PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (43-30) vs New Orleans Baby Cakes (36-36)

Published on June 22, 2018 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (43-30) vs New Orleans Baby Cakes (36-36)

Friday, June 22 - 7:05 p.m. (CT) - AutoZone Park (10,000) - Memphis, Tennessee

Game #74 - Home Game #38 (21-16)

RHP Chris Ellis (0-0, 4.00 ERA) vs. RHP Zac Gallen (4-3, 3.36 ERA)

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds and New Orleans Baby Cakes will play game two of a four-game set tonight at 7:05 p.m. This is the second of four series the two teams will play against each other this season. New Orleans won the first series 3-2. The 'Birds are coming off a 2-2 series split with El Paso, while New Orleans is coming off a four-game sweep of Sacramento. New Orleans won the opener 2-1 in 10 innings last night. Today's game will be broadcast on memphisredbirds.com with Steve Selby on the call.

ON THE HILL: Right-hander Chris Ellis will get the ball for the Redbirds tonight. Since being transferred from Double-A Springfield two weeks ago, Ellis has made two starts for the Redbirds. In his last start against El Paso, the righty allowed four runs on four hits in five innings of work. Between his two starts, he has pitched a total of 9.0 innings, allowing seven hits, four earned runs, one home run, and two walks, while striking out 9 batters. Ellis faced New Orleans in his season-debut with the Redbirds in 2017. In that game, he twirled 5.0 innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits, while walking two, and striking out one batter, taking the no-decision. In 15 appearances with Double-A Springfield this season, including seven starts, Ellis was 4-0 with two saves, posting a 4.19 ERA in 53.2 innings of work.

The Baby Cakes will send right-hander and former Redbird Zac Gallen to the mound to face Ellis. Gallen was traded to Miami in the offseason as part of the deal for Marcell Ozuna. In 13 starts with New Orleans this season, Gallen is 4-3 with a 3.36 ERA in 69.2 innings of work. In his lone start against the Redbirds this season, he pitched 6.0 innings, allowing one earned run on four hits and four walks, while striking out eight batters.

HISTORY WITH NEW ORLEANS: Memphis and New Orleans have played every year dating back to 1998 when the 'Birds joined the PCL. New Orleans narrowly owns the all-time series record with a 165-160 record. New Orleans took the first series this season 3-2, and is 1-0 so far in this four-game set. The 'Birds have dominated the series at AutoZone Park with an all-time record of 91-70. In six games this season, New Orleans holds the advantage, both on the mound and at the plate. The Baby Cakes are out-hitting the 'Birds .233 to .228, and posting a 2.41 ERA, compared to a 4.42 ERA for the 'Birds.

BIRD BITES

AROZARENA: Sunday night, hit first home run of the season with Memphis, and first career-Triple-A home run

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

GARCIA: Recently snapped a nine-game hitting streak, his longest of the season; leads PCL with 10 outfield assists

KELLY: Hitting .297 (11-for-37) in six games since being optioned from St. Louis; five extra-base hits and seven RBI

MEJIA: Despite going hitless Sunday night, drove in two runs with two sacrifice flies, also scored a run

MERCADO: Sun. night, came off the bench to deliver the go-ahead two-run single in the 8th inning to give Memphis the win

O'NEILL: Has four multi-home run games this season; now has 18 homers between Memphis and St. Louis

RAVELO: Is hitting .356 (21-for-59) with 12 runs scored, a double, triple, six home runs, and 16 RBI in last 17 games

SCHROCK: In Tuesday night's 7-4 loss to El Paso, came off the bench and drove in a run with a pinch-hit single

TOVAR: Hitting just .228 (13-for-57) in 17 games this month; is hitting just .225 (29-for-129) since May 1

URIAS: Friday night, went 2-for-5 at the plate, scoring two runs, and hitting a home run, his third with Memphis

VOIT: Recently appeared in eight games with St. Louis, hitting .183 with a home run and three RBI in 11 at-bats

WISDOM: Sunday night, had first multi-home run game this season; is hitting .315 (53-for-168) since May 1

BY THE NUMBERS

101 transactions through the first 73 games for Memphis this season, 1.4 per game. They did not have their 101st transaction until July 23 last season

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Memphis Redbirds dropped the series-opener to divisional foe New Orleans 2-1 in 10 innings last night at AutoZone Park.

