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PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (74-47) vs New Orleans Baby Cakes (59-61)

August 15, 2018 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (74-47) vs New Orleans Baby Cakes (59-61)

Wednesday, August 15 - 6:35 p.m. (CT) - AutoZone Park (10,000) - Memphis, Tennessee

Game #122 - Home Game #62 (35-26)

RHP Connor Jones (1-0, 5.11 ERA) vs. RHP Zac Gallen (7-7, 3.85 ERA)

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds and New Orleans Baby Cakes will play game three 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, they lead the season series at 6-5. 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 19 games will be played against the three opponents from their own division. Today's game will be broadcast on www.memphisredbirds.com with Steve Selby on the call.

ON THE HILL: Right-hander Connor Jones will get the ball for the Redbirds in tonight's game three against the Baby Cakes. Coming into tonight's game, Jones is 1-0 with a 5.11 ERA in three starts with Memphis this season. His longest outing thus far has been 5.2 innings, coming in his most recent start at Oklahoma City. He also earned the win in that game. In that game, he allowed four runs on eight hits and two walks en route to his first Triple-A win. So far with Memphis, Jones has thrown a total of 12.1 innings, allowing seven earned runs on 18 hits and eight walks, while striking out 13 batters. He has yet to allow a home run. In 21 games, 20 of them starts, between Memphis and Springfield this season, he is 6-4 in 100.1 innings with a 3.95 ERA.

The Baby Cakes will send right-hander and former Redbird Zac Gallen to the mound to battle Jones and the Redbirds. Last season, Gallen made four starts with Memphis, two at AutoZone Park and two on the road. At AutoZone Park, he was 1-1 with a 3.27 ERA in 11.0 innings, racking up 16 strikeouts. Gallen has been lights out in his two starts against his former team this season. He is 0-0 with a 1.22 ERA in 11 innings of work, tallying 16 strikeouts.

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 .264 average, compared to their .236 mark. Both teams have nearly identical marks on the mound. New Orleans has a 3.45 ERA in the series, while Memphis narrowly trails with a 3.64 ERA in the season series.

BIRD BITES

AROZARENA: Has just five hits in 12 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 .310 (40-for-129) over last 34 games; has hits in 24 of those games and multiple in 13 of them

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

RAVELO: Currently riding 16-game hitting streak, hitting .407 (24-for-59) in that stretch; has career-high 13 home runs

SCHROCK: Has missed last seven games after being placed on the Disabled List last week while the Redbirds were home

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 .319 (38-for-119) over last 33 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 10 games since joining the Redbirds; scored four runs in Saturday night's 14-0 win

BY THE NUMBERS

55 quality starts by Memphis starters this season. They had just 55 in all of 2017's record-setting campaign.

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Memphis Redbirds dropped last night's game to the New Orleans Baby Cakes 4-3 in 10 innings.

Memphis starter Austin Warner was solid for the Redbirds. The lefty threw six innings in the game, taking the no-decision. He allowed three earned runs on six hits without allowing a walk, and striking out five batters. All three of the runs came on solo home runs.

Both teams managed eight hits in the game. Tommy Edman drove in the first Memphis run with a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. One batter later, Rangel Ravelo went deep to bring in two more and tie the game at three.

No one scored again until the 10th inning. With the new extra-innings rule, a runner starts every extra-inning on second base. That run came around to score for New Orleans, but not Memphis.

Andrew Morales took the loss, allowing the single unearned run. Dominic Leone and Tommy Layne combined for 2.1 scoreless innings.

RAVELO ON FIRE: In last night's loss to New Orleans, infielder Rangel Ravelo went 3-for-4 at the plate, hitting a home run and driving in two runs to extend his season-long hitting streak to 16 games. His home run tied the game at three in the fifth inning, and the score stayed that way until the 10th inning. During this stretch, he is hitting .407 (24-for-59), scoring 16 runs, hitting two doubles, four home runs, driving in 17 runs, walking 10 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 .309 (96-for-311) in 89 games with a career-high 13 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. With a hit in his next appearance, he will have the longest hitting streak for a Memphis player this season and will have tied the franchise record for the fourth-longest hitting streak. The longest hitting streak in franchise history is 20 games, which was set in 1999 by Adam Kennedy.

