Frisco RoughRiders Game Notes
July 22, 2014 - Texas League (TL1)
Frisco RoughRiders News Release
Double-A batteries: The Double-A combination of Alec Asher and Trever Adams helped carry the way for the RoughRiders as Frisco earned a 6-1 victory over Midland in the series opener last night between the two teams. Asher set the tone, blitzing his way through the RockHounds lineup, holding the hosts to one run on five hits over 7.1 innings. His offense gave him the lead in the fifth inning when Teodoro Martinez singled, moved to third on a Guilder Rodriguez double and scored on Patrick Cantwell's infield single. Midland got that run back later in the inning on a Conner Crumbliss sac fly, but Drew Robinson's double in the sixth scored Joey Gallo from first base to push Frisco back in front. In the seventh, Cantwell added another RBI single before Adams blasted a three-run home run into the RoughRiders bullpen to blow the game open. The win was Frisco's third in a row.
Today's Pitching Matchup - Game One: In the first game of today's doubleheader, right-handers Jerad Eickhoff and Drew Granier lock horns at Security Bank Ballpark. Eickhoff was defeated by Corpus Christi on Thursday night, allowing three runs over five innings in rainy conditions. He has allowed three or fewer runs in his last seven outings (3.32 ERA) and in eight of his last nine. He is 0-1 with a 4.26 ERA in two starts against Midland. Over Granier's last five games, he has allowed four or more runs three times and zero runs twice. He has faced Frisco twice, going 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA. Last year Granier evenly split his 28 starts between Midland and Stockton, going 9-9 with a 4.17 ERA between the two stops, striking out 153 with 82 walks and 153 hits allowed in 155.1 innings. After going 6-3 with a 3.25 ERA for the Ports and making the California League mid-season All-Star team, he went 3-6 with a 5.23 ERA for the 'Hounds. A 32nd round draft pick by the A's in 2010 out of the University of Louisiana at Monroe, Granier spent his first full pro season with Single-A Burlington in 2012. In 28 starts he went 11-10 with a 3.21 ERA, 149 hits allowed, 167 strikeouts and 53 walks in 162.2 innings; he was named an MiLB.com Organizational All-Star after the season and was a Midwest League mid-season All-Star. He led all Oakland minor leaguers in innings, was second in strikeouts, tied for second in wins and was fourth in ERA. He also had success in his first season, going 6-2 with a 1.75 ERA, 69 strikeouts and 29 walks in 51.1 innings (13 games) for the AZL Athletics and Vermont. Granier was a two-time (2006 & 2007) All-State and Louisville Slugger All-American at Thibodaux (La.) High School and hoped to attend LSU, but then- head coach Smoke Laval was forced out and Granier ended up spending two seasons at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. He was named first-team All-State and All-Conference for the Bulldogs in his sophomore season before moving on to the Warhawks . His coach at ULM, Jeff Schexnaider, is the cousin of Granier's high school coach. He led the Warhawks in strikeouts in his two seasons and went 4-6 with a 4.60 ERA during his senior season. During the 2009 and 2010 summers, he played for the Harrisonburg (Va.) Turks in the Valley Baseball League and was a two-time All-Star. Granier throws an average fastball that tops out at 90-91 mph, a slider that is effective against righties, a curveball and a changeup that needs the most improvement of all his offerings. He relies for on location and pitchability rather than velocity and his manager Aaron Nieckula describes him as having a bulldog mentality.
Today's Pitching Matchup - Game Two: In game two, Martire Garcia starts opposite Murphy Smith. Garcia is making his first start with Frisco and has not allowed a run over 7.1 relief innings (two hits, five walks, eight strikeouts). He made a spot start for Myrtle Beach on July 10 and got the loss at Winston-Salem, allowing three runs on five hits in four innings. He was used as a starter during his five seasons in the Twins organization. Smith is making his second start of the season; over his last five relief outings, he has allowed just one run in 12 innings (0.75 ERA). In four games against Frisco this year, he has an 8.00 ERA and a .368 batting average against. Over the last two years against the RoughRiders, Smith was 2-4 with a 3.89 ERA (31 ER/71.2 IP), 36 strikeouts, 22 walks and a .259 batting average against (69 for 266). The righty was a Texas League mid-season All-Star last year, going 9-8 with a3.48 ERA, 98 strikeouts and 48 walks in 150 innings. Smith was drafted by Oakland in the 13th round in 2009 out of Binghamton (N.Y.) University, where he was the America East Pitcher of the Year after going 7-3 with a 3.12 ERA in his junior season with 84 strikeouts and 14 walks in 89.1 innings. The Clifton Park, N.Y. native attended Shenendehowa High School, the alma mater of former Ranger Dan Peltier (1992-93).
