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PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (60-35) vs Iowa Cubs (34-60)

July 18, 2018 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (61-35) vs Iowa Cubs (34-61)

Wednesday, July 18 - 7:05 p.m. (CT) - AutoZone Park (10,000) - Memphis, Tennessee

Game #97 - Home Game #48 (29-18)

RHP Dakota Hudson (12-2, 2.42 ERA) vs. RHP Casey Coleman (1-1, 4.09 ERA)

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds and Iowa Cubs will play game three of 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 13 of 14 games against the I-Cubs this season, including the last 11-straight contests. 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. Yesterday, Randy Arozarena was transferred to Double-A Springfield, and today, Matt Bowman was recalled to St. Louis. Today's game will be broadcast on www.memphisredbirds.com with Steve Selby on the call.

ON THE HILL: Right-hander Dakota Hudson will take the mound for the Redbirds tonight. Hudson will be making his team-leading 18th start. In 17 starts so far, the righty is 12-2 with a 2.42 ERA. He has posted 10 quality starts this season, as well. Hudson owns the third-best ERA in the league, narrowly behind Trevor Oaks of Omaha (1.84) and teammate Daniel Poncedeleon (2.15). Additionally, Hudson leads the league in wins with 12, narrowly ahead of Poncedeleon (9). He has also pitched the second-most innings in the league this season at 104.1. Earlier this month, Hudson was named a PCL All-Star, and started the game. He was also named Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Month for June, and pitched a perfect inning in the MLB Futures Game earlier this week.

The I-Cubs will send right-hander Casey Coleman to the mound to face Hudson. In two starts with Iowa, the righty is 1-1 with a 4.09 ERA. In his career with Iowa dating back to 2010, Coleman has made seven starts and seven relief appearances. In his starts, he is 0-3 in 36.0 innings, allowing 39 hits, 25 runs, 23 earned runs, and 19 walks, while striking out 31 batters, giving him a 5.75 ERA against Memphis.

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 166-134. Memphis has dominated the series at home, while Iowa has done the same in Des Moines. Memphis leads the series at home 97-51, 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 13-1. The 'Birds are hitting .292 compared to their .243, and are posting a 2.83 ERA, compared to their 5.98 mark.

BIRD BITES

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

GARCIA: Monday night, went 1-for-4 with a double, RBI, and run scored in the win; hitting .292 34-for-118 since June 1

KELLY: Is hitting .356 (21-for-59) over last 15 games; has hits in 12 of those games and multiple in eight of them

MEJIA: Mon. night, hit game-winning 2-run single; 15 RBI in last 25 games after having just eight in his first 46 games

MERCADO: Now has 24 steals this season, tied for the most in the PCL and the fifth-most in a season in Redbirds history

O'NEILL: Rejoins Redbirds on Major League rehab; Sunday, 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: Sunday, hit fourth home run of the season and his first since June 9 against Reno; it was a two-run shot

SOSA: Is hitting .272 (88-for-323) in 85 games between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis this season

TOVAR: Is hitting .349 (22-for-63) over last 18 games; recently snapped a season-long nine-game hitting streak

VOIT: Is hitting .500 (18-for-36) in 10 games against Iowa this season; hit for the cycle at Iowa on June 30

WISDOM: Last night, drove in game-winning run with a single in the sixth inning; 170 career RBI with Memphis (4th most)

BY THE NUMBERS

3.59 ERA by Memphis pitchers since the start of the 2017 season (836 ER/2,097 IP). This year's team has the lowest ERA in the league, as did last year's team

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Memphis Redbirds won last night's game 3-2 over the Iowa Cubs, giving them 11-straight wins over Iowa this season.

Starter Austin Gomber was lights-out over five innings. The lefty allowed just one hit and two walks, while striking out six I-Cub batters.

Four Memphis relievers combined to close out the game for the 'Birds. Conner Greene (0.2IP), Tommy Layne (1.1IP, R), John Brebbia (1.0IP, ER), and Andrew Morales (1.0IP) all appeared in the game. The bullpen allowed two runs, only one of which was earned.

Offensively, the 'Birds scored on a wild pitch in first before scoring twice on three hits in the sixth inning.

Luke Voit (3-for-4) recorded the only multi-hit game for Memphis. Oscar Mercado also tied the league-lead with his 24th stolen base last night.

GOMBER CONTINUES DOMINANCE: Last night, Memphis starter Austin Gomber pitched five scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and two walks, while striking out six batters. Since being optioned before the Triple-A All-Star Break, Gomber has made three appearances, two of them being starts. He is 3-0 in those games, combining to throw 13.1 innings, allowing 10 hits, and four earned runs, while walking three and striking out 13 batters, giving him a 2.75 ERA since rejoining the team. In two starts against Iowa this season, he has been even better. In his first start against the I-Cubs, he threw eight shutout innings, striking out 16 batters, which tied the franchise record. After last night's performance, Gomber is now 2-0 in 13.0 scoreless innings against Iowa this season, allowing just seven hits, and three walks, while striking out 22 batters. Gomber is now 7-3 with a 3.42 ERA with Memphis this season. Between St. Louis and Memphis, he is 7-3 with a 3.48 ERA in 82.2 innings, striking out 86.

