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PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (46-31) at Colorado Springs Sky Sox (42-33)

June 26, 2018 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (46-31) at Colorado Springs Sky Sox (42-33)

Tuesday, June 26 - 7:40 p.m. (CT) - Security Service Field (8,500) - Colorado Springs, Colorado

Game #78 - Road Game #38 (22-15)

RHP Daniel Poncedeleon (5-3, 2.45 ERA) vs. RHP Aaron Wilkerson (2-2, 2.12 ERA)

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds and Colorado Springs Sky Sox will play game two of a four-game set tonight at 7:40 p.m. in Colorado Springs. This will be the third of four series the two teams will play against each other this season. Memphis won the first two series, 3-1 and 4-1, respectively. This series marks the first stop in a nine-game road trip for Memphis. They will play four against Colorado Springs before traveling to Iowa for a five-game set. The 'Birds are coming off a 3-1 series win over New Orleans, while Colorado Springs is coming off a 4-1 series win over Iowa. Today's game will be broadcast on www.memphisredbirds.com with Steve Selby on the call.

ON THE HILL: Right-hander Daniel Poncedeleon will get the ball for the 'Birds tonight. Coming into tonight's game Poncedeleon has been a force on the mound this season. In 13 starts and 14 total appearances with Memphis this season, Poncedeleon is 5-3 with a dazzling 2.45 ERA. His ERA sits at third in the league, behind teammate Dakota Hudson, who leads with a 2.04 mark. The righty has also struck out 80 batters this season, third most in the league. Opponents are hitting just .224 off him, tied for third-best in the league, and he owns an 11.08 strikeouts per nine innings pitched ratio, the best mark in the league. Despite his overall dominance, Poncedeleon is receiving the lowest run support of any Memphis starter, with just 2.2 runs per game.

The Sky Sox will send right-hander Aaron Wilkerson to the mound to battle Poncedeleon. Coming into tonight's game, Wilkerson is 2-2 with a 2.12 ERA in six starts this season. He has appeared in one game against Memphis, coming out of the bullpen and pitching 0.2 innings.

HISTORY WITH COLORADO SPRINGS: Memphis and Colorado Springs have played every year dating back to 1998 when the 'Birds joined the PCL. Memphis holds a narrow lead in the all-time series at 100-85. Colorado Springs holds the edge at its home field with a 42-51 record. So far this season, the 'Birds are 7-3 against the Sky Sox, including 3-2 at Security Service Field. In 10 games this season, Memphis is out-playing Colorado Springs at the plate and on the mound. The 'Birds are hitting .280, compared to .243 for Colorado Springs. Memphis is also posting a 3.00 ERA, compared to their 5.16 mark.

BIRD BITES

AROZARENA: Last Sunday, 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: In Sunday's 11-5 win over New Orleans, went 3-for-4 at the plate with a home run, driving in four runners

KELLY: Is hitless in last 6 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 11 hits this month

MERCADO: Before last night's game, had recorded multiple hits in three-straight games for the third time this season

O'NEILL: In Sunday's win, went 2-for-5 at the plate, driving in a run; was his first multi-hit game since June 13

RAVELO: Is hitting .439 (32-for-73) with 15 runs scored, a double, two triples, 8 home runs, and 23 RBI in last 21 games

SCHROCK: Friday 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: Stole three bases in Sunday's win, doubling his total; first time since July 3, 2009 he stole 3 bases in a game

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

WISDOM: Last Sunday, had first multi-home run game this season; is hitting .309 (54-for-175) since May 1

BY THE NUMBERS

425 calendar days since Memphis has not been in first place (April 27, 2017); the Redbirds played the last 120 regular-season games of 2017 in first place and all 77 so far in 2018

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Memphis Redbirds dropped the series-opener to the Colorado Springs Sky Sox 8-3 last night in Colorado Springs.

Starter Jake Woodford, in his Triple-A debut, pitched 5.0 innings for the Redbirds, allowing four runs on six hits and one walk, while striking out five batters.

Offensively, Rangel Ravelo continued his dominance at the plate, going 2-for-3 with an RBI on the day. This performance came one day after he went 4-for-4 at the plate with a two-run home run against New Orleans. He is now 11 for his last 14 at the plate.

Outfielder Adolis Garcia also continued his recent hot-streak at the dish. He went 2-for-3 at the plate, driving in two of the three Memphis runs.

Conner Greene and Hector Mendoza combined to pitch the final three innings, allowing four runs on four hits and three walks.

WILL THE TREND CONTINUE?: In each of Memphis' first two series against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox this season, they dropped the first game before winning out the rest of the series. Last night, Memphis once again dropped the opening game of the series to the Sky Sox. There are three more games in this series to be played.

