Sports stats



PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (36-53) at Iowa Cubs (51-38)

July 7, 2019 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (36-53) at Iowa Cubs (51-38)

Sunday, July 7 - 1:08 p.m. (CT) - Principal Park (11,000) - Des Moines, Iowa

Game #90 - Road Game #45 (22-22)

LHP Genesis Cabrera (3-3, 5.34) vs RHP Alec Mills (5-2, 4.68)

BY THE NUMBERS

.444 The Redbirds average with runners in scoring position last night (4x9). They rank T-5th in the Pacific Coast League with a .294 average in these situations. They are tied with Round Rock for highest average among American Conference teams.

6 Consecutive one-run games played by the Redbirds. They have gone 2-4 in such contests. Last night's victory was their first one-run win on the road this season.

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds end their brief four-game road trip today in the fourth and final game of this set against the Iowa Cubs. Today's contest ends the first-half of the regular season as Triple-A clubs head into their all-star breaks. The Redbirds snapped a three-game losing skid with a 5-4 victory last night. Their last six games overall have been decided by just one run and the 'Birds have gone 4-2 in such contests. The Redbirds went 4-for-9 with runners in scoring position and used a four-run fourth to break a 1-1 tie. The bullpen tossed 4.0 scoreless frames, fanning six batters and issuing no walks. Today's game will be broadcast live on www.memphisredbirds.com with Steve Selby on the call.

ON THE HILL: Left-hander Genesis Cabrera is scheduled to take the mound today and make his 13th appearance and 11th start with Memphis and his 18th appearance overall across levels in 2019. Cabrera last took the mound on Tuesday vs. New Orleans, taking no-decision (6.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R/ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 1 HR) in the Redbirds' 4-3 victory over the Baby Cakes in a seven-inning affair. It was Cabrera's third quality start in his last five and he has also allowed three earned runs or fewer in each start during that span. He has also issued one walk or fewer in four of his last five starts and beginning the season by issuing at least two walks in his first seven outings. Cabrera has made one start against Iowa this season on May 10 at AutoZone Park. In that start, he suffered the loss (6.0 IP, 7 H, 7 R/ER, 3 BB, 9 SO, 1 HR) in the Redbirds' 7-4 defeat to the Cubs. The seven earned runs allowed matched a career-high and his nine batters whiffed set a season-high. He allowed no hits over the final three innings during that outing. Cabrera carried on the form the end of that start to lower his season-ERA from 7.81 to a season-low 5.34 over his next five starts. During his second Major League stint of the season from June 13-23, he made three relief appearances, allowing two runs on two hits in 3.1 total innings. In his return to Memphis on June 9 at Reno, Cabrera earned the win (5.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R/ER, 3 BB, 8 SO) in the Redbirds' 7-4 victory over the Aces. It was his third consecutive start of allowing two earned runs or fewer He fans fanned at least six batters in three of his last six starts in Memphis. During his first career Major League stint, Cabrera went 0-2, 6.48 (6 ER/8.1 IP) in two starts. He made his MLB debut on May 29 at Philadelphia, suffering the loss (3.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO, 1 HR)in the Cardinals' 11-4 defeat to the Phillies. The Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, native is in his sixth professional season and second with the St. Louis organization. Cabrera entered this season ranked as the No. 6 prospect in the Cardinals system by Baseball America. He spent the bulk of last season at Double-A Montgomery, going 7-6, 4.12 (52 ER/113.2 IP). He was named a Southern League All-Star and ranked 3rd in the league with a .218 batting average.

The Cubs are scheduled to start right-hander Alec Mills in today's series finale. The 27-year-old is slated to make his 14th start and 15th appearance for the Cubs this season. Mills has gone 5-2, 4.68 (38 ER/73.0 IP) with the I-Cubs this season. In his last time out on Monday at San Antonio, he earned the win (7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO) in the Cubs' 5-3 victory over the Missions. It was his second-straight quality start and he has four such outings in his last five. He has allowed more than three earned runs just once in his last seven starts and has worked at least 6.0 innings in six of those outings. His seven batters whiffed matched a season high (3 times). Mills has made one start against Memphis this season on May 7 at AutoZone Park, taking no-decision (3.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R/ER, 4 BB, 4 SO, 1 HR) in the Cubs' 7-4 defeat to the Redbirds. Mills spent the bulk of 2018 at Triple-A Iowa, going 5-12, 4.84 (67 ER/142.2 IP). He appeared in seven games and made two starts at the Major League level for the Cubs, going 0-1, 4.00 (8 ER/18.0 IP). The Clarksville, Tenn., native is in his eighth professional season and his third with the Chicago organization. He spent his first five professional seasons with the Kansas City organization.

