PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (21-12) at Oklahoma City Dodgers (22-8)

Published on May 9, 2018 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (21-12) at Oklahoma City Dodgers (22-8)

Wednesday, May 8

- 11:05 a.m. (CT)

- Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark (13,066)

- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Game #34

- Road Game #18 (10-7)

RHP Jack Flaherty (3-1, 2.16 ERA) vs. LHP Manny Banuelos (4-0, 1.80 ERA)

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds and Oklahoma City Dodgers will play game two of their four-game set at 11:05 a.m. today. 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 four teams in the Pacific Coast League with 20 wins on the year (Salt Lake, 20-12 & Fresno, 20-13). Today's game will be broadcast live on www.memphisredbirds.com with Steve Selby on the call.

ON THE HILL: Right-hander and Cardinals' No. 2 prospect Jack Flaherty will get the start for the 'Birds this morning. Flaherty is coming off his first loss of the season. In his last start, he pitched 5.0 innings, allowing four hits and two runs, only one of which was earned. He also walked four and struck out six in a 3-1 loss at Nashville. So far in his six starts between Memphis and St. Louis, the hard-throwing righty is 3-2 in 35.2 innings pitched, allowing 26 hits, 10 earned runs and 12 walks, while striking out 39 batters, good for a 2.57 ERA, and a .206 batting average against.

The Dodgers are scheduled to send left-hander Manny Banuelos to the mound against the 'Birds. Banuelos did not face Memphis in last week's series, but he comes into tonight's game with a 4-0 record and 1.80 ERA in six starts this season. This will be just the second time Banuelos has faced the Redbirds in his career. While he was with Salt Lake last season, he appeared in one game against Memphis in relief. In that game, he pitched 2.2 innings, allowing three hits and three runs, while walking two and striking out two

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 second multi-hit game of the season last night; also recorded first three-hit game since 6/27/17

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 .367 (11-30) 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 eight of last nine appearances and in 17-of-24 games on the season

SCHROCK: Currently on third 7-game hitting streak (.423, 11-29); has K'd in just 9.0 percent of career at-bats (112-1245)

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

VOIT: Hitting .182 (10-55) in 15 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

303 strikeouts by pitching staff are second most in PCL behind only Fresno (310)

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Redbirds beat the Oklahoma City Dodgers last night, 8-3 in Oklahoma City.

Sean Gilmartin took the mound for Memphis in his third spot-start this season, and turned in his finest performance. The lefty had three runs of support before he even took the mound, and he had no trouble with the Dodgers. He pitched 5.0 innings, his longest outing of the season, allowing one run on six hits and one walk, while striking out two.

Mike O'Reilly came in to pitch the final four frames for Memphis. Making his Triple-A debut, O'Reilly pitched well, allowing two runs on three hits and one walk, while striking out three batters.

The 'Birds had a big day at the plate with every position player except the pitcher's spot recording a hit. Tyler O'Neill Yairo Munoz, and Oscar Mercado all hit homers for Memphis. Patrick Wisdom was 2-for-4 and Steven Baron was 3-for-4 to lead the offensive charge for the 'Birds.

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).

SETTLING DOWN: After getting off to a shaky start this season, veteran Sean Gilmartin has been nothing but consistent in his last six 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 six games since his rough start to the season, making spot-starts in three of them. In his last 14.2 innings, Gilmartin has allowed just five runs, only three of them earned, while striking out eight batters. After last night's five inning, one-run performance, Gilmartin now has a 1-0 record and 2.53 ERA in three starts this season.

MAD MAX: 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 eight of his last nine games and is currently on his third seven-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 .336 on the season. He is tied for fourth in the PCL with 41 hits, and is fifth in the league at hardest to strikeout, fanning just once every 10.92 plate appearances.

SHOW THE MUSCLE: In last night's 8-3 win over Oklahoma City, Tyler O'Neill blasted his ninth home run of the season, and his third in the last four days. The slugging outfielder and Cardinals' No. 4 prospect is now tied for fourth in the PCL with nine homers, despite spending almost two weeks with St. Louis. His recent power surge has also seen him jump into the top five in the PCL in slugging percentage. He sits in third place in that category at .709. He is also third in home runs per at-bat at 9.56. His home run last night proved to be the eventual game-winner, putting the 'Birds up 5-0, and they later went on to win 8-3.

JEEZ, YAIRO: 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 an eight-game hitting streak coming into today'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 last week and is currently on his longest hitting streak of the season, and has had three two-hit games (.367, 11-30). Last night, he also launched his second homer of the season in the third inning.

PLAYING LONG BALL: Last night, the Redbirds smacked three home runs in their 8-3 win over the Oklahoma City Dodgers. After sending seven men to the plate, and scoring three runs in the first inning yesterday, Tyler O'Neill crushed a two-run shot to extend the Memphis lead. Yairo Munoz followed suit with a solo shot in the third before Oscar Mercado finished off the scoring by hitting a two-run homer in the sixth. It was the second time this season that Memphis had hit three home runs as a team. They also accomplished the feat in a win over Iowa on April 16 when O'Neill went deep twice, and Mercado led off the game with a homer. The Redbirds are now sixth among all PCL teams with 31 home runs. Salt Lake leads the league with 61 bombs on the season.

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 eight of his last 11 games. In that stretch, he is 12-for-38 (.316) with three doubles, two home runs, five RBI, three walks, and just nine 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 33 games, including a 2.81 ERA and 16 quality starts from the starting rotation. The 3.29 team ERA is second in the PCL, only behind Oklahoma City (2.80).

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 303 batters through the first 33 games (9.2/game), which ranks second among all PCL teams behind only Fresno (310). 'Birds batters are also towards the bottom of the league in total strikeouts. Memphis batters have struck out 235 times through the first 33 games, with only Omaha (232) and Oklahoma City (233) having struck out less than Memphis.

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)

Check out the Memphis Redbirds Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from May 9, 2018


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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