IL Memphis Redbirds

Memphis Redbirds Game Notes: May 30, 2021

Published on May 30, 2021 under International League (IL)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Sunday, May 30th 12:05 p.m CT Memphis Redbirds (9-14) at Gwinnett Stripers (13-10) Game 6 of 6

Coolray Field / Lawrenceville, GA Game #24 of 120 / Road Game #12 of 60

RHP Angel Rondón (0-2, 6.41 ERA) vs RHP Kyle Wright (0-2, 5.03 ERA)

First Pitch App: Evan Stockton & Justin Gallanty

Last Time Out: The Redbirds snapped their five-game losing streak with an 8-3 win in Gwinnett on Saturday night. The 'Birds jumped out to an early lead in the second inning on a sacrifice fly from Kramer Robertson. Then in the fourth, Memphis opened things up with a four-run frame. Tyler Heineman started things with an RBI single before Clint Coulter hit a three-run home run. Coulter added a solo home run and a sacrifice fly in the game, giving him a five-RBI night. John Nogowski went deep for the 'Birds in the eighth inning. Connor Thomas earned the win in his Triple-A debut, tossing five innings and allowing just two runs.

Today's Starter: Angel Rondón will make his fifth appearance and fourth start of the year for the Redbirds today. After a slow start to the year, Rondón has been excellent over his last two outings. In his first two appearances, the 23-year-old allowed 11 earned runs on 16 hits in 8.1 innings. In the last two starts, Rondón has tossed 11.1 innings and yielded just three earned runs. That includes a five-inning, one-run start on Tuesday against Gwinnett. Rondón was the Cardinals' Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2019 after posting a 2.93 ERA in 28 starts between High-A Palm Beach and Double-A Springfield. Rondón is ranked as the 10th-best prospect in the St. Louis organization by MLB Pipeline.

Gwinnett Starter: Kyle Wright makes his fifth start of the season for Gwinnett this afternoon. It will be the second start of the series for the 25-year-old. Wright was excellent in the series opener on Tuesday, pitching five scoreless innings. In his prior three starts for the Stripers, Wright had allowed 11 earned runs in 14.2 innings. Wright has also made one start for the Atlanta Braves on April 16 and gave up two runs in 4.1 innings against the Chicago Cubs. Wright made eight starts with Atlanta in 2020 and posted a 5.21 ERA on the season. He also made two starts for the Braves in the 2020 playoffs. He pitched against Miami in the NLDS and tossed 6.0-scoreless innings but struggled in the NLCS against the Dodgers, allowing seven runs in 0.2 innings. Wright was taken by Atlanta with the fourth overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft out of Vanderbilt.

Comeback Kids: The Memphis Redbirds have developed a flair for the dramatic over the last handful of games. Last Tuesday against Louisville, the 'Birds put together a game-tying comeback in the ninth inning before falling in extra innings. Between Wednesday and Saturday, the 'Birds put together a four-game win streak, all of the comeback variety. Memphis also had walk-off wins on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Each of the four wins were by one run. The 'Birds put together another game-tying comeback in the ninth inning Tuesday night before ultimately falling on a walk-off single in the bottom of that inning.

A Night to Remember: Clint Coulter had one of the best nights of his professional career on Saturday. Coulter hit two home runs and drove in five of the Redbirds' eight runs in the win. It was Coulter's first multi-home run game since June 9, 2017, when he was playing for the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers and the five RBI tied a career-high. Coulter also drove in five on August 9, 2014, for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and on August 3, 2013, for the Arizona League Brewers.

Living on the (Ell)Edge: Seth Elledge has immediately become a go-to arm out of the Redbirds' bullpen. In three appearances with the 'Birds, Elledge has yet to allow a run and has seven strikeouts.

Quite the Birthday: Connor Thomas gave himself a pretty good 23rd birthday present last night. In his Triple-A debut, Thomas pitched five strong innings and earned the win.

Repping the Stars and Stripes: Matthew Liberatore was named to USA Baseball's Olympic Training Camp roster on Sunday. Team USA will cut its roster from 28 to 26 players on May 30. Those 26 players will compete for the Americas Qualifier from May 31-June 5 in Florida. The winner of the event will qualify for the Tokyo Olympics while the second- and third- place finishers will get another chance at the Final Qualifier in Mexico.

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