after the winning run scored on a wild throw by him to first base on a sacrifice bunt attempt. In 3 innings this year, Castillo has given up 4 hits, 1 unearned run, walked 1 batter, and struck out 3. Castillo is 21 years old and has spent the last 2 full years and part of 2008, in high-A Palm Beach. Over 62 games/55 starts there he compiled a 4.32 ERA with 336 hits and 134 walks given up in 298 innings.
Rain out: Friday's rain out was the first postponed game of the season for the Frisco Roughriders. It probably won't be the last.
Unearned run list: After Friday's game, Frisco is now down to just three teams to not have given up an unearned run in 2011. The teams remaining are the Jacksonville Suns (who were also rained out last night) and the Modesto Nuts of the California League.
Lineup: The lineup that the Riders were going to use on Friday night will be the game one lineup for the double header. That means Beltre moves into the leadoff role, Bianucci moves will bat 3rd, Mendonca will bat 4th, etc.
Something in the Water in San Antonio?: The Missions scored 23 runs on Monday with 26 hits on the road in Tulsa to win 23-10. On Friday night in San Antonio, the Missions bats were at it again, and maybe more impressively they outdid their Monday performance. The Missions hammered out 26 runs on again 26 hits. Jaff Decker extended his streak of reaching base at least twice in a game to 8 games by going 3 for 5 with 2 homeruns, 4 RBI, 2 walks, and scored 3 runs. Yes, he went to the plate 7 times in 9 innings! Every Missions hitter reached base at least three times, and 8 of the 9 hitters reached base 4 times or more. Five players walked at least twice, 3 players had 4 hits, and 5 different players hit a homerun, including 2 with 2 homeruns. Ironically, it was both Jaff and Cody Decker who had the 2 homerun games. The team had 16 extra base hits in the game. To put that into perspective, Frisco has 19 on the season. The list of amazing feats in the game goes on and on. One thing is for certain, Texas League pitchers better be on the lookout for this Missions offense. Wow!
Around the Ranger's System:
Round Rock (AAA) lost a tough game last night as they were shutout by Omaha 4-0. The Express managed just 4 hits, 2 of which came by former Riders players. Joey Butler went 1 for 4 in his second game with them with a double. He also struck out 3 times in the game. Chad Tracy, who was with Frisco in 2009, went 1 for 4 as well and also had a double. Overall the team struck out 10 times in the game and went 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position.
Myrtle Beach (high-A) was in command for pretty much the whole game last night and defeated Lynchburg 7-2. They led 3-0 early on, then had a 3-2 lead going into the 9th inning when they got 4 runs to all but seal the deal. 20 year old southpaw Robbie Erlin had a very good start as he went 6 innings. Erlin struck out 7 batters, gave up 1 hit, a solo homerun, 1 run, walked 1 batter, and outdueled another good 20 year old pitcher in Arodys Vizcaino. At the plate Michael Olt continued his hot hitting by going 3 for 3 with a double and 2 walks. He's hitting .478 on the young season with a .613 on base percentage.
Hickory (low-A) out hit Kannapolis by 10 hits to 7 hits, but lost the game 5-3 in the end. Matt Thompson went 5 1/3 innings for Hickory and gave up 4 runs, but only 2 were earned. He allowed 5 hits, walked 1 batter, and struck out 6. He also got 7 groundouts to 2 flyouts. On the offensive end, Tomas Tellis continues to pound out the hits as he went 3 for 5 with a double. He is 9 for his last 21 with 3 extra base hits. Top prospect Jurickson Profar went 1 for 4 with a single and a walk at the plate, stole a base, and made his 3rd error of the year on a missed catch. Hickory went just 3 for 14 with RISP in the game.
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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Location: Hammons Field (Springfield, MO)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (3-4 2.5 games back in the Texas League South)... Springfield Cardinals (3-4 1.5 games back in the Texas League North)
Starting Pitchers: Jacob Brigham (0-0 5.40 ERA) vs. Deryk Hooker (0-0 4.15 ERA)... Miguel De Los Santos (0-0 7.71 ERA) vs. Richard Castillo (0-1 0.00 ERA)
What to Watch for on the Mound: With the rain out last night, the same starting pitchers that were scheduled to start yesterday will start in game one. In game two, Miguel De Los Santos will be making his 2nd start of the year and Richard Castillo will be making his 1st start of the year... Miguel De Los Santos pitched 4 2/3 innings against the Arkansas Travelers last Sunday in an 11-4 Frisco win. He pitched outstanding for the first 3 innings, when he threw just 35 pitches (27 for strikes) and struck out 6 of the first 10 batters he faced, including 5 strikeouts in a row. His 4th inning was rough, however, as he gave up 3 doubles in a row at one point and followed that up by giving up a homerun. He finished the game with 6 hits, 1 walk, and 8 strikeouts after 83 pitches (55 strikes)... Richard Castillo makes his first AA start today after 2 relief appearances, including one against the Riders. He appeared on April 8th against Frisco in the 10th inning and took the loss after the winning run scored on a wild throw by him to first base on a sacrifice bunt attempt. In 3 innings this year, Castillo has given up 4 hits, 1 unearned run, walked 1 batter, and struck out 3. Castillo is 21 years old and has spent the last 2 full years and part of 2008, in high-A Palm Beach. Over 62 games/55 starts there he compiled a 4.32 ERA with 336 hits and 134 walks given up in 298 innings.
Rain out: Friday's rain out was the first postponed game of the season for the Frisco Roughriders. It probably won't be the last.
Unearned run list: After Friday's game, Frisco is now down to just three teams to not have given up an unearned run in 2011. The teams remaining are the Jacksonville Suns (who were also rained out last night) and the Modesto Nuts of the California League.
Lineup: The lineup that the Riders were going to use on Friday night will be the game one lineup for the double header. That means Beltre moves into the leadoff role, Bianucci moves will bat 3rd, Mendonca will bat 4th, etc.
