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PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (20-12) at Oklahoma City Dodgers (22-7)

May 8, 2018 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (20-12) at Oklahoma City Dodgers (22-7)

Tuesday, May 8 - 7:05 p.m. (CT) - Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark (13,066) - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Game #33 - Road Game #17 (10-6)

LHP Sean Gilmartin (1-1, 5.93 ERA) vs. RHP Guillermo Moscoso (1-0, 2.14 ERA)

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: After snapping a four-game losing streak yesterday against Nashville, the Memphis Redbirds continue their eight-game road trip with the opener of a four-game set at Oklahoma City. The Redbirds and the Dodgers split four games last week in Memphis, with Memphis winning the middle two and Oklahoma City shutting out the Redbirds in games one and four. This series continues a stretch of the clubs playing 12 times in 24 games from April 30-May 24. Memphis and Oklahoma City are two of the three teams in the Pacific Coast League with 20 wins on the year (Salt Lake, 20-12). Today's game will be broadcast live on www.memphisredbirds.com with Steve Selby on the call.

ON THE HILL: Left-hander Sean Gilmartin gets the start for the Redbirds on his 28th birthday. It will be his third start of the year to go along with seven relief appearances. Since allowing seven runs in his first 4.0 innings of the year over four relief trips, giving him a 15.75 ERA, Gilmartin has surrendered just two earned runs in his last five games over 9.2 innings (1.96 ERA). The southpaw got a win against Oklahoma City last week, working 2.1 innings of relief on May 2 and allowing one unearned run on one hit. Tonight's start will be Gilmartin's 114th in 130 career minor league games, but he has only started twice in 66 Major League outings in his career.

The Dodgers are slated to counter with right-hander Guillermo Moscoso, who shut down Memphis last week with 6.0 shutout innings on May 3, allowing six hits and striking out five. On the season, Moscoso has struck out 25 in 21.0 frames. Prior to this year, Moscoso had faced Memphis previously in five seasons from 2009-13, with Oklahoma City, Sacramento, Colorado Springs, and Iowa. Lifetime against the Redbirds, he is 5-0 with a 1.80 ERA in seven starts (8er/40.0ip).

HISTORY WITH OKLAHOMA CITY: Memphis and Oklahoma City have played every season dating back to when Memphis joined the Pacific Coast League in 1998, with the Oklahoma City franchise also being affiliated with Texas and Houston. In the last six season, only once has one of the teams won more than nine of the meetings (OKC, 2014; 10-6). The Dodgers have won the last five season series dating back to an 8-8 split in 2012.

BIRD BITES

BARON: Recorded first multi-hit game of the season in Thursday's loss; also notched first double since 9/2/17

GARCIA: Has struggled in last 15 games, going 10-for-56 (.179); recorded first multi-hit game since 4/21 on Sunday

JENNER: Transferred to Memphis Sunday after not playing yet this season; played five games with MEM in '16 and '17

MEJIA: Recorded hits in four-straight starts after going hitless in his previous four starts

MERCADO: Nine stolen bases are second in the PCL; has not swiped a bag in 12 games and only attempted one

MUNOZ: Hitting .385 (10-26) on current seven-game hitting streak; had hits in just seven games prior to streak

O'NEILL: Was 6-for-16 with four runs scored, two home runs, and two RBI in the series with Nashville

RAVELO: Has hits in seven of last eight appearances and in 16-of-23 games on the season

SCHROCK: Currently on third six-game hitting streak (.417, 10-24); has K'd in just 9.0 percent of career at-bats (111-1240)

TOVAR: Has six multi-hit games in last nine games with a hit

VOIT: Hitting .180 (9-50) in 14 games since coming off DL; recently was recalled by STL but did not make appearance

WISDOM: Has hit four homers this season, all at home; has hits in seven of his last 10 games (10-38, .263)

BY THE NUMBERS

3.29 team ERA for Memphis this season is second to only Oklahoma City's 2.62 in the PCL

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Redbirds beat the Nashville Sounds 4-1 yesterday afternoon in Nashville, snapping Memphis' four-game losing streak. The Redbirds scored four runs, one shy of the total number of runs they had scored during their four-game skid.

Daniel Poncedeleon got the ball for Memphis, and pitched a solid six innings after struggling his last time out. The righty threw 6.0 innings, only allowing one run on two hits and three walks. He also struck out eight Nashville batters.

Luke Voit homered for the first time this season, and Alex Mejia and Patrick Wisdom both had two-hit performances for Memphis, while only two total Nashville batters managed hits all afternoon.

RIDING THE I-55 SHUTTLE: Three Redbirds pitchers, in particular John Brebbia and Mike Mayers, have been burning up the 280 miles between Memphis and St. Louis this season. Brebbia and Mayers have already made three separate appearances with the Cardinals, with Mayers currently on his fourth different stint with the Redbirds. Gant has made two different trips to St. Louis. Through 32 games this season, the Redbirds have already seen 47 transactions (1.5/gm) after 159 in 152 total games in 2017 (1.0/gm).

MAX GETTING BACK ON TRACK: After starting out his first season at the Triple-A level at a blistering pace, infielder Max Schrock hit a bit of a road bump, but seems to be getting his feeling back at the plate. In his first 13 games of the season, Schrock was hitting .397 (23-for-58). However, in his next eight games, he hit just .222 (6-for-27), and went hitless in back-to-back games for the first time all season. He has collected hits in seven of his last eight games and is currently on his third six-game hitting streak of the season. On Thursday, he provided most of the offense for Memphis, going 3-for-4 at the plate with two doubles. It was his first three-hit game since April 16 against Iowa. After his recent hot-streak, Schrock is now hitting .342 on the season. He is tied for third in the PCL with 40 hits, and is fifth in the league at hardest to strikeout, fanning just once every 11.45 plate appearances.

