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PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (0-0) At Oklahoma City Dodgers (0-0)

September 5, 2018 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (0-0) At Oklahoma City Dodgers (0-0)

Wednesday, September 5 - 7:05 p.m. (CT) - Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark (13,066) - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

PCL American Conference Championship Series Game #1 - Series Tied (0-0)

RHP Kevin Herget (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Daniel Corcino (0-0, 0.00)

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds will begin the defense of their 2017 PCL Championship tonight against the Oklahoma City Dodgers. The Redbirds finished the regular-season with a record of 83-57, slightly off their record-setting 91-50 2017 campaign. In last season's opening round of the playoffs, Memphis defeated the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Brewers) in the series 3-2. Memphis then went on to defeat the El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres) 3-2 before falling in the Triple-A Championship Game to the Durham Bulls. Earlier today, pitcher Seth Elledge was transferred to Memphis from Springfield, and outfielder Randy Arozarena was activated off the Temporary Inactive List to fill out the Memphis playoff roster. Today's game will be broadcast on www.memphisredbirds.com with Steve Selby on the call.

ON THE HILL: Right-hander Kevin Herget will get the ball for Memphis in tonight's series-opener with Oklahoma City. Herget was Memphis' most used starter in the regular season. The righty appeared in 28 games for the 'Birds, starting his last 22 appearances. As a starter, he was 8-10 with a 4.77 ERA in 128.1 innings of work. He struck out 113 batters as a starter, while walking just 27 batters. Between relief and his starting role, Herget was 9-11 with a 4.61 ERA. Herget started two games for Memphis in last year's playoff run. He went 0-1 with a 0.69 ERA in 13.0 innings of work. He allowed just one earned run, while striking out 18 batters. 15 of his 18 strikeouts came in one game.

The Dodgers will send right-hander Daniel Corcino to the mound to battle Herget and the Redbirds. In 24 appearances, 19 starts, this season, Corcino is 4-3 with a 3.40 ERA in 103.1 innings of work. Corcino has made four starts against Memphis this season. In those four starts, he is 1-0 in 21.0 innings of work. He has allowed just six runs, five earned, on 15 hits and two walks, while striking out 19 Memphis batters. He owns a 2.14 ERA against the Redbirds this season.

THIS SEASON AGAINST OKLAHOMA CITY: Memphis and Oklahoma City have squared off in 16 games this season. Memphis won the regular-season series 10-6, going 5-3 both at home and in Oklahoma City. After going just 5-5 against the Dodgers in the first 10 games this season, Memphis finished strong, going 5-1 in the final six games. In the 16 regular-season games the two played this season, Memphis out-hit and out-pitched the Dodgers. Memphis batters posted a .265 average, compared to their .256. Meanwhile, Memphis pitchers posted a 3.55 ERA, compared to their 4.18 mark. Memphis and Oklahoma City finished the regular-season in the top two places in team-ERA at 3.54 and 3.92, respectively.

BIRD BITES

AROZARENA: Was activated from the Temporary Inactive List earlier today; has not played since August 29

BARON: Has hit safely in 16 of his last 21 games since June; had a season-long eight-game hitting streak in that stretch

EDMAN: Saturday night, went 3-for-5 at the plate, scoring three times; hitting .323 (20-for-62) with Memphis

KNIZNER: Saturday night, rejoined Memphis for second stint of season and picked up where he left off; went 2-for-5

MEJIA: Friday night, drove in lone Memphis run with his fourth home run; is hitting just .184 (7-for-38) in last 13 games

RAVELO: Recently went hitless in three-straight but has dominated in last eight, hitting .379 (11-for-29) in that stretch

SCHROCK: Is now hitless in five consecutive games for the first time this season; 0-for-18 in that stretch

SOSA: Recently had back-to-back games with a home run for the first time in his Triple-A career; 5 HR with Memphis

THOMAS: In Monday afternoon's loss to Nashville, went 2-for-4 with a double and three-run home run, his sixth

TOVAR: Sun. night, went 1-for-3 with a two-run double, giving Memphis the win; Sat. night, went 3-for-5 with two RBI

URIAS: Sun. night, went 2-for-3 at the plate with two doubles, snapping a three-game hitless stretch

WILLIAMS: Drove in all three runs Memphis scored from 8/19-8/22 on a solo home run and two-run home run

BY THE NUMBERS

4-1 all-time record for the Redbirds in the first game of the playoffs; only loss came in 2014 which was also the only season they didn't make it through the first round.

BY THE NUMBERS

495 calendar days since Memphis was not in first place (April 27, 2017); they have played 259 regular-season games and 11 postseason games since then.

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Memphis Redbirds dropped the regular-season finale to the Nashville Sounds 6-5, Monday afternoon in Nashville.

