Riders Game Notes - 6:30 p.m. at Midland RockHounds - June 21, 2016
June 21, 2016 - Texas League (TL1) - Frisco RoughRiders News Release
Riders: RHP Reed Garrett (2-1, 4.74 ERA)
RockHounds: RHP James Naile (0-1, 6.00 ERA)
Today's game can be heard on the RoughRiders Radio Network at Ridersbaseball.com/media, online and on mobile devices via TuneIn Radio, or on the MiLB First Pitch App. The Dr Pepper Pregame Show with Steve Goldberg begins at 5:55 p.m. prior to the first pitch at 6:30 p.m. with game coverage from Nathan Barnett and Ryan Rouillard. Today's Dr Pepper Pregame Show is right-handed pitcher Jose Valdespina.
LAST TIME OUT:
The RoughRiders came from behind, down 2-0, to beat the Midland RockHounds 3-2 on the final day of the first half on Monday night...ANDY IBANEZ blasted a two-run homer in the sixth, and ALBERTO TRIUNFEL plated a run on a two-out, two-strike double in the seventh to put the Riders ahead...VICTOR PAYANO tossed 6 1/3 innings of two-run ball for the win, and JOSE VALDESPINA pitched 2 2/3 innings of perfect relief to close out the game and earn his second save.
A NEW SLATE:
The second half begins today in the Texas League. The winner of each division in each half make the playoffs, so the Riders need to capture a second-half South Division title to earn a berth in the postseason. Should either division winner from the first half (Springfield and Corpus Christi) win the second half as well, the second-best overall record in that division would head to the postseason. In that scenario, Frisco enters today with 5.5 game lead over Midland and a 16.5 game lead over San Antonio.
BY THE SKIN OF THEIR TEETH:
With both games in this series decided by one run thus far, the RoughRiders and RockHounds continue a trend of playing close games. Of the 14 meetings in the season series, 10 games have been decided by two-or-fewer runs with six one-run games, including each of the last three contests. The largest margin of victory is six runs (8-2 Midland def. Frisco, 6/13), and even that game was close until late, as it was tied 0-0 through five innings. The Riders have outscored the RockHounds 60-58 on the year.
THE SPRINGFIELD SEVEN:
Last week, the Texas League announced its midseason all-stars and seven RoughRiders earned all-star honors. Infielder RONALD GUZMAN and outfielder RYAN CORDELL were both named starters, while outfielder PRESTON BECK and catcher ISIAH KINER-FALEFA earned reserve spots. Starting pitchers CONNOR SADZECK and VICTOR PAYANO, along with reliever ADAM PARKS also were named mid-season all-stars. It was the sixth-straight year the RoughRiders had at least seven players named to the All-Star Game, and Frisco's seven selections were third-most in the Texas League, behind Tulsa (nine) and Corpus Christi (nine). The 2016 Texas League All-Star Game takes place Tuesday, June 28 in Springfield, Missouri.
EATEN UP BY ERRORS:
For most of the season, the RoughRiders have been one of the best defensive teams in the Texas League. However, in the last 15 games, the RoughRiders have committed 18 errors (1.2 per game), leading to 18 unearned runs. By comparison, they had committed just 37 errors in the first 54 games (0.69 per game). EVAN VAN HOOSIER, who played his first five career games at third base last week, made four of the 13 errors as he adjusts to the new position. ANDY IBANEZ has accounted for three of the miscues in that span, and LUIS SILVA made two blunders in his state-side debut on Sunday.
BECK BUSTING OUT:
PRESTON BECK has become a key contributor for the Riders over the last month. The Dallas-native has reached base in 27 of his last 31 games, including on-base streaks of 14 (5/13-6/1) and seven (6/3-6/13) games. Over his last 31 games (since May 13), Beck is hitting .295 with four doubles, two triples, three home runs, and 13 RBI. He also sports a .352 on-base percentage and a slugging percentage of .446 in that span. Beck qualified for the league leaderboard Thursday and was seventh in league average prior to going 3-for-16 over the last three games.
CORDELL COMES BACK CRUSHING:
RoughRiders outfielder RYAN CORDELL broke out of his longest homerless stretch of the season Tuesday in a big way, hitting a pair of solo home runs in a 5-4 win over Midland. It was his second multi-home run game of the season, both of which have come against the RockHounds. After hitting 10 home runs in his first 35 games, Cordell went homerless in 26 straight games (90 at-bats) from May 16 through June 13 before his big day Tuesday. Cordell continued his recent surge with a 3-for-4 performance in game one of Thursday's doubleheader, including his 13th home run of the year. Friday, he hit his 14th homer and his first opposite-field shot of the year.
RANGERS ON REHAB:
Thanks to their geographic proximity to Arlington, the Riders have already had a handful of Rangers join the squad on Major League rehabilitation assignments this season. A.J. GRIFFIN made his third rehab start with Frisco Sunday and is the sixth rehabber to suit up for the RoughRiders this season. Griffin joins catchers CHRIS GIMENEZ and ROBINSON CHIRINOS, outfielders JOSH HAMILTON and SHIN-SOO CHOO, and right-handed pitcher YU DARVISH on rehab assignments this season.
OPPOSING STARTER:
James Naile makes his second Double-A start and first against the RoughRiders today...The right-hander has spent the bulk of the season with the Stockton Ports, making one Double-A start and two Triple-A starts prior to today...The second-year pro was taken out of the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the 20th round in last year's MLB draft after a stellar junior season. Naile has the third highest groundout/air-out ratio in the minors (2.66).
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Texas League Stories from June 21, 2016
- Drillers Rally Late for 9-5 Comeback Win to Start 2nd Half - Springfield Cardinals
- Drillers Rally to Take Second-Half Opener - Tulsa Drillers
- Naturals Bust out Bats to Begin Second Half - Arkansas Travelers
- San Antonio's Struggles against Corpus Christi Continue in Second Half Opener - San Antonio Missions
- Ninth-Inning Rally Lifts Riders to Second Straight Win - Frisco RoughRiders
- Naturals Open Second Half with 9-2 Victory - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Riders Game Notes - 6:30 p.m. at Midland RockHounds - June 21, 2016 - Frisco RoughRiders
- Tulsa Outfielder Toles Named Texas League Player of the Week - Tulsa Drillers
- Grills, Frias Added to All-Stars - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Extra Effort Punctuates Half - Corpus Christi Hooks
- First Half Ends with Frustrating 5-4 Loss - Tulsa Drillers
- San Antonio's First Half Ends with Extra-Inning Loss to Corpus Christi - San Antonio Missions
- An Unlikely Hero (Villain) & the RockHounds Marching Band - Midland RockHounds
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