St. Patrick's Month: RoughRiders catcher Patrick Cantwell had one of his best games of the season on Monday, going 3 for 5 with a double, two RBI and a run scored. He matched a season-high in both hits and runs batted in, and the three-hit game was his second in three contests. Cantwell has a hit in 28 of his last 37 games and over this stretch is batting .302 with seven doubles, one home run, 22 RBI and 20 runs scored. He has raised his batting average from .122 to .259, the highest point it has reached all season. If it holds, it would be the highest average of his three-season pro career.
Odubel your pleasure: Odubel Herrera did not have his loudest game in last night's series opener, but he still found a way to reach base with a bunt single in the seventh inning. Herrera has a hit in 22 of his last 25 games and is batting .361 during this stretch. Over the last 34 games, the All-Star second baseman has had multiple hits 16 times and is sporting a .385 clip during this stretch with six doubles, two triples, 16 RBI, 16 runs scored, seven walks, seven steals and a .425 on-base percentage. Since June 11, he leads the Texas League in batting average (ranking ninth among all full-season minor leaguers) and is second in on-base percentage.
Top of the Rock: Tonight the RoughRiders continue their series with the Midland RockHounds, owners of the best record in the Texas League following a furious stretch of winning baseball. After dropping six consecutive games shortly after the All-Star break, Midland has gone 14-4, winning nine in a row at one point. The 'Hounds have been bolstered by a good run of pitching, as the team's 3.13 ERA stands as one of the best among all full-season minor league teams since July 3. Midland has captured four walk-off wins over this period (all at the expense of San Antonio) and has won five one-run games. The RoughRiders and RockHounds have not played in more than a month when Midland swept a rain-shortened three-game series at Security Bank Ballpark. Frisco had lost its last five road games to the 'Hounds prior to winning Monday night's series opener.
A (pretty big) blip on the radar: The RoughRiders bullpen settled back into its groove the last three nights, tossing 8.2 scoreless in- nings in three games after giving up nine runs in the ninth inning to Corpus Christi on Friday. Outside of Friday's game, which included that season-worst frame, the Frisco relief corps has been tremendous since June 29, going 6-1 with a 1.32 ERA (10 ER/68.1 IP), 39 hits allowed, 38 walks, 69 strikeouts and one home run. The Future is now: Third baseman Joey Gallo played in July 13th's Sirius/XM All-Star Future's Game at Target Field in Minneapolis and the power hitter did not disappoint. After blasting 15 home runs during batting practice, Gallo went 1 for 4 with a game-winning two-run home run in the sixth inning to propel the U.S. team to a 3-2 victory over the World. Gallo was named the game's MVP for his efforts, becoming the first Rangers prospect to win the honor. A year after becoming the first teenager in more than 50 years to hit 40 home runs in a minor league season, the 20-year-old became the first player in pro baseball to hit 30 home runs this season on July 3. He is second only to Iowa's Kris Bryant for the most in the minors with 31. Minor League Baseball's reigning home run king, the Las Vegas native is second in the minors in slugging percentage (.667), second in OPS (1.090) and fifth in total bases (210).
Playing not to lose: Frisco went 70-70 in 2013 and its all-time record is 875-751 (.538). It was the eighth straight season that the RoughRiders finished with a non-losing record. The last time Frisco finished below .500 was the only time in team history, back in 2005 when it finished 58-82. The streak of non-losing seasons is by far the longest in the Texas League; every other team in the circuit has had at least one losing season in the last three years. The streak is the longest in Double-A and the third-longest among all 120 full- season minor league clubs, exceeded only by the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats (11 straight non-losing seasons) and the Advanced-A San Jose Giants (ten). Including teams that play in short-season leagues, Frisco's streak is the sixth longest; the Elizabethton Twins (25), Brooklyn Cyclones (13) and AZL Giants (13) have the longest such streaks in stateside Minor League Baseball.
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