PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (47-31) at Colorado Springs Sky Sox (42-34)

Published on June 27, 2018 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (47-31) at Colorado Springs Sky Sox (42-34)

Wednesday, June 27 - 1:30 p.m. (CT) - Security Service Field (8,500) - Colorado Springs, Colorado

Game #79 - Road Game #39 (23-15)

RHP Chris Ellis (0-0, 3.00 ERA) vs. RHP Brandon Woodruff (2-1, 2.43 ERA)

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds and Colorado Springs Sky Sox will play game three of a four-game set tonight at 1:30 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 Chris Ellis will take the mound in his fourth start of the season for the Redbirds. In his first three starts, Ellis has combined to pitch15.0 innings across his three starts, allowing 14 hits and eight earned runs, only five of which were earned. The righty has also allowed two walks, while striking out 11 batters. Ellis is 0-0 with a 3.00 ERA so far this season. Last year, in his first Triple-A season, Ellis faced Colorado Springs two times in the regular season. In those two starts, Ellis was roughed up, taking the loss both times. In those games, he combined to throw seven innings, allowing 12 hits, 13 earned runs, three home runs, and six walks, while striking out five batters.

The Sky Sox will send right-hander Brandon Woodruff to battle Ellis. So far this season, Woodruff is 2-1 with a 2.43 ERA in eight starts this season. Woodruff has faced Memphis once this season, on May 28. In that game, he took the no-decision in the 2-1 Memphis win, allowing one run over five innings of work.

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 101-85. Colorado Springs holds the edge at its home field with a 51-43 record. So far this season, the 'Birds are 8-3 against the Sky Sox, including 4-2 at Security Service Field. In 11 games this season, Memphis is out-playing Colorado Springs at the plate and on the mound. The 'Birds are hitting .287, compared to .237 for Colorado Springs. Memphis is also posting a 3.10 ERA, compared to their 5.54 mark.

BIRD BITES

AROZARENA: Last night, hit pinch-hit two-run home run in the ninth to extend lead to 11-4; second homer of year

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: Last night, snapped six-game hitless streak, recording one hit and one walk in the win over Colorado Springs

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: Has gone hitless in two-straight after collecting multiple hits in three-straight games

O'NEILL: Last night, went 2-for-4 with a double and home run, driving in four of the 11 Memphis runs

RAVELO: Is hitting .423 (33-for-78) with 16 runs scored, a double, two triples, 8 home runs, and 23 RBI in last 22 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: Last night, went 3-for-5 at the plate, scoring four runs; hit a double and a home run in the win

WISDOM: Last night, hit go-ahead two-run home run to give Memphis the win; is hitting .311 (56-for-180) since May 1

BY THE NUMBERS

426 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 78 so far in 2018

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Memphis Redbirds scored eight runs in the seventh inning and after to top Colorado Springs 11-4 last night.

Daniel Poncedeleon started for the 'Birds in a game that saw four lead changes by the seventh inning. Poncedeleon pitched 6.0 innings, allowing a season-high four earned runs, while striking out three batters.

The 'Birds trailed 4-3 entering the seventh inning before exploding for three runs in the frame, and five in the ninth.

Offensively, Max Schrock (2-for-5), Luke Voit (3-for-5), Tyler O'Neill (2-for-4), and Patrick Wisdom (2-for-4) all recorded multiple hits in the game.

Voit, O'Neill, and Wisdom all hit home runs, while Randy Arozarena came off the bench to hit a two-run, pinch-hit home run in the ninth.

POWER SURGE: In last night's 11-4 win over Colorado Springs, the Redbirds crushed four home runs in their rout of the Sky Sox. In the fifth inning, Luke Voit crushed his second homer of the year to extend the Memphis lead to 3-1. Entering the seventh inning inning, the 'Birds trailed 4-3 before rallying for eight unanswered runs. With two outs, Voit doubled and then scored one batter later on Tyler O'Neill's ground-rule double. Patrick Wisdom then launched his 11th bomb of the season to cap off the three-run inning. In the ninth, the 'Birds broke the game wide open with five runs. In the frame, O'Neill smacked his 16th homer of the year, a three-run bomb, before Randy Arozarena came off the bench to hit a pinch-hit, two-run home run to round off the scoring. The 'Birds have now hit 25 home runs through 23 games this month. They hit just 24 in 30 games in May, and 23 in 25 games in April.

HAVE A NIGHT, LUKE: In last night's game, Luke Voit had one of his finest performances of the season. The slugging infielder went 3-for-5 at the dish, notching a double and a home run in the game. Voit also scored four runs in the game, the most for any Memphis player this season, and the highest total of his career. After struggling in the three games he played against New Orleans over the weekend, Voit has looked much better the last two nights. Over the weekend, Voit collected two hits, going 2-for-11 with six strikeouts in the series. In this series, he has now gone 5-for-9 at the dish, recording a double, a home run, an RBI, and scoring five runs.

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. Monday night, Memphis once again dropped the opening game of the series to the Sky Sox before winning 11-4 last night. There are two 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. Last night, Ravelo continued his season-long, six-game hitting streak with a 1-for-5 performance at the dish. The night before, he 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 Sunday, 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 last night's performance, he is now 12 for his last 19. Ravelo now has hits in 18 of his last 22 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 .424 (33-for-78) 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 win against Colorado Springs, outfielder Adolis Garcia continued his recent hot-stretch at the plate, going 1-for-4 with a triple and two RBI on the night. On Monday, Garcia went 2-for-3 with a sac fly, and drove in two of the three Memphis runs. That 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 17 of 19 games, and multiple hits in five of those games. Over that stretch, he is hitting .310 (22-for-71) with 11 runs scored, three doubles, a triple, five home runs, and 19 RBI. Over his last 14 games, which saw him notch a season-long nine-game hitting streak, Garcia is hitting .353 (18-for-51). 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.

CLUTCH PINCH-HITTING: Last night, Randy Arozarena came off the bench in the ninth inning to hit for reliever Sean Gilmartin. Arozarena launched his second homer of the season to give Memphis an 11-4 lead. It was the second pinch-hit home run of the season for Memphis. Ramon Urias also hit one on June 9.

QUALITY STARTS GALORE: After Kevin Herget's performance Sunday, 'Birds starters have thrown 39 quality starts in 78 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 676 batters through the first 78 games (8.7/game), which is only behind Fresno (718) 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 509 times through the first 78 games (6.5/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 (531), and have struck out 261 fewer times than El Paso (770). El Paso has the most strikeouts in all of Triple-A. Memphis narrowly leads Oklahoma City (3.54) for the lowest ERA in the PCL at 3.52, which is the fifth-best mark in all of Triple-A. Memphis and Oklahoma City are the only two teams in the PCL with ERAs under 4.00. Rochester of the International League has the lowest ERA at 3.28.

CHASING HISTORY: After winning last night, the Redbirds now have the most wins in the PCL this season, one more than Fresno, with 47. Their 47-31 record through 78 games this season is tied with the 2017 team for the second-best start in franchise history, behind the 2000 Redbirds that went 48-30 through 78 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 80 games, putting them just 20 wins from the 1,500th in franchise history. With 91 wins last season, and 47 so far this season, Memphis manager Stubby Clapp now has 138 wins in his career as Redbirds' manager, making him tied with 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 .630 (138-81).

WEDNESDAY STREAKS: With their game against Colorado Springs today, Memphis looks to continue their perfect Wednesday record. So far this season, Memphis is 7-0 on Wednesday, and they are 17-4 on Wednesday since Stubby Clapp took over.

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 27, 2018


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