NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



 Round Rock Express

Round Rock Express Game Notes

May 24, 2010 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release


TONIGHT'S GAMES

Round Rock continues its third home stand of the season Monday, opening a four-game series against the Las Vegas 51s (Toronto Blue Jays). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CDT at The Dell Diamond. This is the lone scheduled meeting this season between the Express and 51s. Round Rock lost three of four at Las Vegas last season, dropping the final three games of the series after winning the opener 5-4. The teams split a two-game series in the 51s last visit to The Dell Diamond in 2008. Round Rock is 5-5 in its last 10 games; the Express split a four-game series against Reno, winning the opener and the finale. Las Vegas is 4-6 in its last 10 games; the 51s split a four-game series at Albuquerque, also winning the opener and the finale.

EXPRESS ON THE AIR

Today's game will be broadcast live on "The Horn" 104.9 FM ESPN Austin. Pregame starts at 15 minutes prior to first pitch with veteran Express play-by-play man Mike Capps on the call. Live streaming audio of the broadcast also is available online at www.ESPNAustin.com. ... Home games also are simulcast on 92.5 FM and 1530 AM. Games at The Dell Diamond also are broadcast on 88.9 FM throughout the stadium.

STARTING PITCHERS

EXPRESS LHP WESLEY WRIGHT

Third season with the Astros organization, eighth year in professional baseball ... Obtained from Los Angeles Dodgers via Rule 5 Draft in December 2007 ... Drafted by Dodgers in seventh round of 2003 Draft ... Dodgers organization 2003-2007 ... Made Major League debut March 31, 2008, with Astros ... Makes ninth start of the season Monday, most during one campaign in his eight-year pro career ... No-decision in six of first eight starts ... Allowed three or fewer earned runs in all seven of eight starts, allowing one unearned run four times ... Twice left game with a lead but did not factor in the decision ... Least effective outing of season at Colorado Springs in last start (5/18); allowed six runs on five hits, including one home run, and five walks with no strikeouts over 3.0 innings but did not factor in decision.

51s RHP MARTY McLEARY

Third season in Toronto Blue Jays organization ... 14th year in professional baseball ... Boston Red Sox 10th-round draft pick in 1997 out of Mount Vernon Nazarene University, the same program that produced 14-year Major Leaguer Tim Belcher ... Prepped at Mansfield [Ohio] High School; lone professional player produced by the program ... Red Sox organization 1997-2002 ... Also spent time in Florida Marlins (2003), San Diego Padres (2004-2005) and Pittsburgh Pirates (2006-2007) organizations ... Made Major League debut Aug. 22, 2004 ... Split 2009 season between New Hampshire Fisher Cats (AA) and Las Vegas, going 7-4 in 14 starts on the year ... Makes fifth appearance and third start this season Monday ... Allowed five runs, one earned, on six hits and three walks with four strikeouts over 5.0 innings against Omaha in last outing (5/18) ... Took loss against Iowa in last start (5/13); allowed seven runs, three earned, on 11 hits and a walk with two strikeouts over 5.0 innings.

TEAM QUICK NOTES

Monday's game is Round Rock's first this season against a team with lower winning percentage. ... Sunday's walk-off win was the Express' first since a 5-4 win May 8 against Memphis. It was Round Rock's fourth victory in its last at bat this season; the Express have suffered nine losses in their opponent's final at bat. ... Sunday's 5-4 win against Reno also snapped a four-game losing streak in one-run games for the Express. ... Round Rock has scored 100 runs over the last 13 games. That is the highest-scoring 13-game stretch since the Express joined Triple-A in 2005. Prior to this run, no Express team had scored as many as 80 runs in any 13-game stretch during the Triple-A era. ... Round Rock has tallied 10-plus hits in 10 consecutive games and in 11 of its last 12. ... The Express are hitting .307 and averaging 6.6 runs per game in May after hitting .244 with 3.5 runs per game last month. Round Rock has 21 home runs in May with a .469 team slugging percentage after only 10 home runs in April. ... Despite being five games below .500, Round Rock has out-scored its opponents 218-200 on the season. ... The Express are 17-5 when scoring at least five runs and 2-19 when scoring fewer than five runs. ... Round Rock is 17-1 when leading after eight innings. ... Round Rock is hitting .318 (87-for-274) with runners in scoring position over the last 24 games. ... Of Round Rock's 24 losses, 19 have been by three runs or fewer, including 12 one-run losses. ... Express in the PCL statistical rankings: fifth in batting (.278), 10th in pitching (4.33) and ninth in fielding (.977).

