PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (5-1) vs Omaha Storm Chasers (1-4)

Published on April 11, 2018 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (5-1) VS Omaha Storm Chasers (1-4)

Wednesday, April 11 - 11:05 a.m. (CT) - AutoZone Park (10,000) - Memphis, Tennessee

Game #7 - Home Game #2 (1-0)

RHP Dakota Hudson (1-0, 5.06 ERA) vs. RHP Trevor Oaks (0-1, 6.23 ERA)

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds return to action this morning for the second game at AutoZone Park this season. They will face the Omaha Storm Chasers in the second of 16 matchups this season. The Redbirds topped the Storm Chasers last night 7-0 after an offensive outburst in the second inning. Dakota Hudson will take the mound for Memphis today, making his second-career start against Omaha. Today's game will be broadcast live on www.memphisredbirds.com with Steve Selby on the call.

ON THE HILL: Dakota Hudson will get the ball for Memphis in today's game. The lanky right-hander earned the win in his season debut last week against Round Rock. He lasted 5.1 innings, allowing three earned runs in what ended up being a 17-4 win for Memphis. The No. 7 prospect in the St. Louis organization has risen quickly through the minors. He owns a career record of 13-6 with a 2.89 ERA in 38 appearances spanning a little over two seasons. Coming into today's game, opponents are hitting just .252 against him.

The Storm Chasers are scheduled to send right-hander Trevor Oaks to the mound today. Oaks has made one appearance this season, taking the loss in a start against Colorado Springs last week. He lasted 4.1 innings and allowed three runs. Oaks faced Memphis three times with Oklahoma City last season and was 0-1 in 16.0 innings, allowing four runs and striking out 14 batters.

HISTORY WITH OMAHA: The Redbirds and Storm Chasers have played each other every year dating back to 1998. The Redbirds hold a slight advantage against Omaha with an all-time record of 151-135. At home, Memphis holds a 14-game edge over Omaha, with an all-time record of 79-65. The Redbirds won 12 of 16 games against the Storm Chasers in 2017, and have won five straight against them coming into today's game. Last season, Memphis hit .279 against Omaha pitching, compared to Omaha's .246 average against Memphis pitching. The Redbirds also had the edge on the mound, holding a 3.29 ERA against Omaha last year, striking out 131. Omaha had a 4.52 ERA and 126 strikeouts against the 'Birds in 2017.

BIRD BITES

AROZARENA: Stole three bases in the third game of his Triple-A career, and has reached base safely in three of four games

BARON: Joins St. Louis organization after spending entire career in Seattle organization

GARCIA: Four home runs in last 13 games, including the 2017 postseason

KELLY: Third stint with Memphis. Spent second half of 2017 on St. Louis roster backing up Yadier Molina

MEJIA: Fourth stint with Memphis, appearing with team in each of the last four years. Made MLB debut last season

MERCADO: Making Triple-A debut after hitting .287 in 120 games and stealing 38 bases with Springfield in 2017

O'NEILL: Has hit four home runs in the last four games, including two in Friday's 17-4 win

RAVELO: Second season in organization and with team. Helped lead Memphis to PCL Pennant in 2017

SCHROCK: Hit home run in first game of Triple-A career, a three-run shot in the sixth inning

TOVAR: Second season with Memphis. Has played in nine MLB games with St. Louis and the New York Mets

URIAS: Is making Triple-A debut after spending last five years in the Mexican League

WISDOM: Reigning PCL Playoffs MVP. Hit career-high 31 home runs for Memphis last season

BY THE NUMBERS

13-4 record against Omaha dating back to 2016

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The defending Pacific Coast League champion Memphis Redbirds bounced back after their first loss of the season handling Omaha in a 7-0 victory.

John Gant was outstanding for the 'Birds. The righty threw 7.0 dominant, scoreless innings, allowing just five hits and two walks, while striking out five.

The Redbirds' batted around in the second inning, rattling off seven-straight hits en route to a seven run inning. Alex Mejia led the charge, notching two hits and two RBI in the inning.

