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PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (38-27) at Albuquerque Isotopes (32-32)

June 13, 2018 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (38-27) At Albuquerque Isotopes (32-32)

Wednesday, June 13 - 7:35 p.m. (CT) - Isotopes Park (11,124) - Albuquerque, New Mexico

Game #66 - Road Game #29 (17-12)

RHP Dakota Hudson (7-2, 2.44 ERA) vs. RHP Nelson Gonzalez (2-0, 4.85 ERA)

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds and Albuquerque Isotopes will play the opener of a three-game set tonight at 7:35 p.m. in Albuquerque. This will be the only time the two teams meet this season. In 2017, the two split the season series 2-2. Memphis is coming off a 3-1 series loss to the Reno Aces, while Albuquerque is coming off a 3-1 series loss to the Omaha Storm Chasers. Tonight's game will kick off a seven-game road trip for the Redbirds that will see them square off with Albuquerque and El Paso. 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 in tonight's series opener. Hudson is coming off one of his finest starts of the season that saw him take the win over Tacoma last week. In that game, he twirled 6.0 shutout innings, allowing just three hits and two walks, while striking out four batters to earn his seventh win of the season. Hudson now owns the second-lowest ERA in the league (2.44), behind only teammate Daniel Poncedeleon (2.41). He is also tied for the league-lead with seven wins on the season. Hudson has made 11 starts for Memphis this season, earning a quality start in six of them, and pitching at least 5.0 innings in all of them. Hudson has allowed more than three earned runs just once this season. Since May, Hudson is 4-2 in six starts with a 1.40 ERA, the best mark in the PCL.

The Isotopes will send Nelson Gonzalez to the mound to face Hudson and the Redbirds. Coming into tonight's game, Gonzalez has appeared in 13 games this season, making two spot starts. He is 2-0 with a 4.85 ERA in 26.0 innings this season, allowing 14 earned runs, and striking out 26 batters.

HISTORY WITH ALBUQUERQUE: Memphis and Albuquerque have played every season dating back to 2003. In that span, Albuquerque has been affiliated with three different teams. First, the Miami Marlins, then the Los Angeles Dodgers, and since 2015, the Colorado Rockies. The Isotopes lead the all-time series 109-84 over Memphis, and hold the edge both at home (59-37) and on the road (50-47). Last season, the two teams met for four games in Memphis and split the series 2-2.

BIRD BITES

AROZARENA: Is just 11-for-56 (.196) in 20 games since being transferred back to Memphis from Springfield

BARON: In Monday's loss, drove in two runs in Memphis' six-run second; first multi-RBI game this season

GARCIA: In Monday's game, cut down a runner trying to go home for his league-leading 10th outfield assist

KELLY: Hitting .353 (6-for-17) in four games since being optioned from St. Louis; three extra-base hits and three RBI

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

MERCADO: Reached base safely in all five plate appearances Saturday night for the first time in his career; 2-for-2, 3 BB

O'NEILL: Has walked eight times in last seven games, including four-straight; 11 walks this season with Memphis

RAVELO: In Monday's loss, hit first-career grand slam in his 10th professional season; second homer in as many days

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: Saturday night, hit a pinch-hit two-run home run in the eighth inning to put Memphis within striking distance

VOIT: Recently appeared in five games with St. Louis, hitting .500 with a home run and three RBI in four at-bats

WISDOM: Recently snapped career-long 16-game hitting streak; has gone hitless in just eight of 38 games since May 1

BY THE NUMBERS

53 stolen bases through the first 65 games this season. Memphis stole just 84 bases all of last season and did not reach 53 steals until July 27 at Salt Lake in game 104

ON THIS DATE

In 2006, LHP Chris Narveson, RHP Josh Kinney, and RHP Brian Falkenborg combined to throw a four-hit shutout against Oklahoma City, winning 4-0

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Memphis Redbirds dropped Monday's game 7-6 after losing a 6-0 lead late in the game.

The Redbirds scored all six of their runs in the second inning of Monday's contest, sending nine batters to the plate. The 'Birds led off the second inning with four-straight hits, including a two-run double from Steven Baron.

The 'Birds loaded the bases later in the inning, and Rangel Ravelo came to the plate and drilled a grand slam to put the 'Birds up 6-0. It was the second-consecutive game Ravelo had hit a home run.

Chris Ellis, fresh from Double-A, made the spot-start for the 'Birds, throwing 4.0 shutout innings, allowing just three hits and one walk, while striking out two. Hector Mendoza came on to pitch the fifth inning for Memphis and struggled.

The righty allowed five hits and three earned runs in just 0.1 inning. Conner Greene worked his way out of the jam, tossing 0.2 innings. Arturo Reyes pitched a scoreless sixth for the 'Birds and Matt Bowman, allowed one run across two innings.

Reliever Greg Holland allowed three runs in the ninth to lose the game, allowing a two-run home run to put Reno on top for good.

STUNG BY THE LONG BALL: Memphis recently dropped the season series to Reno 3-to-1. All three of those losses were due to home runs hit by the opposition. On Monday, Memphis was winning 6-4 until the ninth inning when reliever Greg Holland allowed a two-run homer and three total runs in the ninth inning to lose the ballgame. It was one of two home runs Memphis had allowed in the game. On Friday, Memphis held a 1-0 lead late in the game, but reliever Hector Mendoza allowed a three-run home run to sink the 'Birds. Saturday night, Memphis allowed three home runs, falling 8-5. Anthony Recker of Reno hit two three-run home runs, giving him six RBI on the game. Christian Walker also hit a home run for the second-consecutive night. Memphis pitchers have now allowed 58 home runs this season, the eighth highest mark in the league, and the highest for teams not on the west coast. Memphis starters and relievers have both allowed 29 home runs this season. Las Vegas has allowed a league-high 102 home runs, while Nashville has allowed the fewest home runs with only 39 surrendered. In addition, Memphis has hit the sixth-fewest home runs in the PCL this season. Memphis has now hit 55 bombs this season. Iowa has hit the fewest at 32, while Salt Lake has hit the most at 100. The 'Birds are also one of just seven teams in the PCL to allow more home runs than they have hit, along with New Orleans, Iowa, Omaha, Reno, Albuquerque, and Las Vegas. Of those teams, Memphis and Omaha are tied for the lowest differential, having hit just three fewer home runs than those they have allowed, while Las Vegas has the largest differential. The 51s have allowed 35 more home runs than they have hit.

