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PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (30-20) vs Colorado Springs Sky Sox (27-20)

May 27, 2018 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (30-20) vs Colorado Springs Sky Sox (27-20)

Sunday, May 27 - 6:35 p.m. (CT) - AutoZone Park (10,000) - Memphis, Tennessee

Game #51 - Home Game #27 (15-11)

LHP Austin Gomber (3-3, 4.04 ERA) vs. RHP Corbin Burnes (1-2, 4.82 ERA)

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds and Colorado Springs Sky Sox will play game three of a five-game set tonight at 6:35 p.m. After Colorado Springs snagged the win in the opener, Memphis took the game last night in shutout fashion, 4-0. It is the second time the two teams have met in the last 10 days. Memphis took the 3-1 series win last week at Colorado Springs. Memphis is coming off a 3-1 series win over the Oklahoma City Dodgers, while Colorado Springs is coming off a 3-1 series loss to the Nashville Sounds. Today's game will be televised on WMC-TV's Bounce Channel and broadcast on memphisredbirds.com with Steve Selby and Jarvis Greer on the call.

ON THE HILL: Left-hander Austin Gomber will get the ball tonight for the Redbirds. The lanky lefty is 3-3 with a 4.04 ERA in eight starts this season. Gomber is coming off one of his finest starts of the season. In the series and homestand opener against Oklahoma City last week, he twirled 8.0 innings of one-run ball. He had a shutout going until the ninth inning when he loaded the bases with no outs. Preston Guilmet came in, and allowed a sac fly before shutting the door on the Dodgers. Gomber finished the game with a final line of 8.0 innings pitched, allowing six hits, one run, and two walks, while striking out nine batters. Coming into tonight's game, Gomber is second in the PCL with 57 strikeouts, three behind teammate Daniel Poncedeleon. He is also third in strikeouts per nine innings pitched at a 10.47 ratio. This will be Gomber's first career appearance against Colorado Springs.

The Sky Sox will counter with right-hander Corbin Burnes. Burnes comes into tonight's game with a 1-2 record and a 4.82 ERA in nine starts this season. He faced Memphis last week in the series-opener, taking the no-decision in what ended up being a 10-5 Colorado Springs win.

HISTORY WITH COLORADO SPRINGS: Memphis and Colorado Springs have faced off once this season. That series was last week, and after dropping the first game, the 'Birds won the final three to take the 3-1 series win. Memphis had been rooted in a deep offensive slump prior to the series last week, but they saw that end with an offensive outburst in the final three games. So far this season, Memphis holds the edge both on the mound and at the plate. At the plate, Memphis is hitting. 289 while the Sky Sox are hitting .279. Memphis is also posting a 3.31 compared to a 6.43 ERA for Colorado Springs.

BIRD BITES

AROZARENA: Last night, snapped 15-game on-base streak; hit for a .396 (21-for-53) average in that stretch

BARON: Rejoins team after spending last two weeks with St. Louis; appeared in two games, and recorded one hit

GARCIA: Recorded his league-leading eighth outfield assist Wednesday night, cutting down a runner trying to take second

KNIZNER: Has recorded a hit in 5 of 7 games with Memphis; was hitting .333 in 27 games with Double-A Springfield

MARTINEZ: Recorded first multi-hit game with Memphis with two hits in Wednesday night's win; also recorded an RBI

MEJIA: Recently ended a season-best eight-game hitting streak; was hitting .462 (12-for-26) in that stretch

MERCADO: Is hitting .523 (23-for-44) in last 10 games, with eight multi-hit games; recently snapped 8-game hit streak

RAVELO: Hit go-ahead and game-winning home run in the sixth inning last night, breaking a scoreless tie in the sixth

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 .158 (6-for-38) over last 11 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: Was ejected for the first time this season after arguing a called strike three to end the eighth inning Friday

WISDOM: Is hitting .450 (18-for-40) over current 11-game hit streak; streak is his and team's longest of season

BY THE NUMBERS

0.67 ERA for starter Dakota Hudson this month. It is the lowest ERA in the league this month, and he also owns the lowest overall ERA at 2.30

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Memphis Redbirds won last night's game in shutout fashion, 4-0 over the Colorado Springs Sky Sox.