Something in the Water in San Antonio?: The Missions scored 23 runs on Monday with 26 hits on the road in Tulsa to win 23-10. On Friday night in San Antonio, the Missions bats were at it again, and maybe more impressively they outdid their Monday performance. The Missions hammered out 26 runs on again 26 hits. Jaff Decker extended his streak of reaching base at least twice in a game to 8 games by going 3 for 5 with 2 homeruns, 4 RBI, 2 walks, and scored 3 runs. Yes, he went to the plate 7 times in 9 innings! Every Missions hitter reached base at least three times, and 8 of the 9 hitters reached base 4 times or more. Five players walked at least twice, 3 players had 4 hits, and 5 different players hit a homerun, including 2 with 2 homeruns. Ironically, it was both Jaff and Cody Decker who had the 2 homerun games. The team had 16 extra base hits in the game. To put that into perspective, Frisco has 19 on the season. The list of amazing feats in the game goes on and on. One thing is for certain, Texas League pitchers better be on the lookout for this Missions offense. Wow!
Around the Ranger's System:
Round Rock (AAA) lost a tough game last night as they were shutout by Omaha 4-0. The Express managed just 4 hits, 2 of which came by former Riders players. Joey Butler went 1 for 4 in his second game with them with a double. He also struck out 3 times in the game. Chad Tracy, who was with Frisco in 2009, went 1 for 4 as well and also had a double. Overall the team struck out 10 times in the game and went 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position.
Myrtle Beach (high-A) was in command for pretty much the whole game last night and defeated Lynchburg 7-2. They led 3-0 early on, then had a 3-2 lead going into the 9th inning when they got 4 runs to all but seal the deal. 20 year old southpaw Robbie Erlin had a very good start as he went 6 innings. Erlin struck out 7 batters, gave up 1 hit, a solo homerun, 1 run, walked 1 batter, and outdueled another good 20 year old pitcher in Arodys Vizcaino. At the plate Michael Olt continued his hot hitting by going 3 for 3 with a double and 2 walks. He's hitting .478 on the young season with a .613 on base percentage.
Hickory (low-A) out hit Kannapolis by 10 hits to 7 hits, but lost the game 5-3 in the end. Matt Thompson went 5 1/3 innings for Hickory and gave up 4 runs, but only 2 were earned. He allowed 5 hits, walked 1 batter, and struck out 6. He also got 7 groundouts to 2 flyouts. On the offensive end, Tomas Tellis continues to pound out the hits as he went 3 for 5 with a double. He is 9 for his last 21 with 3 extra base hits. Top prospect Jurickson Profar went 1 for 4 with a single and a walk at the plate, stole a base, and made his 3rd error of the year on a missed catch. Hickory went just 3 for 14 with RISP in the game.
Station to Listen to the Game on: 1630 AM (KKGM)
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Friday, April 15, 2011
Game 8: Frisco RoughRiders (Jacob Brigham) @ Springfield Cardinals (Deryk Hooker)
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Hammons Field (Springfield, MO)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (3-4 3 games back in the Texas League South)... Springfield Cardinals (3-4 2 games back in the Texas League North)
Streak: Lost 3 in a row
Starting Pitchers: Jacob Brigham (0-0 5.40 ERA) vs. Deryk Hooker (0-0 4.15 ERA)
What to Watch for on the Mound: Both pitchers will be making their 2nd starts of the year... Jacob Brigham pitched against Springfield last Saturday and pitched well despite not getting a decision. In 5 innings of work, he gave up 5 hits, 3 runs (all earned), 1 walk, and struck out 7. His fastball reached mid 90s in the start. Brigham, who missed the 2008 season with Tommy John Surgery, looks to stop the Rider's 3 game losing streak... Deryk Hooker made his first start on April 10th on the road against the Midland Rockhounds. He allowed 2 runs on 7 hits in 4 1/3 innings, while striking out 1 and allowing 1 walk. In 3 of the 4 minor league seasons he has played, Hooker has had a sub 3 ERA and he has a cumulative K/9 ratio of 9.9. He was suspended for 50 games in 2009 for violating the minor league baseball drug policy, but came back with an 8-7 record and a 2.93 ERA with 127 strikeouts in 111 1/3 innings in 2010 between low-A and high-A.
Dealing with an Ace: After struggling in his first start, Martin Perez put his struggles behind him with a stellar start on Thursday. The Ranger's best prospect went 5 shutout innings, gave up 4 hits, 2 walks, struck out a career high 9 batters, and left with a 4-0 lead after throwing 81 pitches, 51 of which went for strikes.
Minor League Leader: Michael Bianucci hit another homerun during the 4th inning on Thursday night. The homerun was his 5th of the year, which tied him for the minor league lead in homeruns with Paul Goldschmidt (Diamondbacks) and Jorge Vazquez (Yankees). He also walked, scored 2 runs, and drove in 2 runs in the game.
Bullpen Woes: When Perez left after 5 with a 4-0 lead, he may have thought that was safe given the bullpen came in with a 3.34 ERA on the early parts of the season. However, the bullpen had an off night as Corey Young gave up 3 runs on 6 hits in 1 1/3 innings, and then Fabio Castillo, who was just activated from the DL, gave up 6 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks in just 1/3 of an inning in his 2011 debut. The Riders went from leading 4-0 to down 9-4 in a matter of 2 innings.
Finding His Stroke: Jonathan Greene went 2 for 4 on Thursday with a double and a RBI. It represented his 3rd straight game with a double as he's 5 for 11 so far in the 2011 season. Consider that in 234 at bats in 2010 he had 9 doubles and 20 total extra base hits, so 3 through 11 looks pretty good.
And the List Gets Shorter: At the beginning of Thursday, the Riders were one of 9 teams in minor league baseball to not have given up an unearned run this season. After another game without an unearned run, the Riders are now one of just 5 teams in minor league baseball and one of just 2 teams at AA or higher, with the Jacksonville Suns (AA affiliate of the Florida Marlins) being the other. It goes to show the kind of defense that Frisco has been playing as they have committed just 2 errors through 7 games in 2011.
Butler's Debut: Joey Butler, who was promoted to AAA in the absence of Hamilton (Davis promoted to replace Hamilton), helped Round Rock to a 7-5 win over Omaha. He went 1 for 2 at the plate with a single, and walked 2 times as well. He was part of an 8th inning rally as the Express scored 3 runs to win 7-5. Butler's run was the go ahead run as he scored on a bases clearing triple by Kevin Cash with the bases loaded and 1 out.