The Redbirds jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, but the bullpen could not hang on for the win. Lane Thomas and Ramon Urias both hit home runs in the third inning to give Memphis the initial lead. Thomas hit a three-run shot, while Urias hit a solo shot.

Memphis scored another run in the fifth via a Rangel Ravelo groundout. Wilfredo Tovar, Ravelo, and Thomas all recorded multi-hit games for the Redbirds.

Chris Ellis got the start for Memphis, throwing two shutout innings in his tune-up for the playoffs. Five relievers followed him, combining to allow six earned runs on seven hits and three walks, while striking out just five batters.

Andrew Morales took the loss for the 'Birds. He threw 0.2 innings, allowing four earned runs on three hits, while walking a man and hitting a batter. He fell to 2-4 on the season.

PLAYOFF HISTORY: This season marks the sixth time in franchise history that the Redbirds have advanced to the Pacific Coast League Playoffs. They had previously made appearances in 2000, 2009, 2010, 2014, and 2017. They won the PCL Championship in 2000, 2009, and 2017. This is just the second time in franchise history Memphis has won its division in consecutive seasons. The other occasion was 2009-2010. Memphis won the PCL Championship in 2009, but could not repeat the success in 2010. They swept Oklahoma City in the first round of the 2010 playoffs before being swept by Tacoma in the second round. Memphis is a combined 13-7 in 20-first round games in franchise history.

ROSTER TURNOVER: Memphis will come into this season's playoffs with an almost entirely different roster than they did last season. The roster is almost completely different from Opening Day this season, as well. Of the 13 position players who made an appearance in last season's playoffs, only two are still on Memphis' active roster. Wilfredo Tovar and Tommy Edman are the only two players. Every other player has either been traded, released, or is at a different level of the organization. Of the 13 pitchers who appeared in the playoffs for Memphis last season, only two remain on the roster. Kevin Herget is the only active pitcher who appeared in the playoffs last season. Ryan Helsley made two appearance in the playoffs last season, but is currently on the Disabled List. Of Memphis' 25-man Opening Day roster, only nine of those players are still with the team today. Position players Steven Baron, Alex Mejia, Rangel Ravelo, Max Schrock, Wilfredo Tovar, and Randy Arozarena remain, while pitchers Kevin Herget, Andrew Morales, and Edward Mujica remain. Only Schrock, Ravelo, and Tovar were in the starting lineup for Memphis on Opening Day.

PHENOMENAL PITCHING: Coming into the 2018 playoffs, the Memphis pitching staff has had one of its finest seasons to date. For the second-consecutive season, Memphis led the entire PCL in ERA at 3.54. In last season's record-setting campaign, the Redbirds boasted the lowest ERA in franchise history at 3.77. They blew that mark out of the water this season. Two Memphis pitchers, Daniel Poncedeleon and Dakota Hudson, were named mid-season All-Stars this year. Both pitchers had career-years and have been promoted to St. Louis. Hudson was also named the PCL Pitcher of the Year. The Redbirds' pitching staff also set the franchise-record with most strikeouts in a single season, despite playing the second-fewest games in a regular season. They whiffed 1,160 batters this season, 39 more than their record-setting 2017 mark.

RAVELO GOES ON A TEAR: On August 15, infielder Rangel Ravelo left the Redbirds' game against New Orleans after being hit in the face with a pitch. He spent more than a week on the Disabled List before returning to the lineup on August 25. At the time of his injury, Ravelo was riding a 16-game hitting streak, tied for the longest such streak of his career. Ravelo went 0-for-8 in his first two games back with the 'Birds. However, in the last eight games, he has been finding some consistency. Saturday night, he went 3-for-4 at the plate, scoring once, walking once, and driving in two runs. Before Saturday night, he had recorded one hit in each of the previous five games, and had recorded at least one RBI in three of those five games. Thursday night, Ravelo drove in two of the three Memphis runs via a single and a sacrifice fly. The other run scored on a Lane Thomas solo home run. After Monday's 2-for-3 performance, Ravelo is now 11-for-29 (.379) in the last eight games with seven RBI and four walks. He leads current Memphis players with a .308 (107-for-347) batting average, and .392 on-base percentage.

THOMAS ON A ROLL: In Monday's regular-season finale, outfielder Lane Thomas went 2-for-4 at the plate, hitting a double and a three-run home run. In 32 games with Memphis since being promoted from Springfield in July, Thomas is hitting .275 (36-for-131). Thomas is having a breakout season in his first year in the St. Louis organization. Between the two levels of the organization, he is hitting .264 (136-for-515), the second-highest average of his career. He has also scored 84 runs, hit 23 doubles, hit 27 home runs, driven in 88 runs, and walked 49 times, all career-highs. His six triples, and 16 stolen bases are just shy of his career-high marks. He has hit safely in nine of his last 11 games and is hitting .325 (13-for-40) in those 11 games.