HISTORY WITH IOWA: Memphis has faced off against Iowa every year since 1998 and lead 169-140 in the all-time series. In those 21 seasons, the Redbirds have a winning record against the Cubs in 11 seasons and have a losing record in just one season (2015) since 2013. The Redbirds posted their best record against the Cubs last season, going 14-2 overall, 6-2 at AutoZone Park and a whopping 8-0 on the road at Principal Park in Des Moines, Iowa.

At this facility, the Redbirds have winning records in each of the last two seasons and in three of the last five overall. They also only have winning records in five of 21 seasons at Principal Park, with this two-year stretch being the most successful in team history. They trail in the series here 70-85.

Memphis has winning records in downtown Memphis in 17 seasons and has lost two home games each year to the Cubs since 2016. They have not had a losing record at home to the Cubs since 2012. Overall, they lead the series in the Bluff City with a 99-55 advantage.

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: A four-run fourth inning gave the Memphis Redbirds a 5-1 cushion over the Iowa Cubs (Cubs), and 4.0 scoreless innings by the bullpen to finish the game secured a 5-4 win for the Redbirds Saturday night in Des Moines, Iowa.

Memphis (36-53) trailed 1-0 before tying the game in the top of the second on an Irving Lopez double, and the Redbirds plated four more in the top of the fourth on three run-scoring singles. Lane Thomas and starting pitcher Harold Arauz drove in single runs with their knocks, and Randy Arozarena plated two with his single to center field.

Arozarena now has a hit in each of his last 10 starts.

After giving up the run in the first inning, Arauz faced the minimum in the second, third, and fourth innings to help the Redbirds keep the 5-1 lead into the bottom of the fifth before Iowa (51-38) scored three times to get within a run. Arauz was lifted after throwing 5.0 innings and allowing four runs, three earned, on seven hits.

Taking the ball from Arauz in the sixth, the Memphis bullpen locked down to secure the victory. Mike Mayers tossed the sixth inning as part of his injury rehab assignment and allowed a two-out double, but he struck out the final batter of the inning.

Chasen Shreve worked a perfect seventh inning, and he gave way to Ryan Helsley. Helsley promptly struck out the side in the eighth and got two strikeouts and a groundout in the ninth to wrap up the win and pick up his first save of the season.

Thanks to his double and a walk, Lopez has reached base in 11-straight games.

The win ended Memphis' three-game losing streak.

KNIZNER A PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE ALL-STAR: Andrew Knizner was added to the Pacific Coast League All-Star Game the league announced Friday.

Knizner has also been named an Appalachian League postseason All-Star (2016) and started the Midwest League All-Star game in 2017. He also represented the Cardinals in the 2018 All-Star Futures Game.

This season, Knizner has thrown out 23 of 50 would-be base stealers (46.0 percent) and he leads the PCL with 23 baserunners caught stealing.

THE AMAZING RANDY: After slashing .374/.456/.607/1.063 in 28 games between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis in June, Randy Arozarena was named Cardinals Minor League Player of the Month. He also had five home runs, eight doubles, 20 RBI, and four stolen bases.

Making his Memphis debut on June 12 after arriving from Springfield, Arozarena proceeded to hit in 13-of-18 games in the month with the Redbirds, including a five-game hitting streak to end the month that included a pair of four-hit games. He had his eight-game hitting streak snapped last night, but has hit safely in his last 10 starts. He also has five games with at least three hits during that span.

