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PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (52-65) at Fresno Grizzlies (54-63)

August 10, 2019 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (52-65) at Fresno Grizzlies (54-63)

Saturday, August 10 - 9:05 p.m. (CT) - Chukchansi Park (12,500) - Fresno, California

Game #118 - Road Game #59 (29-29)

RHP Jake Woodford (6-7, 4.20) vs LHP Ben Braymer (0-4, 8.91)

BY THE NUMBERS

3.73 The Redbird pitching staff's ERA through eight games in August. This figure is lowest among Pacific Coast League teams. They also lead the PCL with 84 strikeouts this month as well.

84 Number of times Redbird batters have been hit by a pitch this season. The Redbirds lead all of Triple-A baseball in this category. The franchise record for most hit by pitch in a season is 91.

THE GAME

TONIGHT'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds continue their seven-game west coast road trip in the first of four games against the Fresno Grizzlies. The two teams are meeting for the first time since going head-to-head in the Pacific Coast League Championship last season. The Redbirds avoided being swept by the Sacramento River Cats last night in emphatic fashion with a 15-0 shut-out victory. Daniel Ponce de Leon turned in one of the best starts by any Redbird this season, striking out 11 batters over 7.0 innings of work while allowing just two hits. He became the second Redbird this season to punch-out at least 10 batters in a contest. Adolis Garcia and Ramon Urias each had their first four-hit games of the season, while Garcia and John Nogowski each matched a franchise record with four runs scored. Tonight's game will be broadcast live on www.memphisredbirds.com with Steve Selby on the call.

ON THE HILL: Right-hander Jake Woodford is scheduled to take the mound in tonight's game and make his 22nd start of the season in the series opener. He has made at least 20 starts in each of his four full seasons as a professional. In his last time out on August 2 vs. El Paso, he suffered the loss (6.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R/ER, 2 BB, 7 SO) in the Redbirds' 6-1 defeat to the Chihuahuas. Woodford has allowed four earned runs or more in four of last five starts having four such starts in his first 16 starts of the season. His ERA has risen from 3.36 to 4.20 during that span. He has also allowed at least six hits in four-straight, seeing his opponent's average rise to a season-high .230 (102x444). He has also fanned a season-high seven batters in two of his last three starts. Overall he has allowed two earned runs or fewer in five of his last nine. His opponent's average of .230 (102x444) is the lowest in the Pacific Coast League among qualifiers. Woodford continues to be even stingier against right-handed batters, holding them to just a .205 (53x258) average. That figure is the lowest among active Redbirds starters. He also ranks 3rd in the PCL with a 4.20 ERA and has allowed one earned run or fewer in eight of his 21 outings. Even with the loss, he has still won 16 of his last 29 decisions overall at the Triple-A level. Woodford made one start against Fresno last season on August 7. He took no-decision (4.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R/ER, 3 BB, 2 SO, 1 HR) in the Redbirds' 15-14 defeat to the Grizzlies at AutoZone Park. The St. Petersburg, Fla., was named to the 2019 Pacific Coast League All-Star Team, and was named starter after receiving the most votes among pitchers. He tossed 2.0 scoreless frames in the game on July 10 and fanned two to earn the win. He entered 2019 ranked as the No. 16 prospect in the Cardinals organization by Baseball America and he is currently ranked as the No. 15 prospect in the organization by MLB.com.

The Grizzlies are scheduled to start left-hander Ben Braymer in tonight's series opener. The 25-year-old has gone 0-4, 8.91 (34 ER/34.1 IP) in eight starts for Fresno this season and has yielded an opponent's average of .368 (57x155) with Fresno. The Grizzlies have gone 2-6 in games that he has pitched. In his last time out on Sunday at San Antonio, Braymer took no-decision (2.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO, 1 HR) in the Grizzlies' 11-10 victory over the Missions. It was his second-shortest start with the Grizzlies and he has allowed at least six hits in each of his eight starts at the Triple-A level. Braymer has also allowed at least four earned runs in five of his eight outings. He is search of his first-career win at the Triple-A level and his first win since June 17 in his last start at Double-A Harrisburg. With Harrisburg to begin the season, Braymer went 4-4, 2.51 (28 ER/79.0 IP) in 13 starts for the Senators. He made his Triple-A debut on June 26 vs. Las Vegas, where he took no-decision (4.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R/ER, 5 BB, 3 SO, 2 HR) in the Grizzlies' 10-5 defeat to the Aviators. Tonight will be his first start against Memphis in his career and his first start against a St. Louis minor league affiliate. The Baton Rouge, La., native is in his fourth professional season and he has spent them all within various levels of the Washington organization. He entered the season ranked as the No. 20 prospect in the Nationals system by Baseball America and he is currently ranked as the No. 15 prospect in the system by MLB.com.

