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PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (60-67) vs Round Rock Express (76-50)

August 21, 2019 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (60-67) vs Round Rock Express (76-50)

Wednesday, August 21 - 6:35 p.m. (CT) - AutoZone Park (10,000) - Memphis, Tennessee

Game #128 - Home Game #66 (28-37)

RHP Jake Woodford (8-7, 3.96) vs LHP Kent Emanuel (7-1, 4.08)

BY THE NUMBERS

12 Consecutive save opportunities converted by Redbird relievers. After Mike Mayers earned his third save last night, the bullpen has gone 6-for-6 in August. The 'Birds have not blown a save chance since July 12.

13 Hits by Dylan Carlson in his first six games at the Triple-A level. The Cardinals No. 2 prospect has at least two hits in five-straight games, including three-hit games in back-to-back contests.

THE GAME

TONIGHT'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds continue their 11-game homestand in the third of four games against the Round Rock Express. The Redbirds evened up the series with a 5-4 win last night. Dylan Carlson launched a solo-shot in the third for his second home run since joining the Redbirds. He has hit safely in first-six games at the Triple-A level. Daniel Ponce de Leon turned in his third-straight quality start of the season and extended his scoreless innings streak to 26.0 before allowing a run in the sixth. Dominic Leone tossed 1.2 scoreless frames in relief, stranding all three inherited runners. Tonight's game will be broadcast live on www.memphisredbirds.com with Steve Selby on the call.

ON THE HILL: Right-hander Jake Woodford is scheduled to take the mound in tonight's game and make his 24th start of the season in tonight's game. He has made at least 20 starts in each of his four full seasons as a professional. In his last time out on Friday vs. Iowa, he earned his second-straight win (6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R/ER, 4 BB, 7 SO) in the Redbirds' 8-2 victory over the Cubs. It was his team-high 11th quality start of the season and his second-straight such start. He has made three quality starts in his last five. Woodford has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 14 of his 23 starts and he has allowed just two earned runs over his last 12.0 innings pitched. Overall he has allowed two earned runs or fewer in seven of his last 11. He matched a season-low by allowing just one hit for the first time since April 10, lowering his average against to .222 (108x486). That figure is the lowest in the Pacific Coast League among qualifiers. He has also fanned at least six batters in four of his last five starts. He ranks 3rd in the PCL with 118 strikeouts on the season. Woodford continues to be even stingier against right-handed batters, holding them to just a .199 (56x281) average. That figure is the lowest among active Redbirds starters. He also ranks 3rd in the PCL with a 3.96 ERA and has allowed one earned run or fewer in nine of his 23 outings. With the win, Woodford has won 18 of his last 31 decisions overall at the Triple-A level. Woodford has made three starts against Round Rock this season, going a combined 1-1, 3.30 (7 ER/19.1 IP) and Memphis has gone 2-1 in his starts. He last faced the Express on July 16 at Dell Diamond, where he suffered the loss (6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R/ER, 4 BB, 4 SO, 2 HR, 2 HBP) in the Redbirds' 4-1 defeat. The St. Petersburg, Fla., was named to the 2019 Pacific Coast League All-Star Team, and was named starter after receiving the most votes among pitchers. He tossed 2.0 scoreless frames in the game on July 10 and fanned two to earn the win. He entered 2019 ranked as the No. 16 prospect in the Cardinals organization by Baseball America and he is currently ranked as the No. 15 prospect in the organization by MLB.com.

The Express are scheduled to start left-hander Kent Emanuel in tonight's contest. The 27-year-old is scheduled to make his sixth start and 27th appearance overall for Round Rock this season. Emanuel has gone 7-1, 4.08 (39 ER/86.0 IP) in his 26 outings for the Express and is allowing a .267 opponent's average (89x333). In his last time out on Thursday at Oklahoma City, Emanuel earned the win in the start (5.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R/ER, 2 BB, 4 SO) in the Express' 5-3 victory over the Dodgers. He has won his last six decisoins, dating back to May 13 and he has earned a win in four of his last five games. Emanuel has worked 5.2 innings in back-to-back starts, falling an out shy of making a quality start in each outing. He has made three relief appearances against Memphis this season, going a combined 2-0, 5.63 (7 ER/11.2 IP). Tonight will be his first start against Memphis this season. He last faced the Redbirds on July 17 at Dell Diamond, where he earned the win in relief (6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R/ER, 1 BB, 4 SO) in the Express' 11-8 victory. Emanuel is in his seventh professional season and he has spent them all within the Houston organization.

