PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (37-24) vs Reno Aces (27-34)

Published on June 8, 2018 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (37-24) vs Reno Aces (27-34)

Friday, June 8 - 7:05 p.m. (CT) - AutoZone Park (10,000) - Memphis, Tennessee

Game #62 - Home Game #33 (20-12)

RHP Kevin Herget (3-5, 3.97 ERA) vs. RHP Taylor Clarke (6-5, 4.21 ERA)

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds and Reno Aces will play the series opener of a four-game set tonight at 7:05 p.m. This will be the only time the two teams will play this season. Memphis is coming off a 2-1 series win over Tacoma, while Reno is coming off a 2-1 series win over the Nashville Sounds. The two teams met for four games last year in Reno, splitting the series 2-2. Today's game will be broadcast on memphisredbirds.com with Steve Selby on the call.

ON THE HILL: Right-hander Kevin Herget will get the ball for the Redbirds tonight. Herget will be making his 14th appearance for Memphis this season, and his eighth start. In seven starts this season, Herget is 2-4 with a 4.34 ERA in 37.1 innings. He has allowed 44 hits, 18 earned runs, seven home runs and 11 walks as a starter, while striking out 34 batters. In his last start on June 3 at New Orleans, Herget took the loss, allowing four earned runs in 5.1 innings, including three home runs. Including his relief appearances this season, Herget is 3-5 with a 3.97 ERA coming into tonight's game. It will be his first-career appearance against the Aces.

The Aces will send right-hander Taylor Clarke to the mound to face off with Herget tonight. Coming into tonight's game, Clarke is 6-5 with a 4.21 ERA in 11 starts with Reno this season. Clarke has pitched 57.2 innings, allowing 55 hits, 27 earned runs and 22 walks, while striking out 61 batters. This will be Clarke's first-career appearance against the Redbirds.

HISTORY WITH RENO: Memphis and Reno have played every year dating back to 2009. The Aces are the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Aces hold the advantage in the all-time series, winning 23 games compared to Memphis' 13. The Aces also hold the advantage at AutoZone Park with an 11-5 record. Last season, the two teams split the season series at two games apiece. Last season, the 'Birds outperformed the Aces both at the plate and on the mound. The Redbirds out-hit Reno .357 to .286, and posted a 6.88 ERA compared to their 8.00 ERA.

BIRD BITES

AROZARENA: Is just 3-for-33 in his last 10 games after snapping a 15-game on-base streak on May 25

BARON: Recently spent two weeks with St. Louis; appeared in two games, and recorded one hit, his first in the MLB

GARCIA: Currently has a four-game hitting streak, tied for his longest of the year; leads PCL with nine outfield assists

KELLY: Recently optioned from St. Louis; hitting .258 with five 2B, two HR and 11 RBI in 25 games with Memphis

KNIZNER: Is hitting .341 (14-for-41) since joining Memphis last month; hitting .336 (49-for-146) on season

MEJIA: Drove in game winning runs in last two games; Wednesday was his first multi-RBI game since April 10

MERCADO: Is hitting .180 (9-for-50) since ending eight-game hitting streak on May 25; 3rd in PCL with 13 stolen bases

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

RAVELO: Before going hitless Tues. night, was hitting .435 (10-for-23) with five extra-base hits and seven RBI in last seven

SCHROCK: Hit .269 (25-for-93) in the month of May after hitting .323 (30-for-93) in April; only five multi-hit games in May

TOVAR: Has two multi-hit games in the last week after going 15 games without a multi-hit performance

URIAS: After going 0-4 Wed. night, is hitting just .222 (8-for-36) in eight games since being transferred from Springfield

WISDOM: Recently snapped career-long 16-game hitting streak; hitting .325 (40-for-123) since May 1

BY THE NUMBERS

20.2 straight innings from the bullpen without an earned run allowed. Eight different relievers have combined to allow just one unearned run in that span, the longest of the season for the 'Birds

ON THIS DATE

In 2017, Memphis scored three runs between the seventh and eighth innings to grab a 3-2 win at New Orleans

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Memphis Redbirds shutout the Tacoma Rainiers 6-0 last night to notch their fifth shutout of the season.

