PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (57-34) at Omaha Storm Chasers (40-49)

Published on July 13, 2018 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (57-34) vs Omaha Storm Chasers (40-49)

Friday, July 13 - 7:05 p.m. (CT) - Werner Park (9,023) - Papillion, Nebraska

Game #92 - Road Game #47 (30-16)

RHP Kevin Herget (5-6, 3.75 ERA) vs. LHP Jake Kalish (3-3, 2.90 ERA)

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds and Omaha Storm Chasers will play game two of a four-game set tonight at 7:05 p.m. It is the last series the two teams will play against each other this season. They played a five-game series right before the All-Star break. In that series, Omaha won the first two games before Memphis closed out the series with three-straight wins. With the win last night, the Redbirds have now won seven-consecutive road games for the first time this season. The Redbirds now have 57 wins this season, the second-best mark in franchise history through 91 games. Last year's team won 58 through 91 games. Earlier today, Luke Weaver and John Brebbia were optioned to Memphis from St. Louis. Today's game will be broadcast on www.memphisredbirds.com with Steve Selby on the call.

ON THE HILL: Right-hander Kevin Herget will take the mound for the Redbirds tonight. Herget is coming off his best start of the season. In that start, also against Omaha, he tossed 8.0 innings of one-run ball, allowing just four hits and no walks, while striking out six batters. Despite his efforts, the Redbirds fell to the Storm Chasers in extra innings 2-1. In 13 starts this season, Herget is now 4-5 with a 3.91 ERA in 76.0 innings of work. As a starter, he has allowed 33 earned runs and 16 walks, while striking out 67 batters. In total this season, both in relief and as a starter, Herget is now 5-6 with a 3.75 ERA. His 3.75 ERA puts him in the top-10 for ERA in the PCL.

The Storm Chasers will send left-hander Jake Kalish to the mound to face Herget and the Redbirds. Coming into tonight's game, Kalish is 3-3 with a 2.90 ERA in seven appearances and four starts with Omaha this season. In his last start, which came against Memphis, he took the loss. He allowed three runs on nine hits through seven innings of work.

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 159-139. Memphis owns the all-time records both at home and on the road with 84-67 and 75-72 records, respectively. In 13 games against the Storm Chasers this season, Memphis owns a 9-4 record. They swept the first series 3-0 before splitting the second series 2-2, and winning the third one 3-2. So far this season, the 'Birds are out-hitting and out-pitching the Storm Chasers. Memphis has a .257 average compared to their .215 mark, and a 2.18 ERA compared to their 3.16 mark.

BIRD BITES

AROZARENA: Was recently selected as one of two Memphis players to participate in the MLB Futures Game

BARON: Currently has a five-game hitting streak, his longest of year and longest since 6-game streak April 16-May 5, 2017

GARCIA: Last night, went 2-for-4 at the plate, hitting his 11th home run of the season; hitting .284 29-for-102 since June 1

KELLY: Is hitting .386 (17-for-44) over last 11 games; has hits in nine of those games and multiple in seven of them

MEJIA: After driving in a run in Sunday's win, has 12 RBI in last 22 games after having just eight in his first 46 games

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: Finished the first-half of the season hitting .281 with 20 multi-hit games in his first Triple-A season

SOSA: Is hitting .271 (84-for-310) in 81 games between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis this season

TOVAR: Is hitting .348 (16-for-46) over last 13 games; recently snapped a season-long nine-game hitting streak

VOIT: Now has six home runs in last 14 games after having one through first 34 with Memphis; Hit for the cycle on June 30

WISDOM: Was recently named an All-Star for the first time in his career and participated in Triple-A Home Run Derby

BY THE NUMBERS

124 transactions through 91 games this season for Memphis, 1.4 per game. They did not reach 124 transactions until August 19, 2017, and had just 88 through this date in 2017

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Memphis Redbirds won the first game back from the All-Star Break 6-3, last night over Omaha.

Last night's starter Austin Gomber earned the win, going 5.1 innings, allowing three runs on six hits and a walk, while striking out three batters. It was his first start with the team since May.

The 'Birds cranked out 15 hits last night, with eight of the nine starters recording at least one hit, and six of them recording multiple hits.

Adolis Garcia and Luke Voit both went deep for the Redbirds, notching their 11th and seventh homers, respectively. Voit finished the night with three hits, while Garcia had two.

