PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (79-53) vs Nashville Sounds (69-63)

August 27, 2018 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (79-53) vs Nashville Sounds (69-63)

Monday, August 27 - 6:35 p.m. (CT) - AutoZone Park (10,000) - Memphis, Tennessee

Game #133 - Home Game #70 (39-30)

RHP Adam Wainwright (NR) vs. RHP Raul Alcantara (5-5, 5.26 ERA)

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds and Nashville Sounds will play the finale of a four-game set tonight at 6:35 p.m. in Memphis. If Memphis wins this game, they will have won their first series against Nashville this season. With their walk-off win Saturday night, the Redbirds secured their second-consecutive American Southern Division title. It is the second time in franchise history they have won back-to-back division titles, the other time being in 2009 and 2010. This is the last home series of the regular-season for the Redbirds. Memphis is coming off a 2-1 series loss to the New Orleans Baby Cakes and Nashville is coming off a 2-1 series loss to the Round Rock Express. Both teams have eight games remaining this season, and five will be played against one another. This afternoon, Adam Wainwright was added to the roster on Major League Rehab assignment. Earlier today, pitcher Dakota Hudson and outfielder Tyler O'Neill were named to the All-Pacific Coast League Team. 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 Adam Wainwright will start for the Redbirds tonight, making a rehab start. This will be Wainwright's first appearance for the Redbirds since making two rehab appearances in 2008. Wainwright appeared in four games for St. Louis this season before being placed on the Disabled List. In his four starts, he was 1-3 with a 4.00 ERA in 18.0 innings. He has not pitched for St. Louis since May 13. This will be Wainwright's third stop on the road back to the big leagues. He made two rehab starts with Palm Beach, allowing one hit, while striking out five in three innings. He made two rehab starts with Springfield, going 0-0, allowing three hits and striking out seven in 5.0 innings.

The Sounds will send right-hander Raul Alcantara to the mound to battle Wainwright and the Redbirds. Alcantara has split time between starting and relieving this season, making eight spot starts in 30 total appearances. As a starter this season, he is 1-3 with a 6.82 ERA in 33.0 innings of work. As a reliever this season, he is 4-2 with a 4.04 ERA in 42.1 innings. He has faced Memphis twice in relief this season, throwing 1.2 scoreless innings.

HISTORY WITH NASHVILLE: Memphis and Nashville have played every year dating back to 1998 when Memphis joined the PCL. Nashville has been affiliated with Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, and Oakland in that span, while Memphis has remained affiliated with St. Louis. Both teams have eight games remaining this season, and five of them will be played against one another. In the 10 games they have played this season, Nashville leads the series 7-4, winning both series 3-1. So far this season, Nashville is outperforming Memphis on the mound, while Memphis is outperforming Nashville at the plate. The Redbirds are hitting .252, while Nashville is hitting .244. The Sounds are posting a 3.26 ERA, while Memphis has a 4.31 mark.

BIRD BITES

AROZARENA: Reached base in all four plate appearances Friday night, going 2-for-2 with two walks, two RBI, and HR

BARON: Has hit safely in 15 of his last 18 games since June; had a season-long eight-game hitting streak in that stretch

GARCIA: Friday night, hit leadoff for first time this season, going 2-for-5 with a double, RBI, and two runs scored

KELLY: Tues. night, snapped five-game walk streak, and has a career-high 43 walks with Memphis this season

MEJIA: Yesterday, snapped five-game hitless streak, going 2-for-3 at the plate and scoring twice in the loss

RAVELO: Was activated from the Disabled List Saturday, hitting second, and snapped 16-game hitting streak

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

SOSA: Last night, went 2-for-4, extending his current hitting streak to six games; scored game-tying run Saturday

THOMAS: Scored the winning run in Saturday night's game to secure the walk-off win and the division title for Memphis

TOVAR: Sat. night, hit game-tying single in ninth; winning run came around to score when center fielder committed error

WILLIAMS: Drove in all three runs Memphis scored from 8/19-8/22 on a solo home run and two-run home run

WISDOM: Hit home run in first game back with Memphis; recorded ML first hit on 8/12 and first home run on 8/19

BY THE NUMBERS

487 calendar days since Memphis was not in first place (April 27, 2017); they have played 251 regular-season games since then

BY THE NUMBERS

2 instances in franchise history where the Redbirds have won consecutive division titles. 2009 and 2010, and now 2017 and 2018.

BY THE NUMBERS

6 division titles in Memphis Redbirds history; 2000, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2017, and 2018. Memphis won the PCL title in 2000, 2009, and 2017.

BY THE NUMBERS

198 transactions are a franchise record; 61 different players have worn a Memphis uniform this year

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Memphis Redbirds dropped yesterday's game to the Nashville Sounds 7-3.