TOVAR STILL AT IT: Monday, infielder Wilfredo Tovar went 2-for-5 at the dish. Since returning from the Disabled List on August 14, Tovar has appeared in 17 games, and has hit safely in 14 of those contests. In that stretch, he is hitting .364 (23-for-63), scoring eight times, hitting four doubles, one triple, one home run, and driving in nine runs. With his recent dominance at the dish, Tovar is now hitting .297 (107-for-360) in 108 games with Memphis this season. The 107 hits are his most in a season since having 112 with Triple-A Rochester of the International League in 2016. Tovar struggled at the plate in May and early June before flipping the switch. On June 21, he went 0-for-4 at the plate, falling to a .259 batting average. In 47 games since June 21, he is hitting .341 (57-for-167).

SPEED AND POWER: Friday night, Memphis stole three bases in the sixth inning to set the franchise record for steals in a season. The Redbirds came into the game with 109 steals, one shy of tying the franchise record. Max Schrock tied the record, swiping second and then set the record by swiping third. Edmundo Sosa stole second in the inning as well to extend the new record to 112 steals. This season is the first time the Redbirds have recorded at least 100 steals in a season since 2013 when they stole 104 as a team. In the 21-year history of the franchise, the 'Birds have only stolen 100 bases seven times in a season (1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2009, 2013, 2018). The 'Birds have only stolen 100 bases as a team four times since 2002. They finished the season with 113 steals. In addition, after hitting two home runs in Monday's loss at Nashville, Memphis fell just one home run short of tying the franchise record for most home runs on the road in a single season. The 'Birds finished the season with 89 home runs on the road. The franchise record is 90, which was set in 2004.

BACK-TO-BACK FOR CLAPP: Last week, Redbirds manager Stubby Clapp was named the Pacific Coast League Manager of the Year for the second consecutive season. Last season, he led the Redbirds to a franchise-record 91-50 in his first season at the helm of the 'Birds. They won the PCL Championship, winning 97 total games between the regular-season and playoffs. He became the first manager in Memphis history to win the award last season. This season, Memphis finished this season at 83-57. After winning last Sat. night, the Redbirds clinched their second-consecutive division title for the first time since 2009-2010. Clapp is just the third PCL manager on record to win the award in consecutive seasons, joining Dan Rohn of Tacoma (2004, 2005) and Jim Lefebvre of Phoenix (1985, 1986). With the ninth win of the season this year, he became the fastest manager in both Memphis history, and the 116-year history of the PCL to reach 100 wins. He is 174-107 in two seasons with Memphis, a .619 winning percentage, best in franchise history. He also sits fifth in wins among Redbirds' managers.

PILING UP THE AWARDS: Last week, pitcher Dakota Hudson was named the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year. He is the first player in Memphis history to earn the award. Also last week, outfielder Tyler O'Neill and Hudson were named to the All-Pacific Coast League Team. In 19 starts with Memphis this season, Hudson was 13-3 with a 2.50 ERA in 111.2 innings. He was promoted to St. Louis in late July and in 13 relief appearances, he is 4-1 with a 3.14 ERA in 14.1 innings. O'Neill was hitting .311 (74-for-238) with Memphis, posting an on-base percentage of .385, a slugging percentage of .693, and an OPS of 1.078. O'Neill hit 26 home runs with Memphis, posting six multi-home run games. With St. Louis, the outfielder is hitting .282 (24-for-85) with six home runs. It is the first time in franchise history that Memphis has had two players named to the All-PCL team in the same season. Before Patrick Wisdom earned the honor last season, no Memphis player had been named to the team since 2013.

These honors are some of the many the Redbirds have won this season. Adolis Garcia was named the PCL Player of the Month for July. Garcia was also named PCL Player of the Week for the week of July 23-29. Garcia and pitcher Daniel Poncedeleon were named the Cardinals Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Month for July earlier this week, as well. It was the fourth time a Redbird has won a Weekly PCL Honor this season. Garcia joins pitchers Daniel Poncedeleon and Austin Gomber to earn the honor. Poncedeleon earned the honor early in July, and Gomber earned the award once in April and once in May. Earlier this season, Poncedeleon, Dakota Hudson, and Patrick Wisdom were all named PCL All-Stars, while Hudson and outfielder Randy Arozarena participated in the MLB Futures Game. Hudson was also named the Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Month for June, the second Memphis pitcher to earn that accolade this season after Gomber earned it in April. Infielder/outfielder Rangel Ravelo was also named the Cardinals Minor League Player of the Month for June.

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