RedHawks Game Notes: July 25, 2014
Published on July 25, 2014 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release
Oklahoma City RedHawks (53-54) vs. Nashville Sounds (56-50)
Houston Astros vs. Milwuakee Brewers
Game #108 of 144/Road #53 of 72 (27-25)
Pitching Probables: OKC-LHP Tommy Shirley (1-3, 8.03) vs. NAS-RHP Taylor Jungmann (4-5, 5.64)
Friday, July 25, 2014 | Greer Stadium | Nashville, Tenn. | 7:05 p.m. CT
Radio: KGHM AM-1340 The Game, 1340thegame.com, iHeartRadio - Alex Freedman
Today's Game: The RedHawks open an eight-game road trip with a meeting against the Nashville Sounds at 7:05 p.m. Tonight's matchup starts the final series the RedHawks will ever play at historic Greer Stadium.
Last Game: An opposite field home run by Carlos Peña in the top of the ninth inning pushed Round Rock to a 2-1 win Thursday at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Express pitcher Justin Germano (4-10) tossed his league-leading third complete game of the season on an even 100 pitches, allowing one run on three hits. He walked two and struck out two in the win. Alex White started for the RedHawks, pitching a season-high five innings. He held the Express to one run on three hits. Asher Wojciechowski (0-3) followed with four strong innings that resulted in a tough loss. He retired 12 of the 13 batters he faced, including the first 11 straight before Peña's homer. Each team scored one run in the third and the game remained tied until the ninth. Round Rock's Ryan Strausborger singled to lead off the third inning, and eventually scored on a single by Luis Sardinas for a 1-0 Express lead. Max Stassi drew a walk to lead off the bottom of the inning and advanced to second on a sac bunt by Jio Mier. Joe Sclafani then hit a RBI single to knot the game, 1-1. Germano proceeded to retire 18 of the next 19 RedHawks to step to the plate, and 19 of the final 21 batters he faced (one walk, one hit).
Today's Probable Pitcher: Tommy Shirley makes his third start with the RedHawks...Shirley's last game was Saturday at home against Nashville, allowing seven runs on 10 hits over 6.1 innings in a loss...Shirley induced four ground ball double plays against the Sounds, with one in each of the first four innings. He has coaxed opponents to bounce into seven double plays in his first two games with OKC (12.1 IP). He only recorded six double plays all season with Double-A Corpus Christi (86.1 IP)...He was recently promoted to the RedHawks after making 17 appearances (13 starts) for Corpus Christi, going 7-3 with one save and a 1.88 ERA. At the time of his promotion, he led the Texas League in both ERA and WHIP (0.93), while ranking second with a .201 opponent average...He leads Astros farmhands in innings (98.2 IP), while his composite 2.65 ERA ranks fourth among full-season pitchers and his 1.01 WHIP is second-best...Shirley was named a Texas League All-Star and took home Corpus Christi Pitcher of the Month for both April and May.
Against the Sounds: 2014: 5-7 2013: 11-5 All-time: 142-125 At NAS: 67-66
The teams split their first series in Nashville May 15-18, as well as their most recent series in Oklahoma City last week (July 18-20)...Six of the last eight games have been decided by one or two runs...The teams combined for 51 runs in their most recent series in Bricktown...Nashville has scored at least five runs in six of the last seven games against the RedHawks. The Sounds tallied seven runs in three of the four meetings last week...The RedHawks have won their last three season series against Nashville and five of the last six, but will need to sweep this four-game set to win the 2014 season series...Since the start of 2012, the RedHawks are 29-15 against the Sounds and 13-7 in Nashville.
Uneven: With last night's loss, the RedHawks' record dropped below .500 for the fourth time this season. However, they have not been two games under .500 at any point since the end of the 2011 season...Since their record stood at a season-best eight games above .500 (42-34) after a win in Reno on June 20, they've gone 11-20. Their 8-14 mark in July is last in the PCL...Entering today, the RedHawks are five games behind first-place Iowa. It's the farthest the RedHawks have been out of first place since Aug. 27, 2012.