VOIT LOVES PLAYING THE CUBS: Last night, infielder Luke Voit went 3-for-4 at the plate, scoring a run. With the performance, he continued his dominance against Iowa pitching this season. In 10 games against the I-Cubs this season, Voit is hitting .500 (18-for-36), scoring nine times, hitting two doubles, one triple, and two home runs, while driving in 13 runs. He has also taken seven walks, while striking out just five times. On June 30 against Iowa, Voit became the first Redbird since 2000 to hit for the cycle, accomplishing the feat at Principal Park, home of Iowa. Against Iowa this season, he is posting a .581 on-base percentage, a .778 slugging percentage, and 1.359 OPS.

CARSON IS CLICKING AT THE PLATE: Last night, catcher Carson Kelly went 1-for-3 at the plate, scoring once, and driving in a run. Since going hitless in six-straight games from June 17-25, Kelly has been on fire. In 15 games since then, he is hitting .356 (21-for-59), recording three doubles, two home runs, and nine RBI, while scoring 10 times. In that span, he has recorded hits in 12 of his 15 games, and multiple hits in eight of them. Since June 26, Kelly is posting a .406 on-base percentage, a .508 slugging percentage, and a .915 OPS. He is now hitting .286 with the Redbirds this season.

WISDOM CONTINUES TO MAKE HISTORY: Last night, Patrick Wisdom went 1-for-3 driving in the game-winning run for the 'Birds. Wisdom is now hitting a career-high .298 (90-for-302) 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 his career-year, Wisdom is now in the top-10 or just outside it for many offensive categories in Redbird history. Wisdom now has the eighth-most doubles in franchise history (65), the fourth-most home runs (48), has the fourth-most RBI (170), the fifth-most extra-base hits (116), and the eighth-most total bases (477). He is also outside the top-10 in multiple other categories, including games played, at-bats, runs scored, hits, walks, and hit-by-pitches. He needs to play just nine more games to move into the top-10, needs just 45 more at-bats, 11 more runs scored, and 15 more walks. Unfortunately, Wisdom is also just 12 strikeouts from passing John Nelson for the most in franchise history. So far this season, Wisdom has also stole 11 bases, the second-best mark of his career. He stole 11 in 2015.

SPEED DEMONS: Last night, Oscar Mercado stole second against the I-Cubs. Through 96 games this season, the 'Birds now have 83 steals, just two less than they had in all 141 games last year. The franchise record for steals in a season is 110. With 24 steals, Mercado is now tied with Keon Broxton of Colorado Springs for the league-lead in steals this season. Mercado is now in sole possession of the fifth-most steals in a season in franchise history. At this point in the season, the Redbirds have the second-most steals behind only the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, who have 124. The Redbirds have been caught just 26 times this year, giving them a 76.1 percent success rate on the base paths. Additionally, Memphis one of just 10 teams in the league to have multiple players steal at least 10 bases this season. At this point in the season, Mercado has 24, Randy Arozarena has 11, and Patrick Wisdom and Wilfredo Tovar both have 10. Colorado Springs is the only other team in the league to have four separate players notch 10 steals. This is Mercado's first season with Memphis. He is already just nine steals short of moving into the top-10 all-time in franchise history. Mercado also leads the league in runs scored at 65.

BULLPEN SOLID, AGAIN: After tossing four innings of two-run ball in last night's win, the Memphis bullpen continued its recent dominance. Last night, only one of the runs was earned. Over the last 16 games, the Memphis bullpen has combined to throw 46.2 innings allowing just six earned runs. Before last 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 33 hits, and 14 walks, while striking out 55 batters. Dating back to June 28 against Colorado Springs, 12 Redbirds relievers have made at least one appearance out of the bullpen, combining to pitch 51.1 innings, allowing just 37 hits, 14 walks, nine runs, six earned, all while striking out 59 batters. They hold a record of 3-1 with nine saves in that span. In the 14 games Memphis has played this month, the bullpen is posting a 1.04 ERA. The Redbirds' bullpen also leads the league in saves this season. They have recorded 36 saves in 50 chances. The next closest team is Tacoma (28). They also have more saves than any team in the International League, giving them the most in all of Triple-A.

GREAT PITCHING ALL AROUND: After the team effort 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 3.32, 0.57 points lower than the next closest team, Oklahoma City. The 'Birds staff has pitched the most innings this season at 845.2, while allowing the second-fewest hits at 777, and have racked up the second-most strikeouts at 826 through 96 games, 8.6 per game. The pitching staff has also allowed just 363 total runs this season, the fewest in the league. Memphis and Oklahoma City are the only teams in the league that have allowed fewer than 400 runs this season. The Redbirds have allowed just 312 earned runs, also the fewest in the league. They have allowed 36 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 eighth at 3.80. This season, Memphis starters are 48-20 with a 2.92 ERA and 48 quality starts, exactly half of the games they have played. The bullpen is 13-15 with a 4.03 ERA this season.

'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 last night, Memphis is 39-15 against the American Northern Division this season. The Redbirds are 12-1 against the Iowa Cubs after last night, 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 19 games against the American Northern Division and will play its next 6 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 6 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.

MORE HONORS FOR THE 'BIRDS: Yesterday, 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.

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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