Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (55-34) vs Omaha Storm Chasers (40-47)
July 8, 2018 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release
Memphis Redbirds (55-34) vs Omaha Storm Chasers (40-47)
Sunday, July 8 - 2:05 p.m. (CT) - AutoZone Park (10,000) - Memphis, Tennessee
Game #90 - Home Game #45 (26-18)
RHP Dakota Hudson (12-2, 2.33 ERA) vs. RHP Michael Mariot (1-2, 7.57 ERA)
THE GAME
TODAY'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds and Omaha Storm Chasers will play the finale and rubber match of a five game set this afternoon at 2:05 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. With a win today, the Redbirds will have posted the second-best 90 game start in franchise history, trailing only the 2017 team's 57-33 record. This is the final game for both teams before 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 and on WLMT CW30 with Steve Selby on the call.
ON THE HILL: Right-hander Dakota Hudson will get the ball for the Redbirds this afternoon in his 17th start of the season. Coming into today's game, Hudson is 12-2 with a 2.33 ERA. His 12 wins lead the PCL and all of Triple-A baseball, while his ERA is second-best in the PCL and all of Triple-A. Hudson also leads the PCL in innings pitched at 100.1, which is second-best in all of Triple-A. In his 16 starts, the righty has 10 quality starts, has pitched at least five innings in each of them, and has not allowed more than four earned runs in a game this season. Right now, Hudson is tied for the fifth-most wins in a season in Redbirds history. With a win today, he would move into a four-way tie for the second-most. Hudson is scheduled to start the Triple-A All-Star Game for the PCL.
The Storm Chasers will send spot-starter Michael Mariot to the mound to face Hudson. Coming into today's game, Mariot is 1-2 with a 7.57 ERA between El Paso and Omaha. The righty started the season with El Paso before being picked up by Omaha. With Omaha, he is 1-1 with a 3.21 ERA. He made one spot-start with El Paso this season, giving up eight runs in 1.2 innings to take the loss.
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 157-139. Memphis owns the all-time records both at home and on the road with 83-67 and 74-72 records, respectively. In 11 games against the Storm Chasers this season, Memphis owns a 7-4 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 middle two. So far this season, the 'Birds are out-hitting and out-pitching the Storm Chasers. Memphis has a .242 average compared to their .210 mark, and a 2.03 ERA compared to their 2.78 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: Fri. 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 .375 (15-for-40) over last 10 games; has hits in eight of those games and multiple in six of them
MEJIA: Last night, drove in two runs in the Memphis' three-run second, which proved to be the winning two runs
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: Last 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 .381 (16-for-42) over last 12 games; currently riding a season-long nine-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
17-8 in one-run games this season, the most wins in the PCL, and tied for the most in all of Triple-A baseball. The Redbirds are now 46-23 in one-run games since the start of 2017, best record in all of Triple-A baseball
THE SEASON
ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Memphis Redbirds won last night's game in one-run fashion, 3-2 over Omaha.
Starter Chris Ellis had his best start with the 'Birds this season, allowing two runs over six innings of work.
The 'Birds put three runs across in the second inning to seal the win. In the inning, Patrick Wisdom and Carson Kelly both singled to lead off. Oscar Mercado then drove in Wisdom with an RBI double, which was followed by a two-run single courtesy of Alex Mejia.
Kelly finished the game going 3-for-4, while Mejia finished at 2-for-3. Three relievers combined to close out the game for Memphis. Conner Greene and Tommy Layne combined for 2.1 innings before Edward Mujica came on for the final 0.2 to earn the save.
ELLIS WINS SECOND-STRAIGHT: Last night, Memphis starter Chris Ellis pitched a solid six innings en route to his second-straight win with the Redbirds. In the game, Ellis allowed two runs on five hits and a walk, while striking out three batters. The righty retired the first nine batters he faced before allowing back-to-back singles to start the fourth inning. In the fifth, he allowed two runs to score with two outs before getting out of the jam. In his six starts since being transferred from Springfield last month, Ellis is now 2-0 with a 4.02 ERA in 31.1 innings. Between Memphis and Springfield this season, Ellis has started 13 games, and is 5-0 with a 4.57 ERA in 69.0 innings of work.
QUALITY STARTS GALORE: After Chris Ellis' performance last night, 'Birds starters have thrown 45 quality starts in 89 games this season. They threw 55 total in 2017. Earlier this season, the Redbirds staff had a streak of 11-straight quality starts, and are currently riding a streak of four-straight. 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, Chris Ellis has two, and Alex Reyes and Jake Woodford have one apiece. The 45 quality starts are the most in the PCL.
RACKING UP THE K'S: Last night, new Memphis reliever Tommy Layne pitched 1.1 innings, striking out three batters to earn his second hold in a Memphis uniform. In seven games with Memphis, Layne has pitched 5.2 innings, earning two saves. The lefty has recorded at least one strikeout in all but one outing with the 'Birds as well. Layne has recorded 17 outs in a Memphis uniform, and 13 of them have come via strikeout.
