PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (26-18) vs Oklahoma City Dodgers (27-13)

Published on May 21, 2018 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (26-18) vs Oklahoma City Dodgers (27-13)

Monday, May 21 - 6:35 p.m. (CT) - AutoZone Park (10,000) - Memphis, Tennessee

Game #45 - Home Game #21 (11-9)

LHP Austin Gomber (2-3, 4.61 ERA) vs. LHP Manny Banuelos (4-2, 3.55 ERA)

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds and Oklahoma City Dodgers will kick off a four-game series tonight at 6:35 p.m. The two teams have met eight times in the last three weeks, splitting those games evenly with four wins and four loses each. Memphis is coming off a 3-1 series victory over the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, while Oklahoma City is coming off a four-game sweep of the Nashville Sounds. Tonight's game will begin a nine-game homestand for Memphis. Today's game will be broadcast on memphisredbirds.com with Steve Selby on the call.

ON THE HILL: Left-hander Austin Gomber will get the ball for the Redbirds tonight. The lefty has struggled through his last three starts, taking the loss in each of them. Through his first four starts of the season, the lefty was 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA in 25.2 innings, allowing just seven earned runs, one home run, and nine walks, while striking out 27 batters. In his three starts since then, Gomber is 0-3 with a 8.22 ERA in 15.1 innings, allowing 14 earned runs, six home runs, and four walks, while striking out 21 batters. In his lone start against Oklahoma City this season, Gomber cruised through four innings before hitting a wall and allowing four runs in the fifth. He also allowed four home runs in the game, tying the franchise record for most home runs allowed by a Memphis pitcher in a single game.

The Dodgers will counter with lefty Manny Banuelos tonight. Banuelos comes into tonight's contest with a 4-2 record and a 3.55 ERA in eight starts on the season. In his lone start against Memphis this season, the lefty took the loss, pitching 5.0 innings, allowing eight hits, five earned runs, and one walk, while striking out four Redbirds.

HISTORY WITH OKLAHOMA CITY: Memphis and Oklahoma City have played eight games against each other already this season. So far, they have evenly split the season series, winning four games apiece. Both teams have also split each series in their respective ballparks, going 2-2. Through the first eight games of the season series, Oklahoma holds a slight advantage both at the plate and on the mound. The Dodgers are hitting .268 against Memphis pitching, while posting a 3.73 ERA. The Redbirds, meanwhile are hitting .254 against the Dodgers' staff, and are posting a 3.99 ERA on the mound.

BIRD BITES

AROZARENA: Was hitting .385 in 13 games with Springfield; is hitting .266 with Memphis; combined for .313 on year

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

KNIZNER: Has recorded a hit in each of his 3 games with Memphis; was hitting .333 in 27 games with Double-A Springfield

MARTINEZ: Notched his first Triple-A RBI with a single in Memphis' 10-run first inning in game two Saturday

MEJIA: On Sat., hit his first triple since August 18, 2016 while with Memphis; current 7-game hit streak is best this year

MERCADO: Hit .647 (11-for-17) with three doubles, three RBI, and two walks in COS series; 4-straight multi-hit games

RAVELO: Has recorded hits in three-straight games after going hitless in previous four contests

SCHROCK: Hit a three-run home run in game one Saturday, his first since Opening Day; both his homers have been 3R

TOVAR: Is hitting .200 (4-for-20) over last six games; was hitting .438 (14-for-32) in previous nine games

URIAS: Belted first Triple-A homer Saturday, a three-run shot in 10-run first; was hitting .369 in 17 games with Springfield

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 .545 (12-for-22) over current six-game hit streak, his longest of the season; 3-straight multi-hit games

BY THE NUMBERS

19 straight games with an extra-base hit. Memphis has had at least one extra-base hit in 40 of 44 games this season

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Memphis Redbirds won their third-straight game, capturing a 3-1 series victory over the Colorado Springs Sky Sox after a 6-1 win yesterday afternoon.

