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PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Game Notes: Memphis Redbirds (80-54) at Round Rock Express (62-72)

August 29, 2018 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (80-54) At Round Rock Express (62-72)

Wednesday, August 29 - 7:05 p.m. (CT) - Dell Diamond (8,722) - Round Rock, Texas

Game #135 - Road Game #65 (40-24)

RHP Chris Ellis (5-4, 4.13 ERA) vs. RHP Austin Bibens-Dirkx (3-5, 5.61 ERA)

THE GAME

TODAY'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds and Round Rock Express will play game two of a three-game set tonight at 7:05 p.m. in Round Rock. 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. Memphis is coming off a 3-1 series win over the Nashville Sounds, and Round Rock is coming off a 2-2 series split with the New Orleans Baby Cakes. This is the last series the two will play against one another this season. Yesterday, manager Stubby Clapp won the Pacific Coast League Manager of the Year award for the second-consecutive season. Earlier this week, 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 with Steve Selby on the call.

ON THE HILL: Right-hander Chris Ellis will take the mound for Memphis in game two tonight. Ellis recently returned to the starting rotation after piggy-backing Tyler Lyons on his quest to get stretched out for a starting role. In his first game back in the rotation last week, Ellis threw four shutout innings, allowing just four hits and one walk, while striking out eight batters. In his last three appearances, he has twice come in in relief, and started once. In those three games, he is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA, throwing 11.2 innings. He has allowed just seven hits and one walk, while striking out 19 batters in that span. With Memphis this season, he is 5-4 with a 4.13 ERA and 65 strikeouts.

The Express will send right-hander Austin Bibens-Dirkx to the mound to battle Ellis and the Redbirds. In 16 appearances and 14 starts this season, the righty is 3-5 with a 5.61 ERA in 77.0 innings of work. Bibens-Dirkx has made three starts against the Redbirds this season, going 1-2 in those outings. He has combined to throw 15.1 innings against Memphis, allowing 15 hits, seven earned runs, two home runs, and four walks, while striking out 10, giving him a 4.17 ERA.

HISTORY WITH ROUND ROCK: Memphis and Round Rock have played every season dating back to 2005 when Round Rock joined the PCL. Round Rock was affiliated with Houston until 2011 before becoming the affiliate of the Rangers. This will be the final series the two teams will play against one another this season. Memphis narrowly leads the series at 7-6 with three games remaining. Memphis started the season going 4-1 at Round Rock. So far in the season-series, Memphis is outperforming Round Rock both on the mound and at the plate. They are outhitting Round Rock with an average of .275 compared to their .272, and have a 3.45 ERA compared to their 4.39 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 16 of his last 19 games since June; had a season-long eight-game hitting streak in that stretch

EDMAN: In his first game back with Memphis last night, snapped his eight-game hitting streak with 'Birds

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

KELLY: Has just four hits in his last 10 games, going 4-for-30 (.133) in that span; career-high 46 walks this season

MEJIA: Is 4-for-7 in his last two games after going five-consecutive games with no hits, an 0-for-11 stretch

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, drove in all three runs for Memphis with a three-run home run in the seventh inning; 4th HR with Mem.

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

BY THE NUMBERS

1 manager in franchise history has won Manager of the Year honors; Stubby Clapp has won it in consecutive seasons, becoming the 3rd PCL manager on record to win the award consecutively

BY THE NUMBERS

489 calendar days since Memphis was not in first place (April 27, 2017); they have played 254 regular-season games since then

BY THE NUMBERS

200 transactions with six games remaining is the most ever in franchise history. The previous high was 160, set in 2016.

ON THIS DATE

In 2010, the Redbirds defeated Round Rock 11-3 to sweep the five-game set with the Express.

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Memphis Redbirds dropped last night's series opener to the Round Rock Express 5-3.

Memphis starter Jake Woodford struggled in the outing, taking the loss. Woodford threw five innings, allowing five earned runs on six hits and a season-high five walks. He struck out four batters in the outing, falling to 4-5 on the year.

Edmundo Sosa provided all the offense for Memphis, driving in all three runs on a three-run blast in the seventh inning. It was his fourth home run of the season with Memphis.

Relievers Giovanny Gallegos, Conner Greene, and Andrew Morales combined to throw the final three innings, allowing just two hits and one walk, while striking out two batters.

Memphis collected just four hits in the game, and went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

WOODFORD STRUGGLES: Last night, Memphis starter Jake Woodford struggled in the game against Round Rock. Woodford threw just five innings, allowing five earned runs on six hits and five walks, while striking out just four batters. Woodford took the loss, falling to 4-5 with a 4.81 ERA with Memphis this season. Woodford has struggled in his last five outings after being fairly dominant in his first six appearances with Memphis this season. In his last five games, he is 1-3 with a 7.56 ERA in just 25.0 innings of work. In those five games, he has allowed 35 hits, 26 runs, 21 earned runs, 13 walks, and two home runs, while striking out just 15 batters. Opponents are hitting him hard for a .343 (35-for-102) batting average in that span. In his first six starts with Memphis, he was 3-2 with a 2.73 ERA in 33.0 innings of work. He had 27 strikeouts in his first six starts, and was holding opponents to a .213 (26-for-122) batting average. Woodford has allowed at least four earned runs in four his last five starts after having allowed four earned runs just once in his first six.