Around the Ranger's System:
As stated Round Rock (AAA) won 7-5 over the Omaha Storm Chasers (Kansas City). Former Rider Chad Tracy went 2 for 4 at the plate with his 1st homerun of the 2011 season. Another former Rider, Zach Phillips, picked up the save (his 2nd on the season) with a perfect 9th inning....
Myrtle Beach (high-A) lost 6-5 to the Frederick Keys (Baltimore). Michael Olt went 1 for 4 with a double and a walk at the plate. Travis Adair reached base 5 times going 2 for 2, including a double with 3 walks. Former Rider Kasey Kiker continues to struggle with command as he took the loss after giving up 3 runs (2 earned) on 1 hit and 4 walks in 1 1/3 innings. Since having a 3.86 ERA and a below average, but moderate 4.7 BB/9 for Frisco in 2009, Kiker has walked 53 batters in his last 42 innings and has a 7.93 ERA during that time...
Hickory (low-A) lost 6-1 to the Savannah Sand Gnats (New York Mets). Nick Tepesch gave up 2 unearned runs in 4 innings of work. He struck out 2, walked none, and gave up 4 singles. 2010 1st round pick Jake Skole went 1 for 4 at the plate and struck out 3 times. Top prospect Jurickson Profar went 1 for 4 with a triple, scored a run, and struck out twice. He also committed 2 errors in the field, one of which was a throwing error. Tomas Tellis went 2 for 4 with a double and a RBI in the game. He has 5 RBI in his last 4 games...
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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Location: Hammons Field (Springfield, MO)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (3-4 3 games back in the Texas League South)... Springfield Cardinals (3-4 2 games back in the Texas League North)
Streak: Lost 3 in a row
Starting Pitchers: Jacob Brigham (0-0 5.40 ERA) vs. Deryk Hooker (0-0 4.15 ERA)
What to Watch for on the Mound: Both pitchers will be making their 2nd starts of the year... Jacob Brigham pitched against Springfield last Saturday and pitched well despite not getting a decision. In 5 innings of work, he gave up 5 hits, 3 runs (all earned), 1 walk, and struck out 7. His fastball reached mid 90s in the start. Brigham, who missed the 2008 season with Tommy John Surgery, looks to stop the Rider's 3 game losing streak... Deryk Hooker made his first start on April 10th on the road against the Midland Rockhounds. He allowed 2 runs on 7 hits in 4 1/3 innings, while striking out 1 and allowing 1 walk. In 3 of the 4 minor league seasons he has played, Hooker has had a sub 3 ERA and he has a cumulative K/9 ratio of 9.9. He was suspended for 50 games in 2009 for violating the minor league baseball drug policy, but came back with an 8-7 record and a 2.93 ERA with 127 strikeouts in 111 1/3 innings in 2010 between low-A and high-A.
Dealing with an Ace: After struggling in his first start, Martin Perez put his struggles behind him with a stellar start on Thursday. The Ranger's best prospect went 5 shutout innings, gave up 4 hits, 2 walks, struck out a career high 9 batters, and left with a 4-0 lead after throwing 81 pitches, 51 of which went for strikes.
Minor League Leader: Michael Bianucci hit another homerun during the 4th inning on Thursday night. The homerun was his 5th of the year, which tied him for the minor league lead in homeruns with Paul Goldschmidt (Diamondbacks) and Jorge Vazquez (Yankees). He also walked, scored 2 runs, and drove in 2 runs in the game.
Bullpen Woes: When Perez left after 5 with a 4-0 lead, he may have thought that was safe given the bullpen came in with a 3.34 ERA on the early parts of the season. However, the bullpen had an off night as Corey Young gave up 3 runs on 6 hits in 1 1/3 innings, and then Fabio Castillo, who was just activated from the DL, gave up 6 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks in just 1/3 of an inning in his 2011 debut. The Riders went from leading 4-0 to down 9-4 in a matter of 2 innings.
Finding His Stroke: Jonathan Greene went 2 for 4 on Thursday with a double and a RBI. It represented his 3rd straight game with a double as he's 5 for 11 so far in the 2011 season. Consider that in 234 at bats in 2010 he had 9 doubles and 20 total extra base hits, so 3 through 11 looks pretty good.
And the List Gets Shorter: At the beginning of Thursday, the Riders were one of 9 teams in minor league baseball to not have given up an unearned run this season. After another game without an unearned run, the Riders are now one of just 5 teams in minor league baseball and one of just 2 teams at AA or higher, with the Jacksonville Suns (AA affiliate of the Florida Marlins) being the other. It goes to show the kind of defense that Frisco has been playing as they have committed just 2 errors through 7 games in 2011.
Butler's Debut: Joey Butler, who was promoted to AAA in the absence of Hamilton (Davis promoted to replace Hamilton), helped Round Rock to a 7-5 win over Omaha. He went 1 for 2 at the plate with a single, and walked 2 times as well. He was part of an 8th inning rally as the Express scored 3 runs to win 7-5. Butler's run was the go ahead run as he scored on a bases clearing triple by Kevin Cash with the bases loaded and 1 out.
Around the Ranger's System:
As stated Round Rock (AAA) won 7-5 over the Omaha Storm Chasers (Kansas City). Former Rider Chad Tracy went 2 for 4 at the plate with his 1st homerun of the 2011 season. Another former Rider, Zach Phillips, picked up the save (his 2nd on the season) with a perfect 9th inning....
Myrtle Beach (high-A) lost 6-5 to the Frederick Keys (Baltimore). Michael Olt went 1 for 4 with a double and a walk at the plate. Travis Adair reached base 5 times going 2 for 2, including a double with 3 walks. Former Rider Kasey Kiker continues to struggle with command as he took the loss after giving up 3 runs (2 earned) on 1 hit and 4 walks in 1 1/3 innings. Since having a 3.86 ERA and a below average, but moderate 4.7 BB/9 for Frisco in 2009, Kiker has walked 53 batters in his last 42 innings and has a 7.93 ERA during that time...
