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PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (23-18) at Colorado Springs Sky Sox (25-13)

May 18, 2018 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (23-18) At Colorado Springs Sky Sox (25-13)

Friday, May 18 - 7:40 p.m. (CT) - Security Service Field (8,500) - Colorado Springs, Colorado

Game #42 - Road Game #22 (12-9)

RHP Daniel Poncedeleon (2-2, 2.41 ERA) vs. RHP Alec Asher (2-0, 2.12 ERA)

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds and Colorado Springs Sky Sox will play game two of a four-game series tonight at 7:40 p.m. in Colorado Springs. This series marks the first time the two teams will play this time, and the second of 16 games they will play against each other. Memphis is coming off a series loss to the Nashville Sounds (1-3), while Colorado Springs is coming off a rain-shortened series win over the Oklahoma City Dodgers. Colorado Springs took the series opener 10-5 last night. Today's game will be broadcast on memphisredbirds.com with Steve Selby on the call.

ON THE HILL: Right-hander Daniel Poncedeleon will get the ball for the Redbirds tonight. It will be Poncedeleon's eighth start for the Redbirds this season, and his second-career start against Colorado Springs. In 2017, Poncedeleon earned the win against the Sky Sox in his Triple-A debut, tossing 5.1 innings of one-run ball, allowing just two hits and one walk, while striking out eight batters. In seven starts this season, Poncedeleon is 2-2 with a 2.41 ERA. Despite pitching well, he has had some tough-luck games where the offense does not pick him up. The Memphis offense is averaging 1.9 runs per game when he starts, by far the lowest margin for any regular Memphis starter. Despite the lack of run support, he owns the fourth-lowest ERA in the PCL at 2.41, owns the fifth-best batting average against at .221, and the fourth-best strikeouts per nine innings pitched ratio at 10.90.

The Sky Sox are scheduled to send right-hander Alec Asher to the mound to duel Poncedeleon. Asher comes into tonight's game with a 2-0 record and 2.12 ERA in three starts with the Sky Sox this season. This will be his second-career appearance against the Redbirds, and his first since 2015 when he was with Round Rock. In that game, he earned the win, pitching 6.0 innings of two-run ball.

HISTORY WITH COLORADO SPRINGS: Memphis and Colorado Springs have played every year dating back to 1998 when the Redbirds joined the PCL. The Redbirds hold the advantage in the all-time series record at 93-83. Memphis holds the advantage at home, as well, going 54-33 against the Sky Sox, while Colorado Springs holds the advantage in Colorado with a 50-39 record. The two teams have split the season-series over the last two years, posting 8-8 records in both years.

BIRD BITES

GARCIA: Recorded his league-leading seventh outfield assist last night, cutting down a runner trying to take third

KNIZNER: Recorded a double in his Triple-A debut last night; was hitting .333 in 27 games with Double-A Springfield

MARTINEZ: Recorded a ground-rule double and scored in his season-debut with Memphis Saturday night

MEJIA: Notched three hits in Sunday's loss, his first game with three hits since August 27, 2017

MERCADO: Is hitting .196 (10-for-51) over last 14 games after hitting .341 (28-for-82) in 22 games to start the season

MUNOZ: Went hitless Friday, snapping 10-game hitting streak .385 (15-39); hit first-career grand slam Thursday

O'NEILL: Is 12-for-30 with eight runs scored, six home runs, and eight RBI against Nashville this season

RAVELO: Has hits in just one of last four games after recording hits in eight of his previous nine games

SCHROCK: Has struck out 11 times in last 18 games; had struck out just four times in first 19 games of season

TOVAR: Is hitting .200 (3-for-15) over last five games; was hitting .438 (14-for-32) in previous nine games

VOIT: Nine of 21 total hits this season are doubles, and one is a home run, making 43 percent of his hits for extra bases

WISDOM: Is hitting .314 (11-for-35) in last nine games after hitting .211 (8-for-38) in previous 11 games

BY THE NUMBERS

-24 run differential for the Redbirds in the last 17 games after outscoring opponents 128-to-84 (+44) in the first 24 games

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Memphis Redbirds dropped the series-opener to the Colorado Springs Sky Sox 10-5 last night in Colorado Springs.

