May 25, 2013
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Round Rock Express Sink Memphis Redbirds 7-1

May 7, 2012 - Pacific Coast League (PCL) Round Rock Express

ROUND ROCK, Texas - Martin Perez had an inauspicious first inning but settled in for his best outing of the season as the Round Rock Express defeated the Memphis Redbirds 7-1 in Monday afternoon's Pacific Coast League series finale at The Dell Diamond. The Express (16-16) claimed the series three-games-to-one and returned to .500 for the first time since the beginning of the season. The Redbirds (13-18) fell to 5-11 on the road.

Perez (3-2) surrendered an Adron Chambers double on the game's first pitch; two batters later, Steven Hill scored Chambers with another double. Matt Adams followed with a deep drive to left that Express left fielder Ryan Spilborghs caught with his back against the wall. Perez surrendered a leadoff single and a one-out walk in the second and then found his groove, retiring 14 consecutive batters until Cazana's sixth-inning leadoff single.

That gave the Express bats a chance to rally after opening the game 0-for-11 with a walk against Memphis starter Brandon Dickson. That stretch ended with Spilborghs fourth-inning single after Yangervis Solarte drew a leadoff walk. A Memphis error led to Round Rock's first run, and Matt Kata followed with a three-run homer that proved to be the game-winning hit. Luis Martinez capped the five-run fourth with an RBI double.

Solarte had a one-out single in the fifth, pushing his hitting streak to 18 games. That ties Mark Saccomanno's 2008 streak for the longest in Express history (Triple-A era - since 2005). Solarte also matched Travis Snyder (Las Vegas) for the PCL's longest streak this season.

Julio Borbon chipped in with an RBI single in the seventh, and Kata added an RBI single in the eighth.

Perez allowed one run on four hits and a walk with four strikeouts over seven innings - his longest outing at the Triple-A level. It was his longest outing at any level since working seven innings May 26, 2010, with Double-A Frisco at Northwest Arkansas. Perez is 3-1 over his last five starts. Tyler Tufts allowed only a ninth-inning, one-out single in two scoreless innings of relief.

Dickson (2-2) was saddled with the loss; he yielded five runs, only three of which were earned, on four hits and two walks with two strikeouts over five innings.

Kata and Spilborghs both had two-hit games, while Bianucci and Spilborghs each scored twice. Cazana had two of Memphis' five hits.

Round Rock embarks on an eight-game road trip Tuesday, opening a four-game series against the Salt Lake Bees. First pitch is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. CDT at Spring Mobile Ballpark in Salt Lake City. Right-hander Neil Ramirez (3-2, 4.04 ERA) is slated to go for the Express opposite Bees right-hander Matt Shoemaker (2-1, 5.55 ERA).

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Pacific Coast League Stories from May 7, 2012


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