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PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (54-34) vs Omaha Storm Chasers (40-46)

July 7, 2018 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (54-34) vs Omaha Storm Chasers (40-46)

Saturday, July 7 - 6:35 p.m. (CT) - AutoZone Park (10,000) - Memphis, Tennessee

Game #89 - Home Game #44 (25-18)

RHP Chris Ellis (1-0, 4.26 ERA) vs. LHP Jake Kalish (3-2, 2.63 ERA)

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds and Omaha Storm Chasers will play game four of a five-game set tonight at 6:35 p.m. This will be the third of four series the two teams will play against each other this season. Memphis swept the first series 3-0, while the two split the second series 2-2. The 'Birds are coming off a 5-0 sweep of the Iowa Cubs. It was the first time the 'Birds had swept a team in five games since accomplishing the feat July 25-27, 2014, also at Iowa. Omaha is coming off a 3-2 series win over the Nashville Sounds. This series will lead into the All-Star Break, and the two will play their final series of the season immediately after the All-Star Break. 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 for the Redbirds tonight. Ellis has made five starts for the Redbirds this season after being transferred from Springfield last month. In those five starts, he is 1-0 with a 4.26 ERA. So far, he has tossed 25.1 innings, allowing 25 hits, 15 runs, 12 earned runs, two home runs, and seven walks, while striking out 17 batters. In two starts at AutoZone Park, Ellis has been phenomenal. He has tossed 10.0 innings at home, allowing just one earned run on 10 hits and one walk, while striking out 4 batters. In his last start against Iowa, the righty earned his lone win with Memphis, allowing three runs over five innings. This will be his first career appearance against Omaha.

The Storm Chasers will send left-hander Jake Kalish to the mound. This will be his seventh appearance and fourth start for the Storm Chasers this season. As a starter with Omaha, he is 2-1 with a 1.69 ERA in 16.0 innings, allowing just three earned runs, while striking out 13 batters.

HISTORY WITH OMAHA: Memphis and Omaha 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 156-139. Memphis owns the all-time records both at home and on the road with 82-67 and 74-72 records, respectively. In 10 games against the Storm Chasers this season, Memphis owns a 6-4 record. They swept the first series 3-0 before splitting the second series 2-2. Omaha took the first two games of this series, while the Redbirds won the third. So far this season, the 'Birds are out-hitting and out-pitching the Storm Chasers. Memphis has a .238 average compared to their .212 mark, and a 2.03 ERA compared to their 2.72 mark.

BIRD BITES

AROZARENA: Tues. night, hit two-run home run in the second inning, his 4th with Memphis; hit three over last road trip

BARON: Currently has a four-game hitting streak, his longest of year and longest since 5-game streak July 18-25, 2017

GARCIA: Last night, went 3-for-4 at the plate, hitting his 10th home run of the season; hitting .284 27-for-95 since June 1

KELLY: Is hitting .333 (12-for-36) over last nine games; has hits in seven of those games and multiple in five of them

MEJIA: Is seven for his last 16 at the plate, while scoring four times and driving in one, while stealing two bases

MERCADO: Now has 22 steals this season, the second-most in the PCL and the fifth-most in a season in Redbirds history

RAVELO: Recently won Cardinals Minor League Player of the Month honors after hitting .449 (31-for-69) in 20 June games

SCHROCK: Sunday, recorded three hits in a game for the first time since May 3 against Oklahoma City

SOSA: Wed. night, drove in game-tying run in the ninth to send it to extra innings; is hitting .244 (8-for-34) with Memphis

TOVAR: Is hitting .385 (15-for-39) over last 11 games; currently riding a season-long eight-game hitting streak

VOIT: Hit for the cycle on June 30; hit .500 (19-for-38) over nine-game road trip, driving in 13 runners

WISDOM: Was recently named a midseason All-Star for the first time in his career; will participate in Triple-A HR Derby

BY THE NUMBERS

1-1 when wearing specialty jerseys this season and 8-3 in specialty jerseys since Stubby Clapp took over. The Redbirds will play in Harry Potter themed jerseys tonight. They won Star Wars night and dropped the 4th of July

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Memphis Redbirds got back in the win column last night, topping the Omaha Storm Chasers 4-2 at AutoZone Park.

Memphis starter Daniel Poncedeleon was dominant for the Redbirds. After allowing an unearned run to score in the second inning, Poncedeleon allowed just two more baserunners the entire game, both walks. He finished with a final line of six innings pitched, no earned runs, three walks, and seven strikeouts.