On Thursday, among prospects with at least 100 plate-appearances over the last 30 days he ranked 1st in hits (40) and average (.414), 2nd in OBP (.484) and total bases (70), T-3rd in doubles (10) and 5th in OPS (1.115). (Credit: MLB Pipeline)

This is Arozarena's second-career monthly honor from the Cardinals after being honored in June 2017 while playing for Advanced-A Palm Beach.

NEW ORLEANS SERIES WRAP: The Memphis Redbirds lost their series to the New Orleans Baby Cakes 3-2 in the first meeting between the two teams at AutoZone Park this season. The Redbirds have now dropped five of their last six series at home and have not posted a winning homestand since May 7-14. The Redbirds have not posted a losing record at home against the Baby Cakes since 2012.Both clubs scored 23 runs in the series, with the last three games being decided by one-run contests. The 'Birds went 1-2 in those games and have a 6-14 record on the season in one-run ball games. The Redbirds set a season-high for their largest comeback of the season on Sunday after falling behind 5-0 to win 10-6.

Randy Arozarena led the way once again for the Redbirds offensively in the series, going 12-for-20 (.600) with five runs, two doubles, a home run and four RBI. Arozarena had at least three hits in three games and posted a four-hit performance on June 30. Through 21 games with Memphis following the series, Arozarena is slashing .405/.463/.595/1.058 and has failed to reach safely when he starts just twice (19 G). John Nogowski had his 15-game hitting streak ended during the completion of Monday's suspended contest, but he went 8-for-18 (.444) in the series overall to boost his season average to .316, which ranks 2nd among Redbird regulars. In last night's series finale, Max Schrock collected just his second three-hit game of the season by going 3-for-5 with a double. Since returning from the Injured List on June 27, Schrock has gone 8-for-22 (.364) with two doubles and a home run. His two-run shot on Tuesday during the completion of Monday's suspended game was his first home run since July 15, 2018. Overall in the series, the Redbirds batted .314 (51x162) against Baby Cakes pitching.

The 'Birds starting staff went 0-3, 6.95 (17 ER/22.0 IP) fanning 18 batters while issuing 11 walks. They allowed seven home runs and yielded an opponent's average of .218 (34x156). Genesis Cabrera turned in the lone quality start of the series by allowing three runs over 6.0 innings of work in Tuesday's seven-inning contest. It was his third quality start in his last five outings with Memphis and he has allowed three earned runs or fewer in each of those starts. He has lowered his season ERA from 7.81 to a season-low 5.34 during that span. Austin Warner made his 2019 Memphis debut on June 30 by tossing 6.0 innings. Despite allowing back-to-back home runs to begin the game, Warner settled in and had three, one-two-three innings over his next five. Junior Fernandez tossed 3.1 innings in two games this series, allowing one run and two hits. In his first three Triple-A appearances, he has allowed four hits and one run in 6.2 innings. Seth Elledge earned his first career Triple-A win by tossing a scoreless seventh in Tuesday's game.

JUNE RECAP: The Redbirds finished June with a 11-16 record, going 3-12 at AutoZone Park and 8-4 on the road. This is the just the third time since 2017, that the Redbirds have posted a losing record in a month, adding to May 2019 and August 2018. The 39 home runs slugged by the Redbirds ranks 2nd for home runs in June, falling just one home run shy of joining the 2005 squad (44) of being the only two teams in Redbird history to hit at least 40 home runs in June. The 102 total home runs launched this season through June are the most by any Redbirds team. The team's .296 average in June was nearly 50 points higher than May's average of .247.

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE ALL-STARS: Memphis Redbirds pitcher Jake Woodford and infielder Rangel Ravelo have been named to the 2019 Pacific Coast League All-Star Team, with the 32nd annual Triple-A All-Star Game against the International League stars on Wednesday, July 10 in El Paso, Texas.

Woodford was the top vote-getter among all pitchers and earns the prestigious starting nod. He is the sixth Redbird, and second-straight, to start an All-Star Game on the mound.

Ravelo leads Redbirds regulars with a .323 batting average, which was highlighted by a 19-game hitting streak earlier this season that ended one game shy of matching the franchise record.

Check out the Memphis Redbirds Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Pacific Coast League message board...

Pacific Coast League Stories from July 7, 2019


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.

OurSports Central