Game 97: Corpus Christi Hooks (Jonnathan Aristil) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Ben Snyder)

Time: 7:05 PM CT
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (14-12 3 games back in the Texas League South; 54-42 overall)... Corpus Christi Hooks (13-13 4 games back in the Texas League South; 38-58 overall)
Streak: Lost 2 in a row
Last 10: 5-5
Road Trip: 1-3
Series Record: 14-10-3
2011 Record against Corpus Christi: 12-12
All-Time Record against Corpus Christi: 107-101
Record on July 22nd since 2004: 2-5
Starting Pitchers: Ben Snyder (7-2 3.82 ERA) vs. Jonnathan Aristil (4-7 5.86 ERA)

Frisco Falls to San Antonio, Loses Series: With a 6-4 loss to the San Antonio Missions on Thursday, Frisco fell to 3-9 on the road against the San Antonio Missions and 7-13 against the Missions overall. They are 47-29 against anyone not named San Antonio this season. Fortunately, they will make just one more trip to San Antonio the rest of the season. A 4 game set at the end of the month.

Robbie Erlin Struggles to Miss Bats Again: For the second consecutive start, southpaw Robbie Erlin got knocked around on the mound as he struggled to get his pitches past the hitters. Erlin gave up 9 hits and 5 runs over 5 innings, but he did not walk a hitter. Erlin has not walked a batter in his last four starts spanning 96 batters faced. Over that time, however, he has given up 28 hits and 11 runs over 24 innings. He has struck out 19 batters in the same time. It is impressive, however, that Erlin has been able to go two starts without issuing a walk to San Antonio as the Missions lead the Texas League in walks with 430 over 96 games. Their team on base percentage is .362.

Bianucci Moves Up on List: Mike Bianucci went 1 for 4 on Thursday, but his one hit was a 2-run homerun in the 4th inning, which brought Frisco within a run, the closest they'd be all night. The 2-run homerun was his 22nd homerun of the season which ties him with German Duran (2007) for the fourth most homeruns in a single season by a Frisco RoughRider. Next on the list is Jason Botts (2004) with 24 homeruns. Nate Gold holds Frisco's single season record with 34 in 2006.

Renny Osuna Closing In: When his next hit occurs, Renny Osuna will become the second Frisco RoughRider to record 300 hits in a career. He currently sits at 299 after his hit less night on Thursday. Osuna is batting .364 over his last 10 games with 6 multi hit games. He is batting .316 at home this season with a .773 OPS and has already set a career high with 8 homeruns. Osuna is 20 hits away from tying Steve Murphy's career record of 319 hits and 21 from passing him. Steve Murphy holds basically every career record for Frisco, which is why the Pressbox dubbed him "Mr. Frisco".

Brigham Strikes Out Five: For the first time in quite some time, Frisco has a new strikeout leader this season. Jake Brigham's 5 strikeouts in 2 innings of relief on Thursday allowed him to pass Martin Perez, who had 83 for Frisco before his promotion to Round Rock. Brigham is up to 85 strikeouts for the season. After struggling in his first few outings as a reliever, Brigham has not allowed a run in his last 5 relief appearances, each of which he went at least 2 innings.

Project- Updated For the Season

Pitches Per PA (minimum of 100 PA)
1. 3.89, Renny Osuna (373 PA)
2. 3.88, Jonathan Greene (362 PA)
3. 3.74, Leonys Martin (135 PA)
4. 3.70 Guilder Rodriguez (324 PA)
5.  3.70, Davis Stoneburner (309 PA)
6.  3.60, Jose Ruiz (356 PA)
7.  3.44, Mike Bianucci (415 PA)
8.  3.44, David Paisano (104 PA)
9.  3.34, Tommy Mendonca (376 PA)
10. 3.34, Travis Adair (135 PA)
11. 3.20, Elio Sarmiento (134 PA)
12. 3.15, Engel Beltre (315 PA)
13. 3.02, Jose Felix (207 PA)

Notable Stats:
- Mike Bianucci has swung at the first pitch 57.3% of the time. Tommy Mendonca has swung at the first pitch 54.5% of the time. They are the only two over 50%. Close to there is Engel Beltre at 49.8% of the time.
- Guilder Rodriguez swung and missed 3.9% of the time (47 in 1,216 pitches). Renny Osuna was the next best at 4.7% of the time (68 in 1,451 pitches). Leonys Martin came in 3rd at 6.1% (31 in 505 pitches). The highest swing and miss% was Jonathan Greene at 21.6% (303 swinging strikes in 1,406 pitches). He also had the highest amount of strikeouts swinging with 95.
- Tommy Mendonca was 2nd on the team with a swing% of 60.3%. That includes balls put into play, foul balls, and swinging strikes.  Jose Felix leads the team with a 60.7% swing%. Guilder Rodriguez had the team's lowest swing% with 37.1%. He was the only player below 40%, no matter how many plate appearances.

Jose Altuve Not With Corpus Anymore: Last time Frisco played Corpus Christi in Frisco, which happened to be last weekend, the Hooks had rising prospect Jose Altuve on their roster. Altuve did not play in the series due to a leg injury, however, and now he is no longer with the club after the Houston Astros promoted him to the majors. The Astros traded infielder Jeff Keppinger, who also happened to have rehabbed with Corpus Christi in Frisco earlier this year, to the San Francisco Giants for a couple of prospects. The move opened up a roster spot for Altuve, who hit .361 for Corpus Christi and .389 combined this season between high-A and AA. He became the fourth prospect to be promoted from the Texas League to the majors that I know of. The others were Mike Trout (Arkansas), Blake Tekotte (San Antonio), and Maikel Cleto (Springfield).


Tracking Texas League Homeruns: 739 homeruns in 762 games (0.970 HR/G)


Term of the Day: Bee-liner- A batted ball that travels fast and straight, not far from the ground.


Last Year on This Date: Frisco defeated the San Antonio Missions 3-2 on the road. Martin Perez started for Frisco and gave up 4 hits, 1 walk, and 2 runs over 6 1/3 innings with 2 strikeouts. Tim Murphy pitched a scoreless inning of relief, while Evan Reed pitched the last 1 2/3 innings for his 5th save. Andy Jenkins led Frisco's offense with a 2 for 3 day including a double, walk, and run scored. Emerson Frostad went 2 for 4 with a triple and RBI at the plate. Marcus Lemon also added a 2 for 5 day with a RBI for the Riders. Joey Butler went 1 for 4 with a double, while Renny Osuna had one of his 299 hits in 3 at bats with a run scored and a RBI. Taylor Teagarden added a hit of his own as well.

As always...

A special thanks to any blog followers from Fleatown, OH!

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 95: Frisco RoughRiders (Richard Bleier) @ San Antonio Missions (Casey Kelly)

Time: 7:05 PM CT
Location: Nelson Wolff Municipal Stadium (San Antonio, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (14-10 1 game back in the Texas League South; 54-40 overall)... San Antonio Missions (15-9 1st place in the Texas League South; 64-30 overall)
Streak: Won 1 in a row
Last 10: 7-3
Road Trip: 1-1
Series Record: 14-9-3
2011 Record against San Antonio: 7-11
All-Time Record against San Antonio: 117-118
Record on July 20th since 2004: 2-4

Starting Pitchers: Richard Bleier (3-3 5.81 ERA) is 1-5 with a 7.01 ERA and 1.64 WHIP in 11 career appearances, including 9 starts against the San Antonio Missions... Casey Kelly (9-3 4.18 ERA) is 0-0 with a 2.77 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in 2 career starts against the Frisco RoughRiders.

