TL1 Frisco RoughRiders

Frisco RoughRiders Game Notes

Published on July 7, 2014 under Texas League (TL1)
Frisco RoughRiders News Release


Ridin' solo: The RoughRiders dropped their second straight game to Northwest Arkansas last night, falling by a 3-0 score. The Naturals took the lead on one swing in the second inning when Hunter Dozier cracked a solo home run to left field, his second dinger in as many nights. It stayed a 1-0 game until the sixth as Lane Adams blasted another solo shot to center off Jerad Eickhoff for his tenth longball of the season and his third in the last eight days against Frisco. Northwest Arkansas added another run to its haul later in the frame on an RBI fielder's choice off Cheslor Cuthbert's bat. The RoughRiders had multiple scoring chances, but were 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position and stranded ten men, seven at second or third base. Jason Adam allowed seven baserunners in five scoreless innings while Scott Alexander, Noel Arguelles and Andrew Triggs pitched shutout baseball as Frisco was blanked for just the fourth time this season.

Today's Pitching Matchup: Frisco tries for a winning record on the road trip in the series finale this evening as Chi Chi Gonzalez starts opposite Tim Melville. Gonzalez did not factor into the decision for the first time in the Texas League in his last outing at Arkansas, in which he allowed one run on two hits and two walks in four innings. Tonight will be his first time facing Northwest Arkansas, though he did face Hunter Dozier in the Carolina League; Dozier was 1 for 6 with a strikeout. Melville is making his second straight start against the RoughRiders and his fourth overall against the club. He got a no- decision on June 29, allowing five runs on seven hits in four innings. Against Frisco he has no record, a 6.75 ERA (9 ER/12 IP), seven walks, eight strikeouts and a .261 batting average against. He has given up ten runs in nine innings over his last two starts and has allowed four or more runs seven times this season. The players currently on Frisco's roster are hitting .222 (6 for 27) with two doubles, one home run, five walks and five strikeouts this season against Melville. Melville's 2013 was disrupted by injury and he was limited to just four starts for the Royals' short-season teams in Surprise and Idaho Falls, going 0-1 with a 7.36 ERA. Kansas City's 2008 fourth-round pick was pair first round bonus money ($1.25 million) and at one point ranked among the best pitching prospects in the organization, but injuries and ineffectiveness have stalled the 24-year-old's development. He throws a low-to-mid-90s fastball that is capable of reaching 97 mph along with a curveball, slider and changeup. Originally from the St. Louis suburb of Wentzville, Missouri, Melville graduated from Holt High School, the same alma mater of major leaguer Ross Detwiler and Judson Birza, the winner of Survivor: Nicaragua.

I get by with(out) a little help from my friends: It's not difficult to pinpoint why Frisco is having trouble scoring against the worst statistical pitching staff in the Texas League. Two games into their series at Northwest Arkansas, the RoughRiders are still waiting for their first base hit with a runner in scoring position. Frisco is 0 for 17 with runners at second/third base in the series and is 0 for its last 18 going back to Friday in North Little Rock. During this road trip, the 'Riders are batting just .130 (7 for 54) with runners in scoring position and .087 (2 for 23) with two outs and runners in scoring position. For the season, they hit .272 with runners in scoring position and .244 with two outs in those spots; both averages are the best in the Texas League.

A new era for Herrera: A night after seeing his season-best ten-game hitting streak end, Odubel Herrera started a new one on Sunday, going 1 for 3 with a walk and a steal. Over the last 21 games, the All-Star second baseman has had multiple hits 11 times and is batting .410 (34 for 83) with five doubles, a triple, 11 RBI, nine runs scored, five walks, six steals a .449 on-base percentage and a .943 OPS. Since June 11, he leads the Texas League in batting average and is third in on-base percentage.

30 for 20: A year after becoming the first teenager in more than 50 years to hit 40 home runs in a minor league season, 20-year-old Joey Gallo became the first player in professional baseball to hit 30 home runs this season with a solo homer in the eighth inning on Thursday night in a scoreless game. On Sunday, he went 0 for 4, spelling the end of his seven-game hitting streak, which tied his longest of the season. During the streak he hit .407 (11 for 27) with four doubles, two home runs and six RBI. Since joining the RoughRiders, Gallo is first in the TL in homers (9), second in slugging percentage (.656), second OPS (1.040), tied for second in extra-base hits (15) and second in total bases (59). In a statistical oddity, Gallo has hit 92 career home runs and 94 career singles. Minor League Baseball's reigning home run king, the Las Vegas native once again leads all of professional baseball with 30 round-trippers this season (tied with Iowa's Kris Bryant). Gallo is second in slugging percentage (.710), second in OPS (1.150), fifth in on-base percentage (.440), second in total bases (198), tied for fourth in RBI (72) and third in extra-base hits (48).

Pig sooie, phooey: The state of Arkansas had been so welcoming to the RoughRiders, but the hospitality could not last forever as Frisco lost on Saturday night for the first time this season in the state. The 'Riders had been 9-0 at Arkansas and Northwest Arkansas before dropping Saturday's 7-3 decision. The loss was the team's first in the state in 370 days since losing 8-5 on June 30, 2013; the team had won ten straight in Arkansas. This season Frisco has outscored its opponents 57-31 in 11 games at Dickey-Stephens Park and Arvest Ballpark (an average score of 5.2 to 2.8).

Edwar and Peace: Frisco got a dominant performance from starter Edwar Cabrera on Thursday night, as the right-hander fired eight scoreless innings and allowed just three hits and a walk with seven strikeouts to pick up the win at Arkansas. The last time the Dominican lasted eight innings in an outing was on June 16, 2012 with the Tulsa Drillers. That outing was also at Dickey-Stephens Park against the Travelers, and he gave up just one unearned run on three hits in the contest. Thursday's start was one of the best by a RoughRiders pitcher this season and it was Cabrera's first win since June 12, ending a string of three straight defeats. The lefty has been excellent in his last three starts. Despite posting a 1-2 record, he has a 1.29 ERA (3 ER/21 IP), 13 strikeouts and just one walk.

Playing not to lose: Frisco went 70-70 in 2013 and its all-time record is 867-745 (.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 7, 2014


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