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PCL1 Memphis Redbirds

Memphis Redbirds (51-64) at Sacramento River Cats (62-53)

August 8, 2019 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Memphis Redbirds (51-64) at Sacramento River Cats (62-53)

Thursday, August 8 - 9:05 p.m. (CT) - Raley Field (14,414) - Sacramento, California

Game #116 - Road Game #57 (28-28)

LHP Genesis Cabrera (4-4, 6.15) vs RHP Enderson Franco (6-5, 6.22)

BY THE NUMBERS

64 Number of strikeouts recorded by the Redbirds pitching staff through six games in August. That figure ranks 2nd in the Pacific Coast League. The staff has punched-out 10 batters or more in four of the six games. Austin Warner leads the team with 11 K's in 11.0 innings this month.

13 Edmundo Sosa's current hitting streak. He is one game away from matching his career-high, which he set from April 10-26, 2016 while playing at Single-A Peoria.

THE GAME

TONIGHT'S GAME: The Memphis Redbirds continue their seven-game west coast road trip in the second off three games against the Sacramento River Cats. The Redbirds fell in last night's series opener 4-2. Joe Hudson's sacrifice fly and Ramon Urias' RBI-double provided the only offense on the night, as the offense was held to five hits. Austin Warner came just one out shy of turning in a quality start, allowing three earned runs over 5.2 innings of work. The lefty fanned seven batters and issued just two walks. Randy Arozarena went 0-for-3 with a walk and has now reached base safely in his last 34 starts. Edmundo Sosa extended his hitting streak to a season-high 13 games with his single in the first. Tonight's game will be broadcast live on www.memphisredbirds.com with Steve Selby on the call.

ON THE HILL: Left-hander Genesis Cabrera is scheduled to take the mound tonight and make his 17th appearance and 15th start with Memphis and his 22nd appearance overall across levels in 2019. Cabrera last took the mound on Saturday vs. El Paso, taking no-decision (7.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R/ER, 1 BB, 9 SO, 2 HR, 1 HBP) in the Redbirds' 5-3 victory over the Chihuahua. It was his first quality start since July 2 vs. New Orleans and he has fanned a season-high nine batters in back-to-back starts. He allowed one walk or fewer for the third time in his last five starts with the Redbirds. Cabrera snapped a stretch of allowing at least six hits in four-straight, and dropped his average against to .285 (84x295). He has allowed three earned runs or fewer in seven of his last nine starts with the Redbirds. Cabrera also worked 7.0 innings for the first time this season. He has allowed at least one home run in five-straight and has allowed a home run in 12 of 16 outings. Cabrera will be making his first career start against Sacramento in tonight's contest. During his second Major League stint of the season from June 13-23, he made three relief appearances, allowing two runs on two hits in 3.1 total innings. In his return to Memphis on June 9 at Reno, Cabrera earned the win (5.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R/ER, 3 BB, 8 SO) in the Redbirds' 7-4 victory over the Aces. It was his third consecutive start of allowing two earned runs or fewer. During his first career Major League stint from May 29 - June 4, Cabrera went 0-2, 6.48 (6 ER/8.1 IP) in two starts. He made his MLB debut on May 29 at Philadelphia, suffering the loss (3.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO, 1 HR)in the Cardinals' 11-4 defeat to the Phillies. The Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, native is in his sixth professional season and second with the St. Louis organization. Cabrera entered this season ranked as the No. 6 prospect in the Cardinals system by Baseball America. He spent the bulk of last season at Double-A Montgomery, going 7-6, 4.12 (52 ER/113.2 IP). He was named a Southern League All-Star and ranked 3rd in the league with a .218 batting average.

The River Cats are scheduled to start right-hander Enderson Franco in tonight's contest. The 26-year-old has gone 6-5, 6.22 (68 ER/98.1 IP) in 21 games, 20 starts for Sacramento this season and has yielded an opponent's average of .304 (123x404). The River Cats have gone 14-7 in games that he has pitched. In his last time out on Friday at Round Rock, Franco earned the win (5.1 IP, 8 H, 3 R/ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, 1 HR) in the River Cats' 4-3 victory over the Express. Franco has won four of his last seven decisions and has allowed three earned runs or fewer in five of those outings. During that span, he has also allowed six hits or more five times. He has issued two walks or fewer in 15 of 21 appearances. Tonight will be Francos' first start against the Redbirds in his career. The Anaco, Venezuela, native is in his tenth professional season and his first within the San Francisco organization. He has also spent time within various levels of the Houston, Tampa Bay, Miami and Atlanta organizations. In 2017, Franco made two starts against the Palm Beach Cardinals, where he faced current Redbirds Randy Arozarena, Edmundo Sosa and Jose Godoy. The trio went a combined 4-for-14 (.286) with two doubles, two RBI and two walks.

