PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (44-30) vs New Orleans Baby Cakes (36-37)

Published on June 23, 2018 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (44-30) vs New Orleans Baby Cakes (36-37)

Saturday, June 23 - 6:35 p.m. (CT) - AutoZone Park (10,000) - Memphis, Tennessee

Game #75 - Home Game #39 (22-16)

RHP Dakota Hudson (9-2, 2.13 ERA) vs. RHP Sandy Alcantara (5-2, 3.76 ERA)

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds and New Orleans Baby Cakes will play game three of a four-game set tonight at 6:35 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, while Memphis won 5-4 last night. Before today's game, infielder Ramon Urias was transferred to Double-A Springfield, and infielder Edmundo Sosa was transferred to Memphis in his place. 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 Memphis tonight, making his 14th start of the season. So far this season, Hudson is 9-2 with a 2.13 ERA. Hudson's nine wins and 2.13 ERA are both the top marks in the PCL this season. His 80.1 innings are the fourth-most in the league thus far. Hudson has pitched at least five innings in each of his first 13 starts coming into tonight's ballgame and has pitched at least six innings in eight of those starts. Hudson has been particularly dominant since May 1. In that span, he has made eight starts, going 6-2 with a 1.20 ERA in 52.2 innings of work, while holding opponents to a .214 batting average. His ERA in that span is the best in the league. In his lone start against New Orleans this year, Hudson gave up a season-high four earned runs in 5.2 innings.

The Baby Cakes will send right-hander and top prospect Sandy Alcantara to the mound to face Hudson and the Redbirds. In his lone start against Memphis this season, Alcantara took the win, pitching 6.0 innings of three-run ball. He is 5-2 with a 3.76 ERA in 13 starts this season.

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 165-161 record. New Orleans took the first series this season 3-2, and the two are 1-1 so far in this four-game set. The 'Birds have dominated the series at AutoZone Park with an all-time record of 92-70. In seven games this season, New Orleans holds the advantage on the mound, posting a 2.81 ERA, compared to a 3.92 mark for Memphis. The 'Birds are narrowly out-hitting the Baby Cakes with a .238 mark, compared to their .232 average.

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: Is hitless in last four games after hitting .407 11-for-27) in his first six games back from St. Louis earlier this month

MEJIA: Has as many RBI in June (8) as he did in April and May combined; has eight RBI and nine hits this month

MERCADO: Last night, drove in two runs to tie the game in the eighth before scoring winning run on a wild pitch

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

RAVELO: Is hitting .371 (23-for-62) with 12 runs scored, a double, triple, six home runs, and 16 RBI in last 18 games

SCHROCK: Last night, went 2-for-5 with a double at the plate, notching his third multi-hit game this month

SOSA: Will be making Triple-A debut with the Redbirds; hit .276 with seven homers in 67 games with Springfield

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

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 .314 (54-for-172) since May 1

BY THE NUMBERS

60 stolen bases through the first 74 games this season. The Redbirds had just 84 total steals in 2017

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Memphis Redbirds stormed back from four down last night to top the New Orleans Baby Cakes 5-4.

Two errors by the 'Birds early in the game allowed four runs to score, three of them unearned. Memphis starter Chris Ellis went six innings, allowing seven hits, and striking out two batters.

The 'Birds grabbed two runs in the sixth inning before completing the comeback with three runs in the eighth inning. A two-run double from Oscar Mercado tied the game at four in the inning. Mercado then stole third and scored the winning run on a wild pitch.

Hector Mendoza and Tommy Layne combined to throw the final three frames. Mendoza retired all six batters he faced, striking out two. Layne allowed a leadoff hit in the ninth before striking out the side to earn the save in his first appearance with the 'Birds.

DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK: Last night, Memphis stormed back in the late innings to grab a 5-4 win over New Orleans. After two costly errors early in the game, New Orleans led 4-0 until the sixth inning. The 'Birds scored two in the frame on an RBI groundout from Alex Mejia, and Tyler O'Neill also scored on a wild pitch. In the eighth, Steven Baron and Tyler O'Neill hit back-to-back singles to lead off, and then moved up a base each on Patrick Wisdom's groundout. Oscar Mercado then laced a two-run double to leftfield to tie the game. Mercado stole third and then scored the winning run on a wild pitch. After having just one comeback win in the seventh inning or later through June 2 this season, the Redbirds now have four such wins since June 14.

SOLID NIGHT FOR ELLIS: In last night's comeback win, starter Chris Ellis had a solid performance in his third start of the year with Memphis. Two early errors by the Memphis defense allowed four runs to score between the third and fourth innings. Only one of the runs was earned. Ellis pitched around the errors to turn in his first quality start of the year with Memphis. He allowed seven hits, while striking out two batters on the evening. In three starts with Memphis so far, Ellis is 0-0 with a 3.00 ERA in 15.0 innings of work, striking out 11 batters.

