PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (34-20) at New Orleans Baby Cakes (24-29)

Published on May 31, 2018 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (34-20) at New Orleans Baby Cakes (24-29)

Thursday, May 31 - 7:00 p.m. (CT) - Shrine on Airline (10,000) - New Orleans, Louisiana

Game #55 - Road Game #26 (16-9)

RHP Dakota Hudson (6-1, 2.30 ERA) vs. RHP Ben Meyer (2-4, 4.47 ERA)

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds and New Orleans Baby Cakes will play game two of a five-game series tonight at 7:00 p.m. in New Orleans. This is the first of four series the two teams will play against each other this season. Memphis grabbed the close win, 3-2 last night in the series opener. The Redbirds are coming off a 4-1 series win over the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, while New Orleans is coming off a 4-1 series loss to the Iowa Cubs. Today's game will be broadcast on memphisredbirds.com with Steve Selby on the call.

ON THE HILL: Right-hander Dakota Hudson will get the ball for the Redbirds tonight. Hudson has been dominant this season, especially in the last month. Hudson comes into tonight's game having made nine starts for the 'Birds. He is 6-1 with a 2.30 ERA this season. In his last start, he blanked the Sky Sox over 8.0 innings, striking out a career-high nine batters. Since May began, Hudson has pitched in four games, throwing 27.0 innings, allowing 18 hits and just three total runs, only two of which were earned. He has also struck out 24 batters this month, giving him a 0.67 ERA for the month of May. That mark is the best by far in the league this month. His 2.30 season ERA is also the best in the PCL, narrowly ahead of teammate Daniel Poncedeleon, who sits in second at 2.48. Hudson has made one start against the Baby Cakes in his career, coming last season. He took the no-decision in that game, throwing 3.1 shutout innings.

The Baby Cakes will counter with righty Ben Meyer. Meyer comes into tonight's game with a 2-4 record and 4.47 ERA in nine starts this season. He has thrown 44.1 innings, allowing 22 earned runs, while striking out 35 batters. This will be Meyer's first career appearance against the Redbirds.

HISTORY WITH NEW ORLEANS: Memphis and New Orleans have played every year dating back to 1998 when Memphis joined the PCL. New Orleans has been affiliated with four different teams in that span, while Memphis has remained affiliated with St. Louis over that span. The Baby Cakes have been affiliated with Houston, Washington, the Mets, and now Miami. The have also changed their mascot to the Baby Cakes after previously being known as the Zephyrs. Memphis went 11-6 against New Orleans last year, including going 6-3 in New Orleans.

BIRD BITES

AROZARENA: Saturday 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: Monday, recorded first multi-hit game since May 6; leads PCL with eight outfield assists

KNIZNER: Recorded first three-hit Triple-A game Sunday night; went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a run scored, and an RBI

MEJIA: Is five for his last eight; recorded a hit Sunday for the first time since snapping 8-game hitting streak (5/13-22)

MERCADO: Is hitting .404 (23-for-57) in last 14 games, with eight multi-hit games; recently snapped 8-game hit streak

O'NEILL: Has appeared in 16 games with St. Louis; hitting .237 with six runs, nine hits, one double, three homers, and 7RBI

RAVELO: Hit go-ahead home runs in games on Saturday and Sunday, breaking scoreless ties both times

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

TOVAR: Drove in all three runs in last night's 3-2 win; was 2-for-4 with 2B and HR; first multi-hit game since May 9

URIAS: Is hitting .286 (6-for-21) in seven games since being transferred from Springfield; hitting .313 on season

WISDOM: Is hitting .418 (23-for-55) over current 15-game hit streak; now the longest streak of his career

BY THE NUMBERS

7 games this season where the Memphis starter has recorded at least 10 strikeouts. No other team in the PCL has had more than two such performances from their starters

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Memphis Redbirds won last night's game over the New Orleans Baby Cakes 3-2, winning their third-consecutive one-run game.

Last night's starter Daniel Poncedeleon was solid for the 'Birds, tossing 6.0 shutout innings. He allowed two walks to start the seventh inning before being pulled in favor of Andrew Morales. One of those runs came around to score, giving him a final line of 6.0 innings pitched, one earned run and eight strikeouts.

Wilfredo Tovar provided all the offense for Memphis in the win. The infielder broke the scoreless tie in the sixth inning, smacking a two-run double to give Memphis the lead.

New Orleans grabbed a run in the seventh and ninth innings, but Tovar smacked his fourth homer of the season to lead off the ninth and seal the win for the 'Birds. Andrew Morales and Edward Mujica combined to pitch the final three frames.

Patrick Wisdom also went 1-for-4, extending his hitting streak to a career-best 15 games.

WIZ MATCHES CAREER-HIGH STREAK: After going 1-for-4 at the plate with a run scored last night, Patrick Wisdom extended his hitting streak to 15 games. He now has a season and career-long 15-game hitting streak, and is hitting .418 (23-for-55) over that stretch. In the last 10 games alone, Wisdom is hitting .419 (18-for-43) with three doubles, a triple, and three home runs, while driving in 11 runs, walking six times, and striking out just nine 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 21 games, he is hitting .372 (29-for-78) with nine extra-base hits, 13 RBI, and 15 runs scored. He has collected hits in 19 of those 21 games, including eight games with multiple hits. The 15-game hitting streak is now the 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. The 15-game streak is the longest for any member of the Redbirds this season, and the sixth-longest streak in the PCL this season. It is also the third-longest current streak in the league right now.