What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco sends Richard Bleier to the mound for the 18th time, including his 10th start, while San Antonio sends Casey Kelly to the mound for the 20th time in the third game of a four game set... Richard Bleier looks to rebound from his last start as he looks to help Frisco into a tie for first place with San Antonio. In his last start against the Corpus Christi Hooks, Bleier gave up 8 hits and 7 runs (6 earned) over 5 innings with 3 strikeouts and 0 walks. In his previous 6 appearances before that start, Bleier had given up 15 hits, 1 walk, and 4 runs (3 earned) over 14 1/3 innings. As a starting pitcher this season, Bleier is 2-3 with a 6.66 ERA over 9 starts. He has given up 75 hits and 6 walks with 23 strikeouts over 50 innings. Overall, Richard has given up 95 hits and 8 walks with 37 strikeouts over 69 2/3 innings... Casey Kelly looks to continue his solid pitching of late. In his last start against the Midland Rockhounds, Kelly gave up 12 hits and 2 runs over 5 innings with 2 strikeouts. Over his last 3 starts, Kelly has given up 21 hits, 5 walks, and 5 runs over 17 innings with 12 strikeouts. On the season, he has given up 120 hits and 32 walks over 103 1/3 innings with 77 strikeouts. At home, Casey Kelly is 4-2 with a 3.68 ERA in 8 starts this season. In his last start against Frisco, Kelly gave up 7 hits and 3 runs (2 earned) over 6 innings with 2 strikeouts and 0 walks.

Frisco Evens Series With Win: Frisco got a great pitching performance from 21 year old Joe Wieland and picked up an easy 6-1 victory over the San Antonio Missions on the road. Frisco took a 5-0 lead through 5 innings and added a 6th run in the 8th inning.


Wieland Outstanding: In his fifth start for the Frisco RoughRiders, Joe Wieland was at his best and pitching like a top prospect should. For the 4th time out of his first 5 AA starts, Wieland gave up 1 run over 5 or more innings. This time, Wieland held the Mission's offense to just 2 hits, 2 walks, and 1 run over 7 innings with 7 strikeouts. It marked the most innings he has gone in AA start and his 7 strikeouts were the most he's had in his 5 AA starts. He picked up his 2nd victory to move to 2-0 with a 1.86 ERA over 5 starts. In 29 innings pitched so far, Wieland has given up 27 hits, walked 9 batters, and given up 6 earned runs with 24 strikeouts.

Osuna's Game: Rider's infielder Renny Osuna went 3 for 5 with a double, RBI, and run scored in Frisco's win. He moved to 297 hits for his career for Frisco. It also increased his on base streak to 15 games. Osuna also now has 112 RBI moving him to a tie for 7th on Frisco's all-time RBI list and he also now has 148 runs scored for Frisco, moving him to within 6 of tying Adam Fox for 2nd all-time.


Mendonca Hits #17: Tommy Mendonca ended his season long homerun drought of 9 games with a 1st inning solo homerun off of Simon Castro. The 9 game streak was tied for his longest of the season. Mendonca finished 2 for 5 with the homerun. He now has a .305 batting average and team leading OPS .906 with 65 RBI. Mendonca's 17 homeruns are tied for the most homeruns by a third baseman in AA baseball with James Darnell, who is now with the Tuscon Padres in AAA. His 65 RBI are also the 3rd most among AA third basemen behind Luis Jimenez's 71 (Texas League) and Ryan Wheeler's 66 (Southern League).

Stoneburner Extends Streak: Davis Stoneburner extended his hitting streak to 9 games with a 2-run homerun in the 5th inning off of Simon Castro. He finished 1 for 4 with the homerun, a walk, 2 RBI, and run scored. He is batting .277 for the season now and .300 with an .856 OPS over his last 10 games.


Will Smith, Kelvin Herrera Combined No-Hitter: In other Texas League news, Northwest Arkansas Natural's left handed pitcher Will Smith and reliever Kelvin Herrera combined for a no-hitter against the Arkansas Travelers on Tuesday. Northwest Arkansas won the game 1-0 on a RBI single by Jamie Romak in the first inning. Smith went 7 innings and gave up 2 walks with 5 strikeouts. Herrera pitched the final 2 innings without allowing a baserunner with 2 strikeouts. Arkansas starter Matt Shoemaker was almost as good in the game as he went the full 9 innings, while allowing 5 hits, 0 walks, and he struck out 8 batters. The only run he gave up was an unearned run. Shoemaker has 4 complete games in his last 6 starts.

Texas League Hitters: The Texas League has always been known as a hitters league, but lately they've been taking it to an extreme level. Over the past two days, Texas League hitters have 109 runs, 170 hits, and 29 homeruns. The Tulsa Drillers alone have 11 homeruns over those two days. Offensive records are in jeopardy for the Texas League and at the same time, so are strikeouts for pitchers.


Tracking Texas League Homeruns: 728 homeruns in 746 games (0.976 HR/G)

Term of the Day: Dollar Sign on the Muscle- A money code expressing an ultimate evaluation of a ballplayer. The term was used as the title of Kevin Kerrane's book Dollar Sign on the Muscle (1984). Kerrane found the term in the Philadelphia Phillies 1981 scouting manual: "A new column titled 'Dollar Evaluation' has been added to your prospect-summary sheet. Your dollar evaluation should be the highest figure you would go in order to sign a player if he were on the open market. The figure would be based solely on the player's ability. Other factors, such as what the player is asking for, or what you think you can sign him for, would not be considered when determining a dollar evaluaiton... Boiled down, it si the 'dollar sign on the muscle' and no more." The dollar amoung was an "investment-analysis" figure by which the scout rates a ballplayer beyond the number grades for his tools, projected skills, and makeup.


Last Year on This Date: Frisco lost 4-0 to the San Antonio Missions on the road. Richard Bleier started for Frisco and gave up 8 hits and 3 runs (2 earned) over 7 innings with 4 strikeouts and 0 walks. Kasey Kiker gave up 1 run over 2/3 of an inning of relief, while Brennan Garr pitched 1/3 of an inning of shutout relief. Marcus Lemon went 1 for 3 with a walk at the plate for the Riders. Joey Butler added a 1 for 3 day with a walk as well.

Around the Ranger's System

Yesterday's Record: 4-0

Round Rock (AAA) scored 6 runs in the 5th inning and crushed the New Orleans Zephyrs 15-6 at home. Eric Hurley started for Round Rock and moved to 4-0 for them after giving up 8 hits, 2 walks, and 5 runs over 7 innings with 1 strikeout. Beau Jones gave up 1 run over 2 innings of relief. Leonys Martin went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI, a walk, and a run scored for Round Rock. Chris Davis added a 3 for 5 day with a homerun, 3 RBI, and 3 runs scored at the plate. Former Rider Chad Tracy went 2 for 5 with a double, homerun, 4 RBI, and run scored, while Joey Butler went 1 for 4 with a walk, stolen base, and 2 runs scored for the Express. Matt Kata also went 3 for 5 with a double, RBI, and run scored. Guilder Rodriguez went 1 for 3 with a RBI, 2 walks, stolen base, and run scored. Brad Nelson also added a hit in 4 at bats, including a homerun, 2 RBI, walk, and 2 runs.

Myrtle Beach (High-A) scored 2 runs in the 14th inning and defeated the Wilmington Blue Rocks 6-4 at home. Miguel De Los Santos started for Myrtle Beach and gave up 6 hits, 1 walk, and 4 runs over 6 innings with 8 strikeouts. Trevor Hurley pitched 2 innings of relief, while Joe Ortiz made 3 scoreless innings. Zach Osborne got through 2 scoreless innings, while Ryan Kelly picked up the win after a scoreless inning. Jared Bolden led Myrtle Beach with a 3 for 6 game including 2 RBI, a stolen base, and a run scored. David Paisano batted 9th and had a 2 for 6 game with a RBI. Ryan Strausborger went 1 for 6 with the walkoff 2-run homerun. Leury Garcia went 2 for 6 with a run scored and a stolen base. Jared Prince and Jared Hoying each went 1 for 4 with 3 walks combined. Santiago Chirino and Travis Adair added a hit each as well.