MERCADO IN THE CLUTCH: In last night's comeback win, speedy outfielder Oscar Mercado drove in the tying two runs before scoring the winning run to complete the comeback. With one out and men on second and third in the eighth, Mercado laced a line drive double down the leftfield line to score both runners and tie the game at four apiece. Mercado then stole third base, his second steal of the game before coming around to score on a wild pitch to seal the win. Mercado finished the night going 2-for-4 with a run scored, a double, two RBI, and two stolen bases.

SPEED DEMONS: In last night's win, Oscar Mercado stole two bases, giving him 18 steals this season, giving the Redbirds 60 steals on the year. Mercado is now third in the league with 18 steals. The 60 steals as a team are third-most in the PCL this season, trailing only Colorado Springs (102) and Sacramento (61). The 60 steals are fourth-most in all of Triple-A, as well. The 'Birds have been caught stealing just 20 times this season, for the fourth-lowest mark 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. Memphis has five players who have stolen at least five bases this season. Mercado leads with 18, 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 18 steals put him just short of jumping into the top-10 for season steals in Redbirds history. The cutoff is 20 steals. Perhaps the oddest baserunning stat of the year is the fact that reliever Edward Mujica stole his first-career base earlier this season. Mujica has appeared in 862 games across the Majors and Minors.

WELCOME TO THE TEAM, TOMMY: In last night's game, the newest Redbird, Tommy Layne was dominant in the ninth inning to seal the win for Memphis. The lefty, transferred from Springfield yesterday, allowed a leadoff hit in the inning before slamming the door. He struck out the next three batters to earn his first save in a Redbirds' uniform. The lefty, who has previously spent time with the Padres, Red Sox, and Yankees, signed a Minor League contract with the Cardinals last week. In two appearances with Springfield, he was also dominant. With his clutch performance last night, Memphis now has 26 saves as a team this season, the most in the PCL, and the second-most in all of Triple-A baseball, behind only Toledo (28).

JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED: Last night, reliever Hector Mendoza was dominant in 2.0 innings to earn the win for the Redbirds. Mendoza came in to relieve Chris Ellis in the seventh inning, and retired all six batters he faced, striking out two of them. It was a great sign from the righty after he went through a rough-patch at the beginning of the month. In four appearances from May 31 to June 11, Mendoza was 0-1 in 5.0 innings of work. In those games, he allowed 12 earned runs on 12 hits and five walks, including four home runs. He had a 21.60 ERA in that stretch, and opponents were hitting .462 (12-for-26) off him. Since then, he has appeared in three games. He has pitched 6.0 innings in that stretch, allowing just one run on three hits and one walk, while striking out five batters, good for a 1.50 ERA and a .150 (3-for-20) average against.

RAVELO STILL ON FIRE: After homering in three-straight games for the first time in his career and hitting his first-career grand slam earlier this month, Rangel Ravelo has continued his dominance at the plate. After his 2-for-3 performance with a walk last night, Ravelo now has hits in 14 of his last 18 games, including multiple hits in nine of those contests. Since going hitless in back-to-back games on May 21 and 22, Ravelo is hitting .371 (23-for-62) with two doubles, a triple, six home runs, 12 runs scored, 17 RBI, and seven walks, while striking out just six times.

ONE IS JUST ENOUGH: Last night, the Redbirds won another one-run game, 5-4 over the New Orleans Baby Cakes. They are now 15-6 in one-run games this season, including 11-3 at AutoZone Park. Their 15-6 (.714) record in one-run contests gives them the most wins and best overall record in the league 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 44-21 in such games, a .677 winning percentage. The 'Birds have now won nine of their last 12 one-run contests.

QUALITY STARTS GALORE: After Chris Ellis's performance last night, 'Birds starters have thrown 37 quality starts in 74 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, nine of them have thrown at least one quality start. Sam Tuivailala and Sean Gilmartin have combined for seven 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 and Chris Ellis have one apiece. The 37 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 648 batters through the first 74 games (8.8/game), which is only behind Fresno (688) for the best mark in the PCL this season. Memphis and Fresno are two of just seven 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 489 times through the first 74 games (6.6/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 21 fewer times than the next closest teams, Syracuse of the International League, and Omaha, both of whom have struck out 510 times this season. Memphis also owns the second-best ERA in the PCL at 3.46, behind only Oklahoma City (3.43). They are two of three teams in the PCL with ERAs under 4.00. The 3.43 ERA is tied for the 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 23, 2018


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