Offensively, Carson Kelly (2-for-4), Adolis Garcia (3-for-4), and Wilfredo Tovar (2-for-4) led the charge for Memphis. The 'Birds scored two in the second after Omaha took the lead, and grabbed another in the third and sixth innings.

In the game, Garcia hit his 10th home run of the season, and Oscar Mercado stole his 22nd base of the season. Three different relievers combined to close out the game, allowing one run in three innings of work.

PONCE CONTINUES TO DOMINATE: Last night's starter Daniel Poncedeleon has had himself a strong start to the 2018 season. Despite getting the lowest run support among Memphis starters, Poncedeleon is now 8-3 with a 2.39 ERA in 16 starts and 17 appearances for Memphis this season. Last night, Poncedeleon threw 6.0 innings, allowing one unearned run to score on two hits and three walks, while striking out seven batters, giving him his fifth quality start of the season. In his 16 starts this season, he has pitched at least 5.0 innings in 13 of them. The righty has allowed more than three earned runs just once this season, and has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 13 of his 16 starts, including 10 starts where he has allowed one or less earned runs. After last night's performance, Poncedeleon, who was recently named to the PCL All-Star team now owns the third-best ERA (2.39) in the PCL, narrowly behind teammate Dakota Hudson (2.33). He also owns second-most strikeouts in the PCL at 98. Poncedeleon also owns the lowest opponents' batting average in the league at .211, and is first in strikeouts per nine innings pitched ratio (10.76). Just a little over halfway through the season, Poncedeleon now has eight wins, the second-highest mark of his career after he won nine games in 2016 with Springfield.

QUALITY STARTS GALORE: After Daniel Poncedeleon's performance last night, 'Birds starters have thrown 44 quality starts in 88 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, 10 of them have thrown at least one quality start. Sam Tuivailala and Sean Gilmartin combined for seven starts, and did not throw a quality start. Dakota Hudson has 10 in 16 starts, John Gant and Kevin Herget have seven, Austin Gomber and Poncedeleon have five, Jack Flaherty has four, Ryan Helsley has three, and Alex Reyes, Chris Ellis, and Jake Woodford all have one apiece. The 44 quality starts are the most in the PCL.

HAVE A NIGHT, ADOLIS: Last night, outfielder Adolis Garcia went 3-for-4 at the plate with a home run and an RBI, while also recording an outfield assist, cutting down a runner at second base. Garcia, who recently went a season-high six games without a hit, has now recorded multiple hits in two of the three games against Omaha. After struggling through most of late April and May, Garcia has been consistent at the plate since the calendar turned to June. In 28 games since June 1, Garcia is hitting .284 (27-for-95) with 13 runs scored, four doubles, a triple, six home runs, and 20 RBI. After recording the assist last night, Garcia now has 12 outfield assists on the year, second-most in the PCL.

TOVAR QUIETLY SURGING: In last night's win, infielder and sometimes outfielder, Wilfredo Tovar went 2-for-4 at the plate for the second-consecutive night. Tovar drove in the go-ahead run in the second inning on an RBI single. Memphis went on to win 4-2. Tovar now has a season-long eight-game hitting streak. He has recorded multiple hits in four of those eight games. Tovar has been playing well since the middle of June after struggling through all of May and the first half of June. From May 1 to June 16, he appeared in 37 games, hitting just .223 (27-for-121). In 11 games since then, he is hitting .385 (15-for-39), while recording hits in 10 of the games, and multiple hits in five of them.

KELLY ON FIRE AT THE PLATE: After going 2-for-4 at the plate last night and scoring a run, catcher Carson Kelly is now hitting .272 on the season with Memphis. Kelly has been particularly strong at the plate as of late. After going six-straight games without a hit from June 17-25, Kelly has appeared in nine games and is hitting .333 (12-for-36) in that span. He has recorded hits in seven of those nine games, and multiple hits in five of them. Since June 26, Kelly has scored five times, has hit two doubles and two home runs, while driving in seven runners. He has a .400 on-base percentage in that span, and a .556 slugging percentage.