Last night's starter Dakota Hudson was dominant for the 'Birds. Hudson threw 8.0 shutout innings, allowing just four hits and one walk, while striking out a career-high nine batters.

The game was knotted at zeroes before Colorado Springs pulled starter Paolo Espino with a man on and no outs in the sixth. Rangel Ravelo launched his second homer of the year off reliever Jon Perrin to give Memphis a 2-0 lead.

The 'Birds grabbed three runs in the sixth before Patrick Wisdom launched his seventh home run of the year to add a little insurance in the eighth. Wisdom went 2-for-3 with two runs scored in the win, while Oscar Mercado went 2-for-4 with a run scored to lead the 'Birds to victory.

DOMINANT DAKOTA: Dakota Hudson was brilliant on the mound once again last night. Hudson was solid on the mound in April, but he has turned a corner since the month of May began. In April, the righty was 3-0 with a 3.90 ERA in five starts and 27.2 innings. Since his first start of the month on May 3, Hudson has made four appearances, and has thrown at least 5.0 innings in each game, and has allowed just three total runs, and two earned runs in that span. Last night, Hudson threw 8.0 shutout innings, allowing just four hits and one walk, while striking out a career-high nine batters. Since May began, Hudson owns the best ERA among qualified starters in the PCL at 0.67. He has thrown 27.0 innings, allowing just 18 hits, three total runs, and 12 walks, while striking out 24 batters. He is also holding opposing hitters to a .194 (18-for-93) batting average since May began. Hudson now leads the league with a 2.30 ERA.

WIZ GETS ANOTHER ONE: After notching a single and a home run last night, Patrick Wisdom extended his hitting streak to 11 games. He now has a season-long 11-game hitting streak, and is hitting .450 (18-for-40) over that stretch. In the last six games alone, Wisdom is hitting .464 (13-for-28) with three doubles, a triple, and three home runs, while driving in 10 runs, walking five times, and striking out just five times. In the first game of last 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 17 games, he is hitting .381 (24-for-63) with nine extra-base hits, 12 RBI, and 12 runs scored. He has collected hits in 15 of those 17 games, including seven games with multiple hits. The 11-game hitting streak is tied for the second-longest streak of his career. He hit safely in 11-straight in 2015 with Springfield from April 30 to May 25, and hit safely in 14-straight with the Batavia Muckdogs in 2012 from July 19 to August 2.

BACK WHERE HE LEFT OFF: After going 0-for-4 at the plate Friday night, and seeing his third eight-game hitting streak of the year come to an end, Oscar Mercado got back to work last night. Mercado went 2-for-4 at the plate, and scored the go-ahead and game-winning run in the sixth inning. Over his eight-game hitting streak, Mercado was hitting .583 (21-for-36), notching five doubles, a home run, 10 RBI, and scoring 11 runs. Seven of the eight games were multi-hit performances. 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. Since May 16, Mercado has hit safely in nine of ten games, and has recorded multiple hits in eight of those games. He has a PCL-leading .523 (23-for-44) average since May 16. Mercado hitting .339 (59-for-174) this season with 35 runs scored, eight doubles, six home runs, 24 RBI, 15 walks, 26 strikeouts, and 11 stolen bases.

Mercado is in the top three of almost every team offensive category. Mercado leads the team with 35 runs scored, 59 hits, is tied for third with eight doubles, is second behind Patrick Wisdom for the most homers among current Redbirds players, is second with 24 RBI, leads the team with 85 total bases, has the best on-base percentage (.391), and leads all Redbirds players who have appeared in at least 30 games with a .879 OPS. Mercado also has 16 multi-hit games this season, and leads the team with five three-hit games, and two four-hit games. His 11 stolen bases leads the team, and is fourth in the league, while his 59 hits puts him third in the league, and his .339 average puts him ninth in the league.