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. Yesterday, Ravelo went 2-for-3 at the plate, driving in one run. This came the day after he went 4-for-4 at the plate, scoring two runs and driving in four runs, while also taking a walk. In the third inning, he started the scoring by launching his ninth home run of the season over the leftfield wall. On Saturday night, Ravelo also drove in both Memphis runs with a solo home run and an RBI single. Ravelo also had a triple in the game. After his performances over the weekend, Ravelo finished 9-for-11 with two home runs, a triple, and six RBI in the three games he played against New Orleans. After yesterday's performance, he is now 11 for his last 14. Ravelo now has hits in 17 of his last 21 games, including multiple hits in 12 of those contests. Since going hitless in back-to-back games on May 21 and 22, Ravelo is hitting .439 (32-for-73) with two doubles, two triples, eight home runs, 15 runs scored, 23 RBI, and nine walks, while striking out just six times. Ravelo now has nine long balls this season, the second-highest mark of his career after hitting a career-high 11 in 2014.

GOOD GRACIOUS, GARCIA: In last night's loss to Colorado Springs, outfielder Adolis Garcia continued his recent hot-stretch at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a sac fly to drive in two of the three Memphis runs. This came the day after Memphis won 11-5 over the New Orleans Baby Cakes, in a game that saw Garcia go 3-for-4 at the plate, hitting a three-run home run, and driving in four runs. After seeing his batting average drop to a season-low .203 at the end of May, Garcia has been on fire. Since June 1, Garcia has recorded a hit in 16 of 18 games, and multiple hits in five of those games. Over that stretch, he is hitting .313 (21-for-67) with 11 runs scored, three doubles, five home runs, and 17 RBI. Over his last 13 games, which saw him notch a season-long nine-game hitting streak, Garcia is hitting .362 (17-for-47). In Sunday's game, Garcia hit cleanup for the sixth time this season. He has excelled in the role thus far. After Sunday's performance, he is now hitting .478 (11-for-23) with seven RBI in the four spot.

NOT TOO SHABBY: In last night's loss to Colorado Springs, starter and Cardinals' No. 18 prospect Jake Woodford made his Triple-A debut. Despite taking the loss in the game, the righty pitched very well through the first four frames before being touched for four runs in the fifth inning. He finished the night with a final line of 5.0 innings pitched, allowing six hits, four runs, home run, and one walk, while striking out five batters.

THAT'S MORE LIKE IT: After struggling in the three games he played against New Orleans over the weekend, Luke Voit looked much better at the plate last night. Over the weekend, Voit collected two hits, going 2-for-11 with six strikeouts in the series. Last night, he went 2-for-4 at the dish, giving him his second multi-hit game since returning from St. Louis a little over a week ago.

SPEED DEMONS: In last night's loss, Wilfredo Tovar stole his seventh base of the season. This came one day after he stole a season-high three bases. It was the first time Tovar had stolen three bases in a game since July 3, 2009. With his steal last night, the Redbirds now have 64 steals on the year. Teammate Oscar Mercado is tied for third in the league with 18 steals. In 2017's record-setting campaign, the 'Birds stole just 84 total bases. The 64 steals as a team are tied with Sacramento for second-most in the PCL this season, trailing only Colorado Springs (109). The 64 steals are third-most in all of Triple-A, as well. The 'Birds have been caught stealing just 21 times this season, tied for the fifth-lowest mark in the league. Of teams that have stolen at least 50 bases this season, only Fresno has been caught stealing (17) fewer times than Memphis. Memphis has six 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, Patrick Wisdom, and Wilfredo Tovar 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 863 games across the Majors and Minors.

QUALITY STARTS GALORE: After Kevin Herget's performance Sunday, 'Birds starters have thrown 39 quality starts in 77 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 12 pitchers that have made a start for Memphis this season, nine of them have thrown at least one quality start. Sam Tuivailala, Sean Gilmartin, and Jake Woodford have combined for eight starts, and have not thrown a quality start. Dakota Hudson has nine, John Gant has seven, Austin Gomber has five, Jack Flaherty, Kevin Herget has five, Daniel Poncedeleon has four, Ryan Helsley has three, and Alex Reyes and Chris Ellis have one apiece. The 39 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 671 batters through the first 77 games (8.7/game), which is only behind Fresno (707) 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 505 times through the first 77 games (6.6/game), not only the lowest mark in the PCL, but also all of Triple-A. Memphis was the last team in all of Triple-A baseball to reach 500 strikeouts this season. They have struck out 22 fewer times than the next closest team, Omaha (527), and have struck out 254 fewer times than El Paso (759). El Paso has the most strikeouts in all of Triple-A. Memphis is also tied with Oklahoma City for the lowest ERA in the PCL at 3.53, which is the fifth-best mark in all of Triple-A. Memphis and Oklahoma City are two of three teams in the PCL with ERAs under 4.00. Rochester of the International League has the lowest ERA at 3.29.

CHASING HISTORY: Despite losing last night, the Redbirds are tied with Fresno for the most wins in the PCL this season at 46. Their 46-31 record through 77 games this season is tied with the 2017 team for the second-best start in franchise history, behind the 2000 Redbirds that went 47-30 through 77 games. The Redbirds also won their 1,400th game in franchise history last season on July 14 last season. Since that time, they have won 79 games, putting them just 21 wins from the 1,500th in franchise history. With 91 wins last season, and 46 so far this season, Memphis manager Stubby Clapp now has 137 wins in his career as Redbirds' manager, putting him just one behind former Memphis manager Mike Shildt for fifth on the all-time managerial win list. Clapp also owns the best winning percentage among Memphis managers at .628 (137-81).

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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