PONCE CONTINUES TO DOMINATE: Memphis starter Daniel Poncedeleon has had himself a strong start to the 2018 season. Despite getting the lowest run support among Memphis starters, Poncedeleon is now 4-2 with a 2.48 ERA in 10 starts and 11 appearances for Memphis this season. Last night, Poncedeleon threw 6.0 shutout innings before allowing the first two men in the seventh to reach. He was pulled after that and the bullpen allowed one of his runners to score. He finished the night pitching 6.0 innings, allowing four hits, four walks, and one earned run, while striking out eight batters. In his 10 starts this season, he has pitched at least 5.0 innings in nine of them, and has notched four quality starts. The righty has not allowed more than three earned runs this season, and has allowed two earned runs or fewer in eight of his 10 starts. After last night's performance, Poncedeleon now own the second-best ERA (2.48) in the PCL behind teammate Dakota Hudson (2.30). He also owns the most strikeouts in the PCL at 68, narrowly ahead of teammate Austin Gomber, who sits in second with 63. Poncedeleon also sits in second in the league in opponent's batting average (.223), and strikeouts per nine innings pitched ratio (11.47).

HAVE A NIGHT, WILFREDO: Last night, infielder Wilfredo Tovar provided the offensive spark for the Redbirds, driving in all three runs Memphis scored. The game was scoreless heading into the sixth inning before Tovar came to the plate. With Patrick Wisdom and Luke Voit on second and third, Tovar smacked a double to break the tie and put the 'Birds ahead. In his last at-bat of the game to lead off the ninth inning, Tovar crushed his fourth homer of the year to provide the winning run for Memphis, as New Orleans scored their second run of the game in the ninth. With his performance last night, Tovar notched his first extra-base hit since May 24, his first multi-hit game since May 9, and his first multi-RBI game since May 9. Tovar's four homers so far this season are tied for the second-best mark of his career. He hit a career-high six home runs last season with Memphis.

ONE IS JUST ENOUGH: Yesterday, the Redbirds beat the New Orleans Baby Cakes 3-2, winning their third-consecutive one-run game. They are now 11-3 in one-run games this season, including 9-2 at AutoZone Park. Their 11-3 (.786) record in one-run contests gives them the highest winning percentage in such contests this season. Since manager Stubby Clapp took the helm last season, Memphis owns the best record and winning percentage in one-run games in the entire league. Last season, the 'Birds were 29-15 (.659) in one-run games. Between the two seasons, they are 40-18 in such games, a .690 winning percentage. Over their current five-game winning streak, the 'Birds have won two games in shutout fashion, and won three-straight one-run games. They have allowed just five total runs in the last five games.

STRONG STARTERS: The Memphis starting pitching staff has been a force to be reckoned with this season. Memphis starters are 29-10 with a 2.70 ERA through the first 54 games this season. Through the first 54 games, the starters have pitched 307.0 innings, allowing just 104 total runs, only 92 of which have been earned. In addition, they have walked only 97 batters, and have struck out 328 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 Saturday night.

Memphis starters have also recorded seven separate 10-strikeout games. No other team in the PCL has more than two. Oklahoma City and El Paso have both had two 10-strikeout games from their starters, while Colorado Springs, Fresno, Las Vegas, Nashville, and Sacramento have all had one. There have been 16 total games with 10-strikeout performances from the starter in the PCL this season, and Memphis owns seven of them. Jack Flaherty and Daniel Poncedeleon have both recorded two such performances, while Alex Reyes, Austin Gomber, and Ryan Helsley have one apiece.

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 29 quality starts in 54 games this season. That comes out to 53.7 percent of their starts. They threw 55 total in 2017. The Redbirds staff has also thrown 11-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 11 games, they are 9-2. 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 and Austin Gomber lead the team with five quality starts apiece. Jack Flaherty, John Gant, and Daniel Poncedeleon have all thrown four quality starts. Kevin Herget and Ryan Helsley have both thrown three quality starts. Alex Reyes also recorded a quality start in his rehab appearance last Thursday.

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 502 batters through the first 54 games (9.3/game), which is only behind Fresno (511) 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 359 times through the first 54 games (6.6/game), tied with Omaha for the lowest mark in the league. Memphis and Omaha are the only teams in the PCL that have struck out under 360 times this season. The Memphis pitching staff has also issued the fourth-fewest walks in the PCL this season (152).

MORE HONORS FOR GOMBER: Memphis starting pitcher Austin Gomber was named the PCL Pitcher of the Week on Monday for the second time this season. Last week, Gomber went 2-0 in 14.0 innings pitched, allowing just one run on 11 hits and four walks, while striking out 15 batters. Gomber also earned the award for the week of April 23-29 after his 16-strikeout performance April 23, and he was also named the Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Month for April. Gomber is 4-3 with a 3.60 ERA and 63 strikeouts on the season.

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 31, 2018


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