Memphis starter Dakota Hudson was solid, twirling 6.0 innings of one-run ball. He allowed just six hits and four walks, while striking out a season-high seven batters.

Oscar Mercado, Patrick Wisdom, and Alex Mejia continued hitting the cover off the ball, leading the offensive charge for the Redbirds. Andrew Knizner also notched his first Triple-A multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 at the plate and driving in a run.

Preston Guilmet and Edward Mujica both pitched in relief, closing out the game for the Redbirds. They combined to pitch 3.0 shutout innings, allowing just one hit and one walk, while striking out two batters.

WIZ SEEING BEACH BALLS AT THE PLATE: Slugging infielder Patrick Wisdom has been on a tear the last six games. After a 2-for-3 performance with an RBI and two walks yesterday, Wisdom now has a season-long six-game hitting streak, and is hitting .545 (12-for-22) over that stretch. In the last three games alone, Wisdom is hitting .700 (7-for-10) with two doubles, a triple, and a home run, while driving in seven runs, walking three times, and striking out just once. In the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, Wisdom fell just a home run short of the cycle, but notched a home run in game two, giving him a cycle for the day. Since falling into a deep slump from April 16 to May 6, in which he hit just .220 (13-for-59) with four extra-base hits and eight RBI in 18 games, Wisdom has rebounded significantly. Over his last 12 games, he is hitting .381 (18-for-45) with six extra-base hits, nine RBI, and seven runs scored. He has collected hits in 10 of those 12 games, including six games with multiple hits.

CAN'T STOP, WON'T STOP: Oscar Mercado has joined Patrick Wisdom over the last few games in having a field day at the dish. In the Memphis doubleheader on Saturday, Mercado finished the day at the plate going 7-for-9 with two doubles, two RBI, and four runs scored. Mercado continued the torrid pace yesterday, going 2-for-5 with an RBI in the 6-1 win over Colorado Springs. Like Wisdom, Mercado got off to a hot start this season, hitting .341 (28-for-82) through his first 22 games before falling into a deep slump. Over his next 13 games, he hit just .167 (8-for-48), going hitless in five of those contests, and not recording a single multi-hit game. However, Mercado is now hitting .647 (11-for-17) in his last four games, notching three doubles, and scoring six runs. All four of those games have been multi-hit performances.

MEJIA ON FIRE: Utility infielder Alex Mejia has been on fire as of late. He has recorded a hit in each of his last seven games, including two three-hit performances. Over that stretch, he is hitting .524 (22-for-21) with a double, a triple, and a walk. It is quite the turnaround for Mejia, who has seen his average jump 62 points since May 3. Mejia had a solid start to the season before falling into a long funk at the plate. After recording hits in four-straight games from April 15-19, Mejia struggled for the next 15 games, hitting just .143 (5-for-35). He recorded hits in just four of those games, and notched only one multi-hit game. Now hitting .305 (29-for-95) on the season, Mejia has extended his hitting streak to a season-best seven games. His .524 batting average since May 13 is also second-best in the PCL behind only Keon Broxton (.600) of Colorado Springs. The .524 mark is also narrowly ahead of teammates Patrick Wisdom (.462) and Oscar Mercado (.458), who sit in seventh and eighth, respectively.

DOMINANT DAKOTA: Dakota Hudson continued his dominant season yesterday, pitching 6.0 innings of one-run ball. Hudson threw 6.0 shutout innings before loading the bases with no outs in the seventh inning. Preston Guilmet got out of the mess, allowing just one inherited runner to score. Hudson allowed just six hits and four walks, while striking out a season-high seven batters, one short of his career-high. Hudson is now tied for the league-lead with five wins on the mound and is fourth in ERA at 2.70, a hair ahead of teammate Daniel Poncedeleon, who sits in fifth with a 2.76 ERA. Hudson has been particularly dominant over his last three starts. He has combined to throw 19.0 innings, allowing just 14 hits, three runs, two earned runs, while walking 11 and striking out 15 batters over that stretch, good for 0.95 ERA. The 0.95 ERA since May 1 is tied with Zac Gallen of New Orleans for the best in the league among qualified pitchers.