Hickory (low-A) lost 6-1 to the Savannah Sand Gnats (New York Mets). Nick Tepesch gave up 2 unearned runs in 4 innings of work. He struck out 2, walked none, and gave up 4 singles. 2010 1st round pick Jake Skole went 1 for 4 at the plate and struck out 3 times. Top prospect Jurickson Profar went 1 for 4 with a triple, scored a run, and struck out twice. He also committed 2 errors in the field, one of which was a throwing error. Tomas Tellis went 2 for 4 with a double and a RBI in the game. He has 5 RBI in his last 4 games...
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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Thursday, April 14, 2011
Game 7: Frisco RoughRiders (Martin Perez) @ Springfield Cardinals (Nick Additon)
Time: 7:07 PM
Location: Hammons Field (Springfield, MO)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (3-3 2 games back in the Texas League South)... Springfield Cardinals (2-4 3 games back in the Texas League North)
Starting Pitchers: Martin Perez (0-0 6.00 ERA) vs. Nick Additon (0-0 3.00 ERA)
What to Watch for on the Mound: The re-match of last Friday's game in Frisco, Martin Perez and Nick Additon both take the mound for the 2nd time this season... Martin Perez struggled with command in his first minor league start of 2011 last Friday when he went 3 innings allowing 2 walks, 5 hits, and 2 runs. He made 71 pitches in the effort, while he struck out 3 batters. The Ranger's best prospect, Perez will look to regroup and turn in a better performance on the road... Nick Additon countered Perez with a solid performance, but still got a no decision in a 7-6 loss in 10 innings to Frisco. Additon went 6 innings, gave up 5 hits, 2 runs, a homerun, struck out 4, and the southpaw did not issue a walk. He left the game with a 6-2 lead before the Riders scored 5 runs over the last 5 innings.
Promoting a Butler: The injury that Josh Hamilton suffered on Tuesday did not only affect the Texas Rangers, but also the teams within the Ranger's system. Hamilton was placed on the 15 day DL, and the Rangers promoted former Rider Chris Davis, who was hitting the cover off the ball for Round Rock on the early goings, and promoted Rider outfielder Joey Butler to Round Rock. To replace Butler, infielder Erik Morrison was activated from the DL. All of this will leave the Riders with 3 outfielders. Engel Beltre, Michael Bianucci, and David Paisano. As posed by the Riders Insider blog on Wednesday, the question will be who plays right field. Neither Paisano, nor Bianucci have played right field at great lengths in their minor league career, and both are more suited to play left field.
Joey Butler was hitting .316 with 2 homeruns and a team leading 2 steals on the early goings for Frisco.
Smoked Trout: The one game that I will probably miss all year came on Tuesday, a day game (11:00 AM). Three of the 4 regular pressbox staff was not at the game, leaving the Riders to use interns for 3/4ths of the positions. Of course that one game was also the game that Travelers outfielder and Baseball America's #2 prospect, Mike Trout, took off. After going through mostly a slow start this season, Trout had a break through game going 3 for 4 with 2 homeruns, including a grand slam. What makes Trout dangerous is his package of power, speed, and discipline. And he displayed all of it in the last 2 games of the 3 game set. He had a walk and a bunt single in the 2nd game and the 2 homeruns in the 3rd game. On the early part of the season, Trout is batting .318 with a .423 on base percentage, and a 1.150 OPS. His 3 homeruns ties him for 2nd in the Texas League with 2 others (San Antonio's Sawyer Carroll and Tulsa's Tim Wheeler).
Offensive Rankings: Despite struggling the last couple games, the Riders offense is still middle of the pack in the league in most of the stats. Their .802 team OPS ranks 4th out of the 8 teams in the Texas League. Their 8 homeruns (4 of which are from Bianucci) ranks tied for 2nd in the league. Of course the team leading the league in pretty much everything is San Antonio, but 23 of their 46 runs scored came in 1 game, leaving 23 for the other 5 games. This early in the season, a huge game like that can skew a lot of things.
Pitching Rankings: Many of the Rider's pitching stats are pretty good. Their only problem has been they've given up a lot of runs compared to runners on base. Figure that in 55 innings, they've given up 84 baserunners. Yet out of those 84 baserunners, they have given up 32 runs (38%). The Midland Rockhounds lead the league in WHIP, and have allowed 68 baserunners. Only 21 of those have scored (31%). Northwest Arkansas is even lower, as they've allowed 73 baserunners and only 21 have scored (29%).Tulsa has the highest amount of baserunners scoring this year at 51%, but like with San Antonio's offense, much of Tulsa's pitching stats will be skewed based on the one terrible game where they gave up 23 runs.
(Un)Earned Run-less: The Riders pitching staff is the only pitching staff in the Texas League to not have given up an unearned run yet this season.
Attendance: With 6 home games in the books, the Riders attendance ranked best among the 4 teams that have had home games so far in the Texas League. Annually tops in the Texas League and among the best in AA and the minor leagues, Frisco continues to have great support from a great community. The average attendance thus far in the 6 games is 8,104 for a total of 48,629. That is great to see and hopefully the attendance will continue to be that high throughout the year!
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
Location: Hammons Field (Springfield, MO)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (3-3 2 games back in the Texas League South)... Springfield Cardinals (2-4 3 games back in the Texas League North)
Starting Pitchers: Martin Perez (0-0 6.00 ERA) vs. Nick Additon (0-0 3.00 ERA)
What to Watch for on the Mound: The re-match of last Friday's game in Frisco, Martin Perez and Nick Additon both take the mound for the 2nd time this season... Martin Perez struggled with command in his first minor league start of 2011 last Friday when he went 3 innings allowing 2 walks, 5 hits, and 2 runs. He made 71 pitches in the effort, while he struck out 3 batters. The Ranger's best prospect, Perez will look to regroup and turn in a better performance on the road... Nick Additon countered Perez with a solid performance, but still got a no decision in a 7-6 loss in 10 innings to Frisco. Additon went 6 innings, gave up 5 hits, 2 runs, a homerun, struck out 4, and the southpaw did not issue a walk. He left the game with a 6-2 lead before the Riders scored 5 runs over the last 5 innings.
