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PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (68-39) at Las Vegas 51s (51-56)

July 30, 2018 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (68-39) At Las Vegas 51s (51-56)

Monday, July 30 - 9:05 p.m. (CT) - Cashman Field (9,334) - Las Vegas, Nevada

Game #108 - Road Game #56 (36-19)

RHP Connor Jones (NR) vs. RHP Corey Oswalt (4-4, 5.32 ERA)

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds and Las Vegas 51s will play the finale of a four-game set tonight at 9:05 p.m. in Las Vegas. This is the first and only time the two teams will meet in the regular season this year. The Redbirds are coming off a 2-1 series win over the Salt Lake Bees, while Las Vegas is coming off a 2-1 series win over the Nashville Sounds. After this seven game road trip against Salt Lake and Las Vegas, the 'Birds will return home to play Sacramento and Fresno to finish off games against the West Coast. With their 8-3 win over Las Vegas Friday night, Memphis won the 1,500th game in franchise history. Tonight's game will be broadcast on www.memphisredbirds.com with Steve Selby on the call.

ON THE HILL: Right-hander Connor Jones will take the mound for the Redbirds in tonight's finale. Jones will be making his Triple-A debut tonight. He started the season with Springfield before being promoted late last week. In 18 games, 17 starts, with Springfield this season, the righty is 5-4 with a 3.78 ERA in 88.0 innings of work. He has allowed 45 runs, 37 earned, on 90 hits and 45 walks, while striking out 58 batters. Opponents are hitting .267 (90-for-337) off him this season. Jones will be the second starter for Memphis to make his Triple-A debut this series and the third overall pitcher to make his debut.

The 51s will send right-hander Corey Oswalt to the mound to battle Jones and the Redbirds. In 10 starts this season, Oswalt is 4-4 with a 5.32 ERA in 47.1 innings of work. The righty has allowed 28 earned runs on 49 hits, including seven homers, while walking 18, and striking out 49 batters. After struggling for consistency in his first seven starts, the righty has settled down in his last three. He has combined to throw 16.0 innings, allowing just six earned runs.

HISTORY WITH LAS VEGAS: Memphis and Las Vegas have played every year dating back to 1998 when Memphis joined the PCL. Since 2003, the two teams have played once per year, alternating ballparks every other year. Since 1998, Las Vegas has been affiliated with four different teams. They have been with the Padres, Dodgers, Blue Jays, and now the Mets, while Memphis has stayed with the Cardinals. Last season, Memphis swept the season series at home, 4-0. The 'Birds lead the all-time series at 53-46, own the series record in Memphis at 31-21, and narrowly trail all-time on the road at 22-25.

BIRD BITES

BARON: Wed. night, snapped an 8-game hitting streak; was his longest since 8-game streak July12-23, 2016

GARCIA: Thurs. night, became seventh player in Memphis history to have three home run game; hit another last night

KELLY: Is hitting .360 (31-for-86) over last 23 games; has hits in 17 of those games and multiple in 11 of them

MEJIA: Thurs. night hit third home run of the season and his second this month; had just one until July 15

MERCADO: Leads the PCL and all of Triple-A in steals with 31; tied for 3rd-most steals in a single season in Redbird history

O'NEILL: Last Sunday, became sixth player in Memphis history to hit three home runs in a game; 25 HR this season

RAVELO: Last night, hit his 12th home run of the season, giving him a career-high; previous was 11 set in 2014

SCHROCK: Last night, struck out three times in a game for the first time in his career; 129 K's in 1,470 career at-bats

SOSA: Friday night, hit first career Triple-A home run; is hitting .275 (97-for-353) in 93 games between MEM and SPG

THOMAS: In his Triple-A debut last night, went 3-for-6, falling a home run short of the cycle; scored twice and had two RBI

TOVAR: Is hitting .326 (31-for-95) over last 27 games; recently snapped a season-long nine-game hitting streak

WISDOM: Last Tuesday, hit 13th home run of the season, snapping nearly a month-long home run drought

BY THE NUMBERS

459 calendar days have passed since the Redbirds were not in first place (April 27, 2017); they have played 227 regular season games since that time.

BY THE NUMBERS

+134 run differential for the Redbirds this season. That is the best mark in the PCL this season, and they are one of just eight teams with a positive run differential.

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Memphis Redbirds slugged their way past Las Vegas 9-4 last night.

Starter Kevin Herget was solid for the Redbirds. The righty threw 5.2 innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits and one walk, while striking out four. The performance earned him his eighth win of the season, a personal high.