TOVAR QUIETLY SURGING: In last night's win, infielder and sometimes outfielder, Wilfredo Tovar went 1-for-3 at the plate. In Friday's game, Tovar went 2-for-4 for the second-straight night. In Friday's win, 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 nine-game hitting streak. He has recorded multiple hits in four of those nine 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 12 games since then, he is hitting .381 (16-for-42), while recording hits in 11 of the games, and multiple hits in five of them. If he records a hit in his next appearance, he will become the fourth Memphis player to record a 10-game hitting streak this season, joining Tyler O'Neill (10), Yairo Munoz (10), and Patrick Wisdom (16).
KELLY ON FIRE AT THE PLATE: After going 3-for-4 at the plate last night and scoring a run, catcher Carson Kelly is now hitting .283 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 10 games and is hitting .375 (15-for-40) in that span. He has recorded hits in eight of those 10 games, and multiple hits in six of them. Since June 26, Kelly has scored six times, has hit two doubles and two home runs, while driving in seven runners. He has a .4032on-base percentage in that span, and a .575 slugging percentage.
BULLPEN SOLID, AGAIN: After tossing three scoreless innings last night, the Memphis bullpen continued its recent dominance. Over the last nine games, the Memphis bullpen has combined to throw 26.0 innings allowing just two earned runs. Before Friday 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 15 hits, and five walks, while striking out 29 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 29.2 innings, allowing just 19 hits, five walks, five runs, two earned, all while striking out 33 batters. They hold a record of 1-1 with four saves in that span.
GREAT PITCHING ALL AROUND: After allowing just two runs 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 3.41, 0.33 points higher than the next closest team, Oklahoma City. The 'Birds staff has pitched the third-most innings this season at 783.2, while allowing the third-fewest hits at 731. They have also allowed the third-fewest walks with 274, and own the second-most strikeouts at 767 through 89 games, 8.6 per game. The pitching staff has also allowed just 347 total runs this season, the second-fewest in the league. However, the Redbirds have allowed just 297 earned runs. They are the only team in the PCL that has yet to give up 300 earned runs this season.
HEADING INTO THE BREAK: After today's game, the Redbirds will have played 90 games this season, and will have 50 regular season games remaining. With the upcoming All-Star Break, the 'Birds will not play again until Thursday at Omaha. Regardless if they win or not, the 'Birds will head into the break with the best record in the PCL at either 56-34 or 55-35. With a win, they would move ahead of the 2000 team for the second-best 90-game start in franchise history. The 2017 team had the best start at 57-33. Many Redbirds records have been broken or tied so far this season. The 'Birds scored 12 runs in an inning in April, the most in an inning in franchise history. Austin Gomber tied the franchise record with 16 strikeouts on April 23. Luke Voit hit for the cycle on June 30, becoming the second Redbirds' player to accomplish the feat and the first since 2000. In just his second year as Redbirds' manager, Stubby Clapp now sits in fifth on the all-time managerial win list with a 146-84 record.
Through just 16 starts, Dakota Hudson is just two wins shy of tying the franchise record for wins in a season. He and Daniel Poncedeleon also own the second and third-best ERAs in the league at 2.33 and 2.39, respectively. Oscar Mercado is currently tied for the fifth-most stolen bases in a season with 22. Patrick Wisdom, who is having his best season to date, is moving up into the top-10 of many offensive categories in the record books. He is tied for eighth with 63 doubles, is fourth with 48 home runs, is tied for fourth with 169 RBI, and is sixth in extra-base hits with 114. He is also just outside the top-10 in games played, at-bats, runs scored, hits, and walks. The Redbirds also have three All-Stars, one Home Run Derby participant, and two Futures Game participants.
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.
Pacific Coast League Stories from July 8, 2018
- I-Cubs Drop First Half Finale to Sounds - Iowa Cubs
- Bracewell's Gem Leads Sounds over Cubs - Nashville Sounds
- Tomlinson collects three hits as team reaches All-Star break - Sacramento River Cats
- Sky Sox Fall in Final Game to Baby Cakes Before All-Star Break - Colorado Springs Sky Sox
- Bees Swept by Chihuahuas - Salt Lake Bees
- 'Cakes Head to Break with a Win - New Orleans Baby Cakes
- Dodgers and Round Rock Combine for 26 Runs and 36 Hits in Series Finale - Oklahoma City Comets
- Chihuahuas Sweep Salt Lake - El Paso Chihuahuas
- Express Out-Slug Dodgers 18-8 - Round Rock Express
- Redbirds Win to Wrap up First Half at 56-34 - Memphis Redbirds
- Chasers Suffer Another Narrow Defeat, 4-3 - Omaha Storm Chasers
- Nashville Sounds Game Information: Iowa Cubs (31-56) at Nashville Sounds (41-45) - Nashville Sounds
- Reno Aces Game Notes vs. Sacramento - Reno Aces
- Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (55-34) vs Omaha Storm Chasers (40-47) - Memphis Redbirds
- OKC Dodgers Game Notes - July 8, 2018 - Oklahoma City Comets
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