Hickory (Low-A) had the day off

Spokane (Short Season A-Ball) scored 7 runs in the 5th inning and defeated the Boise Hawks 10-3 at home. Victor Payano started for Spokane and gave up 7 hits, 3 walks, and 2 runs over 4 innings with 2 strikeouts. Phil Klein picked up the win after 3 innings of shutout relief, while Juan Grullon gave up 1 run over 2 innings of relief. Rougned Odor went 2 for 5 with a triple, 2 RBI, and a run scored. Guillermo Pimentel went 2 for 4 with a RBI and a run scored for the Indians. Brett Nicholas added a 1 for 4 game with a double and a RBI as well. Drew Robinson went 1 for 4 with a double and 2 RBI. Trever Adams reached base twice by going 1 for 3 with a walk while Jorge Alfaro and Hanser Alberto each went 1 for 4. Hirotoshi Onaka went 1 for 2 with 3 walks and 3 runs scored.

Minor League Performance of the Day

On June 10th, 2010, first baseman Matt Clark went 3 for 4 with 2 homeruns and 8 RBI for the San Antonio Missions against the Frisco RoughRiders. He had all 8 RBI by 4th inning. Forward a year and a month later and Matt Clark picks up the performance of the day from July 19th after his performance at the plate in the Tuscon Padre's 15-14 11 inning victory over the Tacoma Rainiers. Matt Clark went 4 for 6 at the plate including a double, 2 homeruns, and 8 RBI with 3 runs scored. His homeruns came in the 5th and 7th innings. On the season, Matt Clark is batting .319 with 20 homeruns and 64 RBI. He currently has a .953 OPS for the Tuscon Padres. Matt Clark was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 12th round of the 2008 draft.

As always...

A special thanks to any blog followers from Trout, LA!

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

- By Michael Damman

Game 94: Frisco RoughRiders (Joe Wieland) @ San Antonio Missions (Simon Castro)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

Around the Ranger's System

Yesterday's Record: 4-1

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

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

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

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

Minor League Performance of the Day

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

As always...

A special thanks to any blog followers from Bird-In-Hand, PA!

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 93: Frisco RoughRiders (Carlos Pimentel) @ San Antonio Missions (Rob Musgrave)

Time: 7:05 PM CT
Location: Nelson Wolff Municipal Stadium (San Antonio, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (13-9 1 game back in the Texas League South; 53-39 overall)... San Antonio Missions (14-8 1st place in the Texas League South; 63-29 overall)
Streak: Won 1 in a row
Last 10: 7-3
Homestand: 2-2
Series Record: 14-9-3
2011 Record against San Antonio: 6-10
All-Time Record against San Antonio: 116-117
Record on July 18th since 2004: 2-4
Starting Pitchers: Carlos Pimentel (3-6 4.78 ERA) is 0-0 with a 1.90 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 4 career starts against the San Antonio Missions... Rob Musgrave (5-2 3.09 ERA) is 1-0 with a 4.09 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in 4 career appearances, including 1 start against the Frisco RoughRiders

What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco sends Carlos Pimentel to the mound for the 19th time, including his 17th start, while San Antonio sends Rob Musgrave to the mound for the 21st time, including his 10th start in the first of a 4 game set...Carlos Pimentel looks to continue his recent success against the San Antonio Missions as Frisco begins a series with the first place team. In his last start against the Arkansas Travelers, Pimentel gave up 5 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs over 6 innings with 4 strikeouts. Over his last 4 starts, Pimentel has given up 26 hits, 11 walks, and 14 earned runs over 20 2/3 innings with 14 strikeouts. On the season, Pimentel has given up 92 hits and 44 walks with 64 strikeouts over 90 1/3 innings pitched. Over his last 2 starts against the Missions, Pimentel has given up 11 hits, 4 walks, and 1 run in 13 innings pitched. On the road, he is 2-3 with a 3.96 ERA in 10 games, 8 starts... Rob Musgrave hopes to continue his dominant pitching of late. Musgrave has not given up a run in his last 7 appearances spanning 17 2/3 innings pitched. In his last start, Musgrave gave up 4 hits and 2 walks with 6 strikeouts over 5 shutout innings against the Tulsa Drillers. In his last 2 starts, Musgrave has not given up a run over 10 innings pitched. On the season, he has given up 58 hits, 20 walks, and struck out 56 batters over 64 innings pitched. As a starting pitcher, Rob Musgrave is 1-2 with a 4.19 ERA in 9 starts. He has given up 42 hits and 12 walks with 36 strikeouts over 43 innings pitched as a starter. At home, Musgrave is 2-0 with a 3.45 ERA.


Frisco Salvages Split with Corpus Christi: Frisco took a 5-3 lead after 5 innings and defeated the Hooks 8-3 to split the 4 game set at home. Frisco hit a season high 4 homeruns in the game and improved to 13-6-3 in series against teams not named the San Antonio Missions, who they play now.

Snyder's Start: Ben Snyder fell an out short of picking up his 8th win of the season, but kept Frisco in the game long enough for the offense to pick his pitching up. Snyder gave up 6 hits, 1 walk, and 3 runs (2 earned) over 4 2/3 innings with 3 strikeouts. As a starting pitcher, the 25 year old southpaw is now 2-1 with a 4.62 ERA.

Rider's Offense: Frisco's offense scored 8 runs in the win and pounded out 13 hits. Every player in Frisco's lineup finished with at least one hit and the Riders had 8 extra base hits in the game.


Bottom Of the Order's Production: The bottom 4 hitters in Frisco's lineup finished 6 for 13 in the game with a triple, 2 homeruns, 2 RBI, 3 runs scored, 2 walks, and a hit by pitch. Mitch Hilligoss went 2 for 3 with a triple, homerun (his first in Frisco this season), and a walk. Engel Beltre went 1 for 2 with a walk and a hit by pitch. He has 3 walks in his last 4 games after walking 8 times in his first 67 games.

Jose Ruiz's Big Game: For the second time in three games, Jose Ruiz drove in 3 runs in a game. Ruiz went 2 for 4 with a double, homerun, and drove in 3 runs. It was Ruiz's 6th 3 RBI game of the season, including his 3rd game in a row where he had at least a RBI and had 3 RBI. On the season, Ruiz has 13 multi RBI games.

Osuna Hits #8: We've written on here before that Renny Osuna had never hit more than 4 homeruns in a season before this season. On Sunday, he hit his 8th homerun of the season, more than doubling his previous high. It also puts him two short of double digits for the season. Osuna is now up 293 career hits for Frisco.

The Unfortunate 100 Club: With 3 strikeouts on Sunday, Tommy Mendonca reached his 100th strikeout of the season in his 79th game of the season. He joined Jonathan Greene as the two Frisco RoughRiders with 100 strikeouts. This is the 5th season that Frisco has had multiple players with 100 strikeouts in a season. The other four years were 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009. With Mike Bianucci at 91 strikeouts, it is likely that this will be the first Frisco RoughRider's team to have 3 players with 100 or more strikeouts.

Meet Jedd Gyorko: When the San Antonio Missions ran away with the Texas League South in the first half one of the main contributors to the Mission's run was their third baseman James Darnell, who started in the Texas League All-Star game as well as the MLB Futures Game. It stood to reason that when he went up to AAA San Antonio's lineup would suffer. Darnell afterall batted .333 with a 1.038 OPS and 25 doubles, 17 homeruns, and 62 RBI in 76 games. But that's where 22 year old Jedd Gyorko comes in, as he has picked up where Darnell left off, or at least done a pretty good impression. Gyorko batted .365 with a 1.068 OPS and 35 doubles, 2 triples, 18 homeruns, and 74 RBI in 81 games for the Lake Elsinore Storm of the California League. So far for the Missions, Gyorko is batting .311 with a .911 OPS and 3 doubles, 2 homeruns, and 12 RBI in 12 games.

