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PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (59-35) vs Iowa Cubs (34-59)

July 16, 2018 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (59-35) vs Iowa Cubs (34-59)

Monday, July 16 - 7:05 p.m. (CT) - AutoZone Park (10,000) - Memphis, Tennessee

Game #95 - Home Game #46 (27-18)

RHP Luke Weaver (NR) vs. RHP Luke Farrell (0-2, 4.94 ERA)

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds and Iowa Cubs will kick off a four-game set tonight at 7:05 p.m. It is the final series the two teams will play against each other this season. Memphis has won 11 of 12 games against the I-Cubs this season, and recently swept them in a five-game series before the All-Star Break. The Redbirds are coming off a 3-1 series win over the Omaha Storm Chasers, while Iowa is coming off a 3-2 series win over the Nashville Sounds. Earlier today, Dakota Hudson and Randy Arozarena were activated from the Temporary Inactive List. Daniel Poncedeleon was also named the PCL Pitcher of the Week this afternoon Today's game will be broadcast on www.memphisredbirds.com and KTRS 550 AM in St. Louis with Steve Selby on the call.

ON THE HILL: Right-hander Luke Weaver will take the mound tonight for the Redbirds, making his first start for the team this season. Weaver has made 19 starts with the Cardinals this season, going 5-8 with a 4.72 ERA in 103.0 innings of work, while striking out 96 batters. In his last two starts with St. Louis, Weaver allowed just three earned runs on five hits and two walks in 14.0 innings, striking out 14 batters. This will be his first start for the Redbirds since August 12 last season. Last season with Memphis, he made15 starts, going 10-2 with a 2.55 ERA in 77.2 innings of work, while striking out 76 batters. In his lone start against the I-Cubs last year, he threw seven shutout innings, allowing four hits and striking out four batters.

The I-Cubs will send right-hander Luke Farrell to the mound to battle Weaver. Farrell has split the season between starting for Iowa and appearing in relief for Chicago. In five starts with Iowa this year, he is 0-2 with a 4.94 ERA. In his lone start against Memphis earlier this season, he took the loss, allowing seven earned runs in five innings.

HISTORY WITH IOWA: Memphis and Iowa have played every year dating back to 1998 when the Redbirds joined the PCL. Memphis leads the all-time series 164-134. Memphis has dominated the series at home, while Iowa has done the same in Des Moines. Memphis leads the series at home 95-51, while Iowa owns the road series 83-69. Memphis has won all three series the two have played this season by marks of 3-1, 3-0, and 5-0. Memphis leads the season-series 11-1. The 'Birds are hitting .301 compared to their .252, and are posting a 2.89 ERA, compared to their 6.20 mark.

BIRD BITES

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

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

GARCIA: Saturday night, went 2-for-4 at the plate for the third-straight game; hitting .300 33-for-110 since June 1

KELLY: Is hitting .392 (20-for-51) over last 13 games; has hits in 11 of those games and multiple in eight of them

MEJIA: Yesterday, hit solo home run, his 2nd, has 13 RBI in last 24 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

O'NEILL: Rejoins Redbirds on Major League rehab; yesterday hit a two-run bloop single in the ninth inning

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

SCHROCK: Yesterday, hit fourth home run of the season and his first since June 9 against Reno; it was a two-run shot

SOSA: Is hitting .271 (86-for-317) in 83 games between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis this season

TOVAR: Is hitting .345 (20-for-58) over last 16 games; recently snapped a season-long nine-game hitting streak

VOIT: Now has six home runs in last 17 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

17 complete game shutouts in Memphis history after Daniel Poncedeleon's performance yesterday. It was also the 11th time in Memphis history that the opposing team only had one hit

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Memphis Redbirds won yesterday's game 8-0 over the Omaha Storm Chasers behind pitcher Daniel Poncedeleon's dominant performance.

Poncedeleon threw a complete game shutout, allowing just one hit and two walks, while striking out five batters. At one point, the righty retired 18 batters in a row. It was the first complete, nine-inning game in his career and the 17th in franchise history. For his performance, Poncedeleon earned PCL Pitcher of the Week Honors earlier today.

