PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (49-32) at Iowa Cubs (29-50)

Published on June 30, 2018 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (49-32) at Iowa Cubs (29-50)

Saturday, June 30 - 7:08 p.m. (CT) - Principal Park (11,000) - Des Moines, Iowa

Game #82 - Road Game #42 (25-16)

RHP Jake Woodford (0-1, 7.20 ERA) vs. LHP Kyle Ryan (0-2, 2.70 ERA)

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds and Iowa Cubs will play game two of a five-game set tonight at 7:08 p.m. for the second stop on their nine-game road trip. 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 3-0, respectively. The 'Birds are coming off a 2-2 series split with Colorado Springs, while Iowa is coming off a 3-1 series win over New Orleans. With a win today, the Redbirds would tie the franchise record with 50 wins by the beginning of July. Earlier this week, Dakota Hudson, Daniel Poncedeleon, and Patrick Wisdom were all named to the PCL All-Star team. Today's game will be broadcast on www.memphisredbirds.com with Steve Selby on the call.

ON THE HILL: Right-hander Jake Woodford will make his second start of the season with Memphis tonight. In his Triple-A debut five days ago against Colorado Springs, the righty pitched 5.0 innings, allowing four earned runs on six hits, while walking one and striking out five batters. Between Double-A and Triple-A this season, Woodford is 3-9 with a 5.22 ERA in 16 starts on the season. In 81.0 innings of work, he has allowed 95 hits, 47 earned runs, and 36 walks, while striking out 58 batters. The righty pitched well in his Triple-A debut for four innings before being touched for four runs in the fifth.

The I-Cubs will send left-hander Kyle Ryan to the mound to square off with Woodford. In eight appearances, including five starts this season, Ryan is 0-2 with a 2.70 ERA with the I-Cubs. Despite spending eight years in the Minor Leauges, this will be the first time he has faced the Redbirds in his career.

HISTORY WITH IOWA: Memphis and Iowa have played every year dating back to 1998 when Memphis joined the PCL. In the all-time series, the Redbirds own the winning record at 160-134. On the road, the Redbirds trail with a 65-83 at Principal Park. In eight games against the I-Cubs this season, the 'Birds own the series with seven wins to one. They took the first series of the season in Memphis 3-1, and then swept Iowa the next week in Des Moines 3-0. So far this season, Memphis is outplaying Iowa at the plate and in the field. The 'Birds are hitting .287 compared to their .261, and are posting a 3.12 ERA compared to their 5.00 mark.

BIRD BITES

AROZARENA: Tues. 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

DEJONG: Will be making first appearance with Memphis this year; on rehab assignment from St. Louis

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: Thursday night, hit a game-tying two-run home run in the seventh inning to kick off a seven-run inning

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: Is hitting a career-high .292 (83-for-284) this season; is tied for third in PCL with 18 stolen bases this season

O'NEILL: Recently hit HRs in three-straight games for the 4th time this season; 21 HR between STL and Memphis

RAVELO: Is hitting .451 (37-for-82) with 17 runs scored, 2 doubles, two triples, 8 home runs, and 25 RBI in last 23 games

SCHROCK: Drove in winning run with a sacrifice fly in the third inning of last night's 6-2 win over Iowa

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 hit home runs in consecutive games for 1st time this season and the first time since June 10-11, 2017

WISDOM: Recently hit HRs in back-to-back games for the first time this year; is hitting .321 (62-for-193) since May 1

BY THE NUMBERS

41 quality starts for Memphis pitchers this season, the most in the PCL. They had only 55 in 2017's record-setting campaign

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Memphis Redbirds jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, topping the Iowa Cubs 6-2 last night.

Memphis starter Kevin Herget pitched 6.0 innings, allowing just one run on seven hits and a walk, while striking out five batters on the night. It was his second-consecutive quality start after going two-straight outings without one.

The 'Birds grabbed two runs in the first on a Carson Kelly double that scored Paul DeJong and Tyler O'Neill. What ended up being the winning run crossed in the third on a sacrifice fly from Max Schrock. Memphis also tacked on three additional runs in the seventh to round off the scoring.

Offensively, Kelly (2-for-4) and Patrick Wisdom (2-for-4) both recorded multiple hits. Paul DeJong went 1-for-3 with a double in his first rehab appearance with Memphis.

TWO IN A ROW FROM KEVIN: Last night's starter Kevin Herget was dominant over 6.0 innings of work, allowing just one run on seven hits and one walk, while striking out five batters. It was his second-consecutive quality start after being rocked in his previous two outings. In his starts on June 14 and 19, the righty was hit hard in both games, combining to pitch 11.2 innings, allowing 16 hits, 12 earned runs, four home runs, and three walks, while striking out just five batters. After his start last night, Herget has combined to go 2-0 in 12.0 innings his last two outings, alliwng just 11 hits and two runs, while walking one, and striking out 12 batters. Herget is now 5-6 with a 4.02 ERA in 18 appearances this season. In 12 starts this season, he is 4-5 with a 4.24 ERA.