An interesting note is that Gyorko was drafted out of West Virginia University in 2010. His teammate second baseman Vincent Belnome, who has killed Frisco pitching (1.085 OPS against Frisco), also came from West Virginia and was drafted a year earlier.

Tracking Texas League Homeruns: 698 homeruns in 730 games (0.956 HR/G)

Term of the Day: Neighborhood Call- A called strike because the pitch was "merely" in the neighborhood of the plate.

Last Year on This Date: Frisco gave up a run in the 7th and 8th and lost 2-1 at home to the Corpus Christi Hooks. Michael Schlact started for Frisco and gave up 1 hit, 1 walk, and struck out 4 batters over 6 shutout innings. Ben Snyder took the loss after he gave up 2 runs over 1 2/3 innings of relief. Brennan Garr pitched 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. James Tomlin led Frisco's offense with a 1 for 2 game including a double, a walk, and a stolen base. Andy Jenkins went 1 for 3 with a double for the Riders. Engel Beltre added a 1 for 4 game with a RBI as well.


Around the Ranger's System

Yesterday's Record: 3-1

Round Rock (AAA) took a 4-0 lead after 3 innings and defeated the Memphis Redbirds 8-5 on the road. Zach Jackson started for Round Rock and gave up 6 hits, 3 walks, and 5 runs (4 earned) over 5 2/3 innings with 3 strikeouts. Cody Eppley pitched 2 1/3 innings of shutout relief and Pedro Strop pitched a scoreless 9th inning for his 8th save. Chris Davis went 2 for 5 with a double for Round Rock. Joey Butler also went 2 for 5 with a RBI and a run scored at the plate. Chad Tracy also added a 1 for 4 game with 2 RBI, a walk, and a run scored for the Express. Matt Kata went 2 for 3 with a homerun, 3 RBI, a run scored, a sac fly, and a hit by pitch. Robbie Diaz and Kevin Cash each added 2 hits of their own including a homerun by Kevin Cash. Guilder Rodriguez added a hit as well.

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

Hickory (Low-A) scored 5 runs in the 2nd inning and defeated the Delmarva Shorebirds 9-6 on the road. Matt Thompson started for the Hickory and gave up 3 hits, 7 walks, and 5 runs over 3 2/3 innings with 3 strikeouts. Ben Rowen picked up the win and gave up 1 unearned run over 2 1/3 innings of relief. Colby Killian gave up 1 scoreless innings, while Jimmy Reyes picked up his 1st save in 2 scoreless innings. Jurickson Profar led off with a 2 for 6 game including a double, homerun, 4 RBI, and 2 runs scored. Andrew Clark went 2 for 4 with a homerun, RBI, walk, and run scored. Yefry Castillo went 2 for 5 with a double at the plate for the Crawdads. Christian Villanueva had a 1 for 5 day with a homerun, while Jake Skole went 2 for 5 and Josh Richmond went 2 for 4 with a RBI, a walk, and a run scored. Teodoro Martinez and Kellin Deglan each added a hit.

Spokane (Short Season A-Ball) scored 5 runs in the top of the 8th inning, but lost 6-5 to the Everett AquaSox. Nicholas McBride gave up 9 hits, 3 walks, and 5 runs over 5 1/3 innings with 4 strikeouts. Juan Grullon pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief, while Santo Perez had an inning of relief as well. Andres Perez-Lobo took the loss after giving up a walkoff solo homerun to lead off the bottom of the 9th to Marcus Littlewood. Hirotoshi Onaka went 3 for 5 at the plate with a run scored in the leadoff spot for Spokane. Rougned Odor went 2 for 5 with a homerun, 4 RBI, and run scored in his first game back since the brawl. Giullermo Pimentel went 2 for 4 for the Indians. Trever Adams added a hit in 4 at bats, while Jorge Alfaro and Edwin Garcia each went 1 for 4 as well.

Minor League Performance of the Day

Johnny Giavotella ripped through the Texas League last year for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals batting .322 with an .855 OPS as a second baseman. And so far in the 2011 season, he hasn't stopped hitting for the Omaha Storm Chasers. On Sunday, Giavotella had the best game of his 2011 season in Omaha's 7-4 win over the New Orleans Zephyrs. He went 4 for 4 with a double, 2 homeruns, 2 RBI, and 3 runs scored. His 2 homeruns gave him 9 for the season, which ties a career best with his 2010 season. On the season, Giavotella is batting .334 with 28 doubles, 1 triple, 9 homeruns, 64 RBI, 56 runs, 35 BB-48 K, and an .876 OPS (.391 OBP). Giavotella was selected in the 2nd round of the 2008 daft by the Kansas City Royals out of the University of New Orleans. Johnny was rated by Baseball America as the 18th best prospect in the Kansas City Royal's system.

As always...

A special thanks to any blog followers from Bugscuffle, TN!

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 92: Corpus Christi Hooks (Jonnathan Aristil) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Ben Snyder)

Time: 6:00 PM CT
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (12-9 2 games back in the Texas League South; 52-39 overall)... Corpus Christi Hooks (10-11 4 games back in the Texas League South; 35-56 overall)
Streak: Lost 2 in a row
Last 10: 7-3
Homestand: 1-2
Series Record: 14-9-2
2011 Record against Corpus Christi: 11-12
All-Time Record against Corpus Christi: 106-101
Record on July 17th since 2004: 2-4

Starting Pitchers: Ben Snyder (7-2 3.81 ERA) is 1-2 with a 3.06 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in 11 career appearances against the Corpus Christi Hooks ... Jonnathan Aristil (4-6 5.60 ERA) is 0-0 with a 4.15 ERA and 1.62 WHIP in 3 career appearances, including 2 starts against the Frisco RoughRiders


What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco sends Ben Snyder to the mound for the 31st time, including his 5th start of the season, while Corpus Christi sends Jonnathan Aristil to the mound for the 19th time, including his 18th start... Ben Snyder takes the mound in the first inning for the first time in his career against the Corpus Christi Hooks as he looks to help Frisco salvage a split with Corpus Christi. In his last start against the Arkansas Travelers, Snyder gave up 5 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run over 6 innings with 5 strikeouts. In four starts this season, Snyder is 2-1 with a 4.79 ERA. He has given up 26 hits and 4 walks over 20 2/3 innings with 17 strikeouts in those 4 starts. Overall on the season, Snyder has given up 59 hits and 17 walks with 42 strikeouts over 59 innings. At home this season, Ben is 2-2 with a 5.52 ERA in 15 appearances, including 3 starts... Jonnathan Aristil looks to continue his recent string of successful pitching lately as he can help Corpus Chrsiti to their second consecutive series win and second straight series win over Frisco. In his last start against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, Aristil gave up 8 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs over 5 innings with 6 strikeouts. Over his last 3 starts, Aristil has given up 15 hits, 4 walks, and 4 earned runs over 15 1/3 innings with 14 strikeouts. On the season, he has given up 91 hits, 47 walks, and struck out 85 batters over 88 1/3 innings. On the road, Jonnathan is 1-4 with a 6.00 ERA over 8 appearances, including 7 starts.


Frisco Fall to Hooks: Frisco got down early as they were down 3-0 after 2 and 4-0 after 4, and couldn't muster a comeback as the Riders fell 4-2 to the Hooks. Frisco is now in jeopardy of their 3rd series loss to the Corpus Christi Hooks.

Erlin Struggles: Robbie Erlin struggled early in the game giving up 3 base hits in the first inning and 5 in the first 2 innings. Erlin's only 3 up, 3 down inning came in the 5th inning and he finished with a line of 6 IP 10 H 4 R 4 ER 0 BB 5 K. He made 87 pitches, 62 for strikes, and induced 5 groundouts to 3 flyouts. It was his 2nd start in AA where Erlin has given up 10 hits, which are a career high. However, Erlin has not walked a batter in his last 20 innings pitched, which spans 80 batters faced.


