IL Memphis Redbirds

Memphis Redbirds Game Notes: June 18, 2021

Published on June 18, 2021 under International League (IL)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Friday, June 18th 6:05 p.m CT Memphis Redbirds (15-24) at Indianapolis Indians (21-17) Game 4 of 6

Victory Field / Indianapolis, IN Game #40 of 120 / Away Game #16 of 60

LHP Matthew Liberatore (1-3, 4.73 ERA) vs. RHP Max Kranick (1-1, 3.14 ERA)

MiLB First Pitch App: Evan Stockton & Justin Gallanty

Last Time Out: The Redbirds dropped an extra-inning nail-biter in Indianapolis on Thursday night by a score of 3-2 in 11 innings. Kramer Robertson got Memphis off to a roaring start, leading off the game with a home run. Indianapolis tied the game in the fifth, and the game remained knotted until the tenth inning. In the top of the tenth, Evan Mendoza gave the 'Birds the lead with a pinch-hit RBI single, scoring Tyler Heineman. The Indians tied the game in the bottom of the tenth and won it with a run in the 11th.

Memphis Starter: Matthew Liberatore will make his sixth start of the season for the Redbirds today. He is coming off his best outing of the year, allowing just one run in 5.1 innings last Saturday against Gwinnett. That was Liberatore's first start with Memphis since May 23, as he spent a couple weeks away from the team pitching with the USA national team at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Florida. Liberatore is in his second year in the St. Louis organization after being acquired in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays in January of 2020. The left-hander is ranked as the top overall prospect in the Cardinals' system and no. 30 prospect in baseball by MLB pipeline.

Indianapolis Starter: Max Kranick will make his seventh start of the season and fourth Indianapolis tonight. Kranick began the year in Double-A with Altoona and was promoted to Triple-A after three starts. The 23-year-old was outstanding in his last outing at Nashville, tossing five scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out nine. Kranick was the Pirates' 11th round pick in 2016 out of Valley View High School in Archbald, PA. He is ranked as the No. 26 prospect in the Pittsburgh organization by MLB Pipeline.

Racking up the K's: The Redbirds struck out a season-high 17 batters in the game at Indianapolis last night. Angel Rondón and Austin Warner each struck out five batters, Connor Thomas struck out four, Connor Jones fanned two batters and Jesús Cruz picked up the final K of the night.

On-Base Machine: Kramer Robertson has been getting on base at an incredible rate over his last ten games. During that stretch, Robertson has walked 11 times, has seven hits and has been hit by a pitch. That run has raised Robertson's on-base percentage from .340 to .382 for the season. His on-base percentage in June sits at .426.

Welcome Back, Lars: Lars Nootbaar returned to the Redbirds' lineup from the injured list on Tuesday. He's picked up right where he left off, reaching base twice on Tuesday (single, walk) followed by another single and walk on Wednesday. Over his last 16 games, Nootbaar is 19-54 (.352) with four home runs and 13 RBI.

Rally Birds: Sunday afternoon marked another comeback win for the Memphis Redbirds. 11 of the 'Birds 15 wins this season have occurred in come-from-behind fashion. Memphis also has ten wins by just one run.

A Welcome Addition: Grant Black has been a very reliable arm for the Redbirds since joining the team on June 6. Black had one tough outing, but in his other three, the 26-year-old has pitched 7.1 scoreless innings and struck out eight batters.

Keeping up with Jones: Connor Jones has authored a very strong stretch out of the Memphis bullpen. Jones has not allowed a run in any of his last four appearances and seven of his last eight outings have been scoreless. For the season, Jones has not allowed a run in 10 of his 16 outings and has struck out 20 batters in 20.0 innings.

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