PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (0-0) vs. Omaha Storm Chasers (0-0)

Published on April 4, 2019 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (0-0) vs Omaha Storm Chasers (0-0)

Thursday, April 4 - 7:05 p.m. (CT) - AutoZone Park (10,000) - Memphis, Tennessee

2019 Opening Night - Game #1 - Home Game #1 (0-0)

LHP Austin Gomber (0-0, -.-- ERA) vs RHP Heath Fillmyer (0-0, -.-- ERA)

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: The defending Triple-A National Champion Memphis Redbirds begin their quest for a third straight Pacific Coast League Championship as they open up the 2019 season against the Omaha Storm Chasers at AutoZone Park in downtown Memphis. The Redbirds enter their 22nd season as the St. Louis Cardinals' top affiliate and open up their 20th season at AutoZone Park with a five-game series with the Kansas City Royals' top affiliate. The 'Birds will be opening up their home slate against the Storm Chasers for the second consecutive year, winning last year's contest 7-0. Tonight's game will be broadcast live on www.memphisredbirds.com with Steve Selby on the call.

ON THE HILL: Left-hander Austin Gomber will take the mound in tonight's game and make his first career Opening Night start. The 25-year-old went 7-3 with a 3.42 ERA (26 ER/68.1 IP) over 12 G/11 GS for the Redbirds in 2018 during three stints at the Triple-A level. Gomber started off his season in the Bluff City strong, going 2-0, 2.45 (7 ER/25.2 IP) in four starts on his way to being named Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Month for April. His 16 strikeout performance over 8.0 scoreless innings on April 23 against the Iowa Cubs matched a Memphis single-game club record (Lance Lynn, 9/10/10 at OKC). That lone outing helped earn him Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week honors for April 23-29. He was also named PCL Pitcher of the Week for May 21-27 after going 2-0, 0.64 (1 ER/14.0 IP) over two starts. Gomber would go on to make his Major League debut on June 2 vs. Pittsburgh, tossing 3.0 scoreless innings and allowing no hits. On July 24 against Cincinnati, Gomber carried a no-hitter into the 7th inning in his first ever MLB start. He also became the first Cardinals left-handed rookie to win five games in the month of August since 1913 and those five wins also led the entire MLB.

Right-hander Heath Fillmyer will be taking the mound to battle Gomber and the Redbirds. The 24-year-old went 4-5 with a 5.75 ERA (43 ER/67.1 IP) in 13 G/GS last season with Omaha before being promoted to Kansas City on June 19. Fillmyer would go on to compile a 4-2 record with a 4.26 ERA (39 ER/82.1 IP) over 17 G/13 GS in his first big-league stint. The Reobling, N.J., native enters his sixth professional season and second with the Kansas City organization. He spent the first four years of his career playing at various levels within the Oakland organization. Fillmyer was 1-1, 8.75 (7 ER/7.2 IP) in two starts against the Redbirds in 2018. In his first start against Memphis, the Redbirds' home opener on April 10, Fillmyer lasted just 1.2 innings, allowing seven runs and seven hits in just 14 batters faced. His next start against the 'Birds came ten days later, where he tossed 6.0 scoreless frames, striking out six and allowing just three hits in a 5-0 Storm Chasers victory.

HISTORY WITH OMAHA: Memphis and Omaha have played against each other every year since the PCL's expansion in 1998, with tonight's game marking the 22nd consecutive year the two clubs have met. The Redbirds lead the all-time series with a 161-140 record and have gone 23-9 against the Storm Chasers the past two years. From 2014-16, the two teams finished all-square with a 24-24 record after splitting each season series 8-8. Tonight's game also marks the third time that Memphis and Omaha have played each other to begin a season, with the last such game occuring on April 8, 2010. Tonight also marks the second straight Redbirds' home opener against the Strom Chasers, with the 'Birds winnig last year's contest 7-0.

THE REDBIRDS

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Memphis Redbirds stormed out to an early lead in the 2018 Gildan Triple-A National Championship Game and never looked back, capturing their first Triple-A Championship with a 14-4 win over the International League-champion Durham Bulls on Sept. 19, 2018.