Engel Beltre's Good Game: Engel Beltre came into Saturday's game 3 for his last 26 with 3 singles. On Saturday, Beltre went 2 for 3 with a double, triple, walk, and stole a base. It was his first multi extra base hit game since June 18th, 2010 while playing for the Bakersfield Blaze in the California League. Beltre's triple was his 4th of the season tying him with Davis Stoneburner for the team lead. Beltre is currently hitting .281 in the month of July with a .656 OPS, both would be season highs for a month. More promising is the fact that this came against a left handed pitcher, as Beltre is batting just .186 with a .426 OPS against left handed pitchers.

Johan Yan's Debut: The Texas Rangers promoted 22 year old reliever Johan Yan from Myrtle Beach to Frisco when they promoted Martin Perez to Round Rock. Johan Yan made his AA debut on Saturday by holding the Hooks scoreless for 2 innings of relief. Yan struck out one batter and walked one batter. He uses an interesting arm angle when delivering the pitch and hit the low 90s on the stadium gun. In 26 appearances for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans he was 5-3 with a 1.52 ERA and 10 saves in 10 save opportunities. He struck out 48 batters, walked 13 batters, and allowed 33 hits in 41 1/3 innings pitched.


Osuna Extends On Base Streak: Renny Osuna collected hit #291 in the 4-2 loss and in doing so extended his on base streak to 12 games. He finished 1 for 4 with a walk. Osuna is now batting .409 over his last 10 games and .393 in the month of July.

Steele Continues Success: T.J. Steele seems to love Frisco pitching or at least he hits Frisco pitching far better than anyone else. Steele has hit 5 homeruns and 10 total extra base hits in 23 games against the Frisco RoughRiders this season. His .744 OPS against the Riders is by far the best he has against any team this season. In fact, Frisco is the only team in the league that he has an OPS above .600 against this season. On Saturday he went 3 for 4 with 2 doubles to help that production as well. For his career, Steele has taken 33 walks and struck out 246 times in 967 plate appearances. His 8 walks this season are 3 short of setting a career high.

Perez Good In Debut: Martin Perez made his Round Rock debut yesterday and pitched 5 effective innings giving up 6 hits and 1 run with 4 strikeouts and 0 walks. He made 76 pitches, 48 of which went for strikes and induced 5 groundouts to 6 flyouts against the Memphis Redbirds. The 20 year old southpaw also picked up the win in the start to move to 5-2 on the season so far between Frisco and Round Rock.

Tracking the Texas League Homeruns: 688 homeruns in 722 games (0.953 HR/G)

Term of the Day: Ice Wagon- A player who runs slowly, resembling the labored movement of an ice wagon.

Last Year on This Date: Frisco gave up 3 runs in the top of the 8th inning and lost 4-2 to the Corpus Christi Hooks at home. Martin Perez started for Frisco and gave up 5 hits, 1 walks, and 1 run over 4 innings with 5 strikeouts. Tim Murphy pitched a shutout inning of relief, while Kasey Kiker gave up 1 run over 2 1/3 innings of relief. Adalberto Flores took the loss after giving up 2 runs over 2/3 of an inning and Beau Jones finished up the game with a scoreless inning. Joey Butler led the team with a 2 for 3 day including a double, walk, and run scored. Andy Jenkins went 1 for 3 with a homerun, 2 RBI, walk, and run scored. James Tomlin added 2 hits in 4 at bats, while Marcus Lemon led off with a 1 for 3 day including 2 walks for the Riders. Johnny Whittleman and Elio Sarmiento each added a hit as well.

Around the Ranger's System

Yesterday's Record: 4-1

Round Rock (AAA) scattered 3 runs between the 3rd and 6th innings and defeated the Memphis Redbirds 3-2 on the road. As noted Perez started the game and gave up 6 hits, 1 run, and 0 walks with 4 strikeouts over 5 innings in his AAA debut. Mark Hamburger gave up 1 run in 2 innings of relief, while Darren O'Day and Pedro Strop each pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Leonys Martin led Round Rock's offense with a 3 for 4 day including a double and a walk. He is batting .400 so far for Round Rock. Joey Butler went 1 for 3 with a homerun, RBI, walk, and 2 runs scored. Taylor Teagarden added 1 hit in 4 at bats including a double. Esteban German, Robbie Diaz, and Matt Kata each added a hit of their own.

Myrtle Beach (High-A) tied the game in the 9th inning and defeated the Salem Red Sox 8-6 in 13 innings on a walkoff homerun by Jared Bolden. Barret Loux got the start for Myrtle Beach and gave up 9 hits, 2 walks, and 6 runs (3 earned) over 6 innings with 4 strikeouts. Kennil Gomez pitched 4 innings of shutout relief, while Chad Bell pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief. Ryan Rodebaugh earned the win with 1 1/3 innings of relief. Ryan Strausborger went 4 for 7 with 3 doubles, and a RBI in the win. Jared Bolden went 4 for 7 with the game winning homerun, 3 RBI, and 2 runs for the Pelicans. Jared Prince added a 2 for 4 day with 3 RBI. He also had a sacrifice fly and a hit by pitch. Leury Garcia led off with a 3 for 7 game, stole a base, and scored 3 runs. Andres James also added 2 hits in 6 at bats. Vincent DiFazio and David Paisano each added a hit of their own.

Hickory (Low-A) scored 2 runs in each of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th and defeated the Delmarva Shorebirds 8-1 on the road. Joseph Van Meter started for Hickory and gave up 3 hits, 2 walks, and 1 run over 4 innings with 2 strikeouts. Ben Henry followed with 4 innings of shutout relief, while Jorge Marban pitched the 9th inning. Andrew Clark led the offensive attack with a 2 for 4 game including a double, a walk, and 3 RBI. Teodoro Martinez went 2 for 5 with a run and a stolen base. Christian Villanueva went 1 for 4 with a double, a hit by pitch, and a stolen base for the Crawdads. Yefry Castillo and Tomas Telis each had 2 hits as well for Hickory. Jhonny Gomez finished 1 for 4 with 3 RBI, while Jake Skole finished 1 for 4. Josh Richmond and Odubel Herrera each added a hit as well.

Spokane (Shorts Season A-Ball) scored 2 runs in the top of the 9th inning to win 7-5 over the Everett AquaSox on the road. Will Lamb started for Spokane and gave up 4 walks and struck out 4 over 4 shutout hitless innings. Richard Alvarez gave up 3 runs (1 earned) over 1 2/3 innings of relief. Jose Monegro gave up 2 runs over 2 1/3 innings of relief as well, while Kyle Hendricks pitched a shutout inning of relief for his 2nd save. Zach Cone led Spokane with a 4 for 5 day including a homerun, 3 RBI, and 2 runs scored. Guillermo Pimentel went 2 for 4 with a walk at the plate as well for the Indians. Nick Vickerson hit in front of Zach Cone and went 1 for 3 with 2 walks and a run scored. Jorge Alfaro hit a pinch hit 2-run homerun in the 9th inning to put Spokane on top. Edwin Garcia went 1 for 4 with a RBI, walk, and 2 runs, while Braxton Lane went 1 for 2 with 2 walks. 

Minor League Performance of the Day

Jobduan Morales continued his hot July by going 4 for 4 and hitting for the cycle for the Jamestown Jaguars of the New York Penn League in Jamestown's 13-6 win over the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. Jobduan Morales tripled to right field in the first inning, doubled to left field in the 3rd, walked in the 5th, homered to right field in the 6th, and singled to right field in the 8th inning. He finished 4 for 4 with a double, triple, homerun, 4 RBI, and scored 3 runs. The 20 year old catcher is currently hitting .325 with a 1.000 OPS through 77 at bats for the Jaguars. He was drafted in the 9th round by the Florida Marlins in the 2009 draft. Over 3 seasons in the minors, Morales is a career .285 hitter with a .768 OPS.