The bullpen backed up Gant, throwing 2.0 scoreless innings to end the game. Kevin Herget pitched the eighth inning, allowing a hit and a walk, but escaping with no damage. Edward Mujica had an easy 1-2-3 inning to finish off the Storm Chasers in the ninth.

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)

ON FIRE: The Redbirds have been on fire to start the 2018 season. They tied the 2001 Redbirds with the second-best starting record in franchise history at 4-0. With the loss Monday, the team fell just short of tying the franchise record for best start in a season at 5-0 with the 1999 Redbirds. So far, the team has scored 49 runs, is hitting .324, has hit seven home runs, 11 doubles, and one triple, while collecting 28 walks. They also have a collective OBP of .416 and an OPS of .895. The pitching staff has gotten off to a hot start, as well. They have a combined ERA of 2.89, have allowed just two home runs, have struck out 45, have a WHIP of 1.26, and are holding opposing hitters to a .233 average.

JOHNNY BOY: Last night, right-hander John Gant continued his hot start to the season. Coming off an Opening Day win on April 5 against Round Rock, Gant continued his winning ways in the AutoZone Park Opener. Gant tossed 7.0 shutout innings, allowing just five hits and two walks, while striking out five on the evening. Gant also retired nine-straight batters from the end of the first inning until there were two outs in the fourth inning. Gant is now 2-0 with a miniscule 0.69 ERA on the season.

QUITE THE SCHROCK: Infielder Max Schrock has been making the most of his time at the Triple-A level. In his first four games, Schrock has been knocking the cover off the ball, hitting .435 (10-for-23). Acquired in December for Stephen Piscotty, Schrock has scored six runs, hit a home run, has knocked in six, has walked once, struck out once and has stolen three bases, tying him with Randy Arozarena for the team and league lead. Schrock has been an on-base and hitting machine in each of his first three years in the league. He holds a lifetime .326 batting average, and .375 on-base percentage.

CAN'T STOP, WON'T STOP: Infielders Alex Mejia and Patrick Wisdom have had hot starts at the plate in 2018. Mejia is hitting .364 (8-for-22) with three RBI and three walks in the first six games. Last night, Mejia recorded two singles and two RBI in the Redbirds' seven-run second inning. He is the first player for Memphis to record two hits in the same inning since Jacob Wilson notched two singles on September 8 last season in the PCL playoffs against Colorado Springs. Wisdom has also been dominant at the plate. The slugging third baseman is hitting .400 (8-for-20) in his first five games with five runs scored and six RBI so far.

FLAME THROWING FLAHERTY: St. Louis' No. 2 prospect Jack Flaherty backed up the hype in Sunday's start. The lanky right-hander threw 7.0 dominant innings, allowing just one run on five hits, with no walk, while striking out 11 on the afternoon. Flaherty began the season with St. Louis after an injury to Adam Wainwright, and was also dominant in his lone start with St. Louis on April 3. Flaherty lasted 5.0 innings, allowing six hits, one run, one walk, while striking out nine. Between Memphis and St. Louis this year, Flaherty is 1-0 in 12.0 innings, allowing 11 hits, two runs, one walk, and striking out 20, good for a 1.50 ERA.

FLASHIN' THE WHEELS: No. 11 prospect Randy Arozarena, No. 13 prospect Oscar Mercado, and No. 19 prospect Max Schrock can't be stopped on the bases so far this season. In five games thus far, Mercado is a perfect 2-for-2 on stolen bases, while Arozarena and Schrock are a perfect 3-for-3. Arozarena stole all three bases in Sunday's win, while Schrock stole two bases in Monday's loss.

ALL THEY DID WAS WIN, WIN, WIN: The 2017 Redbirds became the winningest club in the franchise's 20 seasons with their 84th win on Aug. 21 against New Orleans. The previous record was 83 wins, set by the 2000 team. At the time the record was set, 17 Redbirds had also played for St. Louis this season, including six making their Major League debuts.