HISTORY WITH SACRAMENTO: The Redbirds have faced off against the Sacramento River Cats every year since 2000. Memphis trails in the overall series 35-45 and trails at this facility 16-21. Memphis last came to Sacramento in 2017, where the two teams split a four-game set. The teams met last season at AutoZone Park, where the Redbirds took two-of-three games for a series win.

The two teams have squared off in the postseason once, with the Redbirds coming away victorious in in the 2009 Pacific Coast League Championship. The Redbirds captured their first PCL title since 2000 by winning the series 3-0, winning the finale on the road 6-0. The teams have combined to win eight PCL championships since realignment in 1998, making them two of the most successful franchises of the modern PCL era.

This is 22nd-straight year that the Redbirds have faced off against the San Francisco Giants' Triple-A affiliate. Sacramento has been the Giants' top affiliate since 2015 and Memphis has a 10-5 record during that span. From 1998-2014, the Fresno Grizzlies were was the organization's top affiliate, where the Redbirds went 42-38. Overall, Memphis is 52-44 against the Giants' Triple-A club.

THE SEASON

ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Memphis Redbirds sent the tying run to the plate with one out in the top of the ninth inning, but the club could not push anything across in a 4-2 defeat at the Sacramento River Cats (Giants) Wednesday night in Sacramento, Calif.

Randy Arozarena drew a walk in the game, and he has now reached base in 34-straight starts for Memphis (51-64). Edmundo Sosa was 1-for-3 and is now on a 13-game hitting streak.

The Redbirds led Sacramento (62-53), 2-0 after the top of the fourth, before the River Cats scored a run in the bottom of the fourth, two more in the sixth, and one final tally in the eighth to seal the victory. Joe Hudson had a sacrifice fly in the second, and Ramon Urias doubled home a run in the fourth to account for Memphis' scoring in the game.

Austin Warner fired 5.2 solid innings, striking out seven and walking two. He allowed three runs on six hits in a loss. Jesus Cruz worked 1.1 scoreless innings of relief, striking out three of the four River Cats he faced, and Chasen Shreve let in a run in the eighth in his inning of work.

Urias walked with one away in the top of the ninth, bringing the tying run to the plate with one out, but Max Schrock grounded into a force out and Hudson popped out to end the ballgame.

Despite the defeat, Memphis has won six of its last eight games and 13-of-18 overall.

ROSTER MOVES: The following roster moves were made Tuesday: Junior Fernandez had his contract purchased by St. Louis and Mike Mayers was outrighted to Memphis.

Fernandez will become the seventh Redbird this season to make his Major League debut when he makes his first appearance. In 15 relief appearances with the Redbirds this season, he went 1-0, 1.31 (3 ER/20.2 IP) and whiffed 23 batters. He made his Triple-A debut on June 25 vs. Nashville and fanned five batters in 3.1 innings of work. The 22-year-old is currently ranked as the No. 10 prospect in the Cardinals system by MLB.com.

Mayers begins his second stint with the Redbirds this season after being outrighted. During his Major League rehab assignment with the 'Birds, Mayers went 0-1, 4.50 (5 ER/10.0 IP) in 10 games, one start. After completing his rehab, he made four relief appearances for the Cardinals and allowed six earned runs in 5.1 innings (10.13 ERA) and issued five walks compared to two strikeouts. He was designated for assignment by the Cardinals on Sunday.

'BIRDS SILENCE BATS: Memphis Redbird pitchers held the El Paso Chihuahuas, one of the most potent offenses in the Pacific Coast League, to just one hit in Sunday's 2-0 shut-out win. Daniel Ponce de Leon began the game with four hitless frames and fanned eight. Seth Elledge followed and allowed a single to the second batter he faced to end the no-hit bid, but he, Chasen Shreve and Junior Fernandez retired 13 of the next 14 batters to end the game. It was the 12th one-hitter in franchise history and first since Ponce de Leon's solo effort on July 15 at Omaha.

