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PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (18-8) vs Oklahoma City Dodgers (18-5)

May 2, 2018 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (18-8) vs Oklahoma City Dodgers (18-5)

Wednesday, May 2

- 6:35 p.m. (CT)

- AutoZone Park (10,000)

- Memphis, Tennessee

Game #27

- Home Game #15 (9-5)

RHP Daniel Poncedeleon (1-2, 1.59 ERA) vs. RHP Tyler Pill (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds and Oklahoma City Dodgers will face off in game three of a four-game set, tonight at 6:35 p.m. The 'Birds are coming off their first series loss of the season after dropping three-of-five to Round Rock, while Oklahoma City is coming off a five-game sweep of the Iowa Cubs. Memphis took the win last night in a close 5-4 game. The series is tied so far, with both clubs winning one of the first two games. Today's game will be broadcast live on www.memphisredbirds.com with Steve Selby on the call.

ON THE HILL: Right-hander Daniel Poncedeleon will get the ball for the 'Birds tonight. So far this season, Poncedeleon has pitched well, but has fallen on bad luck. Despite boasting a 1.59 ERA, third-best in the PCL, Memphis is averaging just 1.3 runs in his starts, by far the lowest scoring average for any Memphis pitcher. In his last start against Round Rock, he pitched 5.2 solid innings, allowing nine hits and two earned runs, but two costly errors led to four unearned runs scoring as Round Rock beat Memphis 6-1. Poncedeleon started against Oklahoma City twice last season, taking the no-decision in both games. In those two games, he combined for 10.2 innings pitched, allowing seven hits and two earned runs, while striking out nine batters.

The Dodgers will send right-hander Tyler Pill to the mound to face Poncedeleon. So far this season, Pill has started two games for the Dodgers, getting the no-decision in both. He has combined for 7.0 innings, five hits, five strikeouts and no runs in those two games. This will be Pill's 38th career game in the PCL across five different seasons, and the first time he has faced Memphis.

HISTORY WITH OKLAHOMA CITY: The Redbirds and Oklahoma City Dodgers have played every year dating back to 1998. Oklahoma City owns the all-time series record at 168-152. Memphis owns the all-time record at Memphis at 82-72, while Oklahoma City owns the road series record at 63-96. The Dodgers were the only team to post an above .500 record against the Redbirds in 2017. They narrowly took the season series with eight wins, compared to Memphis' seven wins.

BIRD BITES

AROZARENA: Seven stolen bases is two behind Mercado for PCL lead

BARON: Joins St. Louis organization after spending entire career in Seattle organization; has two hits in seven games so far

GARCIA: Has struggled in last 12 games, going just 7-for-42 after starting season hitting .350 (13-for-37)

KELLY: Has caught 19 of 26 games, is hitting .257 (9-for-35) with six RBI and five walks in last 10 games

MEJIA: Recorded hits in back-to-back games 4/29-4/30, after going hitless in his previous six games

MERCADO: Nine stolen bases leads the PCL; recently ended second eight-game hitting streak of the season

MUNOZ: Joins the team after spending the first three weeks of the season with St. Louis; hit first homer on 4/23

O'NEILL: Hit six home runs in 12 games before making MLB debut on April 19 at Chicago

RAVELO: Hit first home run of the season Sunday, and is now hitting .271 on the season

SCHROCK: Has just eight hits in last 38 at-bats after starting season hitting .397 (23-for-58)

TOVAR: Is hitting .500 (13-for-26) in last 10 games with one double, two homers, and nine RBI

WISDOM: Has hit four homers this season, all at home, and is currently in a 9-for-39 (.230) slump over last 13 games

BY THE NUMBERS

6.3 runs per game in 18 wins this season, while scoring 2.4 runs per game in eight losses this season

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Memphis Redbirds had a strong game at the plate, and a brilliant performance on the mound from John Gant to take the second game of their series last night 5-4 over Oklahoma City.

John Gant, making his first start for Memphis since April 21 after being called up to St. Louis, was dominant on the mound. He pitched 6.0 solid innings, allowing just five hits, two walks, and two earned runs, while striking out five batters. The performance earned him his team-leading fourth win.

The 'Birds bounced back at the plate after being shut out on Monday night. All but one position player recorded a hit, as they notched nine hits on the night. Patrick Wisdom and Yairo Munoz led the charge at the plate. Wisdom was 2-for-3 with his fourth homer of the year, a two-run shot, and Munoz was 2-for-4 with a two-run single.

Ryan Sherriff and Sam Tuivailala both appeared out of the bullpen as part of their Major League rehab assignments. Sherriff struggled in 1.0 inning, allowing four hits and two runs, while Tuivailala was dominant in 2.0 innings, allowing just one hit, and striking out one, as well.

