TL1 Frisco RoughRiders

Frisco RoughRiders Game Notes

Published on July 3, 2014 under Texas League (TL1)
Frisco RoughRiders News Release


Traveling well: The RoughRiders claimed their fourth straight series opener last night with a 5-1 win over Arkansas. All of the scoring was done over the first three half-innings, with Frisco striking first for a pair in the top of the first. Orangel Arenas let the first three batters reach base before a Trever Adams RBI fielder's choice and a wild pitch brought home two tallies. The Travelers scored in the bottom of the inning on a Zach Borenstein sacrifice fly to cut their deficit in half. In the second, Frisco put two on with one out on a hit and an error before Patrick Cantwell connected on a two-run double to the left field corner. An error moved Cantwell to third base and he scored on a Tomas Telis groundout to make it 5-1. From there on, neither team could push a runner past third base. Frisco had baserunners in every inning but the eighth, while that was the frame in which Arkansas had its biggest threat. The Travs loaded the bases with two outs before Jett Bandy flied out to deep centerfield to end the inning.

Today's Pitching Matchup: Frisco and Arkansas play the middle game of their series tonight with lefties Edwar Cabrera and Kramer Sneed on the mound. Cabrera lost to the Travs on Friday (7 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 1 ER) and has dropped his last two stars despite quality starts in both outings (13 IP, 13 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 3 K, 0 BB). Sneed picked up a win in his last start against Frisco, allowing three runs on seven hits in five innings. He also won in his season debut against the 'Riders in April, yielding one run in six in- nings. The 25-year-old has been roughed up in a few starts this year, giving up five runs or more in five outings this season. He allowed one run in a two-start stretch (12 innings) last month, but then gave up ten runs in ten innings over two games before his most recent outing. Outside of a four-start rehab stint in the AZL, Sneed spent his 2013 season with Inland Empire and helped the 66'ers win the California League championship. The southpaw was 7-4 with a 4.09 ERA in the Cal League in his first season with the Angels organization and was a mid-season California League All-Star. He was traded from the Yankees along with out- fielder Exicardo Cayones and cash considerations in the Vernon Wells deal in March 2013. New York drafted Sneed in the 32nd round ($30,000 bonus) in 2010 out of Barton College in Wilson, North Carolina. He was the first Barton player to be drafted since 1995 (Mark Raynor, Philadelphia in the 13th round) and was named to the 2010 All-Conference Carolina Team. He throws a fastball that can touch the low-90s, a low-to-mid-80s slider and a circle changeup, which has been described as a plus pitch.

If you ain't first, you're last: The RoughRiders once again were the first team to score on Wednesday, notching a pair of runs in the first inning against Arkansas. It marked the seventh straight game in which Frisco scored first, and in all seven occaisions it happened in the first two innings. The 'Riders have drawn first blood more times (47) than any other Texas League team and have won a TL-best 34 games when scoring the game's first run. They have the third-highest winning percentage (.723) when scoring first.

Connect Two: Wednesday night's win at Arkansas formed the second half of back-to-back wins for Frisco, marking the first time the club has posted consecutive victories since June 9-10 against Midland. The RoughRiders had gone 17 consecutive games since winning two in a row, going 7-10 over that stretch. The last time Frisco won three straight games was June 4-6 against San Antonio (22 games, 10-12 during this period).

World's Strongest Man: Joey Gallo finished the home stand with an excellent offensive series against Northwest Arkansas and over his last four games is 7 for 16 (.438) with four doubles, a home run and five RBI. Since joining the RoughRiders, Gallo is first in the TL in homers (8), first in slugging percentage (.703) and first OPS (1.098) and is second in extra-base hits (14) and total bases (52). 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 (.726), first in OPS (1.172), fourth in on-base percentage (.446), second in total bases (191), fifth in RBI (71) and second in extra-base hits (47).

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 seven games back with the RoughRiders he is 15 for 31 (.484) with a home run, one double, two triples, three RBI and nine 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 has stayed hot with the bat, as his two hits last night extended his hitting streak to eight games (.387), tying his longest streak of the season. Over the last 17 games, the All-Star second baseman is batting .420 (29 for 69) with five doubles, a triple, eight RBI, seven runs scored, two walks, five steals a .444 on-base percentage and a .966 OPS. Since June 11, he leads the Texas League in batting average and is fourth in on-base percentage.

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), fifth in strikeouts (73), third in innings pitched (92.1), fourth in WHIP (1.08), second in walk rate (1.95/9 IP) and third 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 Saturday 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 featuring 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 three years that both Martinez brothers homered on the same day; it previously happened on August 11, 2013, May 15, 2013 and August 12, 2012.

Playing not to lose: Frisco went 70-70 in 2013 and its all-time record is 865-743 (.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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Texas League Stories from July 3, 2014


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