Alex Mejia started the scoring for Memphis in the second, hitting a solo home run, his second of the year. The 'Birds grabbed another run in the third before scoring two in the seventh inning.

Mejia reached on an error in the inning and Max Schrock followed with a two-run homer, his fourth. The 'Birds scored four runs in the ninth one two-run singles from Wilfredo Tovar and Tyler O'Neill.

PONCE CONTINUES TO DOMINATE: Yesterday's starter Daniel Poncedeleon had the best start of his career against the Omaha Storm Chasers. In the Redbirds' 8-0 win, Poncedeleon threw his first-career nine-inning complete game shutout. The righty allowed just one hit and two walks, while striking out five batters. He allowed a double in the second and a walk in the third inning before retiring the next 18 batters he faced. He walked a man with two outs in the ninth before retiring the final batter. It was the first complete game shutout by a Memphis pitcher since June 11, 2016 against Colorado Springs. In his 17 starts this season, he has pitched at least 5.0 innings in 14 of them. The righty has allowed more than three earned runs just once this season, and has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 14 of his 17 starts, including 11 starts where he has allowed one or less earned runs. After yesterday's performance, Poncedeleon, who was recently named to the PCL All-Star team, now owns the second-best ERA (2.15) in the PCL. He also owns second-most strikeouts in the PCL at 103, and the second-most wins (9) behind teammate Dakota Hudson (12). Poncedeleon also owns the lowest opponents' batting average in the league at .196, and is second in strikeouts per nine innings pitched ratio (10.19), and fourth in WHIP at 1.24. Poncedeleon is now tied for his career-high wins mark, which he previously set in 2016 with Springfield. For his efforts, he was named the PCL Pitcher of the Week.

COMPLETE GAME RUNDOWN: After Daniel Poncedeleon's one-hit, complete game shutout yesterday over Iowa, the righty became the first Memphis pitcher since June 11, 2016 to accomplish the feat. Jerome Williams was the last to do it. The complete game shutout was just the 17th such game in franchise history. Poncedeleon allowed just one hit in the game, making it the 11th time in franchise history that Memphis had limited the opponent to one hit in a game, and the first time since May 16, 2015 in a game against Omaha. It was the 14th complete game in the PCL this season and the sixth complete game shutout.

QUALITY STARTS GALORE: After Daniel Poncedeleon's performance yesterday, 'Birds starters have thrown 48 quality starts in 94 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 three-straight, and seven in the last nine games. 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 17 starts, Kevin Herget has eight, John Gant has seven, Daniel Poncedeleon has six, Austin Gomber has five, Jack Flaherty has four, Ryan Helsley and Chris Ellis have three apiece, and Alex Reyes and Jake Woodford have one apiece. The 48 quality starts are the most in the PCL.

BIG GAME FOR TOVAR: Yesterday, infielder Wilfredo Tovar went 2-for-5 at the plate, scoring once and driving in two runs. His two RBI came in Memphis' four-run ninth inning after he hit a single to left to score Rangel Ravelo and Alex Mejia. Tovar also stole his 10th base of the season in the win. He has now recorded double digit steals in both of his seasons with Memphis. Last season, he led the team with 19 steals. He now has 29 career steals with Memphis, putting him just outside the top-10 all-time. The cutoff is 33 steals.

MEJIA AND SCHROCK GO DEEP: In yesterday's win, Alex Mejia and Max Schrock both hit home runs for the Redbirds. Mejia hit his in the second inning, providing the first run of the game. It was his second of the season, and his first since April 29. In the seventh, Mejia reached on an error, and three pitches later, Schrock launched his fourth homer of the season, and his first since June 9 against Reno. In the game, Mejia scored three of the eight Memphis runs. Memphis has now hit 92 home runs this season, seventh-most in the league. They have hit 42 since June 9.

NICE HIT, BUDDY: In Memphis' four-run ninth yesterday, outfielder Tyler O'Neill hit a bloop single to center to drive in two runners, making the score 8-0 for Memphis. O'Neill, who was recently sent to Memphis on a Major League Rehab Assignment recorded his first hit for the 'Birds since June 30 when he hit a home run at Iowa. In 51 games with the Redbirds this season, O'Neill is hitting .300 with 19 home runs and 50 RBI.