Daniel Poncedeleon made the start for Memphis, his first appearance with the team since July 15. He threw 4.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits and two walks, while striking out seven of the 18 batters he faced. He took the loss, falling to 9-4 with a 2.24 ERA.

Reliever Conner Greene allowed two earned runs in 1.2 innings of work. Reliever Tommy Layne threw one inning, allowing three unearned runs to score due to an error.

Edward Mujica and Andrew Morales combined to throw the final two innings of the game, striking out one in two shutout frames.

The 'Birds did not do much offensively in the game. Alex Mejia (2-for-3) and Edmundo Sosa (2-for-4) both had multi-hit games. Max Schrock and Randy Arozarena drove in runs with sac flies, while Steven Baron drove in one with a hit.

BACK-TO-BACK DIVISION CHAMPS: Saturday night, the Redbirds walked off in the bottom of the ninth inning to complete the comeback and secure their second-consecutive American Southern Division title. The Redbirds have now won their division in consecutive seasons for the second time in franchise history. They also won in 2009 and 2010. They went on to win the PCL Championship in 2009 before being beat out of the playoffs in the second round in 2010. The Redbirds have made the playoffs in 2000, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2017, and now 2018. They were crowned PCL Champs in 2000, 2009, and 2017. The PCL Playoffs begin on September 5. The first two games of his year's opening round will be played in the home ballpark of the American Northern Division Champions. As of right now, Oklahoma City leads Colorado Springs by 0.5 games in that division. Game three and any necessary games after that will be played in Memphis. Memphis won the regular season series against both teams with records of 11-5 against Colorado Springs, and 10-6 against Oklahoma City.

MORE HONORS FOR THE 'BIRDS: Earlier today, outfielder Tyler O'Neill and right-handed pitcher Dakota Hudson were named to the All-Pacific Coast League Team. In 19 starts with Memphis this season, Hudson was 13-3 with a 2.50 ERA in 111.2 innings. He was promoted to St. Louis in late July and in 13 relief appearances, he is 4-1 with a 3.14 ERA in 14.1 innings. O'Neill was hitting .311 (74-for-238) with Memphis, posting an on-base percentage of .385, a slugging percentage of .693, and an OPS of 1.078. O'Neill hit 26 home runs with Memphis, posting six multi-home run games. With St. Louis, the outfielder is hitting .282 (24-for-85) with six home runs. It is the first time in franchise history that Memphis has had two players named to the All-PCL team in the same season. Before Patrick Wisdom earned the honor last season, no Memphis player had been named to the team since 2013.

These honors are some of the many the Redbirds have won this season. Adolis Garcia was named the PCL Player of the Month for July. Garcia was also named PCL Player of the Week for the week of July 23-29. Garcia and pitcher Daniel Poncedeleon were named the Cardinals Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Month for July earlier this week, as well. It was the fourth time a Redbird has won a Weekly PCL Honor this season. Garcia joins pitchers Daniel Poncedeleon and Austin Gomber to earn the honor. Poncedeleon earned the honor early in July, and Gomber earned the award once in April and once in May. Earlier this season, Poncedeleon, Dakota Hudson, and Patrick Wisdom were all named PCL All-Stars, while Hudson and outfielder Randy Arozarena participated in the MLB Futures Game. Hudson was also named the Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Month for June, the second Memphis pitcher to earn that accolade this season after Gomber earned it in April. Infielder/outfielder Rangel Ravelo was also named the Cardinals Minor League Player of the Month for June. The Redbirds have had a player or pitcher earn the Cardinals Minor League monthly honors every month, except one dating back to the beginning of the 2017 season.

WELCOME BACK, WAINWRIGHT: In tonight's series finale against the Nashville Sounds, Memphis will send right-hander Adam Wainwright to the mound for a rehab start. This will be Wainwright's first appearance with Memphis since 2008 when he made two rehab starts. Wainwright has been a consistent Major League pitcher since the 2006 season, and a consistent starter since the 2007 season. In his long Major League career, he is 147-84 in 348 appearances, with 1,598 strikeouts. He has twice led the league in wins with 19 (2009, tied in 2013), games started with 34 (2009, tied in 2013), and innings pitched with 233.0 (2009) and 241.2 (2013). In 2013, he also led the league with five complete games. He tied for the league-lead in shutouts in both 2013 (2) and 2014 (3). He has won 20 games in a season twice in his Major League career (2010, 2014).