BLINK AND YOU'LL MISS HIM: In last night's 4-2, speedy outfielder and Cardinals' No. 13 prospect Oscar Mercado stole his 22nd base of the season. With the steal, Mercado is now tied with former Redbirds Mark Little (2000) and Adron Chambers (2011) for the fifth-most steals in a season in Redbirds history. The record is 43 steals, set by Chad Meyers in 2002. Mercado now has 22 steals in 30 chances this season, and has 181 steals in five plus Minor League seasons. He has been caught just 77 times in his career, giving him a 70.2 percent success rate on the bases. Mercado's 22 steals ranks second in the PCL and all of Triple-A baseball. He also leads the entire Cardinals' organization in the category.

BULLPEN SOLID, AGAIN: Despite allowing a single run last night, the Memphis bullpen continued its recent dominance. Last night, the bullpen pitched 2.1 scoreless innings before allowing a solo home run. Over the last eight games, the Memphis bullpen has combined to throw 23.0 innings without allowing just two earned runs. Before last night's ninth inning homer, the last earned run they allowed was on June 30 in the fifth inning of their game at Iowa. Since the fifth inning on June 30, they have allowed just 14 hits, and four walks, while striking out 26 batters. Dating back to June 28 against Colorado Springs, 10 Redbirds relievers have made at least one appearance out of the bullpen, combining to pitch 26.2 innings, allowing just 18 hits, four walks, five runs, two earned, all while striking out 30 batters. They hold a record of 1-1 with three saves in that span.

GREAT PITCHING ALL AROUND: After allowing two runs, only one of which was earned, last night, the Redbirds' pitching staff continued its season-long dominance on the mound. The entire pitching staff owns the best ERA in the league at 3.43, 0.3 points higher than the next closest team, Oklahoma City. The 'Birds staff has pitched the third-most innings this season at 774.2, while allowing the third-fewest hits at 725. They have also allowed the third-fewest walks with 272, and own the second-most strikeouts at 761 through 88 games, 8.6 per game.

LUKE GETS THE CYCLE: In last Friday's game, which was completed on Saturday afternoon, Memphis infielder Luke Voit hit for the cycle in the route over the Iowa Cubs. Voit drove in the game's first run with a triple in the first inning. In the fifth inning, he doubled in another run, before singling in another run in the sixth inning. Voit completed the cycle with a ninth inning home run, his fourth of the season with Memphis. Voit finished the game going 5-for-6 at the plate with five RBI. Voit became the second player in Memphis history to hit for the cycle, joining Mark Little. Little accomplished the feat on June 23, 2000 at Colorado Springs. In the game, Voit also became the first Redbirds player to record five hits in a game since Cody Stanley on July 4, 2015 at Colorado Springs, and the first Redbirds player to record four hits, four RBI, and four RBI in a game since Xavier Scruggs on Aug. 14, 2014 (4 H, 6 RBI, 4 R).

RACKING UP THE HONORS: Earlier this week, pitcher Dakota Hudson and infielder/outfielder Rangel Ravelo were named the Cardinals Minor League Pitcher and Player of the month for June. In June, Hudson went 5-0 with a 1.06 ERA in five starts. He is now 12-2 on the year, with a 2.33 ERA. His 12 wins lead all of Minor League Baseball, while his ERA is second in the PCL. Ravelo was virtually unstoppable at the plate in June. In 20 games, he hit .449 (31-for-69) with three doubles, a triple, six home runs, 23 RBI, and 11 walks, while striking out just four times. He hit safely in 14 of his 20 games in the month, and recorded multiple hits in 11 of those contests. Earlier this season, pitcher Austin Gomber, now with St. Louis, won Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Month for April after striking out 16 batters on April 23. Despite the Redbirds not taking home a Cardinals Minor League award in May, they have had at least one player be named a Player or Pitcher of the Month in seven of the last eight months. Earlier this season, Gomber also won PCL Pitcher of the Week honors twice. Those honors came for the weeks of April 23-29 and May 21-27.

Last week, three Memphis players were also named to the PCL All-Star roster. Hudson, fellow starter Daniel Poncedeleon, and slugger Patrick Wisdom were all named to the team. Hudson was named the starter for the Pacific Coast League. Earlier this, Hudson and Memphis outfielder Randy Arozarena were named to the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game, and Patrick Wisdom was named a participant in the Triple-A Home Run Derby. Wisdom is the first Memphis player to ever participate in the event. For the Futures Game, Hudson will be a participant for the U.S. Team, while Arozarena will play for the World Team. It is the first time the Redbirds have had multiple participants in the game since 2016 when Carson Kelly and Alex Reyes participated. Memphis has now had at least one player selected to the game in three-consecutive years for the first time in franchise history. Pitcher Jack Flaherty was the team's representative last season.

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.

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