PLAYER QUICK NOTES

Brian Bogusevic is hitting .191 (9-for-47) over the last 12 games after hitting .463 (19-for-41) in the first 10 games of May. Bogusevic ranks fourth in the PCL with 31 runs scored. He has not gone hitless in consecutive games since April 29, hitting safely in 16 of 23 games in that time. ... Jason Bourgeois has hit safely in 11 of the last 12 games; he is hitting .434 (23-for-53) during the streak with six multiple-hit games and four games of three-plus hits. Bourgeois ranks fourth in the PCL in batting average (.340) and fourth stolen bases (14). ... Marcos Cabral has hit safely in each of his first three games with the Express, delivering a pair of two-hit games. ... Jason Castro has reached safely in 31 of 34 games played, including each of the last 14 games. Castro has scored a run or produced an RBI in 12 straight games, scoring a run in each of the first 10 games during that time. He has hit safely in 12 of the last 13 games, going 17-for-50 (.340) in that time. Castro is 0-for-4 with the bases loaded, but he has drawn three bases-loaded walks. ... Roy Corcoran's RBI single in the seventh inning Thursday against Reno was the first RBI of his career and fourth career hit. He is riding a two-game hitting streak. ... Casey Daigle has recorded a save in four consecutive opportunities after failing to convert his first two chances of the season. Five of the six runs he has allowed this season came in two outings, both blown saves. Daigle has not allowed an earned run in eight straight appearances. ... Collin DeLome is hitting .385 (5-for-13) on the home stand with hits in three consecutive games. ... Michael Garciaparra is riding a six-game hitting streak that dates back to his first stint with the Express; he is hitting .600 (6-for-10) with three pinch hits in that time. ... Chris Johnson has hit safely in 11 of 12 games with the Express, delivering a sacrifice fly in the lone hitless game. He has hit safely in eight straight games, going 15-for-32 (.469) in that time. Johnson ranks seventh in the PCL with 11 extra-base hits in May despite missing the month's first nine game. ... Drew Locke has hit safely in six of seven starts. He is hitting .326 (15-for-46) in 17 games since May 5. ... Yordany Ramirez is hitting .139 (8-for-58) in 21 games since April 20, producing one multiple-hit game in that time. He is hitless in his last eight pinch-hit appearances after starting the year 2-for-2 as a pinch hitter. ... Chris Shelton leads the Express with eight home runs, four of which have been solo shots. He is tied for the PCL lead with seven homers this month. Shelton also is tied for seventh in the PCL this month in extra-base hits (11) and tied for third in RBI (22). He is hitless in his last three games and in his last 14 at bats, both of which are his longest dry spells this season. ... Wesley Wright has allowed three or fewer earned runs in seven of eight starts, allowing one earned run four times.

DeLOME PLACED ON DISABLED LIST

Collin DeLome was placed on the 15-day DL Monday with a shoulder injury, which was sustained in his collision with Reno catcher Carlos Corporan on the final play of Sunday's game. DeLome is hitting .257 with four homers and 15 RBI in 36 games this season.

BATS STAY HOT

Round Rock collected 10 hits in Sunday's game, its 10th consecutive game with at least 10 hits. The Express have scored 100 runs in their last 13 games, the highest-scoring 13-game stretch since Round Rock joined Triple A (2005); in fact, the Express had not scored more than 80 runs in any 13-game stretch since 2005.

JOHNSON NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Chris Johnson was named Pacific Coast League Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday. Johnson is the first Express player so honored this season and the first since Cody Ransom took player of the week accolades Aug. 6, 2007.

Johnson led the hit .458 (11-for-24) in six games during the week with three home runs, nine RBI, 11 runs scored, three doubles and a triple. He currently rides an eight-game hitting streak, during which time he is hitting .469 (15-or-32). Johnson hit safely in six consecutive at bats and reached safely in nine consecutive plate appearances during the first two games of the Express series against Reno, both season bests for Round Rock.

A Naples, Fla., native, Johnson has hit safely in 11 of 12 games since rejoining the Express two weeks ago; he produced a sacrifice fly in the lone hitless game. Johnson is tied for seventh in the PCL with 11 extra-base hits this month, despite missing the month's first nine games. He is hitting .380 (19-for-50) with three homers, 14 RBI, 14 runs scored, seven doubles and a triple in 12 games with the Express.

KATA CONTINUES HOT STREAK

Matt Kata is riding an 11-game hitting streak (.500, 25-for-50), the longest this year by an Express player. He has multiple hits in 10 of those games with a pair of five-game streaks, both of which are the longest multiple-hit streaks by an Express player this season. Kata is hitting .418 (51-for-122) since snapping out of a 1-for-35 funk April 18, raising his average 233 points in that time. Kata is 9-for-15 (.600) with runners in scoring position since May 10. He leads the team in multiple-hit games (18), three-hit games (8) and games with three-plus hits (9). Kata ranks fifth in the PCL with a .333 batting average and fourth in the league with 55 hits. His .396 average in May is the third-best mark in the PCL, while he ranks second in the league for the month in hits (33) and tied for eighth in doubles (8).

EXPRESS AMONG ATTENDANCE LEADERS

Through games of May 23, Round Rock ranks second in the Pacific Coast League in average attendance. A total of 162,634 fans have passed through the turnstiles at The Dell Diamond, a 20-date average of 8,132. Sacramento leads the PCL with an 8,777 per-game average. Round Rock ranks fourth in Triple-A and fifth in Minor League Baseball. Interestingly, none of the top five teams in Minor League Baseball attendance, each of which averages at least 8,100 per game, have winning records.

NEXT SERIES

Round Rock plays its fourth road trip of the season after the Las Vegas series, an abbreviated one-series swing. The Express play four games against the Omaha Royals (Kansas City) at Rosenblatt Stadium. The series starts Friday with a 7:05 p.m. CDT first pitch.


• Discuss this story on the Pacific Coast League message board...

Pacific Coast League Stories from May 24, 2010


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central