SOSA GOES DEEP: Last night, infielder Edmundo Sosa provided the offense in Memphis' loss. The Redbirds had just two hits until the seventh inning of the game. Wilfredo Tovar and Randy Arozarena both walked with one out in the inning before Sosa came to the plate. He launched a 2-2 pitch to left field to cut the deficit to two runs. It was Sosa's fourth home run with Memphis this season. With the home run last night, Sosa has now hit safely in eight of his last 10 games with an at-bat. In those 10 games, he is hitting .297 (11-for-37) with five doubles, one home run, and seven RBI. In 117 games between Memphis and Springfield this season, Sosa is hitting .270 (117-for-434) with 61 runs scored, 30 doubles, one triple, 11 home runs, and 57 RBI.

GALLEGOS IS DEALING: Since being traded to the organization late last month from the Yankees, right-handed reliever Giovanny Gallegos has been dominant on the mound. The righty has made 11 appearances spanning 14.1 innings. In last night's game, he retired three of the four batters he faced when followed Jake Woodford's departure from the game. In his 11 games with Memphis, Gallegos is 0-0 with one save and a 0.63 ERA. He has allowed just seven hits, one run and three walks, while striking out 15 batters. Opponents are hitting just .149 (7-for-47) off him since he joined the Redbirds.

MORALES LOCKED IN: In last night's loss, relief pitcher Andrew Morales threw the final 1.0 inning of the game for the 'Birds. He struck out one and retired all three batters he faced. This came two outings 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 22 appearances in that span, throwing 25.0 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 24 batters. He is posting a 1.80 ERA in that span, and is holding opponents to a .159 (14-for-88) batting average.

STRUGGLES WITH THE DIVISION: Despite having a strong overall record of 80-54, and winning their division, Memphis has struggled mightily against its own division this season. Memphis has had to rely on their dominance over other divisions to get the job done. The 'Birds are 3-6 against Nashville, 7-9 against New Orleans, and 7-6 against Round Rock. Memphis has six games remaining this season. They lost the season series with New Orleans after dropping their most recent series, they have two more against Round Rock, and four more against Nashville. 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 .260 (360-for-1384) against the division. However, Memphis pitchers are posting a 3.83 ERA (156ER, 367.0IP) against the division, while posting a 3.42 ERA (308ER, 811.2IP) against everyone else.

BACK-TO-BACK FOR CLAPP: Yesterday, Redbirds manager Stubby Clapp was named the Pacific Coast League Manager of the Year for the second consecutive season. Last season, he led the Redbirds to a franchise-record 91-50 in his first season at the helm of the 'Birds. They won the PCL Championship, winning 97 total games between the regular-season and playoffs. He became the first manager in Memphis history to win the award last season. This season, Memphis is 80-53 with seven games remaining. After winning Saturday night, the Redbirds clinched their second-consecutive division title for the first time since 2009-2010. Clapp is just the third PCL manager on record to win the award in consecutive seasons, joining Dan Rohn of Tacoma (2004, 2005) and Jim Lefebvre of Phoenix (1985, 1986). With the ninth win of the season this year, he became the fastest manager in both Memphis history, and the 116-year history of the PCL to reach 100 wins. He is 171-103 in two seasons with Memphis, a .624 winning percentage, best in franchise history. He also sits fifth in wins among Redbirds' managers.

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. Game three and any necessary games after that will be played in Memphis.

MORE HONORS FOR THE 'BIRDS: Earlier this week, 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.

RUNNIN' RUNNIN': Monday night, outfielder Randy Arozarena stole two bases in Memphis' win over Nashville. He stole three total in the 3-1 series win over Nashville. The Redbirds now have 108 steals this season. This season is the first time the Redbirds have recorded at least 100 steals in a season since 2013 when they stole 104 as a team. In the 21-year history of the franchise, the 'Birds have only stolen 100 bases seven times in a season (1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2009, 2013, 2018). The 'Birds have only stolen 100 bases as a team four times since 2002. The franchise record for steals is 110, set in 1999. With seven games remaining, the Redbirds are still within striking distance of that record. Before he was traded, outfielder Oscar Mercado led the team with 31 steals on the season. Arozarena now has the team lead with 17 steals so far. The Redbirds also have the third-most steals in the PCL this season behind Colorado Springs' 159 and Fresno's 114. The Redbirds have only been caught 36 times on the base paths this season, giving them a 75 percent success rate. Memphis now has 105 steals for the first time since 2002. They trail only the 1999 team for most steals in a season.

Check out the Memphis Redbirds Statistics



Pacific Coast League Stories from August 29, 2018


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