All but two of the Memphis starters recorded a hit in the game, and five of them recorded multiple hits. Alex Mejia led the way for Memphis, going 5-for-5 with a double, five RBI, and three runs scored. For his efforts, he was named MVP of the game. Outfielder Lane Thomas also had himself a night at the plate. He went 3-for-5 with a triple, a home run, five RBI, and two runs scored.

Rangel Ravelo (2-for-4, 3R), Randy Arozarena (3-for-4, 2 RBI, 2R), and Andrew Knizner (2-for-5) also collected multiple hits in the game. Memphis pounded out 17 hits, compared to nine for Durham. Memphis went 8-for-16 with runners in scoring position and left just six men on base.

Kevin Herget dominated on the mound for the Redbirds in his third start of the postseason. He earned the win, throwing 5.1 innings of two-run ball. He did not walk a man and struck out four Durham batters. Five Memphis relievers combined to finish off the Bulls. Tommy Layne, Edward Mujica, Genesis Cabrera, Chris Ellis, and Giovanny Gallegos combined to throw the final 3.2 innings, allowing two runs.

WELCOME HOME BEN: Hailing from nearby Germantown, Tenn., new Redbirds manager Ben Johnson officially takes the dugout at AutoZone Park for the first time since being named eighth manager in team history on January 18. Johnson spent last season at Triple-A Durham (Tampa Bay), as part of a staff that captured the International League title before falling to the Redbirds in the 2018 Triple-A National Championship. The 37-year-old is also the youngest manager in team history, a mark that was previously held by Danny Sheaffer, who was 41 years old when he was named manager on June 10, 2003.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: The Opening Night roster features 20 players that were not on the roster for Opening Night last season. Of the five returning players (Adolis Garcia, Austin Gomber, Daniel Ponce de Leon, Rangel Ravelo, Max Schrock) only three (Garcia, Ravelo, Schrock) were starters in the 2018 opener against Round Rock at Dell Diamond. Garcia, Gomber and Ponce de Leon all went on to make their big-leauge debuts last season with St. Louis.

KINGS OF THE HILL: After setting the franchise record for best ERA in a season at 3.77 in 2017, last year's staff shattered that record, posting a 3.54 mark. It was the second-consecutive season they owned the best ERA in the league. Additionally, they set the franchise record for most strikeouts in a season (1,160), fewest runs allowed (564), fewest hits allowed (1,152), and lowest opponent batting average (.248). Memphis' entire 2018 Opening Night, five-man starting rotation was promoted to St. Louis last season. John Gant, Dakota Hudson, Austin Gomber, Jack Flaherty, and Daniel Ponce de Leon all played large roles in St. Louis' second-half turnaround.

FARM RAISED: Memphis opens the season with 11 of St. Louis' top-30 prospects (Baseball America), including three of the top-10. Prospects on the roster are: Genesis Cabrera (No. 6), Lane Thomas (No. 7), Andrew Knizner (No. 8), Ryan Helsley (No. 11), Tommy Edman (No. 12), Daniel Ponce de Leon (No. 13), Adolis Garcia (No. 15), Jake Woodford (No. 16), Edmundo Sosa (No. 22), Max Schrock (No. 25) and Giovanny Gallegos (No. 29).

CAN'T STOP, WON'T STOP: On April 27, 2017, the Redbirds dropped their third-straight game and fell to 10-11 on the year, slipping into second place. The next night, they won their first of 11-straight games, moving into first place and never looking back. The Redbirds played the final 120 games of the 2017 season in first place, and played all 140 games of 2018 in first place. They have been in first place for the past 706 calendar days, and have played 260 regular-season games and 20 playoff games in that span.

BEAK-TO-BEAK-TO-BEAK?: Professional baseball has been played in the city of Memphis since 1877. In that span, only three teams have won back-to-back league championships in that time. The Memphis Egyptians won back-to-back titles in 1903-04, the Memphis Chickasaws won consecutive titles in 1952-53, and now the Redbirds have accomplished the feat with their successive PCL titles in 2017-18. No team in Memphis, however, has been able to capture a third successive title.

WINNING WAYS: After the Redbirds went 91-50 in 2017 and 83-57 last season, they have won 174 games in the last two years. That is the most wins in a two-year span in Memphis history since 1933-34 when the Chickasaws also won 174 games. The 1921-22 Chickasaws set the record for most wins in a two-year span by a Memphis professional team with 198.