Oscar Mercado (2-for-5), Patrick Wisdom (2-for-4), Carson Kelly (2-for-4), and Edmundo Sosa (2-for-4) provided the rest of the offense. Matt Bowman earned the save.

WELCOME BACK, AUSTIN: In the last game before the All-Star Break on Sunday, pitcher Austin Gomber made his first appearance with Memphis in over a month. Last night, he made his first start with the team since May. Gomber was sent back to Memphis from St. Louis last week to get stretched out after appearing strictly in relief with the Cardinals. On Sunday, Gomber earned the win over Omaha, pitching 3.0 innings. He allowed three hits and one run in the outing, while striking out four batters. Last night, the lefty earned the win for Memphis, pitching 5.1 strong innings, accumulating 71 pitches, 50 of which were strikes. Gomber allowed three runs on six hits and one walk, while striking out three batters. He had thrown five scoreless innings before allowing a three-run home run in the sixth. With the Redbirds this season, he is now 6-3 with a 3.69 ERA and 70 strikeouts. The 70 strikeouts with Memphis are fourth-most on the team after Daniel Poncedeleon, Dakota Hudson, and Kevin Herget, all of whom have made more appearances. Between St. Louis and Memphis, Gomber is 6-3 with a 3.71 ERA in 26 appearances, spanning 77.2 innings. He has 80 strikeouts on the season, as well.

BULLPEN SOLID, AGAIN: After tossing 3.2 shutout innings in last night's win, the Memphis bullpen continued its recent dominance. Over the last 11 games, the Memphis bullpen has combined to throw 33.2 innings allowing just three 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 20 hits, and six walks, while striking out 45 batters. Dating back to June 28 against Colorado Springs, 11 Redbirds relievers have made at least one appearance out of the bullpen, combining to pitch 38.1 innings, allowing just 24 hits, six walks, six runs, three earned, all while striking out 49 batters. They hold a record of 2-1 with six saves in that span.

NEW GUYS RACKING UP THE K'S: Last night, new Memphis reliever Tyler Webb pitched 2.2 innings of relief after Austin Gomber exited the game. In his 2.2 innings, he allowed just one hit, while striking out five of the nine batters he faced. Since joining the team at the beginning of the month, Webb has made two outings, spanning 4.2 innings. In that span, he has struck out eight of the 15 batters he has faced. Additionally, recent acquisition Tommy Layne has posted a similar line. Layne has made seven appearances spanning 5.2 innings. In those games, he has struck out 13 of the 22 total batters he has faced.

LOOK OUT, LUKE'S HEATING UP: After going 3-for-5 with a home run last night, Luke Voit continued his recent hot stretch at the plate. In 19 games since returning from St. Louis in mid-June, Voit is hitting .387 (29-for-75). In that span, he has scored 14 runs, hit four doubles, one triple, and six home runs, all while driving in 16 runners. On June 30, Voit became the first Memphis player to hit for the cycle since 2000. Since June 19, Voit has a .440 on-base percentage, a .707 slugging percentage, and a 1.147 OPS. He has now hit six home runs in the last 19 games after hitting just one through his first 34 games with Memphis. Voit is now hitting .295 (57-for-193) in 53 games with Memphis this season. Since returning from the Cardinals, Voit has hits in 15 of 19 games, and multiple hits in seven of those games. His batting average has also jumped 58 points from .237, which was his mark before he went to St. Louis.

KELLY ON FIRE AT THE PLATE: After going 2-for-4 at the plate last night, scoring a run, and driving in a runner, catcher Carson Kelly is now hitting .288 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 11 games and is hitting .386 (17-for-44) in that span. He has recorded hits in nine of those 11 games, and multiple hits in seven of them. Since June 26, Kelly has scored seven times, has hit two doubles and two home runs, while driving in eight runners. He has a .438 on-base percentage in that span, and a .568 slugging percentage.

WISDOM CONTINUES TO MAKE HISTORY: Last night, Patrick Wisdom went 2-for-4 with two doubles and a walk at the plate, while also scoring a run. Wisdom is now hitting a career-high .300 (87-for-290) this season. Wisdom's career-high in hits came last season with Memphis when he recorded 111. With over 40 games left to play this season, Wisdom is very near his career mark. With the two doubles last night, he now has 20 two-baggers this season, the third-best mark of his career. He hit 25 last season. Wisdom now has the eighth-most doubles in franchise history (65), the fourth-most home runs (48), is tied for the fourth-most RBI (169), the fifth-most extra-base hits (116), and the 10th-most total bases (474). He is also outside the top-10 in multiple other categories, including games played, at-bats, runs scored, hits, walks, and hit-by-pitches. Unfortunately, Wisdom is just 26 strikeouts from passing John Nelson for the most in franchise history.