As always...

A special thanks to any blog followers from Why, AZ!

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 91: Corpus Christi Hooks (Xavier Cedeno) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Robbie Erlin)

Time: 7:00 PM CT
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (12-8 2 games back in the Texas League South; 52-38 overall)... Corpus Christi Hooks (9-11 5 games back in the Texas League South; 34-56 overall)
Streak: Lost 1 in a row
Last 10: 7-3
Homestand: 1-1
Series Record: 14-9-2
2011 Record against Corpus Christi: 11-11
All-Time Record against Corpus Christi: 106-100
Record on July 16th since 2004: 2-4
Starting Pitchers: Robbie Erlin (5-0 3.70 ERA) is 0-0 with a 2.70 ERA and 0.90 WHIP in 1 career start against the Corpus Christi Hooks... Xavier Cedeno (4-5 3.82 ERA) is 2-0 with a 1.87 ERA and 0.90 WHIP in 7 career appearances, including 5 starts against the Frisco RoughRiders

What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco sends Robbie Erlin to the mound for the 9th time this season, including his 8th start, while Corpus Christi sends Xavier Cedeno to the mound for the 19th time this season in a battle of each team's franchise strikeout leaders for a single game... Robbie Erlin takes the mound against Corpus Christi for the first time since he struck out 14 Hooks hitters on Sunday June 26th. In his June 26th start against the Hooks, Erlin set a Frisco record for strikeouts in a game and set a personal career high with 14 strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings. Erlin took the no decision in the outing, however, as Frisco lost on a 2-run walkoff homerun by T.J. Steele. In his last start, Erlin gave up 4 hits and 1 run over 7 strong innings with 4 strikeouts and 0 walks against the Arkansas Travelers. Over his last 3 starts, since having back to back rough outings against Midland, Erlin has given up 14 hits, 1 walk, and 3 earned runs over 19 2/3 innings with 24 strikeouts. He is 1-0 during those 3 starts. On the season for Frisco, Erlin has given up 47 hits and 6 walks with 48 strikeouts over 48 2/3 innings. On the season between Myrtle Beach and Frisco, he is 8-2 overall with a 2.87 ERA. He has given up 72 hits and 11 walks with 110 strikeouts over 103 1/3 innings. He leads all full season minor league pitchers with a 0.80 WHIP... The day after Robbie Erlin's 14 strikeout performance, Xavier Cedeno came out and struck out 9 batters in a row to open the game and finished with 14 strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings without issuing a walk and just 1 hit. He did not allow a run either, as his gamescore for the start was an incredible 86. Like Erlin, Cedeno received a no decision in the start, however, as Frisco scored 6 runs over the final 2 innings to win 6-3. Cedeno's 14 strikeouts, however, were a Corpus Christi Hook's single game record for strikeouts by a pitcher. In his last start, Cedeno gave up 7 hits, 1 walk, and 6 runs (4 earned) over 3 2/3 innings with 3 strikeouts against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. This will be Cedeno's 6th start this season against Frisco. He is 2-0 with a 1.47 ERA and 0.88 WHIP in the previous 5 starts, including a 35-3 K-BB ratio.


Hooks Steele Win From Frisco: For the second time this season T.J. Steele hit a homerun in the 9th inning to give Corpus Christi a win over Frisco. The last time it happened was in the start by Robbie Erlin in Corpus Christi. Friday's wasn't a walkoff, but it did enough damage to take a win from Frisco as Corpus Christi won 9-8 in a game that was anything but a pitchers duel. It was T.J. Steele's 3rd game deciding homerun this season and his 5th homerun this season against Frisco. He has 7 homeruns overall.

Richard Bleier Struggles Again: Richard Bleier continued his struggles as a starting pitcher this season as the left hander gave up 8 hits and 7 runs (6 earned) over 5 innings. He struck out 3 batters and did not issue a walk. The big blow was a 5 run 3rd inning for the Hooks. Bleier gave up a solo homerun to J.D. Martinez in the 2nd inning and a 3-run homerun to Chris Wallace in the 3rd inning with 2 outs. Corpus Christi pounded out 5 hits in the 5 run 3rd inning.

Greene's Big Game: Jonathan Greene has had his struggles since the beginning of June, but on Friday he went 2 for 4 with a double, homerun, 4 RBI, and a run scored. His homerun, a 3-run shot, tied the game at 7-7 in the 6th inning. His batting average is still at .298, however, and his OPS is still a solid .832. His 2 hits marked his 5th multi hit game in the last 10 games. The strikeouts have climbed for Jonathan Greene, however, as he has struck out 45 times since June 1st in 39 games with just 8 walks during that span. His 97 strikeouts this season are the 2nd most in the league behind San Antonio's Jaff Decker, who has 100. In fact, Frisco has 3 of the top 6 players in the Texas League in strikeouts this season with Greene (97), Tommy Mendonca (95), and Mike Bianucci (90). Jaff Decker has walked more times (80) than all three of those aforementioned RoughRiders combined (70).

Speaking of Bianucci: Mike Bianucci had a 3 for 4 game on Friday. It was his first multi hit game since July 1st. He also drove in a run and scored a run as well. Bianucci is batting .287 with a .903 OPS against left handed pitchers this year and Xavier Cedeno is a left hander.

#290: Renny Osuna continued his tear of late with another multi hit game as the shortstop went 2 for 4 on Friday with a run scored. The two hits got him to 290 for his career in Frisco, putting him 29 short of Steve Murphy's 319. In his last 10 games, Osuna has 7 multi hit games and is batting .444 over that span with a .479 OBP. His batting average against left handed pitchers this season is .351, although he has hit for more power against right handers. At home this season, Osuna is batting .315. Since the second half began, Osuna is batting .349 with 8 extra base hits in 20 games.


Jose Ruiz's Clutch Triple: While it was Greene's hit that tied the game in the 6th inning, it was Jose Ruiz's 2 RBI triple that helped get Frisco on the board in the 4th inning. He finished the game 1 for 4 with a triple, 3 RBI, and 2 runs scored. At Dr. Pepper Ballpark, Ruiz is now batting .314 with a .947 OPS this season. Of his 29 extra base hits, 20 have come at home. He has posted at least a .789 OPS in each month this season, including a .792 OPS in July so far. With men on base, Ruiz is batting .316 with an .896 OPS.

Tracking Texas League Homeruns: 681 in 714 games (0.954 HR/G)

Term of the Day: Foozle- 1. A play that is weakly or imperfectly performed. 2. For a fielder to fumble a batted ball. 3. For a batter to make an out.

Last Year on This Date: Frisco shutout the Corpus Christi Hooks 7-0 at home. Ryan Tatusko started for Frisco and gave up 6 hits, 1 walk, and struck out 5 batters over the complete game 9 innings. Johnny Whittleman led Frisco's offense with a 3 for 4 game including a double, homerun, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored. Marcus Lemon went 2 for 5 with 2 doubles, RBI, and run scored. Engel Beltre went 2 for 4 with a triple and 2 RBI. James Tomlin went 1 for 3 with a double, walk, and 2 runs scored. Renny Osuna added a 1 for 5 day with a RBI and a stolen base for the Riders. Emerson Frostad, Andy Jenkins, and Guilder Rodriguez each added a hit as well.

Around the Ranger's System

Yesterday's Record: 2-4

Round Rock (AAA) split a double header with the Memphis Redbirds winning game one 6-3 and losing game two 4-1...