Memphis started the scoring early, taking the lead on a Rangel Ravelo solo home run in the first. They scored four more runs in the second, capped off by an Adolis Garcia three-run bomb.

Outfielder Lane Thomas, in his Triple-A debut, was phenomenal at the plate, finishing a home run short of the cycle. He went 3-for-6 with two RBI and a stolen base. Catcher Carson Kelly was also phenomenal at the dish, going 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI.

Relievers Tommy Layne, Matt Bowman, and Andrew Morales combined to throw the final 3.1 innings, sealing the win. They combined to allow just two hits and three walks, while striking out two.

HERGET DOES JUST ENOUGH TO GET W: Last night's starter Kevin Herget turned in another solid start. Herget was steady, throwing 5.2 innings and earning his eighth win of the season, a career-high. He allowed four earned runs on eight hits and a walk, while striking out four batters. He exited the game with an 8-4 lead, and the bullpen shutdown the opposition to seal the win. Herget has been solid in his last seven starts after struggling through three of his previous four starts dating back to the beginning of June. In four starts from June 3-19, Herget was 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA in 24.0 innings. Excluding his second start in that span, in which he pitched seven scoreless innings while striking out 10, he allowed 16 runs over 17.0 innings of work. On June 3, he allowed four earned runs in 5.1 innings of work on nine hits, on June 14, he allowed five earned runs in 6.0 innings, and on June 19, he allowed seven earned runs in 5.2 innings. Since that rough, four-game stretch, Herget is 5-1, posting a 3.30 ERA in seven starts. He had posted five-consecutive quality starts in that stretch. In that span, he has thrown 43.2 innings, allowing just 42 hits and six walks, while striking out 40 batters. In his last six starts, opponents are hitting just .253 (42-for-166) off him, and his 4.01 season ERA is 10th-best in the PCL.

WELCOME TO THE TEAM: In last night's win, new Memphis outfielder, Lane Thomas, could not be stopped at the plate. Thomas joined the team yesterday after infielder Luke Voit was traded. He got the immediate start, hitting leadoff for the 'Birds. Thomas finished just a home run short of the cycle, going 3-for-6 with a double, triple, two runs scored, and two RBI. In 100 games with Springfield this season, Thomas was hitting .260 (100-for-384) with 16 doubles, four triples, and 21 home runs, while driving in 67 batters. He also stole 13 bases with Springfield. In 101 games between Memphis and Springfield, he is now hitting .264 with 14 stolen bases and an on-base percentage of .339.

GARCIA STILL ON FIRE: In last night's win, Adolis Garcia went 3-for-6 at the plate, hitting a double and a home run, scoring twice and driving in three runs. The performance continued Garcia's recent dominance at the plate. Thursday night, the outfielder became the seventh player in Memphis history, and the second in four games, to hit three home runs in a game. Tyler O'Neill hit three home runs against Colorado Springs on July 22, and with Thursday night's performance, the two have joined Chris Haas (8/3/99), Billy Selby (6/16/03), Rick Ankiel (6/16/07), Josh Phelps (7/29/08), and Jamie Romak (4/8/13) as the only Redbirds to accomplish the feat. Garcia was the first player to hit a grand slam in a three-home run performance in Memphis history. Thursday night, Garcia also tied the franchise record with eight RBI in a game. He joins Tagg Bozied (8/1/07) as the only Redbirds to drive in eight runs in a game. Since the last day of May, Garcia has appeared in 45 games for the Redbirds, and is hitting a solid .335 (55-for-164) in that stretch. He has now raised his batting average to .267 on the season. Garcia has collected hits in 33 of his 45 games since June began, and has notched multiple hits in 16 of those games. In those 45 games, he has scored 31 runs, hit 11 doubles, a triple, and 15 home runs, all while driving in 43 runners. Between Springfield and Memphis last season, his first in America, he hit 15 home runs and drove in 65 runners in 124 games. Through 92 games this season, he already has 19 home runs and 60 RBI. He is just outside the top-10 in the PCL in both home runs and RBI.

CARSON CLICKING: In last night's win, catcher Carson Kelly continued his recent hot-streak by turning in one of his finest performances of the season at the dish. He went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI, for the second-consecutive game. He also walked twice in the contest. Friday night, he went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two walks in the opener against Las Vegas. Since a rough-six game stretch in mid-June, Kelly has been consistent at the plate. He went hitless from June 17-25, and since that time, has hit safely in 17 of his 23 games since then. Since June 26, Kelly is hitting .361 (31-for-86), scoring 17 runs, notching five doubles and two home runs, while driving in 15 runners, and walking 13 times, and striking out just 13 times. Kelly is now hitting .297 in 59 games with Memphis this season.