Promoting a Butler: The injury that Josh Hamilton suffered on Tuesday did not only affect the Texas Rangers, but also the teams within the Ranger's system. Hamilton was placed on the 15 day DL, and the Rangers promoted former Rider Chris Davis, who was hitting the cover off the ball for Round Rock on the early goings, and promoted Rider outfielder Joey Butler to Round Rock. To replace Butler, infielder Erik Morrison was activated from the DL. All of this will leave the Riders with 3 outfielders. Engel Beltre, Michael Bianucci, and David Paisano. As posed by the Riders Insider blog on Wednesday, the question will be who plays right field. Neither Paisano, nor Bianucci have played right field at great lengths in their minor league career, and both are more suited to play left field.
Joey Butler was hitting .316 with 2 homeruns and a team leading 2 steals on the early goings for Frisco.
Smoked Trout: The one game that I will probably miss all year came on Tuesday, a day game (11:00 AM). Three of the 4 regular pressbox staff was not at the game, leaving the Riders to use interns for 3/4ths of the positions. Of course that one game was also the game that Travelers outfielder and Baseball America's #2 prospect, Mike Trout, took off. After going through mostly a slow start this season, Trout had a break through game going 3 for 4 with 2 homeruns, including a grand slam. What makes Trout dangerous is his package of power, speed, and discipline. And he displayed all of it in the last 2 games of the 3 game set. He had a walk and a bunt single in the 2nd game and the 2 homeruns in the 3rd game. On the early part of the season, Trout is batting .318 with a .423 on base percentage, and a 1.150 OPS. His 3 homeruns ties him for 2nd in the Texas League with 2 others (San Antonio's Sawyer Carroll and Tulsa's Tim Wheeler).
Offensive Rankings: Despite struggling the last couple games, the Riders offense is still middle of the pack in the league in most of the stats. Their .802 team OPS ranks 4th out of the 8 teams in the Texas League. Their 8 homeruns (4 of which are from Bianucci) ranks tied for 2nd in the league. Of course the team leading the league in pretty much everything is San Antonio, but 23 of their 46 runs scored came in 1 game, leaving 23 for the other 5 games. This early in the season, a huge game like that can skew a lot of things.
Pitching Rankings: Many of the Rider's pitching stats are pretty good. Their only problem has been they've given up a lot of runs compared to runners on base. Figure that in 55 innings, they've given up 84 baserunners. Yet out of those 84 baserunners, they have given up 32 runs (38%). The Midland Rockhounds lead the league in WHIP, and have allowed 68 baserunners. Only 21 of those have scored (31%). Northwest Arkansas is even lower, as they've allowed 73 baserunners and only 21 have scored (29%).Tulsa has the highest amount of baserunners scoring this year at 51%, but like with San Antonio's offense, much of Tulsa's pitching stats will be skewed based on the one terrible game where they gave up 23 runs.
(Un)Earned Run-less: The Riders pitching staff is the only pitching staff in the Texas League to not have given up an unearned run yet this season.
Attendance: With 6 home games in the books, the Riders attendance ranked best among the 4 teams that have had home games so far in the Texas League. Annually tops in the Texas League and among the best in AA and the minor leagues, Frisco continues to have great support from a great community. The average attendance thus far in the 6 games is 8,104 for a total of 48,629. That is great to see and hopefully the attendance will continue to be that high throughout the year!
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
Monday, April 11, 2011
Game 5: Arkansas Travelers (Kyle Hurst) vs. Frisco Roughriders (Carlos Pimentel)
The Riders used a 5 run 4th inning to pull away from the Arkansas Travelers to win 11-4 for their 600th franchise victory on Sunday evening. The Riders play Arkansas in the 2nd game of a 3 game set on Monday night.
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco Roughriders (3-1 1 game back of Midland in the Texas League South) vs. Arkansas Travelers (0-4 3 games back of Tulsa in the Texas League North)
Starting Pitchers: Carlos Pimentel (0-0 0.00 ERA) vs. Kyle Hurst (0-0 0.00 ERA)
How they got there: Carlos Pimentel was signed as an international free agent in 2006... Kyle Hurst was drafted in the 36th round of the 2008 draft.
What to watch for on the Mound: Carlos Pimentel will be making his 2nd career start for Frisco, while Kyle Hurst will be making his AA debut... Carlos Pimentel, who won't turn 22 until December, went through a bit of a rough 2010 season after pitching well the previous 2 years in short season A and low-A. Pimentel went 7-8 with a 5.16 ERA between high-A and AA last year. He gave up 145 hits in 127 1/3 innings pitched, while also walking 57 batters to 99 strikeouts... Kyle Hurst will be making his 15th career minor league start over 3 going on 4 seasons in the minor leagues. While working mostly out of relief, Hurst went 9-5 with a 4.71 ERA between low-A and high-A in 2010. He appeared in 33 games, making 7 starts (all of which came at the high-A level). In 78 1/3 innings pitched, he gave up 74 hits, 24 walks, and struck out 64 batters.
Going Streaking: With a homerun in the 1st inning to left field, Michael Bianucci extended his streak of 4 games with a extra base hit and a RBI. He currently leads the Texas League in home runs, RBI, total bases, slugging%, and OPS. He's also tied with fellow Ranger and former Rider Chris Davis (Round Rock- AAA) and the Diamondback's Paul Goldschmidt (Mobile- AA) for the most homeruns in the minor leagues and tied with Boston's Brandon Jacobs (Greeneville- A) for the 2nd most RBI behind Chris Davis.
Frisco Debut of Miguel De Los Santos: Before having a hiccup in the 4th inning, Miguel De Los Santos had pitched about as effectively (and dominantly) as possible. He threw 27 strikies in 35 pitches through 3 innings and struck out 8 batters overall, including 5 in a row at one point. Of the 8 strikeouts, 4 were looking. In an at bat to Jay Brossman, he threw 3 curveballs, 3 strikes, all looking. He sat low 90s on his fastball with his curveball being in the 73-77 range throughout the start, on the stadium gun. Three straight doubles, followed by a homerun in the 4th inning, however, hurt his line. It coincided with a lack of command, as his ball total went from 8 through 3 innings to 20 in the next 1 2/3 innings.
Bean Count: Riders batters have gotten hit by 8 pitches through 4 games this season. If that pace continued, they would get hit by 280 pitches in the season!
