PCL1 Oklahoma City Comets

RedHawks Game Notes: May 22, 2012

Published on May 22, 2012 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Colo. Springs Sky Sox (23-21) vs. Oklahoma City RedHawks (25-19)

Colorado Rockies vs. Houston Astros

Game #45 of 143/Road #22 of 72 (10-11)

Pitching Probables: CSP-RH Edgar Gonzalez (2-1, 4.99) vs. OKC-RH Paul Clemens (4-3, 5.67)

Tuesday, May 22, 2012 | Security Service Field | Colorado Springs, Colo.| 7:05 p.m. CT

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

UPCOMING SCHEDULE AND PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS (ALL TIMES CENTRAL)

Wednesday, May 23 @ Colorado Springs (COL): OKC-RH Aneury Rodriguez (1-4, 4.89) vs. CSP-LH Drew Pomeranz (2-0, 0.00) - 7:05 p.m., KGHM-AM 1340, 1340thegame.com, IHeartRadio

Thursday, May 24 @ Colorado Springs (COL): OKC-LH Dallas Keuchel (4-3, 3.75) vs. CSP-RH Guillermo Moscoso (2-3, 5.40) - 7:05 p.m., KGHM-AM 1340, 1340thegame.com, IHeartRadio

Friday, May 25 @ Albuquerque (LAD): OKC-TBA vs. ALB-RHP Stephen Fife (3-3, 5.32) - 8:05 p.m., KGHM-AM 1340, 1340thegame.com, IHeartRadio

Saturday, May 26 @ Albuquerque (LAD): OKC-LH Wes Musick (0-0, 3.00) vs. ALB-RHP John Ely (3-3, 3.64) - 8:05 p.m., KGHM-AM 1340, 1340thegame.com, IHeartRadio

Sunday, May 27 @ Albuquerque (LAD): OKC-RH Paul Clemens (4-3, 5.67) vs. ALB-LHP Michael Antonini (1-2, 5.30) - 7:05 p.m., KGHM-AM 1340, 1340thegame.com, IHeartRadio

Tonight's Game-- The RedHawks look to win a third straight and open the series in Colorado Springs with a pair of victories at 7:05 p.m. Paul Clemens will try and win a third consecutive start.

Last Night-- Mike Hessman delivered a pinch-hit two-run single in the ninth to break a tie and the RedHawks escaped a jam in the bottom of the ninth to win 5-3 over the Sky Sox. Heading into the ninth, the game was tied 3-3. With two on and one out, Jimmy Paredes singled to right, but Brian Bixler was thrown out at the plate by Hernan Iribarren for the second out. Mike Hessman stepped up next as a pinch-hitter and delivered a two-run single to left field off Zach Putnam (1-2) to put the RedHawks ahead. A single, an error, and a wild pitch put the tying runs in scoring position with just one out in the bottom of the ninth. Jose Valdez then struck out Brendan Harris for the second out. After Andrew Brown walked to load the bases, Chad Tracy popped out to end the game. The RedHawks got out to an early 3-0 lead in the third, scoring all three times with two outs. Colorado Springs cut the lead to one in the fifth, and Wil Nieves tied the game with a homer in the seventh. Adalberto Flores (3-0) bounced back and tossed a scoreless eighth after giving up the homer and earned the win. Valdez collected his 10th save.

Tonight's Probable Pitchers-- Paul Clemens makes his eighth start and seeks a third straight win...Clemens earned the victory Thursday in Reno...He allowed five runs and six hits over 5.1 innings, but always kept the RedHawks in front...Of the 16 outs he recorded, nine were groundouts...In his first eight, Clemens has allowed two runs or less five times...He has struggled on the road, going 1-2 with an 11.34 ERA...In his last three road starts he has allowed 20 runs and 26 hits over 10.2 IP...He is in his first full season with the Astros after being acquired as one of four players from Atlanta in exchange for Michael Bourn at last year's trade deadline...After starting the year in the bullpen, Edgar Gonzalez makes his fourth consecutive start...He is 1-0 with a 4.08 ERA and an impressive 17-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 17.2 IP...He is coming off a rough start at home against New Orleans Thursday after he allowed five runs and 11 hits over 3.1 innings...Gonzalez has been playing professionally since 2002 and has spent time in the Major Leagues with Arizona, Oakland, and Colorado (14-25, 5.90 ERA in 107 appearances)...He played under RedHawks manager Tony DeFrancesco in 2009 with Sacramento

Homer Happy-- Last night snapped a streak of six consecutive games with at least one home run. Even though the RedHawks stayed in the park, they have hit 28 homers in their last 16 games and are first the PCL with 50 home runs. They hit 12 dingers during their four-game set in Reno, by far their most in a series this season. (Previous high was seven.) In addition, the Redhawks have hit four homers in a game three times in their last six games.

Hot Bats-- Over their last nine games, the RedHawks have scored 64 runs with 110 hits, including 19 homers. Not surprisingly, they've gone 7-2 during this stretch.

Hail Hessman-- Yesetrday Mike Hessman was named PCL Player of the Week (May 14-20). Over his last eight games, Hessman is hitting .444 (12-for-27) with six homers, three doubles, and 14 RBIs. In 17 games in May, Hessman is hitting .389 with eight homers and 16 RBIs. He is the active leader in career minor league home runs, and his 339 blasts are almost 100 more than Val Pascucci of Buffalo, who is second on the list with 242. Combined with his homers from the Majors and Japan, Hessman has a total of 359 career home runs since beginning his professional career in 1996.

Plenty of Paredes-- Yesterday Jimmy Paredes collected his eighth multi-hit effort over his last nine games. During this stretch he has gone 21-for-41 (.512) with one home run and seven RBIs. He leads the team with 53 hits, 21 runs scored, as well as 12 stolen bases. Since May 12, he has four more hits than anyone else in the PCL.

Wallace Warming Up-- Brett Wallace has hit safely in each of his last five games, and he had a multi-hit game in four straight (9-for-18). Since his average bottomed out to .218 on May 9, Wallace has hit .390 (16-for-41).

Start Him-- After yesterday's win, the RedHawks are now 17-8 when Brad Snyder starts.

Saving the Day-- After closing out yesterday's game, Jose Valdez is 10-for-10 in save opportunities this season. Last year he went 9-for-9.

Road Trip Challenge-- Five games into a 12-game road trip through hitter-friendly Reno, Colorado Springs, and Albuquerque, the RedHawks pitching staff has posted a 7.95 ERA. The starters are 1-2 with a 9.75 ERA (26 ER/24 IP) and the relievers are 2-0 with two saves and a 5.68 ERA (12 ER/19 IP)

You Better Think Twice-- The RedHawks have caught 21 of 48 attempted base stealers for a 43.8% caught stealing rate, the best in the PCL. (Sacramento is next at 41.9%.) Landon Powell ranks first in the league, going 10-for-20, and Carlos Corporan is second with an 11-for-28 mark.

Against the Sky Sox-- Last season these teams split a four-game series at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark...Each of the last two games were settled in extra innings by one run...The RedHawks hit .241 in the series and did not hit a home run...Brett Wallace went 5-for-13 with four RBIs...In their previous trip to the Springs in 2010, the RedHawks dropped three of four, including the last three straight by one run.

Check out the Oklahoma City Comets Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Pacific Coast League Stories from May 22, 2012


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central