PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (74-46) vs New Orleans Baby Cakes (58-61)

Published on August 14, 2018 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (74-46) vs New Orleans Baby Cakes (58-61)

Tuesday, August 14 - 6:35 p.m. (CT) - AutoZone Park (10,000) - Memphis, Tennessee

Game #121 - Home Game #61 (35-25)

LHP Austin Warner (1-0, 2.16 ERA) vs. RHP Sandy Alcantara (6-3, 3.46 ERA)

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds and New Orleans Baby Cakes will play game two of a four-game set tonight at 6:35 p.m. in Memphis. It is the third of four series the two teams will play against one another this season. The fourth and final series will take place next week in New Orleans. After New Orleans won last night's game, the season series is knotted at 5-5. The Redbirds are coming off a 3-1 series win over the Oklahoma City Dodgers, while New Orleans is coming off a 3-1 series win over the Iowa Cubs. With the completion of the Oklahoma City series, Memphis has finished playing teams from other divisions. The last 20 games will be played against the three opponents from their own division. Earlier today, Adolis Garcia was optioned to Memphis, while Tyler O'Neill's Major League Rehab assignment ended. Wilfredo Tovar was also activated of the Disabled List today, and Matt Bowman placed on the Disabled List. Today's game will be broadcast on www.memphisredbirds.com with Steve Selby on the call.

ON THE HILL: Left-hander Austin Warner will take the mound tonight for the Redbirds in game two of the series against New Orleans. Coming into tonight's game, Warner has made three starts for Memphis since being promoted from Springfield late last month. He is 1-0 with a 2.16 ERA in 16.2 innings of work. The lefty has allowed just four earned runs and five walks, while striking out 13 batters. Warner, who was signed out of Independent League ball last June, has risen rapidly through the St. Louis system. He debuted across three levels last season, and has also appeared across three levels this season. In 21 starts across three levels this season, he is 6-6 with a 3.74 ERA in 122.2 innings of work, and is holding opponents to a .269 batting average.

The Baby Cakes will send right-hander and former Cardinal, Sandy Alcantara to the mound to battle Warner and the Redbirds tonight. Last season, Alcantara jumped Triple-A, going straight from Springfield to St. Louis. He was traded in the offseason for outfielder Marcell Ozuna. In 15 starts with New Orleans this season, the righty is 6-3 with a 3.46 ERA in 91.0 innings of work. In two starts against Memphis this season, he is 1-1 in 12.0 innings of work. He has allowed five earned runs between the games, striking out 11.

HISTORY WITH NEW ORLEANS: Memphis and New Orleans have played every season dating back to 1998 when the Redbirds joined the PCL. In that span, Memphis has remained affiliated with St. Louis, while New Orleans has been affiliated with four different teams. They were previously affiliated with Houston, Washington, and the Mets, and have been affiliated with Miami for the last 10 years. So far this season, the series is knotted at 5-5. The 'Birds are 3-2 in Memphis, and 2-3 at New Orleans thus far. Memphis is narrowly outhitting New Orleans this season, posting a .268 average, compared to their .236 mark. Both teams have nearly identical marks on the mound. New Orleans has a 3.54 ERA in the series, while Memphis narrowly trails with a 3.74 ERA in the season series.

BIRD BITES

AROZARENA: Has just five hits in 11 games since rejoining Memphis last week; hitting .396 with Springfield

BARON: Has hit safely in 14 of his last 17 games since June; had a season-long eight-game hitting streak in that stretch

EDMAN: Joins Memphis for the first time this season; went 2-for-4 with two RBI in his first game Saturday night

GARCIA: Was recently recalled to St. Louis for Major League debut; recorded first hit on August 10 at Kansas City

KELLY: Is hitting .312 (39-for-125) over last 33 games; has hits in 23 of those games and multiple in 13 of them

MEJIA: Had one RBI last night; now has 22 RBI in last 48 games after having only eight RBI in first 42 games this year

RAVELO: Currently riding 15-game hitting streak, hitting .382 (21-for-55) in that stretch; hit walk-off single Sunday

ROACHE: Will be making Triple-A debut with Memphis; notched first Triple-A hit with pinch-hit single Sat. night

SCHROCK: Fri. night, had first multi-RBI game since July 15; hitting just .221 (21-for-95) in 28 games since July started

SOSA: Just snapped five-game hitting streak, hit .333 (7-for-21); third five-game hitting streak since joining Memphis

THOMAS: Hit safely in first 10 with Memphis before snapping streak Fri. night; nine of his 17 hits are extra-base hits

TOVAR: Is hitting .322 (37-for-115) over last 32 games; recently snapped a season-long nine-game hitting streak

URIAS: Had recorded a hit in his first four games since rejoining Memphis before going hitless Sunday night

WILLIAMS: Has hits in six of nine games since joining the Redbirds; scored four runs in Saturday night's 14-0 win

BY THE NUMBERS

470 calendar days have passed since the Redbirds were not in first place (April 27, 2017); they have played 238 regular season games since that time.