Going the Distance: After batting .302 and scoring 47 runs over their previous seven games, the RedHawks were limited one run and three hits by Round Rock's Justin Germano last night. It's their lowest hit total since they were one-hit against Memphis on June 1, and it marked the eighth time this season they finished a game without an extra-base hit. Germano became the second pitcher to throw a nine-inning complete game against the RedHawks, and it was exactly one month to the day of when Tacoma's Taijuan Walker fired a four-hit shutout against OKC. In both instances, the RedHawks pitching staff allowed just two runs, and the deciding hit came on a home run.
Men of Steal: The RedHawks have stolen eight bases over the last three games and have collected at least one steal in eight of their last 10 games. The RedHawks pace the PCL with 33 steals in July, and their 87 swipes overall this season rank fourth in the PCL...Jonathan Villar has five steals over the past three games and seven steals over the last five games...Austin Wates leads the league with 28 stolen bases.
Walking Tall: The RedHawks have drawn 41 walks over the eight games following the All-Star Break. Last night they only drew two walks, snapping a streak of seven consecutive games with at least five walks. Their 91 walks this month rank second in the league behind Las Vegas (96), and they currently rank third overall this season (392).
RISPy Business: The RedHawks are batting .333 (26x78) with runners in scoring position since the All-Star Break...On the other hand, opponents are hitting at a .452 (33x73) clip with runners in scoring position during the same span.
Perez Packing Punch: RedHawks catcher Carlos Perez went 0-for-3 last night, ending his career-best 11-game hitting streak. During the streak he batted .394 (13x33) with three RBI and eight walks. Perez has also hit safely in 14 of his last 16 games and has batted .373 (19x51) over that stretch, raising his season average by 39 points from .220 to .259.
Tie Broken: With last night's loss, the RedHawks are now 2-8 in games when tied after eight innings. After capturing a win on Opening Night, the RedHawks have dropped eight of the last nine when tied after eight, including each of the last five.
Time Warp: One night after playing their longest nine-inning game of the season (3:40), yesterday's pitcher's duel lasted 2:26. It's the quickest nine-inning game the RedHawks have played since June 24 when they were shutout 2-0 in Tacoma in an even two hours.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE AND PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS (ALL TIMES CENTRAL)
DATE TIME OPPONENT OKC PITCHER(S) OPP. PITCHER
Saturday, July 26 6:35 p.m. @ Nashville LHP Rudy Owens (5-4, 4.91) RHP Donovan Hand (1-6, 5.17)
Sunday, July 27 6:35 p.m. @ Nashville RHP Nick Tropeano (6-4, 2.38) RHP Michael Blazek (1-4, 4.41)
Monday, July 28 7:05 p.m. @ Nashville RHP Mike Foltynewicz (7-6, 5.12) RHP Ariel Pena (7-6, 4.53)
Tuesday, July 29 7:05 p.m. @ Round Rock TBA TBA
Pacific Coast League Stories from July 25, 2014
- Round Rock Pummels Sky Sox 12-4 - Round Rock Express
- Zephyrs Stymied by Omaha Bullpen in 4-3 Loss - New Orleans Baby Cakes
- Cubs Ninth-Inning Rally Falls Short against Redbirds - Iowa Cubs
- Chasers Claim Opener over Zephyrs - Omaha Storm Chasers
- Sounds Stall RedHawks, 2-0 - Nashville Sounds
- Memphis Survives Late Surge for 3-2 Victory - Memphis Redbirds
- Arruebarrena Rejoins Isotopes on Rehab Assignment - Albuquerque Isotopes
- Former Longhorn Corey Knebel to Join Express - Round Rock Express
- Peanut Free and Allergy Awareness Night at Chukchansi Park This - Fresno Grizzlies
- Mexican Winter League Games to be Played in El Paso - El Paso Chihuahuas
- Utah Military Members Celebrated at The Principal Financial Dreams Tour - Salt Lake Bees
- RedHawks Game Notes: July 25, 2014 - Oklahoma City Comets
- Chasers in the Community - July 29 Through August 5 - Omaha Storm Chasers
- Aces and Isotopes Open Four-Game Series - Reno Aces
- Comeback Falls Short as Reno Splits Series - Salt Lake Bees
- Sky Sox Drop Series Finale to Nashville, 4-2 - Colorado Springs Sky Sox
- Ty Kelly Lifts Tacoma Over Vegas, 5-4 - Tacoma Rainiers
- Sacramento beats Chihuahuas - El Paso Chihuahuas
- Cats Slug Their Way to 13-2 Win - Sacramento River Cats
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