Express Finish Sweep of Rainiers with 4-2 Win
July 26, 2018 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release
ROUND ROCK, Texas - The Round Rock Express (51-53) captured their fifth straight win and a series sweep of the Tacoma Rainiers (51-53) with a 4-2 victory on Thursday night at Dell Diamond.
Round Rock reliever LHP Jeffrey Springs (1-2, 2.79) earned the win after tossing 2.0 scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth. While he ended up with the no decision, Express starter RHP Tyler Wagner wove together a fantastic 6.0-frame outing in which he allowed just one run on five hits while picking up three strike outs. On the losing end was Rainiers reliever RHP Shawn Armstrong (1-4, 2.20), who surrendered the deciding runs in the bottom of the eighth.
Both teams traded blows in the opening frame as Tacoma got out to a 1-0 lead before Round Rock immediately leveled the score at 1-1. In the top half, Rainiers LF Ian Miller led off the game with a single and advanced to second on wild pitch by Wagner before 2B Gordon Beckham brought him home on a single to center. The E-Train's response in the bottom side came in the form of a booming knock off the bat of 3B Andy Ibanez, who followed DH Cliff Pennington's two-out walk with an RBI double off the wall in left.
Round Rock utilized another run-scoring two-bagger in the bottom of the third to pull ahead 2-1. After CF Delino DeShields climbed aboard on a bloop single, Pennington smacked a double off the wall in center to put Round Rock in front as Wagner continued to cruise on the mound.
The Express starter tossed 5.0 shutout innings while permitting just two hits after Tacoma cracked the scoreboard against him in the first. With Round Rock reliever LHP Brady Feigl taking over to start the seventh, the Rainiers leveled the score once more at 2-2. 3B Seth Mejias-Brean doubled to lead off the frame, advanced to third on a sac bunt, and scored the tying run when Miller singled to center.
With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Round Rock landed the knockout punch when they rallied for a pair of runs to go ahead 4-2. C Tony Sanchez got things started when he laced an opposite-field double down the line in right. The next batter, SS Hanser Alberto, fouled off four straight pitches from Armstrong before punching an RBI single up the middle. 1B Nick Torres then brought Alberto home when he lofted a single of his own to right field.
After pitching a scoreless eighth, Springs remained on the hill in the ninth as he finished off the game by inducing a 5-4-3 double play.
The homestand rolls on as Round Rock welcomes the Reno Aces (50-53) to town for the first round of a four-game set on Friday night at Dell Diamond. Express RHP Richelson Pena (3-1, 5.28) is scheduled to start against Reno RHP Taylor Clarke (8-7, 4.75). First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. CDT.
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