HISTORY WITH ROUND ROCK: The two clubs have met every year since 2005, with the Redbirds taking a slight 125-110 edge overall. The 'Birds also hold a 64-52 advantage at AutoZone Park and have gone 11-6 in downtown Memphis the past two seasons. The Redbirds and Express finished all-square at 8-8 in 2018, which was only the second time in 14 seasons that the two teams had split the season series. Memphis has not lost a season series to Round Rock since 2015.

On the road at Dell Diamond, the Redbirds have a slim 61-58 advantage, but have gone 11-4 at this facility the past two seasons. The Redbirds and Express finished all-square at 8-8 in 2018, which was only the second time in 14 seasons that the two teams had split the season series. Memphis has not lost a season series to Round Rock since 2015.

After eight years as the Rangers Triple-A affiliate, the Express are the Astros top affiliate for the first time since 2010. The Express spent their first six years in the Pacific Coast League as the Astros Triple-A team, where the Redbirds went 55-38 from 2005-10, including 12-4 in each of the last two seasons before the Express switched affiliations.

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: Daniel Ponce de Leon continued to dazzle on the mound, and Dylan Carlson turned in an impressive performance at the plate in a 5-3 Memphis Redbirds win over the Round Rock Express (Astros) Tuesday night at AutoZone Park.

Ponce de Leon threw five shutout innings before finishing with one run allowed in 6.0 frames of work, and he struck out five. In four starts in August since returning from the St. Louis Cardinals, the right-hander has allowed just that one run in 24.0 innings with nine hits allowed, all of which are singles.

Dating back to his last appearance with Memphis before being recalled by St. Louis, through his first five innings of work tonight, Ponce de Leon threw 26.0-straight scoreless innings. The Redbirds' franchise record for consecutive scoreless innings by a starter is 32.0, set by John Gast in 2013.

Carlson went 3-for-4 at the plate with a home run and a double, and he was on base four times including a walk. The No. 2 Cardinals prospect and 51st-ranked prospect in all of baseball has a hit in all six games he has played as a Redbird with five-straight multi-hit games.

The sweet-swinging switch hitter led off the third inning with his second home run to deep right field, and the Redbirds scored twice more in the inning after John Nogowski reached on a fielder's choice and scored on an Adolis Garcia double before Garcia crossed the plate on a Justin Williams sacrifice fly.

Round Rock (76-50) got a run back in the top of the sixth off Ponce de Leon, but the Redbirds (60-67) answered right back in the home-half with Max Schrock singling, going to third on an Edmundo Sosa base hit, and scoring on Carlson's single up the middle.

After Ponce de Leon left the game after the sixth inning, the Express got two runs off Kodi Whitley in the top of the seventh and had the bases loaded with nobody out as Dominic Leone entered the game. Leone got three-straight outs to strand the sacks full and keep a 4-3 Memphis lead.

The Redbirds got an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, as Schrock scored on a wild pitch after leading off the inning with a double.

Mike Mayers allowed a single leading off the ninth inning, but he finished up the save with three-straight outs including two punch-outs.

The Redbirds have won nine of their last 11 games.

ROSTER MOVES: The following roster moves were made prior to tonight's game: Tyler O'Neill joins the team on Major League rehab assignment.

O'Neill was placed on the 10-Day Injured List by St. Louis on August 3 with a left wrist strain. During his second big-league stint of the season, O'Neill was slashing .286/.330/.451/.780 with four home runs and 12 RBI over 25 games. He played in 38 games with the Redbirds this season from May 5 - June 28, homering 11 times and driving in 26 runs. He batted .21 (37x142) during that span.