HOT BAT IN JULY: Last night, infielder Wilfredo Tovar continued his hot July hitting, and was a force at the plate, going 2-for-3 two runs scored and two walks. Since the calendar turned to July, Tovar has been on fire at the plate. He has appeared in 19 games this month, and has hits in all but four of them. So far this month, Tovar is hitting .319 (22-for-69) with nine RBI. He has also walked six times this month, and struck out just eight times. Since July started, he has a .373 on-base percentage.

RAVELO SETS CAREER-HIGH: Last night, infielder/outfielder Rangel Ravelo went deep in the first inning, giving him his 12th home run of the season. His 12 home runs are a new career-high, besting his previous high of 11 in 2014. In the six games he has appeared in over this road trip, he has been unstoppable at the plate. He is hitting .429 (9-for-21), scoring seven runs, hitting one double, and three home runs, while driving in six runs. On July 24, he also hit two home runs in a game for the first time in his career.

FIRST INNING FUN: In last night's win over Las Vegas, the Redbirds scored one run in the first inning, continuing their season dominance in the first inning. The 'Birds are now outscoring opponents 77-to-29 in the first inning this season, and outscoring opponents 537-to-403 through the whole season. Memphis owns the best run differential in the PCL this season. They have scored 134 more runs than they have allowed. The next closest team is Fresno at +135. Memphis is one of just eight teams in the league with a positive run differential this season.

CAN'T TOUCH THIS: Last night, the newest Redbird, Lane Thomas, stole a base in the win over Las Vegas. The Redbirds have now stolen 94 bases this season, second-most in the PCL behind only Colorado Springs (130). The 94 steals is the team's highest mark since they stole 104 in 2013. The franchise record is 110 steals, set in 1999. The 'Birds have recorded just 100 steals as a team just six times in their first 20 full seasons. If they record six more steals this season, they will hit that mark for the seventh time in 21 years of Redbird Baseball. Four different Redbirds have stolen at least 10 bases this season. Oscar Mercado leads the team and all of Triple-A with 31 steals. Patrick Wisdom and Randy Arozarena both have 11 steals this season, while Wilfredo Tovar has 10. With 32 games left to play, Mercado is just 12 steals from the single-season record of 43, and the team is just 16 short of the single-season record.

POWER SURGE: After hitting two home runs last night, the Redbirds continued to post some insane home run numbers over the last week. Thursday night, they hit five home runs, and Tuesday night, they hit six home runs in the win over Salt Lake. This came one game after they went deep five times last Sunday. Tuesday night, they went back-to-back in the first inning, and Sunday, they went back-to-back in both the first and third innings. Thursday night, the 'Birds hit home runs in the first, second, sixth, seventh, and eighth innings. Adolis Garcia was responsible for three of those home runs, while Oscar Mercado and Alex Mejia hit the other two. It was the fourth time this season the 'Birds have hit at least five home runs in a game, the other time coming on June 13 at Albuquerque. Sunday, they also went back-to-back multiple times in the same game for the second time this season. Through June 8 this season, the 'Birds had hit just 49 home runs as a team. June 8 was the 62nd game this season. In the 45 games since then, Memphis has hit 66 home runs, giving them 115 total on the season, giving them the sixth-most home runs in the PCL this season, and the most homers out of PCL teams not located on the West Coast. With the performance Thursday night, Memphis also registered the 27th game in Redbird history where the team had hit at least five homers. This year's team already has the seventh-most home runs on the road (75) in franchise history. Tuesday night marked just the second time in franchise history the 'Birds had hit at least five home runs in consecutive games. They hit five on July 27, 2009 and hit seven the next day. Those two games also came against different teams.

1,500 WINS: After winning Friday night, Memphis won the 1,500th game in franchise history. The 'Birds now have 68 wins this season, the second-most through 107 games in franchise history. The Redbirds have now reached a milestone win in each of the last three seasons. On June 12, 2016, they won game number 1,300, on July 14, 2017, they won game number 1,400. Manager Stubby Clapp played for Memphis from 1999 to 2002, and has been the manager since last season. He has coached the 'Birds to wins 1,400 and 1,500, and was part of the teams that won games 100, 200, and 300.

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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