Memphis starter Daniel Poncedeleon pitched 3.0 innings, allowing one walk and no hits, while striking out three batters.

The 'Birds' lone run came in the fourth inning of the game. Luke Voit and Carson Kelly both walked to put runners on first and second before Adolis Garcia drove in Voit with an RBI single.

Four pitchers combined to throw the final seven innings of the game. Landon Beck tossed 1.2 innings, allowing three hits and one walk. Sean Gilmartin pitched 2.1 innings, allowing one hit and one walk. Conner Greene took the loss for Memphis, allowing a run in the eighth and 10th innings to give New Orleans the win. Edward Mujica stranded three inherited runners in the 10th to keep the game close for the 'Birds.

STRUGGLES WITH THE DIVISION: Despite the strong overall record of 43-30, second-best in the PCL, Memphis has struggled significantly against its own division. The Redbirds are just 10-14 against the American Southern Division, while they are 25-10 against the American Northern Division, 3-4 against the Pacific Northern Division, and 5-2 against the Pacific Southern Division. Memphis is 2-6 against Nashville, 2-4 against New Orleans, and 6-4 against Round Rock. While the 'Birds batters hold similar lines against divisional and non-divisional opponents, the biggest difference is pitching. Memphis is hitting .264 (432-for-1636) against opponents in other divisions, and are hitting a slightly lower .257 (206-802) against the division. However, Memphis pitchers are posting a 4.04 ERA (93ER, 207.0IP) against the division, while posting a dazzling 3.24 ERA (156ER, 433.2IP) against everyone else.

JUNE STRUGGLES: After going 11-3 over the last 14 games of May, the Redbirds have struggled to play consistently. The 'Birds are just 9-9 this month, including a 3-5 record at home. The 'Birds are hitting just .240 as a team this month, have scored 81 runs, and have struck out 111 times so far. In 30 games in May, the 'Birds hit .269, scoring 127 runs, and striking out 190 times. The 'Birds pitching staff is also posting a 3.56 ERA this month. In addition, Memphis has blown five saves in 10 chances this month. The bullpen had just eight total blown saves before June.

BACK WHERE HE LEFT OFF: In last night's loss, Adolis Garcia went 1-for-4 at the plate, driving in the lone run of the night for Memphis. In Tuesday's loss, Garcia snapped his season-high nine-game hitting streak. He was the fourth Redbirds hitter to hit in at least nine-straight contests this season. The strong-fielding outfielder leads the PCL with 10 outfield assists, but had struggled at the plate in the last six weeks. However, since the calendar flipped to June, Garcia has recorded hits in 14 of his 16 games. Garcia is posting a .267 average over the last 16 games, a great sign after he saw his average dip to a season-low .203 on May 31. Over his season-best nine-game hitting streak, Garcia was hitting .344 (11-for-32) with seven runs scored, two doubles, three home runs, nine RBI, and just four strikeouts.

WELCOME BACK, LUKE: In his first two games back with Memphis since spending most of June with St. Louis, Voit has gone 3-for- at the dish, scoring a run, driving in a run, and recording a walk. Voit played 10 games between Springfield and St. Louis over the last three weeks, hitting .235 (4-for-17) with two home runs, four RBI, and three walks.

SPEED DEMONS: In last night's loss, Oscar Mercado stole his 16th base of the year, giving the Redbirds 58 steals this season. Mercado is now tied for fourth in the league with 16 steals. The 58 steals as a team are fourth-most in the PCL this season, trailing only Colorado Springs (101), Sacramento (60), and Omaha (59). The 'Birds have been caught stealing just 20 times this season, tied with Sacramento and Omaha for the fourth-fewest in the league. Of teams that have stolen at least 50 bases this season, only Fresno has been caught stealing (16) fewer times than Memphis, Sacramento, and Omaha. Memphis has five players who have stolen at least five bases this season. Mercado leads with 16, Adolis Garcia and Randy Arozarena both have nine steals, while Max Schrock and Patrick Wisdom have both stolen seven bases. Memphis is one of just five teams in the PCL that has at least five different players with at least five steals. Only a little over halfway through the season, Mercado's 16 steals put him just short of jumping into the top-10 for season steals in Redbirds history. The cutoff is 20 steals.