THE 2018 SEASON

THE BEST ONCE AGAIN: After a 5-0 victory on Sept. 15, 2018, the Memphis Redbirds were crowned champions of the Pacific Coast League, defeating the Fresno Grizzlies three games to one. It was Memphis' fourth PCL title in franchise history, and their second-straight. Memphis also won titles in 2000 and 2009. In 120 seasons of professional baseball in Memphis, it is the 16th championship all-time. Infielder Tommy Edman and outfielder Randy Arozarena were named co-MVPs of the PCL Playoffs. Arozarena hit two home runs in Game 4, giving Memphis all the offense they needed. Edman hit .469 in eight playoff games, notching a hit in all but the final game of the series. Manager Stubby Clapp has now been part of three of Memphis' four titles since they joined the PCL. He played a crucial role on the 2000 team as a middle infielder, and has now guided the Redbirds to consecutive championships as manager.

NEW FACES, NO PROBLEM: The Redbirds won the PCL Championship for the second-straight season, and advanced to the Triple-A National Championship, despite the fact that the Memphis roster was almost completely different from the playoff roster during the 2017 season. It was also almost completely different from the 2018 Opening Day roster. Of the 13 position players who made an appearance in the 2017 playoffs, only two were still on Memphis' active roster. Wilfredo Tovar and Tommy Edman are those two players. Every other player has either been traded, released, or is at a different level of the organization.

Memphis had a franchise-record 66 players on the roster last season, though two never appeared in a game before being taken off the roster (Jesse Jenner and Michael Wacha). It is the third-consecutive season in which Memphis has used a record number of players. Of the 66 players to be listed on Memphis' roster last year, 22 of them made their Triple-A debuts with the 'Birds, and six others were promoted for their Major League debuts.

TOP NOTCH PERFORMANCES: While Memphis raced to its second-consecutive PCL Championship as a team, they had many outstanding individual performances along the way. On April 23, 2018, left-handed pitcher Austin Gomber tied the franchise record with 16 strikeouts in eight shutout innings against the Iowa Cubs. Lance Lynn also had 16 strikeouts in a playoff game in 2010. Gomber's mark set the regular-season record. On June 30, 2018, infielder Luke Voit hit for the cycle against Iowa. It was just the second cycle in franchise history and the first since 2000. On July 19, 2018, at Omaha, right-handed pitcher Daniel Ponce de Leon threw a one-hit, complete game shutout. It was just the 11th one-hit performance in Memphis history and the 17th complete game shutout. One week later, he made his Major League debut and threw seven no-hit innings. On July 22, 2018, against Colorado Springs, Tyler O'Neill launched three home runs, recording the sixth three-home run performance in franchise history. Four days later on July 26, 2018, at Salt Lake, Adolis Garcia recorded the seventh three-home run performance in franchise history, while also tying the franchise-record with eight RBI. Outfielder Oscar Mercado also had a five-hit, three-steal performance on July 21, 2018, the first such performance in Memphis history.

LAST YEAR'S HONOREES: Along with former manager Stubby Clapp, many Redbird players took home awards last season. While Clapp took home Manager of the Year honors, pitcher Dakota Hudson and outfielder Tyler O'Neill were named to the All-PCL Team. Hudson was also named the PCL Pitcher of the Year. It was the first time in franchise history that Memphis had two players named to the team in the same season, and Hudson is the first Memphis player to win Pitcher of the Year honors. Last season, Hudson, fellow pitcher Daniel Ponce de Leon, and infielder Patrick Wisdom were all named PCL All-Stars. Additionally, Hudson and outfielder Randy Arozarena participated in the MLB Futures Game. Last season, outfielder Adolis Garcia was also named the PCL Player of the Month for July. Four Memphis players also earned Cardinals Minor League Pitcher/Player of the Month honors. Pitcher Austin Gomber took home the award in April, infielder Rangel Ravelo and Hudson doubled up on the awards in June, and Ponce de Leon and Garcia doubled up on the awards in July. Wisdom also became the first Redbird in history to participate in the Triple-A Home Run Derby.

Check out the Memphis Redbirds Statistics

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