Last night's starter Dakota Hudson bounced back after a rough outing last week, and was dominant over 6.0 shutout innings. The righty allowed just three hits and two walks, while striking out four Rainier batters to earn the win.

The Memphis bullpen continued its recent dominant stretch, pitching the final 3.0 innings, allowing no hits and four walks, while striking out two to seal the win. Matt Bowman and Greg Holland, both on rehab assignments from St. Louis, combined to pitch 2.0 innings, issuing two walks. Andrew Morales pitched the ninth to seal the win.

Offensively, the 'Birds grabbed runs in the fourth, fifth, and eighth innings to earn the win. Five different Redbirds had multi-hit games as the offense broke out for 12 hits, more than they had in the last two games combined.

Max Schrock, Tyler O'Neill, Patrick Wisdom, Alex Mejia, and Carson Kelly all recorded two hits. Schrock, O'Neill, and Mejia also notched an RBI, while Oscar Mercado's lone hit of the night drove in two runners to cap off a three-run eighth inning.

DOMINANT DAKOTA: Last night's starter Dakota Hudson was dominant once again, bouncing back from his worst start of the year in his previous start. On May 31 at New Orleans, Hudson allowed a season-high four earned runs, taking his second loss of the season. However, last night was a completely different story. Hudson was dominant over six shutout innings, allowing just three hits and two walks, while striking out four batters on the night. Hudson now leads all PCL pitchers with seven wins on the season, and is tied with Cole Irvin of Lehigh Valley in the International League, for the most wins in all of Triple-A baseball. Hudson now owns a 2.44 ERA, second-best in the PCL, narrowly behind teammate Daniel Poncedeleon who sits at 2.41. Hudson is also tied for third in the league in innings pitched, having tossed 66.1 on the year. Since May 1, Hudson has been particularly dominant. Among qualified pitchers, Hudson's 1.40 ERA in six starts since the beginning of May is the best mark in the PCL. In that time frame, he is 4-2 in 38.2 innings pitched, having allowed just six earned runs, while striking out 32 batters. He is also holding opponents to a .209 batting average in that span.

DOMINANCE FROM THE 'PEN: In the last five games, the Memphis bullpen has been dominant accumulating a large work load. In Saturday's win over New Orleans, five relievers combined to toss 7.1 shutout innings as the 'Birds stormed back in the late innings to win 6-5 in 10 innings. That performance came after starter Ryan Helsley allowed five runs, three of them earned, to score in 2.2 innings. In Sunday's loss to New Orleans, Memphis starter Kevin Herget allowed four earned runs on three home runs to score in his 5.1 innings of work. The bullpen then came on to shutdown the Baby Cakes with 2.2 innings of shutout ball. Tuesday night, the bullpen pitched the final three innings, and allowed one unearned run to score in the eighth. Wednesday night, the bullpen pitched the final 3.2 innings to close out the game for the 'Birds. Last night, the 'pen pitched the final three innings of the game to seal the win and the fifth shutout of the season for the 'Birds.

With their performance last night, the bullpen has allowed just one unearned run to score in the last five games, and they have pitched 20.2 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. Over that span, 10 different Memphis relievers have made an appearance. Hector Mendoza (2.1IP), Andrew Morales (3.2IP), Preston Guilmet (2.0IP), Edward Mujica (3.1IP), Conner Greene (1.0IP), Arturo Reyes (4.0IP, 1UR), Sean Gilmartin (1.1IP), Mike Mayers (1.0IP), Matt Bowman (1.0IP), and Greg Holland (1.0IP) have all been lights-out over that stretch. Through the first six games in June, the Memphis bullpen is 1-0 with a save, and has thrown 23.0 innings, allowing just three runs, two earned runs, 11 walks, and a home run, while striking out 12 batters, good for a 0.78 ERA.

TWO IN A ROW FOR MEJIA: Wednesday night, Alex Mejia drove in both Memphis runs, giving starter Daniel Poncedeleon all the support he needed to win 2-1. Last night, Mejia drove in the first run of the game, which proved to be the winning run, as Memphis won in shutout fashion. He scored Patrick Wisdom with an RBI single in the fourth inning. While he was not credited for an RBI later in the game due to an error on the play, Wisdom came around to score on an infield single from Mejia when the Tacoma shortstop threw the ball away. Wednesday night, Mejia also notched his second multi-RBI game this season, and his first since April 10 against the Omaha Storm Chasers. Mejia is now three for his last six at the plate after going three-straight games (0-for-13) without a hit.