DOMINANT GILMARTIN: After spending most of May and his first game of June as a spot-starter for the Redbirds, reliever Sean Gilmartin has settled into a dominant role out of the bullpen. Since his last start on June 1, against New Orleans, Gilmartin has been dominant in seven relief appearances. In his last start, he threw 4.2 innings, allowing four runs on three hits and four walks, while striking out just two. In seven games since then, he is 1-0 in 9.1 innings of work. Last night, Gilmartin came in with two men on in the fifth, and got a quick ground ball to get out of trouble. Since June 1, Gilmartin has allowed just five hits, and one run, earned, while walking four, and striking out seven batters, good for a 0.96 ERA. In that span, he is holding opponents to a .156 (5-for-32) batting average. As a starter this season, Gilmartin is 2-1 with a 4.15 ERA in 26.0 innings of work, with 19 strikeouts. As a reliever, he is 2-1 with a 5.68 ERA in 19.0 innings of work, striking out 14 batters.

MUJICA SETTLING IN: After going through a rough, three-game stretch in mid-May, Memphis reliever Edward Mujica seems to be settling in. In three appearances from May 17-22, Mujica went 0-2. The righty allowed 11 hits, 13 runs, nine earned runs, a walk and a home run in just 3.0 innings of work, giving him a 27.00 ERA in that stretch. Opponents hit .500, with an on-base percentage of .522. Since those three outings, Mujica has been lights-out. In 10 appearances since that time, Mujica is 1-0 with five saves. After coming in to get the 'Birds out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the 10th last night, the righty has tossed 11.2 innings in his last 10 appearances, allowing just four hits, one run, earned, and two walks, while striking out eight batters. In that stretch, opponents are hitting just .114 (4-for-35) off him, and he is posting a 0.77 ERA.

FIRST INNING FUN: After scoring five runs in the first inning Monday night, Memphis has now scored 56 runs in the first inning this season, compared to just 20 runs scored by opponents. In the record-setting 2017 season, Memphis also dominated opponents in the first inning. In 2017, they outscored opponents 118-to-51 in the first inning. After winning five of the last seven games, Memphis is now outscoring opponents in the first, second, third, fourth, and sixth innings, while being narrowly outscored in the other innings and extra innings.

QUALITY STARTS GALORE: After Dakota Hudson's performance Monday night, 'Birds starters have thrown 36 quality starts in 72 games this season. They threw 55 total in 2017. Earlier this season, the Redbirds staff had a streak of 11-straight quality starts. Of the 11 pitchers that have made a start for Memphis this season, eight of them have thrown at least one quality start. Sam Tuivailala, Sean Gilmartin, and Chris Ellis have combined for nine starts, and have not thrown a quality start. Dakota Hudson has eight, John Gant has seven, Austin Gomber has five, Jack Flaherty, Kevin Herget, and Daniel Poncedeleon have four, Ryan Helsley has three, and Alex Reyes had one. The 36 quality starts are the most in the PCL this season.

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 641 batters through the first 73 games (8.8/game), which is only behind Fresno (677) for the best mark in the PCL this season. Memphis and Fresno are two of just five PCL teams that have struck out over 600 batters this season. 'Birds batters are also towards the bottom of the league in total strikeouts by hitters. Memphis batters have struck out just 478 times through the first 73 games (6.5/game), not only the lowest mark in the PCL, but also all of Triple-A. Memphis is now the only team in all of Triple-A baseball to have struck out under 500 times this season. They have struck out 27 fewer times than the next closest team, Syracuse (505) in the International League, and have struck out 29 fewer times than the next closest team in the PCL, Omaha (507). Memphis also owns the second-best ERA in the PCL at 3.50, behind only Oklahoma City (3.38). They are two of three teams in the PCL with ERAs under 4.00. The 3.50 ERA is also sixth-lowest in all of Triple-A baseball.

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 22, 2018


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