HISTORY WITH FRESNO: The Redbirds have faced off against the Fresno Grizzlies every year since 1998. Memphis leads in the overall series 49-47 and trails at this facility 18-22. Memphis last came to Fresno in 2017, where the two teams split a four-game set. The teams met last season at AutoZone Park, where the Redbirds dropped three-of-four games, suffering the series loss.

The two teams have squared off in the postseason once, with the Redbirds coming away victorious in in the 2018 Pacific Coast League Championship. The Redbirds captured their second-consecutive PCL title by winning the series 3-1, taking the crown 5-0 at AutoZone Park.

This is the third year that the Redbirds have faced off against the Washington Nationals' Triple-A affiliate and for the first time since 2006. Fresno is entering their first season as the National's top affiliate after four seasons of affiliation with the Houston Astros. From 2005-06, the New Orleans Baby Cakes were the organization's top affiliate, where the Redbirds went 12-20. Overall, Memphis is 12-20 against the Nationals' Triple-A club.

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: Daniel Ponce de Leon struck out a season-high 11 batters and allowed just two hits over 7.0 innings of work as the Memphis Redbirds avoided the sweep with a dominant 15-0 victory at the Sacramento River Cats (Giants) Friday night in Sacramento, Calif.

Ponce de Leon retired the final 11 batters he faced as he earned his first win with the Redbirds since May 22. He became the second Redbird starter this season to reach double-digits in strikeouts, after Alex Reyes whiffed 10 on June 8 at Reno. He also contributed offensively with an RBI-single in the seventh.

The 27-year-old has now allowed just three hits in his last 14.0 innings pitched at Memphis (52-65), while adding 17 strikeouts.

Adolis Garcia posted his first four-hit game of the season, falling just a triple shy of the cycle. He drove in a run in the third with a single and would later launch his team-leading 24th home run of the year in the seventh. Garcia also had an RBI-double in the eighth and was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the ninth to give himself a three-RBI performance for a team-high ninth time this season.

Justin Williams drew a bases loaded walk in the first to open the scoring, which more than enough for the Redbirds, who scored multiple runs in four innings. Ramon Urias followed with an RBI-single to push the lead to 2-0.

Williams pushed his hitting streak to a season-high six games, drove in three runs and he also drew a season-high three walks. He has hit safely in 10 of 14 games with the Redbirds this season.

Urias finished the night with four hits for the first time this season and is batting .364 (24x66) with seven doubles, three home runs and 16 RBI in 20 games since rejoining the Redbirds on July 15 following his recovery from injury.

Mike Mayers tossed a scoreless eighth inning in his first relief appearance with the Redbirds since July 20 and Dominic Leone finished the game with a scoreless ninth to give the Redbirds their sixth shut-out win of the season.

Eight of the nine Redbird starters recorded at least one hit in the game, four scored at least two runs and four had three RBI or more. The offense scored multiple runs in an inning five times.

ROSTER MOVES: The following roster move was made prior to Friday night's game: Yadier Molina's injury rehab was transferred to Springfield. Molina went 2-for-8 with two runs scored, one home run and five RBI during his first appearances with the Redbirds since 2004.

The following roster moves were made Tuesday: Junior Fernandez had his contract purchased by St. Louis and Mike Mayers was outrighted to Memphis.