STRUGGLES WITH THE DIVISION: Despite having the best record in all of Triple-A Baseball at 74-47, Memphis has struggled against its own division. The 'Birds are 2-6 against Nashville, 5-6 against New Orleans after last night's loss, and 6-4 against Round Rock. Memphis has 19 games remaining this season. They will play five more against New Orleans, six more against Round Rock, and eight more against Nashville. Nashville is the closest to the 'Birds, sitting eight 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 .266 (258-for-971) against the division. However, Memphis pitchers are posting a 3.81 ERA (107ER, 253.0IP) against the division, while posting a 3.42 ERA (308ER, 811.2IP) against everyone else.

WARNER SOLID, AGAIN: Last night, Memphis starter Austin Warner was solid once again for the Redbirds in his fourth start with the team. In last night's contest, the lefty threw six innings, taking the no-decision. He allowed three earned runs on six hits. All three runs came via solo home runs. He did not walk a batter in the game, and struck out five batters. Since joining Memphis, Warner is 1-0 with a 2.78 ERA in 22.2 innings of work. He has thrown at least five innings in all but his first start last month. He has also struck out at least four batters in every appearance with Memphis. The lefty was signed out of Independent League ball in June of last year, and has risen rapidly through the Minor League system. Between Palm Beach, Springfield, and Memphis this season, he is 6-6 with a 3.78 ERA in 128.2 innings of work. He has racked up 120 strikeouts, and has walked just 37 batters. Last night, he also posted the first quality start by a Memphis pitcher since he accomplished the feat on August 3 against Sacramento. He has two quality starts in four starts with the 'Birds thus far.

EXTRA-INNINGS STRUGGLES: Last night, the 'Birds came back to tie the game at three runs apiece before ultimately falling in 10 innings 4-3. The Redbirds have played 10 extra-inning games, and are posting just a 5-5 record in those games. The Redbirds have particularly struggled at home in extra-innings. They are just 1-4 in home games that go to extras. The lone win came during the previous homestand when the 'Birds walked off for the first time this season. In their 10 extra-innings games, Memphis is being outscored 15-11 by their opponents. Last season, Memphis went 11-0 in extras. Since Stubby Clapp took over, the 'Birds are now 16-5 in extra-innings.

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 1-for-4 at the dish, driving in a run with a sacrifice fly and extending his hitting streak to two games. 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.

TOUGH-LUCK FOR MORALES: In last night's loss, relief pitcher Andrew Morales was called on to throw 1.2 innings. He was solid, allowing just two hits and one walk. However, with the new extra-innings rule, a runner starts every inning on second base. That unearned run came around to score last night, giving Morales the loss. Since allowing four runs on June 24 against New Orleans, Morales has been dominant. He has made 17 appearances in that span, throwing 19.2 innings. In that time, he has allowed just five total runs, four of them earned, on 13 hits and nine walks. He is posting a 1.86 ERA in that span, and is holding opponents to a .186 (13-for-70) batting average.

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 6.51 ERA in 13 games. They have allowed 47 earned runs in just 65 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 72 runs this month (5.5/game). The Redbirds have scored only 69 total runs this month (5.3/game).

TOUGH-LUCK TUESDAY: After dropping last night's game, Memphis continued its struggles on Tuesday this season. The 'Birds are just 8-7 in games on Tuesday this season. Additionally, the are just 4-5 at AutoZone Park on Tuesday. Since Stubby Clapp took over, the 'Birds are just 17-19 on Tuesday. It is the only day of the week they are below .500 in his tenure.

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)

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