Neil Ramirez started game one, but had to come out of the game after 1 2/3 innings. Ramirez had struck out 3 batters and walked 3 without allowing a hit or a run. Derek Hankins relieved Ramirez and allowed 3 runs over 3 1/3 innings pitched. Darren O'Day pitched a scoreless 6th and Cody Eppley pitched a scoreless 7th inning for his 8th save of the season. Chad Tracy went 2 for 4 with a RBI at the plate for Round Rock. Leonys Martin went 1 for 4 at the plate as well. Esteban German led the Express with a 3 for 3 game including a double, RBI, walk, 2 stolen bases, and a run. Matt Kata went 1 for 3 with a homerun and 2 RBI. Guilder Rodriguez added a 2 for 3 game with a RBI, while Joey Butler went 1 for 4 with a double. Chris Davis went 0 for 2 with a sac fly RBI and a walk. Brad Nelson added a hit of his own as well.

Ryan Tucker started the second game and gave up 3 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs over 2 1/3 innings with 3 strikeouts. Michael Kirkman gave up 2 runs over 2 1/3 innings of relief while Beau Jones pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Chris Davis went 1 for 3 with a homerun for Round Rock. Joey Butler went 1 for 2 with a double and a walk as well. Robbie Diaz added a hit for the Express, while Leonys Martin went 0 for 3 at the leadoff spot.

Myrtle Beach (High-A) scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 7th inning and scored a run in the 10th to win 4-3 in extra innings over the Salem Red Sox. Justin Grimm started for Myrtle Beach and gave up 5 hits, 1 walk, and 3 runs (2 earned) over 5 innings with 4 strikeouts. Ryan Kelly pitched 3 shutout innings of relief, while Zach Osborne picked up the win after 2 scoreless innings. Jared Bolden led Myrtle Beach with a 3 for 5 game including a RBI. Santiago Chirino went 2 for 3 with a double and a sac bunt. Jared Hoying went 1 for 4 with a double and a RBI, while Travis Adair went 1 for 5 with a triple for the Pelicans. David Paisano reached base three times via a double, walk, and hit by pitch. Jared Prince also went 1 for 3 with a walk and a hit by pitch. Leury Garcia and Zach Zaneski each had a hit as well.

Hickory (Low-A) faced #2 overall pick in the 2010 draft Jameson Taillon and the West Virginia Power and fell 6-5 on Friday. Nick Tepesch started for Hickory and gave up 8 hits, 2 walks, and 5 runs (4 earned) over 6 innings with 4 strikeouts. Colby Killian got the loss after giving up 1 run over 1 inning of relief, while Ben Rowen pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Jameson Taillon finished with a line of: 5 IP 9 H 5 R 1 BB 5 K. Top prospect Jurickson Profar went 2 for 4 with 2 doubles, a RBI, a stolen base, and a run scored. Josh Richmond also went 2 for 4, while Yefry Castilllo and Odubel Herrera each went 2 for 4 as well for the Crawdads. Christian Villanueva went 1 for 4 with a double, RBI, and run scored. Teodoro Martinez added a 1 for 3 day with a RBI, walk, stolen base, and run scored. Kellin Deglan also added a hit of his own.

Spokane (Short Season A-Ball) gave up 3 runs in the 1st inning and fell 8-2 to the Everett AquaSox. Christopher Hanna started for Spokane and gave up 7 hits, 1 walk, and 4 runs (3 earned) over 3 2/3 innings with 6 strikeouts. Leonel De Los Santos gave up 2 runs over 3 innings of relief, while Samuel Robinson gave up 2 runs over 1 1/3 innings. Trever Adams led the Spokane offense with a 2 for 4 game. Nick Vickerson added a 1 for 4 day with a double for the Indians. Hirotoshi Onaka had a 1 for 4 day while Zach Cone went 1 for 3 with a RBI, and a walk. Brett Nicholas went 1 for 3 too with a walk, while Guillermo Pimentel went 1 for 4 with a RBI.

Minor League Performance of the Day

Jose Quintana just made the move into the Tampa Yankee's rotation 4 starts ago and 4 starts in, he had his first dominant start over 5 innings. In Tampa's 1-0 win over the Palm Beach Cardinals, Quintana gave up just 3 hits over 7 shutout innings with 9 strikeouts. He faced Palm Beach's top starter talent wise in Carlos Martinez, who was recently rated as the #4 prospect in baseball by Keith Law. And Quintana outpitched him. Since moving into the rotation, Quintana has given up 12 hits, walked 6 batters, and given up just 2 earned runs over 20 innings with 17 strikeouts. On the season, Quintana has appeared in 21 games and gone 6-0 with 1 save. He has given up 35 hits, walked 18, and struck out 56 batters over 54 innings pitched. The 22 year old southpaw was signed out of Columbia by the New York Yankees as an international signing in 2008.

As always...

A special thanks to any blog followers from Shoofly, NC!

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 90: Corpus Christi Hooks (Dallas Keuchel) @ Frisco RoughRiders (Richard Bleier)

Time: 7:05 PM CT
Location: Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, TX)
Team Records: Frisco RoughRiders (12-7 1 game back in the Texas League South; 52-37 overall)... Corpus Christi Hooks (8-11 5 games back in the Texas League South; 33-56 overall)
Streak: Won 6 in a row
Last 10: 8-2
Homestand: 1-0
Series Record: 14-9-2
2011 Record against Corpus Christi: 11-10
All-Time Record against Corpus Christi: 106-99
Record on July 15th since 2004: 3-3
Starting Pitchers: Richard Bleier (3-3 5.43 ERA) is 2-3 with a 4.01 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in 8 career appearances, including 7 starts against the Corpus Christi Hooks... Dallas Keuchel (7-6 2.80 ERA) is 1-4 with a 4.36 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in 6 career starts against the Frisco RoughRiders.

What to Watch for on the Mound: Frisco sends Richard Bleier to the mound for the 17th time this season, including his 9th start, while Corpus Christi sends Dallas Keuchel to the mound for the 17th start this season in a battle of southpaws... Richard Bleier looks to continue his solid pitching of late as he takes the place of Martin Perez for now as Perez was promoted to AAA Round Rock yesterday. In his last start on July 9th, Bleier gave up 7 hits and 2 runs (1 earned) over 6 2/3 innings with 2 strikeouts and 0 walks. He threw 16 first pitch strikes to the 27 batters he faced (59%). Over his last 6 appearances, Bleier has given up 15 hits and 1 walk over 14 1/3 innings with 7 strikeouts. He is 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA over that span. As a starting pitcher this season, Bleier is 2-3 with a 6.20 ERA in 8 starts. He has given up 67 hits over 45 innings in those 8 starts. On the season, Bleier has given up 87 hits and 8 walks with 34 strikeouts over 64 2/3 innings. The 24 year old is 1-1 with a 6.49 ERA at home this season... Dallas Keuchel also looks to continue his great pitching of late. In his last start, Keuchel gave up 10 hits, 1 walk, and 4 runs over 6 2/3 innings with 5 strikeouts. He is 5-4 with a 2.33 ERA over his last 10 appearances, including a span of 5 consecutive starts from June 10th to July 3rd where he gave up 1 or less earned runs while pitching 7 innings. Keuchel has gone at least 7 innings in 8 of his 16 starts this season, including a complete game shutout against Arkansas on May 29th. Overall, he has given up 94 hits and 25 walks with 58 strikeouts over 103 innings this season. On the road, Keuchel has gone 4-3 with a 2.38 ERA in 8 starts.

Frisco Wins Sixth In a Row: Frisco matched a season high sixth win a  row with a 2-1 walkoff win in the 9th inning on Thursday night against Corpus Christi. Both Erick Abreu and Joe Wieland had nearly identical lines as the two starters went at it in a pitchers duel for their 6 innings before leaving it up to the bullpens. Frisco received their 31st win this season from the bullpen as Frisco's relievers are 31-12 this season. It also represented their 10th win when tied after 8 innings. They are 10-5 in such scenarios.