Kevin Herget got the ball for the Redbirds last night, pitching 5.1 innings, allowing four runs, three of them earned, while walking and striking out two batters.

The Redbirds scratched out a first inning run courtesy of an Oscar Mercado double and two wild pitches. Entering the fifth inning, the 'Birds trailed 3-1.

They scored three runs in the inning, and another in the seventh to take a 5-4 lead. The Sky Sox jumped all over reliever Edward Mujica, scoring six runs on five hits and two errors to take the 10-5 lead.

Mujica took the loss, falling to 2-1 on the year. Oscar Mercado led the charge on offense, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored, and two walks.

WHERE'S WALDO?: The real question is where are Mike Mayers and John Brebbia? After Brebbia was recalled again by St. Louis Wednesday, the two have combined to be recalled to St. Louis eight times over the first six weeks of the season. Since May 6 alone, both pitchers have been recalled twice and optioned once. So far, the Redbirds have had 58 transactions through the first 41 games of the season. The Redbirds are averaging 1.4 transactions per game. Last season, the Redbirds had just 33 transactions through May 18. They did not reach their 58th transaction until June 13 last season. Nine total Redbirds have been promoted to St. Louis this season, five of them being pitchers. Carson Kelly, Tyler O'Neill, and Luke Voit have each spent time with the Cardinals, while Brebbia and Mayers have made multiple appearances. Jack Flaherty, John Gant, and Austin Gomber have all been recalled at least once, as well. Steven Baron was purchased by St. Louis yesterday.

LONG ROUGH PATCH: Since dropping its final game of April, Memphis has fallen on hard times, and is just 6-11 in the last 17 games after starting 17-7. In the last 17 games, both the pitching staff and Memphis hitters have struggled. In the last 17 games, the Redbirds' starters are 5-8 in 91.1 innings, allowing 88 hits, 42 runs, 40 earned runs, 32 walks, 98 strikeouts, and 14 home runs, good for a 3.95 ERA. The Memphis relievers have struggled just as much in that span. They are a combined 1-3 in 54.2 innings, allowing 63 hits, 42 runs, 36 earned runs, 14 walks, 58 strikeouts, and eight home runs for a 5.98 ERA. Memphis is just 1-6 since winning three-straight games from May 7 - May 9. Over those seven games alone, the bullpen in particular has struggled. They are 0-3 in 22.1 innings, allowing 33 hits, 26 runs, 21 earned runs, seven walks, 19 strikeouts, and four home runs, good for an 8.55 ERA over that time.

The 'Birds have also struggled mightily at the plate in the last 17 games. In their first 24 games of the season, the Redbirds were hitting .274 (218-for-795) as a team, scoring 128 runs, walking 76 times, and making just 12 total errors. Starting with the loss on April 30, in those 17 games, the Redbirds are hitting .248 (143-for-576) as a team, notching just 143 hits, and scoring only 59 runs, while walking just 29 times, and committing 15 errors in the field, including six in the last two days.

APRIL TO MAY PITCHING DECLINE: Since the calendar switched over to May, the Memphis pitching staff seems to have hit a wall. In April, the Redbirds played 25 games, and the pitching staff owned a dominant 17-8 record, and posted a 3.17 ERA with 223 strikeouts, and 16 home runs allowed. In 16 games in May, the pitching staff has struggled. The Redbirds are just 6-10 this month, and are posting a 4.43 ERA with 150 strikeouts and 20 home runs allowed. In April, the Memphis starters were 13-3 with a 2.60 ERA and 13 quality starts. The starters struck out 127 batters, walked just 42, and allowed only seven home runs. This month, the Redbird starters are 5-7 with a 3.78 ERA and just five quality starts. In just 88.1 innings, the starters have struck out 97 batters, walked 31, and allowed 13 home runs. In April, the relievers were 4-5 with a 4.12 ERA and were 10-for-16 in save chances. They also struck out 96 batters and walked 29 in 83.0 innings, while allowing nine homers. In May, the relievers are 1-3 with a 5.67 ERA and are 5-for-7 in save chances. In 49.2 innings so far, the bullpen has struck out 54 and allowed seven homers.

