PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (76-52) at New Orleans Baby Cakes (64-63)

Published on August 23, 2018 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (76-52) At New Orleans Baby Cakes (64-63)

Thursday, August 23 - 7:00 p.m. (CT) - Shrine on Airline (10,000) - New Orleans, Louisiana

Game #129 - Road Game #63 (39-23)

RHP Chris Ellis (5-4, 4.37 ERA) vs. RHP Tyler Cloyd (5-4, 5.75 ERA)

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds and New Orleans Baby Cakes will play the finale of a three-game set tonight at 7:00 p.m. in New Orleans. It is the final game the two will play against one another this season. New Orleans won the series the two played last week 3-1. The Redbirds are coming off a 2-1 series loss to the Round Rock Express, while New Orleans is coming off a 2-1 series win over the Nashville Sounds. After this series, Memphis will return home for their last four games at AutoZone Park this season against Nashville before ending the season on the road at Round Rock and Nashville. Yesterday, infielder Tommy Edman was transferred to Springfield, and infielder Patrick Wisdom was optioned to Memphis by St. Louis. Today's game will be broadcast on www.memphisredbirds.com and on KTRS 550 AM in the St. Louis area with Steve Selby on the call.

ON THE HILL: Right-hander Chris Ellis will take the mound tonight in the final game against New Orleans this season. Ellis will be making his first start since August 6. In his last two appearances, he has piggy-backed Tyler Lyons' starts, earning the win in both. In those two relief outings, he combined to throw 7.2 scoreless innings, allowing just three total hits and no walks, while striking out 11 batters. With Memphis this season, Ellis has made 13 appearances, 11 starts, spanning 68.0 innings. He is 5-4 with a 4.37 ERA and 57 strikeouts with Memphis. He has made two appearances against New Orleans this season. He is 1-0 in 9.2 innings against the Baby Cakes, allowing nine hits, four runs, one earned, while striking out seven batters.

The Baby Cakes will send right-hander Tyler Cloyd to the mound to battle Ellis and the Redbirds. Coming into tonight's game, Cloyd is 5-4 with a 5.75 ERA in 14 appearances with New Orleans, 13 of them being starts. He has pitched 67.1 innings this season, striking out 56 batters in that span. He has faced Memphis once this season, and that came in his lone relief appearance on June 23. In that game, he threw one inning, allowing two hits.

HISTORY WITH NEW ORLEANS: Memphis and New Orleans have played every season dating back to 1998 when Memphis joined the PCL. In that span, New Orleans has been affiliated with Houston, Washington, and the Mets before becoming Miami's affiliate 10 years ago. So far this season, New Orleans leads the season series 9-6, including 5-2 at New Orleans. With the loss last night, Memphis dropped the season series to the Baby Cakes. Tonight will be the final game the two will play this season. In the first 15 games the two have played against one another this season, the Redbirds are outhitting the Baby Cakes with a .254 batting average, compared to their .234 average. However, New Orleans is posting a better ERA at 3.29, while the Redbirds have a 4.13 mark.

BIRD BITES

AROZARENA: Has hit safely in four of last six after having just two hits in his first 10 games back with Memphis

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

GARCIA: Went hitless last night after having three-game hitting streak that snapped 0-for-21 stretch with Memphis

KELLY: Tues. night, snapped five-game walk streak, and has a career-high 42 walks with Memphis this season

MEJIA: Had one RBI Sat. night; now has 24 RBI in last 52 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; went on DL Wednesday

SCHROCK: Went 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI Sat. night in his first game back after spending 10 games on DL

SOSA: Last night, went 2-for-4 with two doubles, extending his current hitting streak to three games

THOMAS: Last Thursday night, hit three-run home run in third inning to put Memphis ahead for good; they won 3-2

TOVAR: Last night, snapped six-game hitting streak since returning from D.L. last week by going 0-for-3

URIAS: Has recorded at least one hit in 10 of 11 games since rejoining Memphis; riding six-game hitting streak

WILLIAMS: Has driven all three Memphis runs in last three games on a solo home run and a two-run home run

WISDOM: Rejoins Memphis after making Major League debut; recorded first hit on 8/12 and first home run on 8/19

BY THE NUMBERS

3 straight series losses for the Redbirds after losing last night to New Orleans. First time they have lost three-straight series since losing four-straight from 8/17-9/1, 2016.

ON THIS DATE

In 2011, Nick Stavinoha became the third Redbird in franchise history to reach 100 RBI in a season after hitting a two-run home run against Albuquerque.

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Memphis Redbirds dropped last night's game to the New Orleans Baby Cakes 4-2, securing the season series loss.

Memphis starter Jake Woodford was solid, but the Redbirds could not score enough to back his start. Woodford threw five innings, allowing four runs on six hits and four walks, while striking out two. He is now 4-4 with a 4.42 ERA with Memphis.

John Brebbia, Tommy Layne, and Edward Mujica combined to throw the final three innings, allowing just one hit and one walk, while striking out five batters.

Justin Williams drove in both Memphis runs with a two-run home run in the first inning. Williams also walked in the game.

Ramon Urias and Edmundo Sosa both had multiple hits in the game. Urias extended his hitting streak to six games. Sosa had two doubles. Carson Kelly and Lane Thomas had the only two other hits for Memphis.

LOOKING TO AVOID THE SWEEP: For the second-consecutive series, New Orleans is looking to sweep Memphis. They have won the first two games of this series and will go for the sweep tonight. In last week's series between the two, New Orleans won the first three games of the series before Memphis won the finale. If Memphis loses tonight, it would be the first time they have been swept in a series of any length since July 14-17, 2016 when they were swept in four games by Albuquerque. The Redbirds haven't been swept in a three game series since June 27-29, 2007 against Round Rock, and they have not been swept in a five-game series since July 21-23, 2006 at Iowa.