ADOLIS STILL MOVING FORWARD: After seeing his batting average drop to a season-low .203 on May 31, Adolis Garcia has steadily been improving that mark. Last night, Garcia went 2-for-4 at the plate, launching a two-run home run, his 11th of the season. Since the last day of May, Garcia has appeared in 30 games for the Redbirds, and is hitting a solid .284 (29-for-102) in that stretch. He has now raised his batting average to .235 on the season. Garcia has collected hits in 20 of his 30 games since June began, and has notched multiple hits in seven of those games. In those 30 games, he has scored 15 runs, hit four doubles, a triple, and seven home runs, all while driving in 22 runners. After his two-run bomb last night, he has the third-most homers on the team, behind Tyler O'Neill (19) and Patrick Wisdom (12).

MERCADO IS A HIT MACHINE: Last night, speedy outfielder Oscar Mercado went 2-for-5 at the plate, while also driving in a run. Mercado is now hitting a career-high .295 (95-for-322) on the season. With 95 hits, he has now matched the third-best mark in his career. Coming into the 2017 season, Mercado was just a .230 hitter in four Minor League seasons. However, in the last year plus, he has found his own at the plate. Last season, Mercado hit .287 (137-for-477) with 20 doubles, four triples, and a career-high 13 homers and 46 RBI. Since the start of last season, Mercado is hitting .290 (232-for-799), scoring 140 runs, hitting 39 doubles, five triples, and 20 home runs, while driving in 80 runners, and swiping 60 bases. This season, Mercado has scored the most runs in the PCL (64), has the second-most stolen bases (22), and the fifth-most at-bats (322). He has also played in 84 games, the most on the team, recorded 95 hits, also the most, has 137 total bases, second-most on the team, and a .366 on-base percentage, third-best on the team.

GREAT PITCHING ALL AROUND: After allowing just three 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 3.40, 0.55 points lower than the next closest team, which is Fresno. The 'Birds staff has pitched the second-most innings this season at 801.2, while allowing the second-fewest hits at 748. They have also allowed the third-fewest walks with 277, and own the second-most strikeouts at 788 through 91 games, 8.7 per game. The pitching staff has also allowed just 353 total runs this season, the fewest in the league, and 19 fewer than Oklahoma City, the next closest team. Memphis, Oklahoma City, and Fresno are the only three teams in the league that have allowed fewer than 400 runs this season. The Redbirds have now allowed 303 earned runs, becoming the final team in the league to allow 300 earned runs. They have allowed 29 fewer earned runs than Oklahoma City, the next closest team.

'BIRDS LIKE THE AMERICAN NORTH: In its last three series before the All-Star Break, Memphis split a series 2-2 with Colorado Springs, swept Iowa 5-0, and topped Omaha in a series 3-2. With their win last night, Memphis is now 36-14 against the American Northern Division this season. The Redbirds are 11-1 against the Iowa Cubs after the most recent series, 9-4 against Colorado Springs, 7-5 against Oklahoma City, and 9-4 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. Memphis has now played its last 15 games against the American Northern Division and will play its next 10 against the division, making it 25-straight games against the American North. They don't play a team from a different division until the end of July when they travel west to play Salt Lake and Las Vegas. After the next 10 games, Memphis will play just four more against the American North this season when they travel to Oklahoma City for four games in mid-August.

CHASING HISTORY: After winning last night, the Redbirds now have the most wins in the PCL this season, five more than Fresno. Their 57-34 record through 91 games this season is one game behind the 2017 team for the best record through 91 games in franchise history. The Redbirds also won their 1,400th game in franchise history last season on July 14 last season. Since that time, they have won 90 games, putting them just 10 wins from the 1,500th in franchise history. With 91 wins last season, and 57 so far this season, Memphis manager Stubby Clapp now has 148 wins in his career as Redbirds' manager, putting him fifth on the all-time Memphis managerial win list. Clapp also owns the best winning percentage among Memphis managers at .638 (148-84).

Check out the Memphis Redbirds Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from July 13, 2018


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