FL Joliet Slammers

July 7 Joliet Slammers Game Notes

Published on July 7, 2011 under Frontier League (FL)
Joliet Slammers News Release


JOLIET SLAMMERS (24-19) vs. SOUTHERN ILLINOIS MINERS (28-15)

Thursday, July 7 - 7:05 p.m. CT

Silver Cross Field - Joliet, IL

Game #44 - Home Game #23 (24-19, 15-7)

RHP #39 TOMMY MENDOZA (1-0, 1.13 ERA) vs. RHP #21 JOE AUGUSTINE (1-1, 5.79 ERA)

Last Time Out.

Brian Fowler (3-1) outpitched Ryan Zink (3-2) and the Joliet Slammers (24-19) held on to beat the Southern Illinois Miners (28-15) by a final score of 4-3 Wednesday night. David Fox smacked a two RBI double in the first to give Joliet an early 2-1 edge. After Southern Illinois tied it in the third, a Brad Netzel RBI single in the fourth put Joliet back on top 3-2. They got an insurance run the very next inning on an Erik Lis RBI single. Southern Illinois got a run back in the seventh off of Fowler but after that the Slammers bullpen took over as Jeremy Tietze, Chuck Lukanen, Brian Smith, and Ryan Quigley combined to shut down the Miners. With the victory the Slammers are a season high five games over .500. They also clinched the season series with the Miners. Lis went 2-4 and Sean Estand went 2-4 as well in the victory. For Fowler it was his second straight win over Southern Illinois.

For Starters.

Tommy Mendoza is coming off an outstanding outing against Normal where we went five shutout innings to pick up the win. He gave up only three hits, while walking one and striking out two. Mendoza was a 5th round draft pick of the Angels in 2005. He has a career ERA of 3.97 over six minor league seasons. The right-handed pitcher rose to the Triple-A level at the age of 21 in 2009. He was 7-7 with a 3.36 ERA for Double-A Arkansas and was named a Texas League All Star before earning the promotion to Salt Lake. With the Bees he went 2-1 with a 2.91 ERA. Mendoza suffered from multiple injuries in 2010 which only allowed him to pitch in 10 games. He spent of the off-season rehabbing a partially torn labrum.

Brilliant bullpen.

The Slammers' bullpen has an ERA of 2.76 this season in 114 1/3rd innings on the year. Reliever Brian Smith has given up a grand total of one run in 19 1/3rd innings pitched.

Outfoxed.

David Fox is hitting .333 in 18 AB's against the Miners. All three of his home runs this year have come against Southern Illinois and he's driven in nine runs in five games.

Lethal Lis.

Erik Lis has been the hottest Slammers hitter recently, hitting .410 (16-39) over the team's last 10 games and .526 (10-19) over the team's last five games.

Craziness.

The Slammers have 14 comeback wins this season but are only 3-17 when trailing after six. When they lead after six, opponents might as well give up as the Slammers have a 17-0 mark in that scenario.

Hey now you're an all-star.

The Slammers have four players headed to the 2011 Frontier League All-Star Game in Avon, Ohio, which will take place on July 13. Three of the players have local connections. Oak Lawn native Erik Lis will start for the East Division at first base. The slugger has a team-high 8 HR and 36 RBI on the season. New Lenox native Josh Flores will start in the outfield. He has a team-leading 15 stolen bases and has saved numerous runs with his glove and his arm. Joliet native Ryan Quigley leads the league in saves with 14 and is the Slammers' lone pitcher on the All-Star roster. Last but not least, rookie outfielder Bobby Leeper made the team as a reserve thanks in large part to his .915 OPS.

Stealing is legal.

New Lenox native Josh Flores has more stolen bases (15) than the rest of the active Slammers combined (13).

Check out the Joliet Slammers Statistics

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