WIZ HEATING BACK UP: After posting a .100 (2-for-20) average in six games from June 18-25, Patrick Wisdom has been virtually unstoppable over the last four games. Last night, the slugging infielder went 2-for-4 in the win over Iowa. A few nights ago, he launched his 12th homer of the season, his second in as many nights. In his last four games, he has recorded multiple hits in three of them and is hitting .471 (8-for-17) with two doubles and two home runs, while driving in four runs. Since May 1, Wisdom is hitting .321 (62-for-193) in 53 games. In that span, he has hit 14 doubles, one triple, and nine home runs, while scoring 39 runs, and driving in 31 runs. Wisdom is now second on the all-time Redbirds home run list with 58, behind 74 from Nick Stavinoha. Wisdom is also tied with manager Stubby Clapp for sixth on the all-time RBI list with 167, fifth on the all-time extra-base hit list with 123, and just outside the top-10 in games played (278), runs scored (146), and doubles (62).

SOLID NIGHT FOR CARSON: In last night's win, catcher Carson Kelly kicked off the Memphis scoring for the second-consecutive night. In the first inning last night, Kelly smacked a two-run single to give the 'Birds the early lead. He finished the night going 2-for-4 at the dish. Thursday night, trailing 2-0 in the top of the seventh inning, Patrick Wisdom singled to lead off before Kelly launched his fourth homer of the year to tie the game at two. The Redbirds went on to score five more runs in the frame en route to their 7-5 win. Kelly now has hits in three-consecutive games after going six-straight without a hit over the last week and a half. Kelly is now 4-for-7 with two runs, 4 RBI, and a walk in his last two games.

DEJONG'S REHAB OUTING: In last night's win, infielder Paul DeJong made his first rehab appearance for the Redbirds. He went 1-for-3 with a double and a strikeout before being taken out of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning. In 48 games with the Redbirds before being called-up to St. Louis for good last season, DeJong was hitting .299 (53-for-177) with nine doubles and 13 home runs, while driving in 34 runs. Pitcher Matt Bowman also appeared for the 'Birds in a rehab outing last night. He tossed 1.0 innings, striking out two to preserve the lead.

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. Thursday night, Ravelo went 3-for-3 at the dish, notching a double and two RBI to extend his season-long hitting streak to eight-games. Three nights ago, 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 16 for his last 23. Ravelo now has hits in 20 of his last 24 games, including multiple hits in 13 of those contests. Since going hitless in back-to-back games on May 21 and 22, Ravelo is hitting .451 (37-for-82) with three doubles, two triples, eight home runs, 16 runs scored, 25 RBI, and 10 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. His season batting average of .321 puts him just outside the top-10 in the PCL.

'BIRDS LIKE THE AMERICAN NORTH: After splitting their most recent series with Colorado Springs 2-2 this week, Memphis is now 28-12 against the American Northern Division this season. The Redbirds are 7-1 against the Iowa Cubs after last night's win, 9-4 against Colorado Springs, 7-5 against Oklahoma City, and 5-2 against Omaha. Memphis is just 13-14 against its own division, 3-4 against the Pacific Northern Division, and 5-2 against the Pacific Southern Division.

FRIDAY WINS: Last night, the Redbirds beat the Iowa Cubs 6-2, earning another win on Friday. Memphis has now won three-straight Friday contests after dropping seven-straight. The Redbirds are now 5-7 on Friday this season.

QUALITY STARTS GALORE: After Kevin Herget's performance last night, 'Birds starters have thrown 41 quality starts in 81 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 10 in 15 starts, John Gant has seven, Kevin Herget has six, Austin Gomber and Jack Flaherty have five, Daniel Poncedeleon has four, Ryan Helsley has three, and Alex Reyes and Chris Ellis have one apiece. The 41 quality starts are the most in the PCL.

TRIO OF ALL-STARS: Earlier this week, Memphis pitchers Dakota Hudson and Daniel Poncedeleon, and Memphis infielder Patrick Wisdom were named to the PCL All-Star team. Hudson is 11-2 with a 2.10 ERA, Poncedeleon is 6-3 with a 2.75 ERA, and Wisdom is hitting .299 with 12 home runs this season.

FIVE IS THE LUCKY NUMBER: After scoring six runs last night, the Redbirds improved to 34-5 when scoring at least five runs in a game this season, including a 20-2 mark on the road. The Redbirds are just 15-27 when scoring under five runs per game this season.

CHASING HISTORY: After winning last night, the Redbirds now have the most wins in the PCL this season, two more than Fresno, with 49. Their 49-32 record through 81 games this season is tied with the 2000 team for the second-best 81- game start in franchise history, behind the 2017 Redbirds that went 50-31 through 81 games. Tonight's game will mark the final game of June and the 82nd game of the year for Memphis. If they win tonight, they will reach 50 wins on June 30, tied for the earliest any Memphis team has reached 50 wins in a season, along with the 2000 team. The Redbirds also won their 1,400th game in franchise history last season on July 14 last season. Since that time, they have won 82 games, putting them just 18 wins from the 1,500th in franchise history. With 91 wins last season, and 49 so far this season, Memphis manager Stubby Clapp now has 140 wins in his career as Redbirds' manager, moving him in front of 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 .631 (140-82).

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 30, 2018


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