PCL1 Round Rock Express

Express Ninth-Inning Rally Falls Short 8-7

Published on May 21, 2010 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release


ROUND ROCK, Texas - Drew Locke grounded into a game-ending fielder's choice with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth as the Round Rock Express dropped an 8-7 decision to the Reno Aces in Friday night's Pacific Coast League action at The Dell Diamond. It was the 11th one-run loss of the season for the Express (18-23), while the Aces (20-22) snapped a three-game losing streak and evened the series at one game apiece with the win.

Round Rock trailed 8-3 heading to the bottom of the ninth but sent 10 batters to the plate in the frame, scoring four runs. Locke and Jason Bourgeois started the rally with consecutive singles to open the inning, and Matt Kata followed with an RBI single. Reno reliever Jordan Norberto then struck out Brian Bogusevic and Chris Shelton, but a wild pitch pushed Kata and Bourgeois to second and third, respectively.

That is when things got interesting. With first base open, Chris Johnson drew his second intentional walk of the game. Norberto followed that with a walk of Jason Castro, forcing home Bourgeois. Pinch-hitter Michael Garciapara followed with a two-run single, cutting the deficit to 8-7. Reno closer Daniel Stange entered the game and walked Marcos Cabral on four pitches to reload the bases, but Stange worked ahead of Locke at 0-and-2 and induced the game-ending ground ball for his first save of the season.

Reno starter Wes Roemer (1-0) earned the victory in his first career Triple-A start. The 2007 first-round pick allowed two runs, one earned, on eight hits and two walks with four strikeouts over 7.0 innings. He also had a two-out infield single that set the stage for Pedro Ciriaco's two-run single in the second.

Round Rock starter Polin Trinidad (2-2) suffered his least effective start of the season and took the loss. He allowed eight runs - the most by any Express starter this season - on 12 hits and a walk with two strikeouts over 4.1 innings. T.J. Burton spelled Trinidad in the fifth and stranded one runner before working a perfect sixth. Tim Byrdak - on a rehab assignment, Jonah Bayliss and Evan Englebrook each worked a scoreless inning and recorded one strikeout.

Ciario's two-out, two-run single snapped a scoreless tie in the top of the second. Round Rock responded in the bottom of the frame as Johnson doubled with one out, and Jason Castro followed with an RBI single. However, Reno's three-run fourth and fifth innings book-ended a solo spot for the Express in the bottom of the fourth, pushing the Aces' lead to 8-2. Carlos Corporan's two-run homer capped the three-run fourth, and Chris Rahl's two-run homer capped the three-run fifth.

Johnson, who was 2-for-2 with three walks and four runs scored, drilled a one-out solo home run in the eighth. It was his sixth hit in as many at bats this series; with his intentional walk in the ninth, Johnson has reached safely in nine consecutive plate appearances. Johnson has homered in consecutive games and in three of the last four.

Bourgeois was 3-for-4 with a run scored; that extends his hitting streak to 10 games, the longest by an Express player this season. Kata was 2-for-5 with a walk and an RBI, extending his hitting streak to nine games; it also was his eighth multiple-hit game during the streak. Cabral added a pair of hits, including an RBI single in the fourth.

Reno's five-through-eight-hole batters all turned in multiple-hit games. Rahl led the way, going 3-for-5 with two RBI and three runs scored. Corporan, Ryan Roberts and Mark Hallberg each had two hits; Rahl and Corporan had two RBI apiece.

Round Rock and Reno continue their four-game series Saturday with a 7:05 p.m. CDT first pitch at The Dell Diamond. Right-hander Sergio Perez (0-0, 0.00 ERA) makes his first start for the Express after being promoted from Double-A Corpus Christi earlier in the week. Right-hander Bryan Augenstein (2-5, 5.76 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Aces.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from May 21, 2010


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