THREE STRAIGHT SERIES LOSSES: The Redbirds have struggled to an 8-12 record in the month of August. They have played six series this month, winning just two of them. They won the opening series of the month over Sacramento 2-1, and their series against Oklahoma City a few days later at 3-1. Between those two series, they dropped their series to Fresno 3-1, and since topping Oklahoma City, they have dropped three consecutive series for the first time this season. They lost three of four to New Orleans last week, two of three to Round Rock, and have now lost the first two games in this series against New Orleans. This is the first time Memphis has lost three-consecutive series since they lost four-straight from mid-August to early-September in 2016. From August 17-19, they fell 3-1 to Reno, from August 20-23, they fell 3-1 to Iowa, from August 24-28, they fell 4-1 to Nashville, and from August 29-September 1, they fell 2-1 at Oklahoma City.

STRUGGLES WITH THE DIVISION: Despite having a strong overall record of 76-52, Memphis has struggled mightily against its own division this season. The 'Birds are 2-6 against Nashville, 6-9 against New Orleans, and 7-6 against Round Rock. Memphis has 12 games remaining this season. They will play one more against New Orleans tonight, three 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 .262 (314-for-1197) against the division. However, Memphis pitchers are posting a 3.96 ERA (138ER, 314.0IP) against the division, while posting a 3.42 ERA (308ER, 811.2IP) against everyone else.

WOODFORD SOLID, BUT NOT ENOUGH: In last night's loss to the New Orleans Baby Cakes, Memphis starter Jake Woodford pitched five innings, allowing four runs. The four runs crossed on six hits and four walks, while he struck out two batters in the game. He took the loss, and is now 4-4 with a 4.42 ERA in 10 starts with Memphis. He has thrown 53.0 innings, allowing 26 earned runs on 55 hits, five home runs, and 19 walks, while striking out 38 batters. Woodford has struggled to find consistency in his last four starts. Through his first six starts, Woodford was 3-2 with a 2.73 ERA in 33.0 innings of work. He threw at least five innings in all but one of those starts, a game that was suspended due to weather. Additionally, he only allowed more than three earned runs once in that span, his first start in which he allowed four earned runs. In those first six starts, Woodford had struck out 27 batters, and was holding opponents to a .213 (26-for-122) batting average. In his last four starts, he has thrown just 20.0 innings, going 1-2 in that span. He has allowed 29 hits, 21 runs, 16 earned runs, and eight walks, while striking out only 11 batters. He has a 7.20 ERA in his last four games, and opponents are hitting .354 (29-for-82) in that span.

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 4-9 with a 6.22 ERA in 20 games. They have allowed 69 earned runs in just 95.1 innings of work. In all 25 games of April, the Memphis starters allowed only 39 total earned runs in 135.2 innings. They have now allowed their season-high for earned runs in a month with nine games left to play in August. They have allowed 17 home runs this month, also a season high. 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 104 runs this month (5.2/game). The Redbirds have scored only 90 total runs this month (4.5/game). Additionally, the pitchers have allowed 25 home runs this month, while the hitters have notched just 13.

WILLIAMS GOES DEEP, AGAIN: Last night, leftfielder Justin Williams drove in both Memphis runs with a two-run home run in the first inning. It was his second home run in the last three games. Memphis has scored a total of three runs in the last three games, and all three have come via a Justin Williams home run. Memphis has dropped all three games Williams has homered in. Williams also recorded a walk and an outfield assist in last night's game. He cut down a runner trying to take home. In 17 games with Memphis since being traded from Tampa Bay, Williams is hitting .220 (13-for-59) with three doubles, three home runs, and 10 RBI. Of his 17 appearances, 15 have been starts. He has recorded at least one hit in 11 of his 15 starts. He is hitless in his two pinch-hit appearances for the Redbirds.

CONSISTENCY IS KEY: Since rejoining Memphis for his third stint of the season, utility infielder Ramon Urias has been solid at the plate. Last night, he went 2-for-4, scoring one of the two Memphis runs in the first inning in his third start at first base for Memphis. In his first 11 games back with the 'Birds, Urias has hit safely in 10 of them, and recorded multiple hits in four of them. He is currently riding a six-game hitting streak, tied for his best hitting streak with the Redbirds this season. Over this streak, he is hitting .292 (7-for-24) with one double and three runs scored. In 39 games with Memphis this season, Urias is hitting .270 (31-for-115). Since rejoining the team almost two weeks ago, he has raised his batting average by 49 points from .221 to .270.

SOLID NIGHT FOR EDMUNDO: Infielder Edmundo Sosa went 2-for-4 at the plate in last night's loss to New Orleans. Both of his hits in the game were doubles. With the two-hit performance last night, Sosa notched his first multi-hit game since August 11 at Oklahoma City. After going hitless in three straight last week, Sosa has now hit safely in four of his last five, and has hit safely in three straight games.

WIZ IS BACK: Yesterday, St. Louis optioned Patrick Wisdom to Memphis and transferred Tommy Edman to Springfield in a corresponding move. After spending seven years in the Minor Leagues, Wisdom made his big league debut when he was promoted on August 11. He made his debut the next day against Kansas City, going 2-for-4, scoring a run, and driving in a run for an abundance of career milestones. As a pinch-hitter on August 19, Wisdom launched a solo home run against Milwaukee for his first Major League homer. In nine games, Wisdom hit .333 (4-for-12) with four runs scored, one home run, three RBI, and two walks, while striking out just twice. Wisdom has spent the better part of the last three seasons with Memphis and is in the top-10 of many Redbirds' record lists.

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

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Pacific Coast League Stories from August 23, 2018


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