DYLAN HITS DINGERS: Through his first-six career games at the Triple-A level, Dylan Carlson has continued his torrid form with Double-A Springfield, posting a slash of .520/.586/.960/1.546 to go along with two home runs and four RBI. He has at least two hits in five-straight games and has three-hit performances in back-to-back contests. He has homered in two of his last three games. At the time of his promotion to Memphis, Carlson led the Texas League with 21 home runs. Carlson also ranked 1st in TL in SLG (.518), runs (81) and XBH (51), 2nd in OPS (.882), 4th in OBP (.364), 6th in hits (117), T-6th in 2B (24), T-6th in 3B (6), 7th in RBI (59) and T-8th in SB (18).

KINGS OF THE HILL: After falling to a season-low 21 games under .500 following their 11-8 defeat at Round Rock on July 17, the Redbirds have won 22 of their last 30 games and are now seven games under .500, their lowest mark since May 28. The 22 wins are the most by any team in the Pacific Coast League and they are the only team with more than 20 wins during that span. Their turnaround has been backed by stellar pitching, as the Redbirds pitching staff leads the PCL in several different categories. They lead the league in ERA (4.07), hits (236), runs (124), earned runs (120) home runs allowed (31), strikeouts (294), WHIP (1.36) and average (.240), while ranking 2nd in saves (10). They have also posted three shutouts during that span, one of just three teams in the PCL to have more than one.

SOSA CONTINUES SURGE: Following his return from a brief three-game stint with the St. Louis Cardinals on July 21, Edmundo Sosa has been dominant at the plate for the Redbirds and has played a large part in their late-season turnaround. In his last 24 games, Sosa has posted a slash of .384/.409/.576/.985 and has hits in 22 of those contests. His average ranks 6th in Pacific Coast League over that time frame. He has four doubles, five home runs and 22 RBI during that span, and has multi-hit performances in 11 games. He has also raised his batting average from .252 to .285.

PONCE DE LEON DOMINANT AGAIN: After setting the pace with 4.0 no-hit innings on August 4 in Memphis' 2-0 win over El Paso and a dominant 7.0 two-hit innings on August 9 at Sacramento, Daniel Ponce de Leon dazzled again Thursday night by twirling 7.0 scoreless frames against the Cubs, allowing just two hits and whiffing nine batters. In last night's start against Round Rock, he allowed just one run over 6.0 innings. In his last five starts with the Redbirds dating back to June 6 at Tacoma, Ponce de Leon has allowed just 10 hits in his last 27.0 innings with the Redbirds and has whiffed 35 batters during that span. Through 15 starts with Memphis this season, he has held opponents to a .202 average (58x287), a figure that would lead the Pacific Coast League if he qualified.

PONCE DE LEON NAMED PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Memphis Redbirds starting pitcher Daniel Ponce de Leon has been named the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week for August 5-11, the league announced on August 12.

Ponce de Leon earned the honor after throwing seven scoreless frames and allowing just two hits on Friday's 15-0 Memphis win over the Sacramento River Cats (Giants) in Sacramento. He struck out a season-high 11 batters, which was also the most strikeouts by a Redbirds pitcher this season, and issued no walks.

In his last three starts with Memphis, Ponce de Leon has allowed just three hits and no runs over 14.0 innings of work, whiffing 21 batters compared to issuing six walks.

In 13 starts for the Redbirds this season, Ponce de Leon is 5-4 with a 3.26 ERA with 66 strikeouts in 66.1 innings. He has held opponents to just a .211 average against. If he qualified, Ponce de Leon would have the lowest ERA and lowest average against among PCL league leaders.

REDBIRDS RAKE ON THE ROAD: Not only did the Memphis Redbirds match a season-high by launching five home runs August 10 at Fresno, but they also broke the franchise record for most home runs hit on the road in a single season. Adolis Garcia's solo blast in the sixth inning was the team's 91st home run hit on the road this season, breaking the record of 90 set by the 2004 Redbirds.

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