SOSA'S STREAK AT THIRTEEN: With his single in the first inning of last night's game, Edmundo Sosa extended his hitting streak to a season-high 13 games. His single in Saturday's contest marked the first since Aug. 23 - Sept. 3, 2017 that Sosa has posted a 10-game hitting streak and he is now one game shy of matching his career-high mark of 14, which he set from April 10-26, 2016 while playing at Single-A Peoria. He is also the fifth different Redbird this season to have a hitting streak of at least 10 games. During his current streak, Sosa has raised his batting average from .257 to .275, his highest mark since June 26.

RANDY REPEATS: After slashing .374/.456/.607/1.063 in 28 games between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis in June en route to being named Cardinals Minor League Player of the Month, Randy Arozarena won the award for the second-straight month after posting a slash of .378/.455/.592/1.047 in 26 games in July. Arozarena became the third Redbird in franchise history to hit for the cycle on July 26 at Oklahoma City and accomplished that feat in his first four at-bats and had 12 total multi-hit games in July. He has also reached base safely in his last 34 starts and has 14 multi-hit games during that span.

BIG BIRDS ON THE MEND: A pair of rehabbing St. Louis Cardinals had big games on August 1 to help give the Redbirds their first three-game series sweep of the season. Matt Carpenter went 2-for-3 with a run, double and three RBI and Marcel Ozuna went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, a double, home run and five RBI. Ozuna also reached safely five times in the contest by drawing a walk and being hit by a pitch. Carpenter's two-run single in the sixth cut the Isotopes' lead to 6-5 and Ozuna followed up with a three-run blast to give the 'Birds the lead for good. Carpenters' double in the third also snapped an 0-for-22 stretch to open his rehab assignment.

PULLING AN ALL-NIGHTER: On August 1, the Redbirds' game against the Albuquerque Isotopes lasted four hours and seven minutes, making it the longest game of the season for the Redbirds. It also became the second-longest nine-inning game in franchise history, falling just two minutes short of matching the record of 4:09, set on June 15, 2013 against the Isotopes at Isotopes Park. It was also the first four-hour game the Redbirds have played in since June 11, 2017 vs. Nashville in a 12-inning affair.

YADI RETURNS: With Yadier Molina's start in Friday night's game, he took the field for the first time with a Redbirds jersey for the first time since June 1, 2004, which was here at AutoZone Park against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. Molina went 1-for-4 in that game. He would make his Major League debut two days later vs. Pittsburgh, going 2-for-4 with a run and a double. From there, the rest is history. Yadi's storied career has seen him turn into one of baseball's all-time greats as he has won two World Series titles, nine Gold Gloves, four Platinum Gloves and a Silver Slugger. He has also been named to nine MLB All-Star teams. He has appeared in 1,941 games in a Cardinal uniform and has posted a career slash of .282/.333/.404/.737, collecting 1,918 hits.

A HAT-TRICK FOR THOMAS: On June 27 at Oklahoma City, Lane Thomas homered three times, launching two solo shots and one two-run blast. He became the eighth Redbird to homer three times in a game, matching a franchise record. He is the first player to accomplish this feat since Adolis Garcia slugged three home runs on July 26, 2018 at Salt Lake.

AROZARENA HITS FOR THE CYCLE: On June 26 at Oklahoma City, Randy Arozarena became the third Redbird in franchise history to hit for the cycle. He opened up the game with a bunt single, doubled in the third, homered in the fourth and completed the cycle with a triple in the fifth. After an 18-year gap between the first two cycles in franchise history (Mark Little, June 23, 2000; Luke Voit, June 30, 2018), the Redbirds have now had a player hit for the cycle in consecutive years. Arozarena's four-hit game that night was his third such game for the Redbirds this season, which leads the team.

ADOLIS' BIG DAY: On June 21, Adolis Garcia put on an impressive display of power at Werner Park by homering twice and driving in eight runs. His eight RBI matched a franchise record that he also matched last season on July 26 at Salt Lake. In the third inning with two outs, he launched his second grand slam of the season. After homering again in the eighth inning, it was his third game in his last five that he had homered twice. Garcia ranks 3rd in the Pacific Coast League with 12 dingers with two outs and T-10th with 29 RBI in similar situations.

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