BEST START IN FRANCHISE HISTORY: The Redbirds have been on fire to start the 2018 season. After the 5-2 road trip, and three-game sweep over Iowa, Memphis has moved far past the 2000 team that started 10-4 for the best start in franchise history. The 2017 team, which finished 91-50 last season, the best mark in franchise history, started 15-11 through its first 26 games. This year's squad is 18-8 through the first 26 games.

5-6 SPOTS PROVIDE THE PUNCH: After struggling to score runs the last few games, and getting shutout on Monday, the 'Birds bounced back, scoring five runs in last night's win. Four of those runs were driven in by the fifth and sixth spots in the lineup, Yairo Munoz and Patrick Wisdom. After Randy Arozarena drove in the game's first run with an RBI single in the third, Tyler O'Neill singled, and Rangel Ravelo doubled to leadoff the fourth inning. Munoz came through with a two-run single to give the 'Birds three-straight hits to start the inning. The lead was cut to 3-2 after Oklahoma City plated runs in the 5th and 6th, Patrick Wisdom provided the winning runs via his fourth homer of the year. To lead off the sixth, Munoz notched his second hit of the day, and Wisdom drove him in with a towering blast to left-center.

GOOD GOLLY, JOHNNY: Starter John Gant has been a force on the mound this season. After his performance last night, Gant is now a perfect 4-0 in five starts this season with Memphis. Across his five games, he is 4-0 with a 2.40 ERA in 30.0 innings, allowing 27 hits and eight earned runs, while striking out 22 batters on the year. Gant is also tied for the PCL-lead in wins (4), is 10th in ERA (2.40), and is tied for third in innings pitched (30.0). Gant also came out of the bullpen for St. Louis last week, and earned the win after pitching 3.0 scoreless innings without allowing a hit, and striking out one batter. Between both teams, Gant is now 5-0 in 33.0 innings with 23 strikeouts, and boasts an opponent batting average of .225 and an ERA of 2.18.

STARTING STRONG: The starting rotation for the Redbirds this season has been outstanding. The starters have a combined record of 14-3, have struck out 132 batters, have allowed just 41 earned runs, surrendered only eight homers and 44 walks, all combining for a 2.61 ERA. Through 26 games, Memphis starters have twirled 14 quality starts. If you subtract the four spot-starts made by Memphis relievers, the starting rotation is even better. In 212starts made by regular starters, the pitchers are a combined 14-2 in 134 innings with a 2.49 ERA.

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS: Last season, the PCL Champion Memphis Redbirds ended the season tied with a franchise-best .984 fielding percentage, matching the 2014 Redbirds who accomplished that. So far this season, the 'Birds are second in the PCL in fielding percentage at .986, behind only Albuquerque (.988). Memphis has made just 13 errors as a team, and has allowed only one passed ball. Memphis also owns the fifth-best fielding percentage in all of Triple-A baseball. The Rochester Red Wings of the International League sit atop the leaderboards with a team fielding percentage of .989.

WISDOM LOVES HOME AND RIGHTIES: Infielder Patrick Wisdom had a career-year last season, hitting a career-high 31 regular-season home runs. Of those 31 homers, 18 came at home, and 23 came against right-handed pitching. After hitting his fourth homer of the 2018 season last night, all four have come at home, and three of four have come off of right-hander pitchers.

WELCOME BACK, O'NEILL: After making his MLB debut last month with the Cardinals, outfielder and No. 4 prospect Tyler O'Neill has been working to get back in a rhythm. O'Neill appeared in six games for St. Louis, making just one start, and garnering just seven at-bats. While he didn't record a hit in those at-bats, he notched his first Major League RBI on a sac fly on April 22 in a win over Cincinnati. O'Neill couldn't be stopped before being called up. The slugging outfielder had appeared in 12 games, making 11 starts, and was hitting .388 with six homers and 18 RBI. He also had a 10-game hitting streak in those games. After going 0-4 with a strikeout in his first game back, he notched a single and scored a run in last night's win over Oklahoma City.

ON THE BETTER SIDE OF THE STRIKEOUTS: Memphis is among the PCL leaders for strikeouts by the pitching staff, and is towards the bottom of the league in strikeouts by batters. The pitching staff has struck out 228 batters through the first 26 games (8.8/game). The 228 strikeouts ranks fifth among all PCL teams, behind only Fresno (245), Las Vegas (242), El Paso (235), and Salt Lake (230). 'Birds batters are also towards the bottom of the league in total strikeouts. Memphis batters have struck out 181 times through the first 26 games. Only Oklahoma City and Omaha struck out less than Memphis. Of the 16 PCL teams, Memphis is one of just seven teams to have more strikeouts from the pitching staff than strikeouts by hitters. Memphis pitchers have 47 more strikeouts than Memphis batters do. Oklahoma City pitchers have 35 more strikeouts than Oklahoma City batters do, and Fresno pitchers have 54 more strikeouts than Fresno batters do.

