PCL1 Oklahoma City Comets

RedHawks Game Notes: August 30, 2013

Published on August 30, 2013 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City RedHawks (80-60) vs. Memphis Redbirds (67-73)

Houston Astros vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Game #141 of 144/Home #70 of 73 (45-24)

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Jake Buchanan (5-4, 3.88) vs. MEM-RHP Richard Castillo (0-2, 2.35)

Friday, August 30, 2013 | Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark | Oklahoma City, Okla. | 7:05 p.m. CT

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

Today's Game: The RedHawks begin the final series of the regular season against Memphis at 7:05 p.m. at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. There will be post-game fireworks presented by Verizon.

Last Game: Jose Martinez hit a RBI double to give the RedHawks a 5-4 walk-off win in the 14th inning Thursday over the Nashville Sounds. Raoul Torrez led off the bottom of the 14th with a single, and a sacrifice bunt from Trevor Crowe advanced Torrez to second. He scored on a line drive by Martinez to left field for the win. The Sounds took a 3-0 lead on five hits in the first inning, but the RedHawks were able to eventually catch up. They scored twice in the fourth and tied the game in the eighth on an RBI single by George Springer. The score remained 3-3 until the 12th inning. A RBI single by Eugenio Velez put the Sounds ahead, but with the RedHawks down to their final strike, a RBI single by Jimmy Paredes knotted the score. Reliever Jason Stoffel (7-1) allowed one run and four hits over three innings for the win.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Jake Buchanan looks to bounce back after a rough outing in his last start...Buchanan gave up season highs with both seven runs and 11 hits over six innings Sunday in Round Rock. He walked one and struck out four...Over his last eight innings he has allowed 10 runs and 17 hits, and all 10 runs have scored with two outs...In 11 starts with the RedHawks, Buchanan has pitched at least six innings nine times and worked at least seven innings five times. He has turned in seven quality starts...Including his time with Double-A Corpus Christi, Buchanan has issued just 22 walks all season in 151.2 IP. He averages 1.3 walks per nine innings and owns a 4.2 strikeout-to-walk ratio...Before his promotion, Buchanan went 7-2 with one save and had a Texas League-leading 2.09 ERA in 18 games (13 starts) for Corpus Christi. He ranked first in the league in WHIP (0.93), fourth in average (.226) and fifth in innings (82.0)...He ranks second among Astros farmhands with both 12 wins and 151.2 IP...He squared off against the Redbirds on July 20 in Memphis and tossed six scoreless innings, earning a win.

Against the Redbirds: 2013: 7-5 2012: 8-8 All-time: 132-120 In OKC: 76-47

Memphis is 3-1 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark this season after winning the first series between the teams in Oklahoma City April 12-15...In each of the previous three series between the teams this season, the road team has won three of four games...The RedHawks have outscored Memphis by a slight 68-64 advantage this season and are batting .299 through the first 12 meetings...Brandon Laird is hitting .388 with two homers and 13 RBI...In just seven games against Memphis, Marc Krauss has belted three homers and collected 11 RBI...If the RedHawks split this series, they will win the season series for the first time since 2007 (10-6).

Crown 'Em: On Tuesday, the RedHawks clinched their first PCL division title since 2010 and their seventh division championship since joining the league in 1998. OKC will play the winner of the American Northern Division in a best-of-five series, starting Sept. 4-5 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Memphis is currently tied with Omaha for the Northern Division lead, and Iowa trails by just two games.

80's Weekend: The RedHawks improved to 80-60 with Thursday's win and became just the fourth squad in team history to reach at least 80 wins in a season. The RedHawks last reached the 80-win milestone in 2005. The 2004 team won 81 games and the 1999 RedHawks won a club-record 83 games. Oklahoma City is also tied with Las Vegas for the best record in the PCL.

The Quest for 40/40: George Springer went 3-for-6 with an RBI Thursday and has collected at least two hits in four of his last five games (9-for-20). He needs to hit three home runs over the final four games to become the first Minor League player with a 40/40 season since Len Tucker of the unaffiliated Class B Pampa Oilers in 1956 (51 HR/47 SB). He leads the Minors with 37 homers (Triple-A and Double-A combined) and owns a two home run lead over Javier Baez of the Tennessee Smokies (Double-A, Chicago Cubs) and Joey Gallo of the Hickory Crawdads (Class-A, Texas Rangers) for the MiLB Joe Baumann Home Run Award. He has 43 stolen bases and has joined Ruben Rivera and Darryl Strawberry as the only minor leaguers over the past 40 years with at least 30 home runs and 40 stolen bases in the same season. He has collected 107 RBI (second in the Minors) and scored 106 runs (tied for third in the Minors) overall this season. Fellow Astros farmhand Andrew Aplin of High-A Lancaster is only other player to collect 100 of each this season.

Amador's Arrival: Japhet Amador has hit safely in each of his first six games, going 10-for-27 (.370) with two RBI. The Astros recently signed Amador from the Mexican League, where he hit .368 with 22 doubles, 36 home runs, 121 RBI and a .419 OBP in 104 games for the Diablos Rojos this season. Amador led the Mexican League in RBI, ranked second in homers and third in total bases (277).

Working Overtime: Last night's 14-inning contest was the second-longest of the season in terms of innings (15 vs. New Orleans, April 25). The RedHawks are now 7-3 in extra innings. It was their seventh win when trailing after seven innings (tied for second-most in the PCL) and the third time they've won after being down to their final strike at one point.

Cutting Down K's: The RedHawks have struck out only 11 times over the past three games, immediately following a stretch where they racked up 41 whiffs over the previous four games. Their 961 strikeouts at the plate this season are third-least in the league.

Hits in Heaps: During the last five games, opponents have collected at least 12 hits four times and are batting .312 (63x202). OKC's 1,180 hits allowed this season are second-least in the PCL.

Opening Remarks: The RedHawks have won seven of 10 series openers since the PCL All-Star Break. Oklahoma City is now 17-18 in series openers this season, including 8-9 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE AND PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS (ALL TIMES CENTRAL)

DATE TIME OPPONENT OKC PITCHER OPP. PITCHER

Saturday, August 31 7:05 p.m. Memphis RHP David Martinez (0-1, 4.50) RHP Scott McGregor (5-10, 4.85)

Sunday, September 1 6:05 p.m. Memphis RHP Ross Seaton (3-7, 8.16) RHP Boone Whiting (5-5, 4.33)

Monday, September 2 11:05 a.m. Memphis TBA RHP Eric Fornataro (1-4, 6.61)

***End of Regular Season***

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