BULLPEN STRUGGLES: After a dominant stretch from the bullpen last week, they have struggled in the last four games. From June 2 at New Orleans to June 8 against Reno, the Memphis bullpen pitched exactly 21.0 innings without allowing an earned run, and allowed a single unearned run in that span. Since June 8 with one out in the eighth inning, the Memphis bullpen has allowed 13 earned runs. In those four games, the bullpen is 0-2 with two blown saves in 14.2 innings, allowing 20 hits, 13 earned runs, four walks, and four home runs, while striking out 10 batters for an 8.24 ERA.

STRONG STARTERS: The Memphis starting rotation has been a force to be reckoned with this season, keeping games close, despite some recent offensive and bullpen struggles. So far this season, starters are 32-15 with a 2.80 ERA through the first 65 games this season. Through the first 65 games, the starters have pitched 363.2 innings, allowing just 132 total runs, only 113 of which have been earned. In addition, they have walked only 127 batters (2.0/game), and have struck out 376 hitters (5.8/game). 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 on May 26. Memphis starters have also tossed 33 quality starts, the most in the PCL. They had just 55 quality starts last year.

RAVELO GOES DEEP AGAIN: On Monday, Rangel Ravelo hit a grand slam in the second inning to give Memphis a 6-0 lead. It was the second-consecutive game he had gone deep for the Redbirds. In Sunday's 6-0 win, Ravelo hit a two-run shot in the first inning, as well. His grand slam in Monday's game was the first of his 10-year career. With four RBI on the day, Ravelo also fell just one RBI short of his career-high of five, which he accomplished on August 30, 2011 with the Kannapolis Intimidators. He has now recorded exactly four RBI in a game six times in his career. It was also the second time this season that Ravelo had homered in consecutive games. Before this season, he had only homered in consecutive games twice in his career, July 31 and August 4, 2014 while with the Birmingham Barons, and July 17 and 18, 2013 while with the Winston-Salem Dash. Almost halfway through this season, Ravelo has six home runs, the third-best mark of his career. He hit eight home runs with Memphis last year, and with Nashville the year before. He hit a career-high 11 in 2014 with Birmingham.

OUR BUDDY IS WALKING IN MEMPHIS: In Monday's loss to the Reno Aces, slugging outfielder Tyler O'Neill walked twice, marking the third time he had done that this season, and the third time in his last six games. O'Neill has now walked eight times in his last six games, and has walked in four-straight games. O'Neill walked in five-straight games from July 2 through 12 in 2016 while with the Jackson Generals, for the longest streak of his career. It is now the third time in his career that he has walked in at least four-straight games. O'Neill has now walked 11 times in 37 games with the Redbirds this season. He only walked 10 times in 37 games with Memphis last season after being traded from Seattle.

RUNNING WILD: In Monday's loss, the Redbirds stole two bases, giving them five stolen bases in the last five games. As a team, Memphis has now stolen 53 bases this season, tied for the fourth most in the PCL this season, and they have been caught just 19 times, tied for the sixth-lowest mark in the PCL. Outfielder Oscar Mercado leads the 'Birds with 14 steals this season, tied for fourth-most in the PCL this season. In 2017's record-setting campaign, the 'Birds stole just 84 bases and were caught 48 times. The 84 stolen bases last season were the fifth-fewest in the league, and the 48 times caught stealing were second-most in the PCL. The Redbirds did not record their 53rd stolen base until July 27 last season, their 104th game, when they stole four bases against Salt Lake to reach 55 on the season.

ONE RUN OR A SHUTOUT: With Sunday's 6-0 win over the Reno Aces, the Redbirds improved to 6-5 in shutout games this season. The six shutout wins puts them tied with New Orleans and Nashville for the most in the PCL. However, the 'Birds have also been shutout five times this season, putting them tied with Nashville and Omaha for the most shutout losses this year. In addition, Memphis is also a PCL-best 13-5 in one-run games this season. Memphis is now 9-7 in its last 16 games. Of those nine wins, five have come in one-run fashion, while the other four have come in shutout fashion, including the last two. In last season's record-setting 91-win season, the Redbirds were just 5-2 in shutout games.

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 577 batters through the first 65 games (8.9/game), which is only behind Fresno (610) for the best mark in the PCL this season. 'Birds batters are also towards the bottom of the league in total strikeouts by hitters. Memphis batters have struck out just 426 times through the first 65 games (6.6/game), narrowly ahead of Omaha (442) for the lowest mark in the league. Memphis is the only team in the PCL that has struck out under 440 times this season. Four nights ago, the 'Birds struck out just twice, tying their lowest mark this season, and marking the third time they had accomplished the feat, and yesterday, they struck out just three times. Memphis now owns the lowest team ERA in the PCL at 3.44, just ahead of Oklahoma City (3.47).

WE LIKE WEDNESDAY: Coming into tonight's ballgame, the Redbirds are a perfect 6-0 on Wednesday's this season, including 4-0 at home, and 2-0 on the road. The 6-0 record is by far their best mark on any day of the week, and since Stubby Clapp took over last season, Memphis is 16-4 on Wednesday.

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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