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Memphis Redbirds dropped last night's opener to the New Orleans Baby Cakes 4-2.

Memphis starter Kevin Herget took the loss for the 'Birds, despite pitching reasonably well. The righty tossed seven innings, allowing four earned runs on six hits, including two home runs, while striking out eight batters.

New Orleans grabbed an early run in the first before Peter O'Brien hit a solo shot in the fourth inning and a two-run shot in the sixth to provide the rest of the offense.

The 'Birds scored runs in the fourth and seventh innings. Alex Mejia drove in the first run in the fourth inning with an RBI single, and Randy Arozarena drove in Memphis' second and final run in the seventh with an RBI double.

Tommy Edman, Carson Kelly, and Arozarena each had two hits for Memphis. Three Memphis relievers, Conner Greene, Tommy Lane, and Landon Beck, threw 0.2 innings apiece to close out the game.

STRUGGLES WITH THE DIVISION: Despite having the best record in all of Triple-A Baseball at 74-46, Memphis has struggled against its own division. The 'Birds are 2-6 against Nashville, 5-5 against New Orleans after last night's loss, and 6-4 against Round Rock. Memphis has 20 games remaining this season. They will play six more against New Orleans, six more against Round Rock, and eight more against Nashville. Nashville is the closest to the 'Birds, sitting nine games behind Memphis. While the 'Birds batters hold similar lines against divisional and non-divisional opponents, the biggest difference is pitching. Memphis is hitting .274 (859-for-3136) against opponents in other divisions, and are hitting a slightly lower .267 (250-for-935) against the division. However, Memphis pitchers are posting a 3.85 ERA (104ER, 243.0IP) against the division, while posting a 3.42 ERA (308ER, 811.2IP) against everyone else.

HERGET STEADY, BUT 'BIRDS FALL: In last night's loss to the New Orleans Baby Cakes, starter Kevin Herget threw seven solid innings for the Redbirds, but the offense couldn't come through. Herget allowed four runs on six hits, and did not walk a batter. Two of the hits he allowed were home runs. He also struck out eight batters in the contest. In 19 starts this season, Herget is 7-8 with a 4.67 ERA. Overall, he is 8-9 with a 4.50 ERA on the season. Herget has already set his career-highs in innings pitched, strikeouts, wins, and losses. Coming into this season, he had just nine total losses in his Minor League career. Last night was the first time in nearly month he threw seven innings in a game. In his six starts since the All-Star Break in mid-July, Herget is 3-3 with a 6.31 ERA. He has allowed at least four runs in each of his last three starts after posting a stretch of five-consecutive quality starts from June 24 - July 19, in which he went 3-1 in 33.0 innings of work, allowing just nine earned runs and striking out 34 batters, giving him a 2.45 ERA in that stretch. In his last three starts, he has an ERA of 8.37.

MEJIA KEEPS BRINGING THEM IN: Last night, infielder Alex Mejia drove in one of the two Memphis runs with a single in the fourth inning. Mejia has now hit safely in six of his eight games since August started. Dating back to July, Mejia has hit safely in 11 of his last 14 games. After driving in only eight runners through his first 42 games of the year, Mejia has now driven in 22 runs over the course of his last 48 runs. He has four RBI in eight games this month. He had just four RBI in 22 games in May and four in 20 April games.

WELCOME BACK, TOMMY: With Patrick Wisdom's contract being purchased by St. Louis this weekend, infielder Tommy Edman was transferred to Memphis from Springfield. Edman played in the playoffs with Memphis last season, and has joined the team for the first time this season. In his first game Saturday, he went 2-for-4, scoring once, hitting a sacrifice fly, and driving in two in the win. He went hitless in Memphis' two-hit shutout loss on Sunday, but last night, he went 2-for-4 at the dish in his first home game. In the playoffs last season, the utility infielder appeared in nine games, hitting .222 (2-for-9), and did not make an error. With Springfield this season, he was hitting .298 (128-for-429) in 104 games.

GOOD SIGN FOR RANDY: In last night's loss, outfielder Randy Arozarena went 2-for-4 at the plate, hitting an RBI double in the seventh inning to score Ramon Urias. Last night's game was a positive step for Arozarena, who has been struggling since rejoining the Redbirds on August 1. In his first nine games back with Memphis, Arozarena had just three hits in 29 at-bats, giving him a .103 batting average. Last night was Arozarena's first multi-hit game since July 30 while with Springfield. It was his first multi-hit game with Memphis since July 13. With the Redbirds this season, Arozarena is hitting .226 (53-for-235), and is hitting .396 (36-for-91) with Springfield.