OH HEY, PONCE: Yesterday, pitcher Daniel Poncedeleon started for the Redbirds. It was his first appearance with the team since July 15 when he threw a one-hit complete game shutout at Omaha. He has spent the last month on St. Louis' roster. In yesterday's start, he threw 4.1 innings, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks, while striking out seven. The Redbirds never took the lead in the game, so he was charged with the loss. He fell to 9-4 with the Redbirds this season. With St. Louis this season, Poncedeleon is 0-0 with one save in two starts and five relief appearances for the Cardinals, posting a 2.08 ERA. In his first Major League start, he threw seven no-hit innings before being pulled due to his pitch count. In 26 games between St. Louis and Memphis this season, Poncedeleon is 9-4 with one save and a 2.21 ERA in 118.0 innings of work. He has allowed 29 earned runs this season, and is holding opponents to a .193 (82-for-424) batting average. He has also struck out 128 batters between both levels, his new career-high.

WIZ STILL MAKING HISTORY: Yesterday, Patrick Wisdom went 1-for-4 at the plate. On Thursday, in his first game back with the team since making his Major League debut, Wisdom made an immediate impact, going 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in the game. With the Cardinals, Wisdom hit .333 (4-for-12), hitting one home run, scoring four times, and driving in three runs. With his performance for the 'Birds last night, he is still hitting a career-best .289 (106-for-367) this season. Having spent the better part of the last three seasons with Memphis, Wisdom is in the top-10, or just outside it, for many Redbird records. He has the fourth-most home runs at 51, the third-most RBI at 180, the fifth-most extra-base hits at 123, is tied for the sixth-most doubles at 69, has the eight-most total bases at 507, has played the 10th-most games at 312, and has the 10th-most at-bats at 1,089. Additionally, he is just outside the top-10 in runs at 162, hits at 279, and walks at 107. He needs just two more runs scored to get into the top-10, 12 more walks, and 24 more hits to reach the top-10. However, he has struck out 334 times in his Redbird career. With one more strikeout, he will tie John Nelson for the most strikeouts in Memphis history. Since Wisdom rejoined the team from St. Louis on Thursday, the 'Birds are 3-1. They were just 3-8 while he was on St. Louis' roster.

GARCIA ON A ROLL: Yesterday, outfielder Adolis Garcia came into the game as a pinch-hitter, hitting a single and scoring a run. He stayed in the game to play right field for Justin Williams, and finished at the plate 1-for-2. After going hitless in his first four games back with Memphis, Garcia has been clicking at the plate. After yesterday's performance, he has now hit safely in seven of his last eight and has recorded multiple hits in three of those games. Over the last eight games, he is hitting .323 (10-for-31) at the plate.

MEJIA SNAPS HITLESS STREAK: In yesterday's loss, infielder Alex Mejia snapped a five-game hitless streak, going 2-for-3 at the plate. He scored two runs in the game, and walked once. He was 0-for-11 in his hitless streak. Three of his appearances in the stretch were pinch-hit appearances, while just two were starts. He was 0-for-8 in his two starts.

SOSA STILL HITTING: Yesterday, infielder Edmundo Sosa went 2-for-4 at the plate in Memphis' loss to Nashville. The performance continued his recent hot stretch at the plate. He now has a six-game hitting streak, tied for his longest streak with the Redbirds this season. He is hitting .391 (9-for-23) in this stretch, hitting four doubles, scoring twice, and driving in two runs. He has produced multiple hits in three of those six games. Sosa scored the game-tying run in Saturday's walk-off, division clinching game as a pinch-runner for Carson Kelly. With Memphis, Sosa is hitting .263 (44-for-167).

MORALES LOCKED IN: In yesterday's loss, relief pitcher Andrew Morales threw the final 0.2 innings of the game for the 'Birds. He struck out one and retired both batters he faced. This came one outing after one of his strongest performances of the year. He was phenomenal in long-relief for the Redbirds, earning the win over New Orleans on August 23. The righty threw two strong innings, striking out one. He allowed just one base runner, who only reached because of an error. Since allowing four runs on June 24 against New Orleans, Morales has been dominant. He has made 21 appearances in that span, throwing 24.0 innings, and is 1-1 with six saves. In that time, he has allowed just six total runs, five of them earned, on 14 hits, and nine walks, while striking out 23 batters. He is posting a 1.88 ERA in that span, and is holding opponents to a .165 (14-for-85) batting average.

FINAL HOME GAME: Tonight marks the final home game of the regular-season for the Redbirds. In the first 69 home games, they are 39-30 at AutoZone Park. With the Redbirds clinching a playoff spot on Saturday night, they have one guaranteed game at home during the playoffs. The 'Birds will play game three at home, and play games four and five at home, if they are necessary in the series.

Check out the Memphis Redbirds Statistics



Pacific Coast League Stories from August 27, 2018


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