Fernandez will become the seventh Redbird this season to make his Major League debut when he makes his first appearance. In 15 relief appearances with the Redbirds this season, he went 1-0, 1.31 (3 ER/20.2 IP) and whiffed 23 batters. He made his Triple-A debut on June 25 vs. Nashville and fanned five batters in 3.1 innings of work. The 22-year-old is currently ranked as the No. 10 prospect in the Cardinals system by MLB.com.

Mayers begins his second stint with the Redbirds this season after being outrighted. During his Major League rehab assignment with the 'Birds, Mayers went 0-1, 4.50 (5 ER/10.0 IP) in 10 games, one start. After completing his rehab, he made four relief appearances for the Cardinals and allowed six earned runs in 5.1 innings (10.13 ERA) and issued five walks compared to two strikeouts. He was designated for assignment by the Cardinals on Sunday.

PONCE DE LEON DOMINANT AGAIN: After setting the pace with 4.0 no-hit innings in Sunday's 2-0 win over El Paso, Daniel Ponce de Leon dazzled again on the mound last night, holding the Sacramento River Cats to just two hits in 7.0 innings of work, fanning 11 batters and issuing no walks. In his last three starts with the Redbirds dating back to June 6 at Tacoma, Ponce de Leon has allowed just three hits in his last 14.0 innings with the Redbirds and has whiffed 21 batters during that span. Through 13 starts with Memphis this season, he has held opponents to a .211 average (51x242), a figure that would lead the Pacific Coast League if he qualified.

'BIRDS SILENCE BATS: Memphis Redbird pitchers held the El Paso Chihuahuas, one of the most potent offenses in the Pacific Coast League, to just one hit in Sunday's 2-0 shut-out win. Daniel Ponce de Leon began the game with four hitless frames and fanned eight. Seth Elledge followed and allowed a single to the second batter he faced to end the no-hit bid, but he, Chasen Shreve and Junior Fernandez retired 13 of the next 14 batters to end the game. It was the 12th one-hitter in franchise history and first since Ponce de Leon's solo effort on July 15, 2018 at Omaha.

SOSA'S STREAK SNAPPED: After going 0-for-4 in Thursday night's game, Edmundo Sosa's season-high 13 game hitting streak was snapped. His single in Saturday's contest marked the first time since Aug. 23 - Sept. 3, 2017 that Sosa has posted a 10-game hitting streak and he came just one game shy of matching his career-high mark of 14, which he set from April 10-26, 2016 while playing at Single-A Peoria. He is also the fifth different Redbird this season to have a hitting streak of at least 10 games. During his hitting streak, Sosa had raised his batting average from .257 to .275, his highest mark since June 26.

RANDY REPEATS: After slashing .374/.456/.607/1.063 in 28 games between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis in June en route to being named Cardinals Minor League Player of the Month, Randy Arozarena won the award for the second-straight month after posting a slash of .378/.455/.592/1.047 in 26 games in July. Arozarena became the third Redbird in franchise history to hit for the cycle on July 26 at Oklahoma City and accomplished that feat in his first four at-bats and had 12 total multi-hit games in July. He has also reached base safely in his last 35 starts and has 14 multi-hit games during that span.

BIG BIRDS ON THE MEND: A pair of rehabbing St. Louis Cardinals had big games on August 1 to help give the Redbirds their first three-game series sweep of the season. Matt Carpenter went 2-for-3 with a run, double and three RBI and Marcel Ozuna went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, a double, home run and five RBI. Ozuna also reached safely five times in the contest by drawing a walk and being hit by a pitch. Carpenter's two-run single in the sixth cut the Isotopes' lead to 6-5 and Ozuna followed up with a three-run blast to give the 'Birds the lead for good. Carpenters' double in the third also snapped an 0-for-22 stretch to open his rehab assignment.

PULLING AN ALL-NIGHTER: On August 1, the Redbirds' game against the Albuquerque Isotopes lasted four hours and seven minutes, making it the longest game of the season for the Redbirds. It also became the second-longest nine-inning game in franchise history, falling just two minutes short of matching the record of 4:09, set on June 15, 2013 against the Isotopes at Isotopes Park. It was also the first four-hour game the Redbirds have played in since June 11, 2017 vs. Nashville in a 12-inning affair.

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