AUGUST PITCHING WOES: After dropping last night's game, the Memphis pitching staff continued their struggles in the month of August. The starters in particular have struggled. So far this month, the starters are 3-5 with a 6.71 ERA in 12 games. They have allowed 44 earned runs in just 59 innings of work. In all 25 games of April, the Memphis starters allowed only 39 total earned runs in 135.2 innings. The most runs the starters have allowed this season came in May when they allowed 57 earned runs in 177.0 innings. That was also the month they pitched the most innings this season. With all the recent transactions, the Memphis hitters have struggled to keep up with the opposition at the plate as well. The pitching staff, bullpen included, has allowed 68 runs this month (5.7/game). The Redbirds have scored only 66 total runs this month (5.5/game).

LANE HAS A CANON: New Memphis outfielder Lane Thomas has proved he has a hot bat, but last night he showed off his defense as well. He cut down a runner at home, recording his second assist with Memphis.

WIN BY A LOT, OR LOSE BY A LOT: After dropping last night's opener to New Orleans, Memphis' run differential in wins and losses this season became more prominent. In 74 wins this season, the Redbirds are outscoring their opponents by 251 runs, coming out to a +3.4 differential. The Redbirds are being outscored by 161 runs in 46 losses this season, which comes out to a -3.5 differential. On average, the 'Birds win either by three runs, or lose by nearly four.

RAVELO ON FIRE: In Friday night's comeback win over Oklahoma City, infielder Rangel Ravelo went 1-for-4 at the plate, driving in two runs, and extending his season-long hitting streak to 15 games. During this stretch, he is hitting .382 (21-for-55), scoring 15 runs, hitting two doubles, three home runs, driving in 15 runs, walking nine times, and striking out just eight times. Although Adolis Garcia and Lane Thomas have both ended their hitting streaks, Memphis accomplished the rare feat of having two 10-game hitting streaks at the same time. Ravelo's has overlapped with both Garcia's and Thomas'. Ravelo, in the midst of one of his finest seasons, is hitting .303 (93-for-307) in 88 games with a career-high 12 home runs. Since he joined Memphis last season, he now has hit safely in at least 15-straight games twice. He hit in 15-straight last season (May 9-June 3). He is now one of six Redbirds to have a hitting streak of at least 10 games this season. Tyler O'Neill (10), Yairo Munoz (10), Lane Thomas (10), Adolis Garcia (14), and Patrick Wisdom (16) have also accomplished the feat.

ONE WAY TICKET TO THE SHOW: This weekend, infielder Patrick Wisdom had his contract purchased by the Cardinals. With the move, Wisdom will making his long-awaited Major League debut after seven years in the Minor Leagues, and the better part of three seasons with Memphis. Wisdom is now one of six players to be promoted from Memphis to St. Louis for their debuts this season. The Redbirds have had 16 overall players promoted this season. Wisdom is one of 15 players to be promoted from Memphis to make their Major League debuts since the 2017 season began. This season, Wisdom, Tyler O'Neill, Dakota Hudson, Adolis Garcia, Daniel Poncedeleon, and Austin Gomber have all been promoted for their debuts. Additionally, since the 2017 season began, 93 different players have appeared in a Memphis uniform, and 32 have made their Triple-A debuts.

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.

FOR THE RECORD:

- Memphis' 91 wins in 2017 were the 10th-most in 119 seasons of professional baseball in Memphis dating back to 1877, and the season's .645 winning percentage was fourth-best

- Memphis was one of four teams in MiLB in 2017 with 90+ wins (Trenton Thunder [AA], 92-48; West Michigan Whitecaps [A], 91-45; Chattanooga Lookouts [AA], 91-49; Memphis Redbirds [AAA], 91-50)

- Memphis went 41 games over .500 during the regular season, the most by a PCL club since Albuquerque was 56 games over at 94-38 in 1981

- The Redbirds won the PCL American Southern Division by 22.0 games, and since divisions were established in the PCL in 1963, only two other teams won their division by 20 or more games (1970 Spokane Indians, 26.0 games; 1981 Albuquerque Dukes, 25.0 games)

- Memphis ended the season with its best ERA in franchise history (3.77) (3.89, 1998 and 2003), matched its best fielding percentage (.984) (.984, 2014), and had its third-best batting average (.278) (.284, 1999; .279, 2004)

Check out the Memphis Redbirds Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Pacific Coast League Stories from August 14, 2018


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central