HEY, BUDDY: Since being optioned by St. Louis last week, Tyler O'Neill has continued his dominance at the plate. After going hitless in his first game back on Friday, O'Neill went 1-for-4 at the plate, scoring a run, and recording two RBI and two walks on Saturday, and in Sunday's loss, he went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored. After going 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk last night, O'Neill was 4-for-9 (.444) with three walks and an OPS of 1.139 in the Tacoma series. O'Neill has now walked five times in his last five games after having walked just four times all season in 47 games between Memphis and St. Louis. Despite spending a good chunk of the season with the Cardinals, O'Neill is second on the team behind Patrick Wisdom with 34 RBI, is tied with Max Schrock with 14 two-out RBI on the season, behind Wisdom (15), and he leads the Redbirds with 11 multi-RBI games. After his three-hit performance Sunday, O'Neill also leads the 'Birds with six three-hit games this season. O'Neill is also tied for third in the PCL with 13 home runs on the season. In 48 games between Memphis and St. Louis, the Cardinals' No. 4 prospect, and top hitting prospect, is hitting .308 (53-for-172), with six doubles, one triple, 16 home runs, and 41 RBI.

WIZ STILL HITTING WELL: Last night, Patrick Wisdom was on fire at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout, while coming around to score twice. On June 1 at New Orleans, Wisdom snapped a career-long 16-game hitting streak that dated back to May 14, which also put him tied for the fifth-best streak in franchise history. Over that 16-game stretch, Wisdom hit .424 (25-for-59), scoring 15 times, notching eight extra-base hits, and driving in 14 runners. In 34 games since May 1, Wisdom is hitting .331 (42-for-127), which is the 13th-best average in the PCL in that span. His .370 (30-for-81) average since May 14 puts him tied for sixth in the league in that time frame. Wisdom is now hitting .302 through his first 56 games this season. The .302 mark through 56 games is the highest average in his career through this point in the season. In his record-setting season last year, Wisdom hit just .248 through the first 56 games. He had a career-high 111 hits last season, and had 61 hits in an injury shortened, 78 game season with Memphis in 2016. He has now tied his 2016 mark, and is over halfway to his 2017 mark .

SOLID NIGHT FOR SCHROCK: Last night, infielder Max Schrock went 2-for-5 at the plate, notching an RBI and scoring a run as well. It was the first multi-hit game for Schrock since May 24, and just his sixth multi-hit performance since May 1. In comparison, Schrock had nine multi-hit performances in his first 23 games of the season. Schrock hit a whopping .323 in April and had an on-base percentage of .370. However, in the last month, he has struggled, hitting just .266 with an on-base percentage of .314. Schrock has also gone a season-high 35 games without making an error.

ONE GAME AT A TIME: Last night, outfielder Adolis Garcia went 1-for-4 at the plate, scoring a run as well. Garcia has now recorded a hit in four-straight games for the third time this season, and the first time since May 12-19. Garcia got off to a hot start this season, but over the last month, has struggled significantly at the plate. Since May 1, Garcia is hitting just .162 (16-for-99) in 28 games with an on-base percentage of .192. He has recorded just eight extra base hits, and scored nine runs, while only driving in eight runners and striking out 23 times. In comparison, in his first 21 games of the season, Garcia was hitting .267 (20-for-75) with 14 runs scored, and 10 RBI with an on-base percentage of .329. With his current four-game hitting streak, Garcia now has six hits in his last eight games.

ONE RUN OR A SHUTOUT: With last night's 6-0 win over Tacoma, Memphis improved to 5-5 in shutout games this season. Memphis is now tied with Fresno for the second-most shutout wins in the PCL this season, behind only Nashville and New Orleans (6). However, the 'Birds have also been shutout a league-leading five times this season. In addition, Memphis is also a PCL-best 13-4 in one-run games this season. Memphis is now 8-4 in its last 12 games. Of those eight wins, five have come in one-run fashion, while the other three have come in shutout fashion.

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 June 8, 2018


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