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Round Rock Express

Mills Pitches Express to Win over Sounds

May 4, 2013 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release


ROUND ROCK, Texas - Round Rock Express (17-12) starter Brad Mills turned in his fifth quality start of the season and improved to 4-0 after an 8-6 victory over the Nashville Sounds (7-20) Saturday night at Dell Diamond.

A reoccurring theme for the Express in 2013 has been quality pitching and Mills has been at the epicenter of that trademark. Tonight, the southpaw worked his way around 6.2 innings on the mound, scattering four hits and two runs to earn his fourth victory of the season.

Not only did Mills showcase his skills, but the bats broke out to tie a season-high 13 hits, three off the bat of left fielder Yangervis Solarte and center fielder Engel Beltre.

The scoring started in the second inning when catcher Robinson Chirinos picked on a 2-1 pitch from Nashville starter Frankie De La Cruz and deposited it onto the left field berm for a solo shot to start the frame. The E-Train offense didn't stop as Solarte singled two batters later and came around to score on a RBI ground out by designated hitter Jose Felix, making the score 2-0.

The Express opened up the game in the fifth when Round Rock put three more runs on the board. Patience paid off for the middle of the order as shortstop Jurickson Profar and first baseman Chris McGuiness both walked to put runners on first and second. Chirinos brought home Profar on a RBI ground out after the speedy middle infielder swiped third base. Right fielder Aaron Cunningham followed with a RBI single to plate McGuiness to put Round Rock up 4-0. Solarte was next to chime in on the action, roping a RBI double to bring in Cunningham for the third run of the inning.

De La Cruz was pulled from the game after just 4.2 innings on the hill, failing to log 5.0 innings for his third consecutive start.

Mills experienced his first challenge in the top of the sixth when shortstop Josh Prince led off with a single. Second baseman Scooter Gennett followed with a RBI double to break up the shutout.

The offense kept rolling in the sixth when third baseman Alex Buchholz reached on an error in his Express debut. Profar and McGuiness put together back-to-back two-out singles to bring home Buchholz for the sixth run of the evening.

Nashville put another run on the board in the top half of the seventh on a RBI single from catcher Dayton Buller. The run closed the book on Mills' night after being lifted following a strikeout of Cole Garner one batter earlier.

Two more runs in the eighth gave the Express an 8-2 lead after RBI singles coming from Felix and Beltre.

Right-hander Yoshinori Tateyama took over for Mills in the seventh and gave the E-Train an inning of relief. Tateyama was charged with two runs after exiting in the eighth with two runners on base. Southpaw Nate Robertson entered and allowed back-to-back first-pitch singles to plate the pair of runs on Tateyama's line.

The Sounds cashed in two more runs in the top of the ninth, but Robertson eventually worked his way to the final out, giving the Express its third straight victory. The three consecutive wins tie a season-best mark as the E-Train will go for its fourth in a row tomorrow.

The Express will continue the four-game set with Nashville at Dell Diamond Sunday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. Round Rock starter Ross Wolf (0-1, 1.62 ERA) will be opposed by Nashville's Johnny Hellweg (1-3, 3.38 ERA). Sunday will also be H-E-B Kid's Day featuring kiddie train rights, interactive inflatable games, a post-game run of the bases and much more. All kids 12 & under will also receive Express t-shirts, presented by RockSports. For tickets and more information, visit www.RoundRockExpress.com or call (512) 255-2255. Keep up with the Express on Facebook and Twitter.

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