Young RoughRiders: Baseball America recently came out with a list of youngest players at each level from low-A to the majors. The Frisco Roughriders led the Texas League with 4 players on the top 10 list. LHP Martin Perez (#2), RHP Carlos Pimentel (#7), CF Engel Beltre (#8), and RHP Wilfredo Boscan (#9) were the four that made the list. Three of them are in the Rider's rotation. Martin Perez would also be listed as the 3rd youngest player in AA right now. For more you can see the list at http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/2011/04/whos-the-youngest-in-each-league/
Weekend Crowd: The crowds at Dr. Pepper Ballpark this weekend were great all the way around. Fridays and Saturdays are almost always sellouts, but on Sunday the Riders had another sellout crowd of 10,216, giving them 3 sellout crowds over the weekend. Overall, the total of attendance over the 3 games was 32,098! It's always nice to see a big crowd, especially once that fills up the berm in centerfield. Thanks to those who came out and supported Frisco.
Record Books Watch: Guilder Rodriguez had a steal on Sunday to give him 25 for his career, which brought him into a tie with Drew Meyer and Ben Harrison for 8th on the all time list.... Renny Osuna had 2 more hits to give him 197, which ties him with Ruddy Yan for 8th on the all time list.
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
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco Roughriders (3-1 1 game back of Midland in the Texas League South) vs. Arkansas Travelers (0-4 3 games back of Tulsa in the Texas League North)
Starting Pitchers: Carlos Pimentel (0-0 0.00 ERA) vs. Kyle Hurst (0-0 0.00 ERA)
How they got there: Carlos Pimentel was signed as an international free agent in 2006... Kyle Hurst was drafted in the 36th round of the 2008 draft.
What to watch for on the Mound: Carlos Pimentel will be making his 2nd career start for Frisco, while Kyle Hurst will be making his AA debut... Carlos Pimentel, who won't turn 22 until December, went through a bit of a rough 2010 season after pitching well the previous 2 years in short season A and low-A. Pimentel went 7-8 with a 5.16 ERA between high-A and AA last year. He gave up 145 hits in 127 1/3 innings pitched, while also walking 57 batters to 99 strikeouts... Kyle Hurst will be making his 15th career minor league start over 3 going on 4 seasons in the minor leagues. While working mostly out of relief, Hurst went 9-5 with a 4.71 ERA between low-A and high-A in 2010. He appeared in 33 games, making 7 starts (all of which came at the high-A level). In 78 1/3 innings pitched, he gave up 74 hits, 24 walks, and struck out 64 batters.
Going Streaking: With a homerun in the 1st inning to left field, Michael Bianucci extended his streak of 4 games with a extra base hit and a RBI. He currently leads the Texas League in home runs, RBI, total bases, slugging%, and OPS. He's also tied with fellow Ranger and former Rider Chris Davis (Round Rock- AAA) and the Diamondback's Paul Goldschmidt (Mobile- AA) for the most homeruns in the minor leagues and tied with Boston's Brandon Jacobs (Greeneville- A) for the 2nd most RBI behind Chris Davis.
Frisco Debut of Miguel De Los Santos: Before having a hiccup in the 4th inning, Miguel De Los Santos had pitched about as effectively (and dominantly) as possible. He threw 27 strikies in 35 pitches through 3 innings and struck out 8 batters overall, including 5 in a row at one point. Of the 8 strikeouts, 4 were looking. In an at bat to Jay Brossman, he threw 3 curveballs, 3 strikes, all looking. He sat low 90s on his fastball with his curveball being in the 73-77 range throughout the start, on the stadium gun. Three straight doubles, followed by a homerun in the 4th inning, however, hurt his line. It coincided with a lack of command, as his ball total went from 8 through 3 innings to 20 in the next 1 2/3 innings.
Bean Count: Riders batters have gotten hit by 8 pitches through 4 games this season. If that pace continued, they would get hit by 280 pitches in the season!
Young RoughRiders: Baseball America recently came out with a list of youngest players at each level from low-A to the majors. The Frisco Roughriders led the Texas League with 4 players on the top 10 list. LHP Martin Perez (#2), RHP Carlos Pimentel (#7), CF Engel Beltre (#8), and RHP Wilfredo Boscan (#9) were the four that made the list. Three of them are in the Rider's rotation. Martin Perez would also be listed as the 3rd youngest player in AA right now. For more you can see the list at http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/2011/04/whos-the-youngest-in-each-league/
Weekend Crowd: The crowds at Dr. Pepper Ballpark this weekend were great all the way around. Fridays and Saturdays are almost always sellouts, but on Sunday the Riders had another sellout crowd of 10,216, giving them 3 sellout crowds over the weekend. Overall, the total of attendance over the 3 games was 32,098! It's always nice to see a big crowd, especially once that fills up the berm in centerfield. Thanks to those who came out and supported Frisco.
Record Books Watch: Guilder Rodriguez had a steal on Sunday to give him 25 for his career, which brought him into a tie with Drew Meyer and Ben Harrison for 8th on the all time list.... Renny Osuna had 2 more hits to give him 197, which ties him with Ruddy Yan for 8th on the all time list.
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
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Game 4: Arkansas Travelers (Eddie McKiernan) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Miguel De Los Santos)
The Riders suffered their first loss of the season on Saturday night in front of the 2nd largest crowd (11,666) in Frisco RoughRider franchise history.
Time: 4:00 PM
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (2-1 1 game back of the Midland Rockhounds in the Texas League South)... Arkansas Travelers (0-3 2 games back of the Tulsa Drillers in the Texas League North)
Starting Pitchers: Miguel De Los Santos (0-0 0.00 ERA) vs. Eddie McKiernan (0-0 0.00 ERA)
How they got there: Miguel De Los Santos was signed as an international free agent in 2006... Eddie McKiernan was a 17th round pick in the 2007 draft.
What to Watch for On the Mound: Both starting pitchers will be making their AA debuts today, although Eddie McKiernan does have 7 appearances in AAA... Baseball America listed Miguel De Los Santos as the Texas Ranger's #10 prospect in their system. The 22 year old southpaw sits in the low 90s with his fastball and has a plus changeup. He has dominated hitters at the rookie and low-A levels the last couple years. He struck out 182 batters over the last 2 years in 102 1/3 innings pitched (16 K/9 IP). He skipped high-A to get to Frisco... Eddie McKiernan spent most of 2010 in high-A Rancho Cucamonga as a reliever. He appeared in 55 games for them, while posting a 3.40 ERA there. This will be his first minor league start of his career, one that has spanned 4 seasons.