SHOW THE MUSCLE: In Sunday's 8-2 loss, Tyler O'Neill crushed his eighth home run of the year, and his second in as many games. The slugging outfielder, and Cardinals' No. 4 prospect has been working to find his groove since coming back from St. Louis. After going hitless in three of his first five games back, O'Neill was 6-for-16 with four runs scored, two home runs, and two RBI in the series with Nashville. O'Neill's eight homers on the season have him tied for fourth in the PCL, despite spending 10 days in St. Louis with the Cardinals.

FINDING HIS STRIDE: Infielder and Cardinals' No. 17 prospect Yairo Munoz had a hot spring and started the season on St. Louis' roster. Since being optioned two weeks ago, Munoz initially struggled to find his stride, but seems to have found it, and is riding a seven-game hitting streak coming into tonight's game. In his first 11 games with Memphis, the young infielder was hitting just .250 (9-for-36) and struck out nine times. However, he has been on a tear since the series with Oklahoma City and is currently on his longest hitting streak of the season, and has had three two-hit games (.384, 10-26).

LUKE'S STRUGGLES: Infielder and Cardinals' No. 16 prospect, Luke Voit, has struggled through the first month of the season. Last season, Voit was a force at the plate in 74 games with Memphis. In his first season at the Triple-A level last season, the slugging infielder hit .327 (88-for-269) with 23 doubles, one triple, 13 home runs, 50 RBI, and 29 walks, giving him a career-high .407 on-base percentage. Last season also saw him make his Major League debut, playing in 62 games for St. Louis. However, after getting injured on Opening Day this season, and missing about two weeks, he has struggled at the plate. In 14 games since coming off the disabled list, Voit is hitting .180 (9-for-50) with three doubles, one home run, five RBI, and six walks, while striking out 13 times.

CAN'T BE STOPPED: Infielder Patrick Wisdom had a career-year last season, hitting a career-high 31 home runs. He got off to a quick start this season, as well, hitting more for average than for power. Through his first 10 games, he was hitting .308 with two homers and 12 RBI. He then struggled over the next nine games, hitting just .200 with four total RBI. Since going hitless in both games of a doubleheader against Round Rock last week, he has recorded a hit in seven of his last 10 games. In that stretch, he is 10-for-34 (.294) with two doubles, two home runs, four RBI, three walks, and just eight strikeouts.

GIVE ME GUILMET: After spending the 2017 season in Japan trying to get his stuff back, reliever Preston Guilmet is turning heads out of the Memphis bullpen. The veteran righty has been manager Stubby Clapp's most reliable arm out of the 'pen. So far, he has made 11 appearances, spanning 16.0 innings, allowing just six hits and two earned runs while striking out 24 and holding batters to a .115 (6-for-52) average. Guilmet is tied for second in the PCL with six saves, is tied for the league-lead with 10 games finished, is third in lowest batting average against for a relief pitcher, and leads the league in fewest baserunners per nine innings pitched for a reliever at 5.06.

SHARP ON THE MOUND: 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 3.29 ERA through the first 32 games, including a 2.84 ERA and 16 quality starts from the starting rotation. The 3.29 team ERA is second in the PCL, only behind Oklahoma City (2.62).

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 298 batters through the first 32 games (9.3/game), which ranks second among all PCL teams behind only Fresno (301). 'Birds batters are also towards the bottom of the league in total strikeouts. Memphis batters have struck out 230 times through the first 32 games, with only Omaha (224) and Oklahoma City (228) having struck out less than Memphis.

DOMINANT DAKOTA: Thursday's starter Dakota Hudson was brilliant in his sixth start of the year. The lanky right-hander pitched 8.0 innings, allowing just one unearned run and five hits, while walking one and striking out four batters. He was saddled with the tough-luck loss, his first of the year, in the game. He cruised through 7.0 innings before the leadoff hitter in the eighth reached on an error by the Memphis defense. After a hit, a sacrifice bunt, and a fielder's choice, the run came around to score, giving Oklahoma City the 1-0 win. So far this season, Hudson has been one of the best starting pitchers for the 'Birds. Through six starts, he is 3-1 in 35.2 innings pitched. He has allowed just 12 earned runs and nine walks, while striking out 24 batters, good for a 3.02 ERA. The 8.0 innings he pitched Thursday night tied his career-high, which he set last season while with Double-A Springfield.

SETTLING DOWN: After getting off to a shaky start this season, veteran Sean Gilmartin has been nothing but consistent in his last five appearances. In his first four relief appearances of the season, he gave up seven earned runs in just 4.0 innings, giving him a 15.57 ERA. However, since making a spot-start in game two of a doubleheader at Omaha on April 19, Gilmartin has been lights-out. Including his April 19 start, Gilmartin has appeared in five games since his rough start to the season, making spot-starts in two of them. In 9.2 innings, he has allowed just two earned runs giving him a 1.96 ERA in those five appearances.

MORE HONORS FOR GOMBER: Starting pitcher Austin Gomber was named the PCL Pitcher of the Week today after his 16-strikeout performance April 23, and he was also named the Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Month for April. In that, 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).

RECORD APRIL: Despite a loss in April's finale, Memphis still put together its best April in franchise history with 17 wins. The 17 victories topped the 2000 club's 16 at the end of the season's first month.

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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