VOIT FINDING CONSISTENCY: Infielder and Cardinals' No. 16 prospect Luke Voit has been a doubles-machine this season. Voit played in the first game of the season before being injured and missing 12 games on the disabled list. Since he was activated from the disabled list on April 19, Voit has collected 20 total hits, nine of which have been doubles. Voit has also hit one home run since coming off the disabled list, giving him 10 extra-base hits since being activated. The nine doubles in that time span is tied for sixth-most in the PCL. On May 9 at Oklahoma City, Voit went 4-for-5 with three doubles. It was the first time in his career that he had recorded three doubles in a game. Voit is second on the Redbirds in doubles, one behind Max Schrock for the team-lead, despite playing in 14 fewer games than Schrock. Voit has also collected hits in four-straight games, tying his season-best.

WIZ SHOWING SOME LIFE: In Tuesday's loss, slugging infielder Patrick Wisdom recorded his first three-hit game of the 2018 season, going 3-for-4 at the dish, and scoring a run. Last night, Wisdom also drove in the last Memphis run of the game with a double in the seventh inning. Wisdom has now hit safely in seven of his last nine games, and is hitting .314 (11-for-35) in those nine games. In his previous 11 games, he was hitting just .211 (8-for-38), and was hitless in five of them. After Tuesday's three-hit performance, Wisdom is now hitting .271 on the season with four home runs and 22 RBI. His batting average is now 16 points higher than it was nine games ago when he was hitting just .255.

STRUGGLING IN THE FIELD: Since recording five-straight games with no errors from May 5 to May 9, the Redbirds have struggled mightily on defense. After their five-game errorless streak, the Redbirds sat in second in the PCL on May 10 with a .986 fielding percentage, behind only Albuquerque. Since May 10, the Redbirds have made 10 errors in seven games, including three games, and two-straight, where they made three. With the sharp decline in defense, Memphis is now tied for sixth in the league with a .981 fielding percentage. The Redbirds are now 6-10 in games they make an error in, and 17-8 in all other games.

MUJICA'S RECENT STRUGGLES: To start the season, reliever Edward Mujica was untouchable. In his first 11 appearances, he threw 13.1 innings, allowing just two earned runs, striking out 14 batters, good for a 1.35 ERA. In his last three appearances, he has pitched 4.0 innings, allowing six earned runs for a 13.50 ERA.

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 368 batters through the first 41 games (9.0/game), which is just behind Fresno (392) for the best mark in the PCL this season. 'Birds batters are also towards the bottom of the league in total strikeouts. Memphis batters have struck out just 288 times through the first 41 games, the second-lowest mark in the league behind Omaha (286). Through the first 41 games of the season, three Memphis starters have also set their career-highs in strikeouts. Daniel Poncedeleon set a career-high with 12 strikeouts on April 14 against Iowa, Austin Gomber set his career-high and tied the franchise record on April 23 at Iowa with 16 strikeouts, and Jack Flaherty set his career-high with 13 strikeouts last Wednesday at Oklahoma City.

GOMBER'S RECENT STRUGGLES: Starting pitcher Austin Gomber has struggled mightily in his last three starts. On Tuesday, the lefty lasted five innings, allowing four earned runs and two home runs, while striking out just four batters. Since tying the franchise record with 16 strikeouts against Iowa on April 23, Gomber has struggled to keep runs off the board. In his first four starts with Memphis, Gomber was 2-0 in 25.2 innings, allowing just seven earned runs on 21 hits and one home run, while striking out 27 batters, good for a 2.45 ERA, tied for 17th best in the PCL. Opposing hitters were hitting just .228 (21-for-93) off him, as well. After a brief recall to St. Louis, in which he did not pitch, the lefty started pitching for the Redbirds again on May 5. In those three games, he is 0-3 with an 8.22 ERA in just 15.1 innings. He has allowed 23 hits and 14 earned runs, along with six home runs, while striking out 21 batters. Opposing hitters are also hitting a combined .329 (23-for-70) off the lefty. His 8.22 ERA in that span is fifth-highest in the PCL, as well.

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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