Men-Goner: Tommy Mendonca went deep for the 2nd time in as many games with a blast to dead centerfield in the 2nd inning off of Kevin Thomas. To put into perspective how tough that is to do, Kevin Thomas hadn't given up a homerun to a player since the 2009 season, spanning at least 107 innings pitched. Mendonca now has 2 homeruns in 10 at bats. He had 10 homeruns in 419 at bats in 2010 in a league that is notorious for being an offensive league.
Osuna Pases Botts: With a single in the 5th inning, Renny Osuna got his 195th hit as a Frisco Roughrider moving him into sole possession of 9th place on the all time hits list for Frisco. He was tied at 9th with Jason Botts before. Next on the list is Ruddy Yan at 197. The all time hits leader for Frisco is Steve Murphy, who had 319 hits. Osuna could pass him this season if he has another season like he did last year and doesn't get promoted.
Bianucci Watch: Michael Bianucci didn't hit a homerun for a 3rd straight day, but he did hit a double and had a RBI giving him 3 straight games with a extra base hit and a RBI. Not a bad way to start the season....
Top Prospect Alert: When Arkansas comes to Frisco on Sunday to open a 3 game set, the Travelers will be bringing Baseball America's #2 prospect in minor league baseball and the Angel's #1 prospect with them. Mike Trout, 19 years old, was the 25th overall pick of the 2009 draft and can do a lot of things on the baseball diamond. Last year between low-A and high-A, Trout batted .341 with 28 doubles, 9 triples, 10 homeruns, walked 73 times to 85 strikeouts, and stole 56 bases. He also scored 106 runs. He got off to a bit of a slow start going hitless in his first 2 games, however, on Saturday he went 2 for 4 with his first AA homerun, a walk, 2 RBI, 2 runs, and stole a base in Arkansas's 5-4 loss to Midland.
Double the De Los Santos: The last pitcher that the Arkansas Travelers faced on Saturday night was Midland's Fautino De Los Santos (who got the save in the game by striking out the side), and the first pitcher they will face on Sunday is Miguel De Los Santos.
Chasing 600: With the loss on Saturday, Frisco is still at 599 franchise wins. Could Sunday be the day for #600?
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
Time: 4:00 PM
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (2-1 1 game back of the Midland Rockhounds in the Texas League South)... Arkansas Travelers (0-3 2 games back of the Tulsa Drillers in the Texas League North)
Starting Pitchers: Miguel De Los Santos (0-0 0.00 ERA) vs. Eddie McKiernan (0-0 0.00 ERA)
How they got there: Miguel De Los Santos was signed as an international free agent in 2006... Eddie McKiernan was a 17th round pick in the 2007 draft.
What to Watch for On the Mound: Both starting pitchers will be making their AA debuts today, although Eddie McKiernan does have 7 appearances in AAA... Baseball America listed Miguel De Los Santos as the Texas Ranger's #10 prospect in their system. The 22 year old southpaw sits in the low 90s with his fastball and has a plus changeup. He has dominated hitters at the rookie and low-A levels the last couple years. He struck out 182 batters over the last 2 years in 102 1/3 innings pitched (16 K/9 IP). He skipped high-A to get to Frisco... Eddie McKiernan spent most of 2010 in high-A Rancho Cucamonga as a reliever. He appeared in 55 games for them, while posting a 3.40 ERA there. This will be his first minor league start of his career, one that has spanned 4 seasons.
Men-Goner: Tommy Mendonca went deep for the 2nd time in as many games with a blast to dead centerfield in the 2nd inning off of Kevin Thomas. To put into perspective how tough that is to do, Kevin Thomas hadn't given up a homerun to a player since the 2009 season, spanning at least 107 innings pitched. Mendonca now has 2 homeruns in 10 at bats. He had 10 homeruns in 419 at bats in 2010 in a league that is notorious for being an offensive league.
Osuna Pases Botts: With a single in the 5th inning, Renny Osuna got his 195th hit as a Frisco Roughrider moving him into sole possession of 9th place on the all time hits list for Frisco. He was tied at 9th with Jason Botts before. Next on the list is Ruddy Yan at 197. The all time hits leader for Frisco is Steve Murphy, who had 319 hits. Osuna could pass him this season if he has another season like he did last year and doesn't get promoted.
Bianucci Watch: Michael Bianucci didn't hit a homerun for a 3rd straight day, but he did hit a double and had a RBI giving him 3 straight games with a extra base hit and a RBI. Not a bad way to start the season....
Top Prospect Alert: When Arkansas comes to Frisco on Sunday to open a 3 game set, the Travelers will be bringing Baseball America's #2 prospect in minor league baseball and the Angel's #1 prospect with them. Mike Trout, 19 years old, was the 25th overall pick of the 2009 draft and can do a lot of things on the baseball diamond. Last year between low-A and high-A, Trout batted .341 with 28 doubles, 9 triples, 10 homeruns, walked 73 times to 85 strikeouts, and stole 56 bases. He also scored 106 runs. He got off to a bit of a slow start going hitless in his first 2 games, however, on Saturday he went 2 for 4 with his first AA homerun, a walk, 2 RBI, 2 runs, and stole a base in Arkansas's 5-4 loss to Midland.
Double the De Los Santos: The last pitcher that the Arkansas Travelers faced on Saturday night was Midland's Fautino De Los Santos (who got the save in the game by striking out the side), and the first pitcher they will face on Sunday is Miguel De Los Santos.
Chasing 600: With the loss on Saturday, Frisco is still at 599 franchise wins. Could Sunday be the day for #600?
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
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Game 3: Springfield Cardinals (Kevin Thomas) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Jacob Brigham)
The Riders came back from a 6-2 deficit heading into the 7th inning to win 7-6 in 10 innings. Now, Frisco is looking for an opening series sweep over the Springfield Cardinals!
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (2-0 T-1st in the Texas League South) vs. Springfield Cardinals (0-2 2 GB in the Texas League North)
Starting Pitchers: Jacob Brigham (0-0 0.00 ERA) vs. Kevin Thomas (0-0 0.00 ERA)
How they got there: Jacob Brigham was a 6th round pick by the Texas Rangers in the 2006 draft.... Kevin Thomas was a 33rd round pick in the 2008 draft.