BREAKING OUT THE BATS: The Redbirds have notched 37 hits over the last three games after having recorded only 24 total hits over the previous three games. Going back to Saturday's doubleheader, the 'Birds notched 10 hits in the first inning of game two, tying the franchise-record for most hits in an inning. The feat was also accomplished by the 2000 Redbirds who recorded 10 hits in the fifth inning on April 26 at Oklahoma. With the exception of Luke Voit and Daniel Poncedeleon, every Redbird that had an at-bat recorded at least one hit between the two games Saturday. Patrick Wisdom (3-for-4 and 2-for-3) and Oscar Mercado (4-for-5 and 3-for-4) were responsible for 12 of the 25 hits on Saturday day. Mercado (2-for-5) and Wisdom (2-for-3) were responsible for a third of Memphis' hits yesterday, as well. Fifteen of the 37 Memphis hits over the last three games have been for extra-bases, as well. The 'Birds have recorded 11 doubles, one triple, and three home runs. The Redbirds have now also scored 28 total runs over the last three games. They had combined to score just 29 runs over the previous eight games.

THREE IN A ROW FROM THE 'PEN: After struggling through the previous 17 games, the Memphis bullpen finally settled down to seal the last three games. In their previous 17 games, Memphis relievers were a combined 1-3 in 54.2 innings, allowing 63 hits, 42 runs, and 36 earned runs, good for a 5.98 ERA. In the previous seven games alone coming into Saturday's contests, the bullpen was 0-3 in 22.1 innings, surrendering 33 hits, 26 runs, and 21 earned runs, good for an 8.55 ERA. However, in the doubleheader Saturday, three relievers combined to pitch 4.0 shutout innings. Mike O'Reilly, Hector Mendoza, and Arturo Reyes combined to allow three hits and two walks, while striking out three batters in their 4.0 innings. Mendoza, making his Triple-A debut, pitched one inning, allowing a hit and a walk, while striking out a batter. Yesterday, Preston Guilmet and Edward Mujica combined to throw three shutout winnings to give Dakota Hudson his fifth win of the season. They allowed just one hit and one walk, while striking out two batters.

SHARP ON THE MOUND: Despite recent struggles, the Memphis pitching staff has been one of its main reasons for success this season. Coming into tonight's game, Memphis owns the second-best ERA in the league at 3.63, behind only this series' opponent, Oklahoma City (3.00). The pitching staff also leads the league in saves (15), and is one of four teams that has not allowed 200 runs yet this season, along with Oklahoma City (138), New Orleans (183), and Iowa (188). They are also tied with Oklahoma City for the third-fewest walks allowed (124).

TEN-RUN FUN: In the first inning of game two Saturday, the Redbirds scored 10 runs on 10 hits, sending 14 men to the plate. Seven of the 10 hits were for extra-bases, with two being home runs, one being a triple, and the remaining four being doubles. Oscar Mercado and Patrick Wisdom both recorded multiple hits in the inning. Mercado led off the game with a double and later singled in the frame. Wisdom also doubled in his first at-bat before cranking his fifth home run of the season, a three-run shot, in the inning. Ramon Urias, in his first game back with Memphis after spending 17 games with Springfield, recorded two hits in game two, including his first Triple-A home run, a three-run shot in the first inning. Earlier this season, Memphis had a 12-run inning against Round Rock, which was the franchise record for most runs in an inning. After last night's 10-run frame, Memphis now has two innings with double-digit runs this season. The 10 runs in an inning is the third-best mark in franchise history.

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 400 batters through the first 44 games (9.1/game), which is only behind Fresno (420) 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 303 times through the first 44 games, the lowest mark in the league, narrowly ahead of Omaha and Fresno (308). Memphis, Omaha, and Fresno are the only three teams in the league to strikeout under 310 times so far this season, and Memphis and Fresno are the only two teams whose pitching staffs have recorded 400 strikeouts.

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 21, 2018


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