Joe Wieland's Great Start: Joe Wieland had little trouble with the Jose Altuve-less Corpus Christi Hooks after he gave up a first inning solo homerun to Jimmy Paredes. Wieland gave up 2 hits and a walk in the first inning and settled down to give up 3 hits and 0 walks over the final 5 frames. He finished with a line of: 6 IP 5 H 1 R 1 BB 6 K 88 pitches-57 strikes. He threw 13 first pitch strikes to the 25 batters he faced (52%) and got 6 groundouts to 4 flyouts. His 63 game score was his best for Frisco in 4 AA starts.


Osuna Collects 2 Hits, Walks Off: Renny Osuna continues to try to climb the ladder in the hits list as the infielder went 2 for 4 with a walk, stole a base, and the game winning RBI in the 9th inning. He is now at 288 hits for his career for Frisco, putting him 31 shy of Steve Murphy's 319. He is batting .326 with an .829 OPS this season when batting 1st in the lineup. Last season he batted just .206 with a .501 OPS when hitting 1st in the order. Since June 1st, Osuna has seen 710 pitches and swung and missed at just 39 of them.

Stoneburner Goes Deep: Davis Stoneburner tied the game at 1-1 with a solo homerun in the 4th inning. It was his first homerun since May 23rd, although he has been a steady bat in the lineup during that time still. On the season he is batting .273 with a .333 OBP, .441 SLG, and .774 OPS.

Brigham Big in Relief: Jake Brigham struggled early on in his transition as a reliever giving up runs in 3 of his first 4 appearances. Since then, however, the right hander has been nails for Frisco pitching 6 scoreless innings over his last 3 appeaances. On Thursday he played a big role in keeping the game tied at 1-1 after Wieland had pitched terrific. Brigham's only baserunner came on a hit by pitch to J.D. Martinez. But he struck out 2 and got the ball to Justin Miller who ended up with the victory. He made 25 pitches and 18 of those went for strikes.

Perez Gets the Promotion: After nearly 2 seasons in Frisco, 20 year old southpaw Martin Perez earned a promotion to AAA Round Rock. In mid season updated lists, he was recently rated as the 6th best prospect by Baseball America, the 10th best prospect by Keith Law, and the 9th best prospect by Scout.com's Frankie Piliere.

Here's what Perez did in his time in Frisco:
46 Appearances
44 Games
10 Wins
3,674 Pitches
2,277 Strikes
61.9% Strike%
198 Strikeouts (2nd All-Time)
924 Batters Faced

Tracking Texas League Homeruns: 671 in 706 games (0.950 HR/G)

Term of the Day: Fat One- A homerun pitch; a pitch that is delivered down the middle of the strike zone and easy to hit.

Last Year on This Date: Frisco gave up 2 runs in the 9th inning and lost 5-4 to the Corpus Christi Hooks at home. Richard Bleier started for Frisco and gave up 8 hits and 3 runs over 7 innings with 3 strikeouts and 0 walks. Evan Reed pitched a scoreless 8th inning. Adalberto Flores took the loss after giving up 2 runs in the 9th inning. Engel Beltre led Frisco with 2 hits in 4 at bats including a RBI and a run scored. Renny Osuna also went 2 for 4 with a run scored and stolen base. Marcus Lemon went 1 for 4 with a walk at the plate for the Riders. Joey Butler, Taylor Teagarden, and Johnny Whittelman each had a hit as well.

Around the Ranger's System

Yesterday's Record: 4-1

Round Rock (AAA) scored 5 runs in the 6th inning and defeated the Memphis Redbirds 6-2 on the road. Eric Hurley started for Round Rock and improved to 3-0 on the season. He gave up 4 hits, 3 walks, and struck out 5 batters over 6 shutout innings. Mark Hamburger gave up 2 runs in 1 2/3 innings, while Beau Jones and Pedro Strop combined for 1 1/3 innings of shutout relief. Chris Davis went 2 for 5 at the plate with 2 runs scored. Brad Nelson led Round Rock with a 3 for 5 day including a double and 3 RBI. Leonys Martin added a 2 for 5 day for the Express. Chad Tracy finished 1 for 3 with 2 walks as well. Esteban German, Matt Kata, and Guilder Rodriguez each added a hit of their own.

Myrtle Beach (High-A) won a close game 6-5 over the Salem Red Sox at home. Wilfredo Boscan started for Myrtle Beach and earned his 3rd win of the season for them. Boscan gave up 5 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs (1 earned) over 6 2/3 innings with 3 strikeouts. Trevor Hurley gave up 3 runs in 1 inning of relief, but Joe Ortiz and Johan Yan each had 2/3 innings of shutout relief. Jared Prince went 3 for 4 at the plate with a homerun, walk, and 2 runs scored. David Paisano added 3 hits in 4 at bats as well including a double and a RBI. Jared Bolden added a 2 for 4 day including a double, walk, and 2 runs scored. Santiago Chirino also had 2 hits in 4 at bats for the Pelicans including a double, RBI, walk, and 2 runs scored. Jared Hoying and Andres James each added a hit as well.

Hickory (Low-A) scored 6 runs in the first 4 innings and defeated the West Virginia Power 6-2 on the road. Cody Buckel started for Hickory and gave up 1 hit, 1 walk, and 2 unearned runs over 5 innings with 4 strikeouts. Jimmy Reyes and Jorge Marban combined for 4 shutout innings of relief. Top prospect Jurickson Profar had a rare 0 for 4 game for Hickory. 2010 1st round pick Jake Skole, however, went 2 for 4 with a double, homerun, 2 RBI, and scored 2 runs for the Crawdads. Christian Villanueva also went 1 for 4 with a homerun, as part of back to back homeruns by Villanueva and Skole. Odubel Herrera added a 1 for 3 day with a RBI and run scored. Teodoro Martinez and Tomas Telis each had a hit in the game as well, as did Andrew Clark and Josh Richmond.

Spokane (Short Season A-Ball) gave up 8 runs in the 1st inning and fell 16-9 to the Everett AquaSox on the road. Victor Payano started for Spokane and gave up 4 hits, 3 walks, and 8 runs (4 earned) over 2/3 of an inning without a strikeout. Carlos Melo gave up 2 runs over 2 2/3 innings of relief. Juan Grullon gave up 2 runs over 2/3 of an inning. Andres Perez-Lobo also gave up 3 runs over 2 innings, while Phil Klein gave up 1 unearned run over 2 innings of relief. Trever Adams went 2 for 5 with a triple, 3 RBI, and run scored at the plate for Spokane. Hirotoshi Onaka added a 2 for 4 day with a walk and 2 runs scored. He is batting .250 with a .473 OBP this season. Zach Cone went 1 for 3 with a RBI for the Indians. Guillermo Pimentel added a 1 for 4 day including a double and 2 RBI. Nick Vickerson, Drew Robinson, Edwin Garcia, and Brett Nicholas each added a hit of their own as well.

Minor League Performance of the Day

Few performance this season have been as great as David Flore's night on Thursday, let alone the ones that took place on Thursday. During the Lancaster JetHawk's 13-7 victory over the High Desert Mavericks, David Flores went 4 for 5 with 3 homeruns, 7 RBI, and 4 runs scored. He increased his OPS by 110 points in the single game. On the season for Lancaster, Flores is batting .325/.398/.553/.951 with 8 doubles, 6 homeruns, and 24 RBI in 114 at bats. He began the 2011 season playing for the Corpus Christi Hooks and batted .212 with a .617 OPS through 38 games for the Hooks earlier this season. Flores, 24 years old, was selected by the Houston Astros in the 18th round of the 2008 draft.

As always...

A special thanks to any blog followers from Bigfoot, TX!

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