What to Watch for on the Mound: The starting pitchers for both teams will be making their AA debuts tonight... Jacob Brigham, ranked the #30 prospect in the Ranger's system by Baseball America, split time between low-A and high-A in 2010 going a combined 7-10 with a 4.69 ERA. He struck out 7.2 batters per 9 innings, while posting a 2.12 K/BB ratio. He missed the 2008 season due to Tommy John Surgery...Taking the mound for Springfield is Kevin Thomas, who went 10-2 with a 2.27 ERA for Palm Beach last year while splitting time between the rotation and bullpen. In 260 1/3 innings pitched, Thomas has surrendered just 7 homeruns, including zero last year in 107 innings pitched.
Bianucci is on a Tear: After going 2 for 3 with 2 homeruns and 3 RBI in the Rider's 6-2 win on opening day, Bianucci had an encore performance for the first sellout crowd of the year. The 24 year old DH went 2 for 4 at the plate with his 3rd homerun of the year, 2 runs scored, 1 RBI, and a walk.
Triple Our Pleasure: The Texas Ranger's 2010 Minor League Player of the Year Engel Beltre, had 8 triples in 2010. Through 2 games in 2011, he already has hit 2 triples. His 2nd triple came in the 8th inning off of Springfield reliever Ramon Delgado on a flyball hit to right field.
Perez's First Start: Listed as the #1 prospect in the Ranger's system, it goes without saying that Martin Perez's first start of 2011 was highly anticipated. His final line was 3 innings pitched, 5 hits, 2 runs (both earned), 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts. He was pulled after throwing 71 pitches for the game. He struggled at times with command, although there were multiple borderline pitches that probably could have gone either way. He was sitting low 90s, while reaching mid 90s on a few pitches.
The Little, Big Things that Matter: Tommy Mendonca went 1 for 4 in his debut on Thursday, but on Friday he played a key role in the Rider's comeback win. Mendonca hit a 2 out, 2 run opposite field homerun in the 8th inning, which brought the Riders within a run at 6-5. Mendonca also made a terrific defensive play to rob Steve Hill of a leadoff hit in the next inning. Then in the 10th inning with Joey Butler on 2nd and Michael Bianucci on 1st and 0 outs, Mendonca layed down a great sacrifice bunt, which resulted in a wild throw from pitcher Richard Castillo to first and allowed Butler to score the game winning run.
Is it Something They Said?: Frisco batters have been hit by 5 pitches from the Springfield Cardinals in the 2 games this season. Scott Schneider hit 2 batters (Davis Stoneburner and Jose Felix), Nick Additon hit 2 batters (Tommy Mendonca and Engel Beltre), and Richard Castillo hit Joey Butler in the 10th inning.
Chasing 600: With the win on Friday, the Riders moved to 599 wins in franchise history. A sweep on Saturday would give them their 600th win.
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
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (2-0 T-1st in the Texas League South) vs. Springfield Cardinals (0-2 2 GB in the Texas League North)
Starting Pitchers: Jacob Brigham (0-0 0.00 ERA) vs. Kevin Thomas (0-0 0.00 ERA)
How they got there: Jacob Brigham was a 6th round pick by the Texas Rangers in the 2006 draft.... Kevin Thomas was a 33rd round pick in the 2008 draft.
What to Watch for on the Mound: The starting pitchers for both teams will be making their AA debuts tonight... Jacob Brigham, ranked the #30 prospect in the Ranger's system by Baseball America, split time between low-A and high-A in 2010 going a combined 7-10 with a 4.69 ERA. He struck out 7.2 batters per 9 innings, while posting a 2.12 K/BB ratio. He missed the 2008 season due to Tommy John Surgery...Taking the mound for Springfield is Kevin Thomas, who went 10-2 with a 2.27 ERA for Palm Beach last year while splitting time between the rotation and bullpen. In 260 1/3 innings pitched, Thomas has surrendered just 7 homeruns, including zero last year in 107 innings pitched.
Bianucci is on a Tear: After going 2 for 3 with 2 homeruns and 3 RBI in the Rider's 6-2 win on opening day, Bianucci had an encore performance for the first sellout crowd of the year. The 24 year old DH went 2 for 4 at the plate with his 3rd homerun of the year, 2 runs scored, 1 RBI, and a walk.
Triple Our Pleasure: The Texas Ranger's 2010 Minor League Player of the Year Engel Beltre, had 8 triples in 2010. Through 2 games in 2011, he already has hit 2 triples. His 2nd triple came in the 8th inning off of Springfield reliever Ramon Delgado on a flyball hit to right field.
Perez's First Start: Listed as the #1 prospect in the Ranger's system, it goes without saying that Martin Perez's first start of 2011 was highly anticipated. His final line was 3 innings pitched, 5 hits, 2 runs (both earned), 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts. He was pulled after throwing 71 pitches for the game. He struggled at times with command, although there were multiple borderline pitches that probably could have gone either way. He was sitting low 90s, while reaching mid 90s on a few pitches.
The Little, Big Things that Matter: Tommy Mendonca went 1 for 4 in his debut on Thursday, but on Friday he played a key role in the Rider's comeback win. Mendonca hit a 2 out, 2 run opposite field homerun in the 8th inning, which brought the Riders within a run at 6-5. Mendonca also made a terrific defensive play to rob Steve Hill of a leadoff hit in the next inning. Then in the 10th inning with Joey Butler on 2nd and Michael Bianucci on 1st and 0 outs, Mendonca layed down a great sacrifice bunt, which resulted in a wild throw from pitcher Richard Castillo to first and allowed Butler to score the game winning run.
Is it Something They Said?: Frisco batters have been hit by 5 pitches from the Springfield Cardinals in the 2 games this season. Scott Schneider hit 2 batters (Davis Stoneburner and Jose Felix), Nick Additon hit 2 batters (Tommy Mendonca and Engel Beltre), and Richard Castillo hit Joey Butler in the 10th inning.
Chasing 600: With the win on Friday, the Riders moved to 599 wins in franchise history. A sweep on Saturday would give them their 600th win.
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