PCL1 Oklahoma City Comets

RedHawks Game Notes: April 10, 2014

Published on April 10, 2014 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City RedHawks (5-2) vs. New Orleans Zephyrs (1-6)

Houston Astros vs. Miami Marlins

Game #8 of 144/Road #8 of 72 (5-2)

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Bobby Doran (0-0, 0.00)/RHP David Martinez (1-0, 0.00) vs. NEW-LHP Adam Conley (0-1, 15.75)

Thursday, April 10, 2014 | Zephyr Field | Metairie, La. | 7 p.m. CT

Radio: KGHM AM-1340 The Game, 1340thegame.com, iHeartRadio - Alex Freedman

Today's Game: The RedHawks seek a fifth-straight win when they close out their four-game series and eight-game road trip in New Orleans at 7 p.m. A win today would give the RedHawks their first sweep at Zephyr field since July 20-23, 2009. Both teams will travel to Oklahoma City Friday to begin another four-game series.

Last Game: Ronny Torreyes hit a clutch two-run single with one out in the ninth inning, as the RedHawks claimed a 3-2 comeback win over the Zephyrs Wednesday afternoon. Trailing 2-1 in the top of the ninth inning, the RedHawks drew three consecutive walks with one out against Zephyrs closer Chris Hatcher (0-1). Torreyes then stepped up and delivered a two-run single to right-center field. RedHawks closer Jason Stoffel retired the Zephyrs side on just six pitches in the bottom of the ninth for his third save. Catcher Max Stassi hit an opposite field home run in the second inning for a 1-0 OKC lead. The Zephyrs scored twice in the fourth. RedHawks pitcher Nick Tropeano (1-1), Wednesday's piggyback starter, recorded his first win, throwing three scoreless innings, allowing one hit with one walk and one strikeout.

Today's Probable Pitchers: Bobby Doran is set for his first start of 2014 and his second outing with the RedHawks this season. In his first appearance Sunday at Round Rock, Doran entered the game in the sixth inning, striking out three and allowing two hits over three scoreless innings...He combined to go 11-2 with a 3.51 ERA with the RedHawks and Double-A Corpus Christi last season. He finished tied for third among all Astros minor leaguers with 11 wins...He went undefeated (3-0) in his eight starts with Oklahoma City and left with the lead in each of his first seven starts...Doran allowed three runs or less in 14 of his last 15 starts of 2013 and allowed more than three runs in just three of 31 total appearances...He has collected 25 wins over the past two seasons combined...The Astros selected Doran in the fourth round of the 2010 draft from Texas Tech University.

David Martinez is slated to follow Doran, trying to build on his exceptional season debut Sunday at Round Rock. Martinez pitched five perfect innings and secured the win, retiring all 15 batters he faced with five strikeouts...Martinez was named the 2013 Astros Minor League Pitcher of the Year for after going a combined 14-4 with a 2.57 ERA between Double-A Corpus Christi and the RedHawks. He led Astros minor leaguers in wins and ranked third in ERA...Martinez was also named Texas League Pitcher of the Year and was selected as a Midseason and Postseason Texas League All-Star. He set a Corpus Christi record with 14 wins and walked just 20 batters in 129.1 IP...Martinez made his MLB debut Aug. 21, 2013 at Texas and went on to appear in four games with the Astros over two stints...He signed with the Astros in 2005, making him the currently longest tenured player in the organization.

Against the Zephyrs: 2014: 3-0 2013: 8-8 All-time: 135-121 At NEW: 62-66

The RedHawks and Zephyrs have split their previous two season series, going 8-8 against each other in 2013 and 2012...New Orleans outscored Oklahoma City, 64-59, last season. Each team had 134 hits in the season series...There were five shutouts in the 2013 season series, two of which were pitched by the RedHawks...Jonathan Villar led the RedHawks with 13 hits and seven RBI in 11 games against the Zephyrs in 2013...After the teams play four games against each other in New Orleans, both squads travel to Oklahoma City for the RedHawks first homestand of the season April 11-14.

Superb Start: Regardless of today's outcome, the RedHawks are guaranteed to have a winning road trip. Last year they also started the season on the road, going 5-2 between games in Memphis and Nashville. Prior to that, the RedHawks had not started the season with a winning road trip since 2004 (6-2 vs. Iowa/Omaha).

3 Outs to Play: Yesterday the RedHawks joined Fresno and Memphis as the only teams in the PCL this season to claim a victory when trailing after eight innings. Last season the RedHawks had five such wins, tied for second-most in the league.

Mad Max: After going hitless in his first four at-bats of the season, Max Stassi is 8 for his last 20 (.400) and has hit safely in all six games he's played in. He's hit home runs in each of the last two games and has driven in six runs over the first three games of this series. He currently leads the team with eight RBI.

Dinger Details: The RedHawks have hit a home run in five straight games, something they never did all of last season. The last time they homered in at least five straight was during a six-game streak, June 30-July 5, 2012. That streak ended in New Orleans.

Heavy Wates: Austin Wates has collected eight hits over the last four games after going 1-for-5 Wednesday. Dating back to last season, he has hit safely in eight straight games. He is tied with Ronny Torreyes for the team lead with 10 hits.

Promising Pitching: During the team's current four-game winning streak, the pitching staff has posted a 2.00 ERA and has allowed opponents to score in just four of 36 innings. Although the six strikeouts yesterday was a season low, the pitching staff has amassed 64 K's in just 63.0 IP. Their .196 opponent average this season is tops in all of Triple-A.

Stoffel Stops: Jason Stoffel is 3-for-3 in save opportunities after Wednesday's win, and he is now tied with Nashville's Rob Wooten for the league lead in saves. He has retired eight of the 10 batters he's faced and has yet to allow a hit.

To the Nines: With Max Stassi's second-inning home run yesterday, the RedHawks have now scored at least once in each inning. Opponents have yet to score in the fifth or seventh innings.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE AND PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS (ALL TIMES CENTRAL)

DATE TIME OPPONENT OKC PITCHERS OPP. PITCHER

Friday, April 11 7:05 p.m. New Orleans LHP Rudy Owens (1-0, 5.63)/RHP Mike Foltynewicz (0-0, 6.35) RHP Elih Villanueva (0-1, 1.80)

Saturday, April 12 7:05 p.m. New Orleans RHP Jake Buchanan (0-1, 5.14)/RHP Paul Clemens (1-0, 1.13) RHP Jay Rogers (0-0, 1.80)

Sunday, April 13 2:05 p.m. New Orleans RHP Nick Tropeano (1-1, 5.68)/RHP Collin McHugh (0-0, 6.43) LHP Brian Flynn (0-1, 6.97)

Monday, April 14 7:05 p.m. New Orleans RHP David Martinez (1-0, 0.00)/RHP Bobby Doran (0-0, 0.00) RHP Bryan Evans (0-1, 6.75)

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