BARON STILL HITTING: After going 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored, a season-high, yesterday, backup catcher Steven Baron continued his season-long hitting streak. Baron has now hit in six-consecutive games for the first time this season and the first time since April 16 through May 5, 2017 while with Tacoma. He is hitting .300 (6-for-20) since his streak began on June 22.

GREAT PITCHING ALL AROUND: After Daniel Poncedeleon's performance yesterday, the Redbirds' pitching staff continued its season-long dominance on the mound. The entire pitching staff owns the best ERA in the league at 3.34, 0.60 points lower than the next closest team, Fresno. The 'Birds staff has pitched the most innings this season at 827.2, while allowing the second-fewest hits at 764, and have racked up the second-most strikeouts at 805 through 94 games, 8.6 per game. The pitching staff has also allowed just 357 total runs this season, the fewest in the league. 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 allowed just 307 earned runs. They have allowed 35 fewer earned runs than Oklahoma City, the next closest team. Memphis and Fresno are the only two teams in the league that have struck out over 800 batters this season. Additionally, two Memphis pitchers hold the top two spots in the league wins list, Dakota Hudson (12) and Poncedeleon (9). The 'Birds also have three players in the top-10 in ERA this season. Poncedeleon is second at 2.15, Hudson is third at 2.42, and Kevin Herget is seventh at 3.80.

'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. After winning yesterday, Memphis is 38-15 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 11-5 against Omaha. They have secured season series wins against Iowa, Omaha, and Colorado Springs. They would have to win two of the last four games against Oklahoma City this season to secure the season series win. 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 18 games against the American Northern Division and will play its next 7 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 8 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.

1-5-0!: With the win yesterday, manager Stubby Clapp won his 150th regular season game with the Redbirds, becoming the fifth manager in Redbirds' history to accomplish the feat. Chris Maloney (367), Gaylen Pitts (364), Danny Sheaffer (244), and Ron Warner (205) are the only managers ahead of him on the win list. Through just one and a half seasons at the helm of the Redbirds, Clapp has led the team to a 150-85 record, a .638 winning-percentage, the best in franchise history. With the win yesterday, he became the fastest Memphis manager to reach 150 wins.

1,500 WITHIN REACH: With yesterday's win, Memphis now has 59 wins this season, the second-most through 94 games in franchise history. On July 14 last season, Memphis won the 1,400th game in franchise history. Since that time, they have won 92 regular season games, giving them 1,492 wins.

FUTURES GAME HIGHLIGHTS: Yesterday, two Redbirds players, pitcher Dakota Hudson and outfielder Randy Arozarena, took part in the MLB Futures Game in Washington D.C. The two were joined by fellow prospect, catcher Andrew Knizner, who has spent some time with Memphis this season. Hudson and Knizner were participants on the U.S. Team, while Arozarena was on the World Team. Hudson pitched one inning, striking out one batter and retiring the side. He threw 11 pitches, 10 of which were strikes. Arozarena went 0-for-1 in the game, but reached base on an error. Knizner went 0-for-2, catching the final four innings. Knizner came in with Hudson in the sixth inning.

MORE HONORS FOR THE 'BIRDS: Earlier today, starting pitcher Daniel Poncedeleon was named PCL Pitcher of the Week for the week of July 9-15. It is the third time a Redbird has won a Weekly Honor this season. Fellow starter Austin Gomber earned the honor once in April and once in May. It is one of just many honors that have come in the last couple weeks for the Redbirds. Earlier this month, Poncedeleon, Dakota Hudson, and Patrick Wisdom were all named PCL All-Stars, while Hudson and outfielder Randy Arozarena participated in the MLB Futures Game. Hudson was also named the Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Month for June, the second Memphis pitcher to earn that accolade this season after Gomber earned it in April. Infielder/outfielder Rangel Ravelo was also named the Cardinals Minor League Player of the Month for June.

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