The Redbirds then became the first PCL team since Tucson in 2006 to win 90 games in the regular season with a win at Colorado Springs on Sept. 3. They finished the season with a record of 91-50, and went on to win an additional six games in the PCL playoffs, giving them a total of 97 for the year.

IT'S NOT JUST ERA: Memphis' 2017 pitching staff was one of its main reasons for success. The 'Birds led the PCL in ERA (3.77), which was a franchise record (3.89, 1998 and 2003), and Memphis was the only club in the PCL with a team ERA under 4.20. The Redbirds allowed 4.0 runs per game, issued the fewest walks (366, 2.6 BB/9), and gave up the second-fewest hits (1216, 8.6 per game) in the league. Additionally, Memphis pitchers were second in the league in strikeouts (1121, 8.1 K/9).

MEMPHIS MASHERS: Memphis hit 164 home runs last season, which was the third-most in the PCL and its most since also hitting 164 in 2005. Memphis hit 107 all of last season and 97 in 2015. The Redbirds hit 83 homers at AutoZone Park this season after blasting 51 in The Bluff City all of last year and 49 in 2015. The club record for home runs in a season is 174 (2004). Ten players starting the year with Memphis hit at least one home run with the Redbirds last season. Wisdom (31), Bader (20), Voit (13), and O'Neill (12) led the pack. The ten returning players combined for 115 of the 'Birds 164 dingers in 2017.

STACKED WITH PROSPECTS: The Redbirds open the season with 11 of St. Louis' top-30 prospects. Prospects on the roster are: Jack Flaherty (No. 2), Carson Kelly (No. 3), Tyler O'Neill (No. 4), Dakota Hudson (No. 7), Adolis Garcia (No. 9), Randy Arozarena (No. 11), Oscar Mercado (No. 13), Austin Gomber (No. 14), Luke Voit (No. 16), Max Schrock (No. 19), and Derian Gonzalez (No. 27).

On the MLB.com rankings, Memphis is the only team in the Pacific Coast League with three players in the top-100 (Flaherty, 37; Kelly, 46; O'Neill, 94).

STREAKS GALORE: Part of Memphis' success last season was due to long winning streaks. The Redbirds won a franchise-record 11-straight games April 28-May 8, bettering nine-straight wins during the 2000 and 2014 seasons, and then had streaks of seven-straight and nine-straight in July. The 'Birds also won 12-straight home games from July 3-27 and seven-straight road games from May 2-8.

The Redbirds also won or split 27-straight series from April 18-21 at Colorado Springs through Aug. 15-18 versus Nashville (17-0-10).

MEMPHIS PLAYERS AND COACHES

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, given in honor of developmental excellence.

THE COACHING STAFF: Mark Budaska returns to the coaching staff as the hitting coach. Budaska has held the position since the 2008 season. Pitching Coach Dernier Orozco is set to begin his 13th season in the St. Louis organization, and his first as a Memphis coach. Bench coach Brian Burgamy will round out the staff in his first year in the organization, and his first year in player development.

WISDOM WOWS IN 2017: Returning infielder Patrick Wisdom was an All-PCL Team performer, Memphis' first since Brock Peterson in 2013, thanks in part to a career-high 31 home runs and 89 RBI. The 31 homers ranked fourth in the PCL and were tied for the fifth-most in a season in Redbirds history, and the 89 RBI were tied for the seventh-most in a campaign in franchise history.

Wisdom was also named Most Valuable Player of the PCL Playoffs, highlighted by his decisive two-run home run in Game 5 at El Paso and a diving catch at first base to strand two Chihuahuas on base.

2017 HONOREES: Manager Stubby Clapp was named the 2017 PCL Manager of the Year and the 2017 Baseball America Minor League Manager of the Year. Clapp became the first manager in the history of the St. Louis organization to earn the Baseball America Award. Carson Kelly and Ryan Sherriff represented the Redbirds at the Triple-A All-Star Game in Tacoma, with Luke Weaver selected but unable to play due to a promotion to St. Louis. Jack Flaherty participated in the MLB Futures Game during All-Star festivities in Miami.

Check out the Memphis Redbirds Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from April 11, 2018


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