TL1 Frisco RoughRiders

Frisco RoughRiders Game Notes

Published on June 30, 2014 under Texas League (TL1)
Frisco RoughRiders News Release


Life in the fast Lane: Sunday night was supposed to feature a baseball game involving two teams, but it turned into the Lane Adams Show as the Northwest Arkansas centerfielder took over the contest and almost single-handedly willed the Naturals to a 6-5 win over the RoughRiders. Things started in Frisco's favor, as the 'Riders scored two first inning runs on runs batted in from Odubel Herrera (single) and Joey Gallo (double). In the third, the Naturals put two on with one out against Alec Asher, who gave up a three-run home run to Adams, his second in as many nights. Northwest added another run to take a 4-2 lead, but Frisco scored on hits by Trever Adams and Teodoro Martinez to tie the game. Patrick Cantwell's sac fly in the fifth pushed the 'Riders back ahead, but Lane Adams matched that with one of his own in the sixth. Then in the eighth, Adams hit a two-out RBI triple off Will Lamb to break the tie and proceeded to make a home run-robbing catch off a ball hit by Martinez in the bottom of the frame. Frisco went down in order in the ninth inning as Andrew Triggs picked up the save to preserve the Naturals win. Adams went 3 for 4 with a homer, triple, single, five RBI, one run scored and one steal on the night. The five RBI were not a ca- reer high (seven on 8/13/13 vs. Corpus Christi), but it marked the fourth time that he has driven in at least five runs in a game.

Today's Pitching Matchup: Frisco has not lost back-to-back series since the first two of the season, but needs to win today to avoid matching the feat and finish with a 3-3 record on the home stand. Jerad Eickhoff starts for the RoughRiders against Naturals righty Jason Adam. Eickhoff pitched very well in a win against Arkansas on Wednesday, yielding just one run on four hits over seven innings. He has never pitched against Northwest Arkansas. Adam is making his first start of the season against Frisco but made two last season against the club. In the first, he allowed nine runs on ten hits in 2.2 innings, but followed that up later in the season with a seven inning performance in which he allowed only one run on two hits. Adam has been prone to some tough outings this season, allowing seven runs or more in four starts, and he owns the highest ERA among qualified pitchers in the Texas League. But in his last four starts, the righty is 2-1 with a 2.81 ERA (8 ER/25.2 IP), 29 strikeouts, five walks and a .213 batting average against (20 for 94). Adam entered the season ranked ninth among Royals prospects by Baseball America a year after coming in eighth on the 2013 list. He struggled initially in his first Double-A cam- paign last year, going 8-11 with a 5.19 ERA (144 IP), 126 strikeouts and 54 walks; he posted a 12.94 ERA in April, but went 8-9 with a 3.93 ERA over the rest of the season. Adam pitched for Peoria in the Arizona Fall League follwoing the season, going 2-2 with a 4.03 ERA in 29 innings. He spent all of 2012 with Advanced-A Wilmington, starting 27 games and going 7-12 with a 3.53 ERA, 123 strikeouts and 36 walks in 158 innings. After he was drafted out of Overland Park High School in the fifth round in 2010, he spent 2011 with Kane County, going 6-9 with a 4.23 ERA. Considered a higher round talent, Adam dropped to the fifth because of a commitment to the University of Missouri and a reportedly inconsistent senior year of high school ball (though he did go 4-3 with a 1.51 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 41.2 innings). He was first-team All-State in Missouri and grew up 20 minutes from Kauffman Stadium. He throws a 92-94 mph fastball (occasionally reaching 97), an improvement on where he was in his earlier pro days and closer to what it consistently hit in high school. He also features a slider which he started incorporating into his repertoire last year, a curveball and changeup.

World's Strongest Man: Joey Gallo made up for a rough Frisco third inning on Saturday night - which featured two runners thrown out at the plate - by blasting a two run home run, his eighth in 17 Double-A ballgames. Since joining the RoughRiders, Gallo is first in the TL in homers (8), slugging percentage (.724) and OPS (1.074) and is second in extra-base hits (11) and total bases (45). In a statistical oddity, Gallo has hit 91 career home runs and 91 career singles. Minor League Baseball's reigning home run king, the 20-year-old once again leads all of professional baseball with 29 round-trippers this season. Gallo is first in slugging percentage (.724), first in OPS (1.169), second in total bases (184), tied for fourth in RBI (69) and tied for third in extra-base hits (44).

Strau Poll: While he was sent down a level from Triple-A, it has been a great homecoming for Frisco outfielder Ryan Straus- borger. The Indianan had a season-best in hits Friday night and matched it on Sunday, going 3 for 4 with a run scored and in his first five games back with the RoughRiders he is 11 for 21 (.524) with a home run, double, triple, three RBI and five runs scored. The dinger on Thursday was Strausborger's first of the season at any level and first since August 9, 2013, ending a string of 81 games and 297 at bats without a home run.

A new era for Herrera: Frisco's Odubel Herrera did not let his bat cool off from a red-hot road trip over the break. The All- Star second baseman went 1 for 4 with an RBI last night and is 8 for 20 (.400) on the home stand. Over the last 16 games, Herrera is batting .426 (26 for 61) with five doubles, a triple, seven RBI, seven runs scored, a walk, five steals a .435 on-base percentage and a .976 OPS. Since June 11, he leads the Texas League in batting average, is third in on-base percentage and fourth OPS. Prior to this offensive burst, the Venezuelan was batting .158 in his previous ten games.

Speed bump: Things had been going so smoothly for Alec Asher that Sunday's performance against Northwest Arkansas seemed like a trip to the Twilight Zone for the right-hander. After breezing through the first two innings, he struggled keeping the Naturals off the bases in his next three-plus frames, ultimately allowing five runs (four earned) on a season-high nine hits in five innings. In his previous six starts, the Lakeland, Florida native owned a 0.77 ERA (3 ER/35 IP). Since posting a 5.61 ERA in April, Asher is 6-3 with a 2.16 ERA. He is tied for second in the Texas League in wins (7), third in strikeouts (73), second in innings pitched (92.1), fourth in WHIP (1.08), third in walk rate (1.95/9 IP) and fourth in baserunners/9 IP (9.75).

Synchronicity: Teodoro Martinez does not hit home runs terribly often, but he picked a big spot to swat his third longball of the season last night, as his two-run shot in the sixth inning ultimately provided Frisco's winning margin against Northwest Arkansas. It was a big day for the Martinez clan, as Teodoro's older brother Jose also homered on Saturday in a game featur- ing a Rangers affiliate. An outfielder for Braves-affiliated Lynchburg, Jose cracked a solo home run against Advanced-A Myrtle Beach's Luis Parra in the first inning. It marked the fourth time in the last four years that both Martinez brothers homered on the same day; it previously happened on August 11, 2013, May 15, 2013, August 12, 2012 and August 11, 2011.

Playing not to lose: Frisco's all-time record is 863-743 (.537) following a 70-70 2013 campaign. 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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Texas League Stories from June 30, 2014


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