STRONG STARTERS: The Memphis starting pitching staff has been a force to be reckoned with this season. Memphis starters are 25-10 with a 2.84 ERA through the first 50 games this season. Through the first 50 games, the starters have pitched 282.0 innings, allowing just 100 total runs, only 89 of which have been earned. In addition, they have walked only 88 batters, and have struck out 298 hitters. Five different Memphis starters have also tied or set their career-high strikeout marks. Daniel Poncedeleon struck out 12 (career-high) on April 14, Austin Gomber struck out 16 (career-high and tied franchise record) on April 23, Jack Flaherty struck out 13 (career-high) on May 9, Alex Reyes struck out 13 (tied career-high) on May 24, and Dakota Hudson set his career-high with nine strikeouts last night. Despite recent struggles from the Memphis bullpen, the 'Birds still own the second-best ERA in the PCL this season at 3.54, behind only Oklahoma City (3.05).

QUALITY STARTS GALORE: Not only have the Memphis starters posted a phenomenal ERA through this point in the season, they also lead the league in quality starts. 'Birds starters have thrown 25 quality starts in 50 games this season. They threw 55 total in 2017. The Redbirds staff has also thrown seven-straight quality starts after going seven-straight games without a quality start. Over that seven game stretch, the 'Birds were 3-4. In their last seven games, they are 5-2. Of the 10 pitchers that have made a start for Memphis this season, eight of them have thrown at least one quality start. Sam Tuivailala made a one-inning start on Major League rehab, and in his five spot-starts, Sean Gilmartin has not thrown a quality start. Dakota Hudson leads the team with five quality starts after last night's performance. Jack Flaherty, John Gant, and Austin Gomber have all thrown four quality starts. Daniel Poncedeleon has thrown three quality starts, and Ryan Helsley and Kevin Herget have both thrown two. Alex Reyes also recorded a quality start in his rehab appearance on Thursday.

BOUNCING BACK: The Redbirds got off to a rough start this month. They struggled through the first 16 games, going 6-10. The 'Birds scored just 59 runs in those first 16 games (3.7/game), while opponents scored 77 (4.8/game) total runs in those games. However, in the last nine games, the 'Birds have turned it around. Memphis is 7-2 in the last nine, and have scored 52 (5.8/game), while holding opponents to just 28 (3.1/game) runs in those games. In the first 16 games this month, the pitching staff also struggled, posting a 4.63 ERA. They allowed 71 earned runs in 138 innings. The competition also made the 'Bird bats go cold. Opposing pitchers posted a 3.38 ERA in those first 16 games, allowing 53 runs in 141 innings. In the last nine games, Memphis pitchers are posting a 3.12 ERA, while opposing pitchers are posting a 5.84 ERA.

50 IN THE BOOKS: Through the first 50 games of the 2018 season, the Redbirds are 30-20, matching the record of the 2017 record-setting Redbirds through 50 games. Now a little over a third of the way through the season, the Redbirds have been clicking on all cylinders. The pitching staff owns the second-best ERA in the league at 3.54, and owns the second-most strikeouts at 462. The Memphis hitters sit seventh in the league with a collective .270 batting average through 50 games. They have scored 239 runs, hit 45 home runs, have struck out a league-low 335 times, and have the fourth-most stolen bases in the league at 39.

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 462 batters through the first 50 games (9.2/game), which is only behind Fresno (472) 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 335 times through the first 50 games (6.7/game), the lowest mark in the league. Memphis and the Omaha Storm Chasers (339) are the only two teams in the PCL that have struck out under 340 times this season. The Memphis pitching staff has also issued the fourth-fewest walks in the PCL this season (140).

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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