BULLPEN WOES: Despite overall dominance from the starting rotation, the Redbirds' bullpen has struggled this season. Through the first 26 games, the bullpen is a combined 4-5 with an ERA of 4.19 in 86.0 innings, allowing 40 earned runs, just one less than the starting pitchers have allowed in 141.2 innings. The bullpen has been tagged for nine homers, one more than the starting pitchers have. The Redbirds are 6-5 in the last 11 games, and in those games, the bullpen has pitched 41.1 innings, allowing 21 runs, and 19 earned runs, good for a 4.16 ERA.

MAN, OH MAN, MERCADO: Outfielder and No. 13 prospect in the organization, Oscar Mercado, has proven he can field and run the bases, but since the start of the 2017 season, his bat has started to show promise, as well. Despite going hitless last night and snapping his second eight-game hitting streak this season, the speedy outfielder has been on fire to start the season. So far, he has played in 23 games, all starts, and has recorded a hit in 18 of them. Last season at Double-A Springfield, Mercado hit a career-high .287, 33 points higher than his previous career high of .254. So far this season, Mercado is hitting .326 (28-for-86). In 143 games since the start of 2017, Mercado is hitting .293 (165-for-563), and has stolen 48 bases. A three-time stolen base champion (2014, 2015, 2017) Mercado comes into tonight's game tied for the league-lead with Tony Kemp of Fresno with nine stolen bases.

PITCHING PROWESS: Memphis' 2017 pitching staff was one of its main reasons for success. The 'Birds led the PCL in ERA (3.77), which was a franchise record (3.89, 1998 and 2003), and Memphis was the only club in the PCL with a team ERA under 4.20. They have gotten off to a hot start this season, as well. Memphis boasts a 3.20 ERA through the first 26 games, including a 2.61 ERA and 14 quality starts from the starting rotation. The 3.20 team ERA is second in the PCL, only behind Oklahoma City (2.60).

PCL PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Starting pitcher Austin Gomber was named the PCL Pitcher of the Week today after his 16-strikeout performance last Monday. In his last start on Monday, he pitched 8.0 shutout innings, allowing six hits and no walks, while striking out 16 batters. The 16 strikeouts bested his previous career-high of 11 strikeouts, which he set last season. The 16 strikeouts also tied the franchise record for most strikeouts in a game (Lance Lynn 9/10/10), and bested the regular-season strikeout record of 15 set by Anthony Reyes (8/14/05) and Bill Pulsipher (9/3/05). After that performance, he was called up to the Cardinals on Sunday for his MLB debut. Gomber was on a roll since his season-debut on April 7. In three starts since then, Gomber has thrown 21.2 innings of five-run ball, and has struck out 23 batters.

2017 PCL CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON

START THE SLOW CLAPP: In 2017, first-year skipper Stubby Clapp led the Redbirds to their best season in franchise history. The 'Birds soared to a 91-50 record in the 2017 regular season and added six more wins in the PCL playoffs to win 97 total games on the year. Clapp was named the 2017 PCL Manager of the Year for his efforts, and was also named the 2017 Baseball America Minor League Manager of the Year. Clapp became the first minor league manager in the history of the St. Louis organization to win the Baseball America award. Clapp also earned the organization's prestigious George Kissell award.

FOR THE RECORD:

- Memphis' 91 wins in 2017 were the 10th-most in 119 seasons of professional baseball in Memphis dating back to 1877, and the season's .645 winning percentage was fourth-best

- Memphis was one of four teams in MiLB in 2017 with 90+ wins (Trenton Thunder [AA], 92-48; West Michigan Whitecaps [A], 91-45; Chattanooga Lookouts [AA], 91-49; Memphis Redbirds [AAA], 91-50)

- Memphis went 41 games over .500 during the regular season, the most by a PCL club since Albuquerque was 56 games over at 94-38 in 1981

- The Redbirds won the PCL American Southern Division by 22.0 games, and since divisions were established in the PCL in 1963, only two other teams won their division by 20 or more games (1970 Spokane Indians, 26.0 games; 1981 Albuquerque Dukes, 25.0 games)

- Memphis ended the season with its best ERA in franchise history (3.77) (3.89, 1998 and 2003), matched its best fielding percentage (.984) (.984, 2014), and had its third-best batting average (.278) (.284, 1999; .279, 2004)

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