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PCL1 Oklahoma City Comets

RedHawks Game Notes

April 5, 2013 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City RedHawks (0-0) vs. Memphis Redbirds (0-0)

Houston Astros vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Games #1-2 of 144/Road #1-2 of 72 (0-0)

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Jordan Lyles/RHP Paul Clemens vs. MEM-LHP John Gast/LHP Nick Greenwood

Friday, April 5, 2013 | AutoZone Park | Memphis Tenn.| 5:05 p.m. CT

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

Today's Game: After rain washed away the scheduled season opener, the RedHawks open the 2013 campaign with a doubleheader beginning at 5:05 p.m. in Memphis. Each game will be seven innings. This year marks the 16th season of RedHawks baseball and the third as the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros.

Last Season: The RedHawks finished 2012 with a 78-65 mark, second in the American Southern Division. The team was eliminated from playoff contention on the second-to-last day of the season, and the record was the best for a non-playoff team in club history. At home, the RedHawks went 45-26, making it the second-best mark in team history and the second-best in the PCL. Between May 10 and June 7, the team set a record with 14 consecutive home wins. The team was solid at the plate, hitting .282 with 147 home runs and 764 runs. After possessing the worst ERA in the Minor Leagues in early August, the pitching staff closed the year with a nice push and finished with a 4.89 ERA for the season, 11th in the PCL.

Today's Probable Pitchers: Jordan Lyles will be the first to take the mound, giving him his second Opening Day start in the last three seasons with the RedHawks...Lyles spent most of 2012 with the Astros, making 25 starts in the Major Leagues. For the majority of the season he was the youngest starting pitcher in the National League...Lyles finished his 2012 season with the Astros 5-12 with a 5.09 ERA...He saved his best start for last, tossing his first career shutout Sept. 30 in Milwaukee. He also hit his first career home run in the same game...Lyles made seven starts for the RedHawks last season, going 5-0 with a 3.54 ERA. Over 40.2 innings, he struck out 33 and walked only eight...Lyles made two starts against Memphis. He won both, allowing three runs and 10 hits over 13 innings with 12 strikeouts and just one walk...In his career, he has now made four starts against the Redbirds, going 2-0 with a 2.38 ERA .

Paul Clemens will start the second game...Clemens spent most of last season with the RedHawks, going 8-8 with a 6.73 ERA over 20 starts and he led the team in wins. At one point, Clemens won six of seven starts between May 12 and June 12...Ultimately he was plagued by inconsistency and was sent to Double-A Corpus Christi on July 27. He finished the year strong with the Hooks, going 3-2 with a 3.46 ERA over seven starts. He allowed just two ER in his final three starts (18.0 IP)...Clemens made three starts against Memphis in 2012. Although he went 0-2, his ERA was just 3.60...Despite a strong performance against Memphis on Opening Day last year in Oklahoma City (6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER), Clemens was saddled with the loss.

Against the Redbirds: 2013 : 0-0 2012 : 8-8 All-time : 125-116 In Memphis : 55-75

These teams split last year's season series...The RedHawks hit .290 as a team...Jimmy Paredes hit .361 and Fernando Martinez collected five homers and 18 RBI over 15 games...Despite hitting .257 for the season (last in PCL), the Redbirds hit .306 against OKC pitching...Memphis scored 20 or more runs in a game twice, including a 24-7 romp on July 22. The Redbirds hit two grand slams in one inning, and it set a RedHawks record for most runs allowed in a game...The RedHawks have lost six straight games at AutoZone Park and have not won the season series against Memphis since 2007.

Raise the Curtains: The RedHawks are 7-8 all-time on Opening Day, including a 4-3 mark on the road. Four of their last seven openers have gone to extra innings. The RedHawks and Redbirds have opened the season against each other in seven of the last eight years, with each game decided by one run (OKC 4-3). Last year the Redbirds won 4-3 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, but it was the RedHawks winning the last season opener at AutoZone Park, 8-7 on April 7, 2011.

Double Dipping: The RedHawks played just two doubleheaders last season and went 3-1 in those games. The last time Jordan Lyles pitched for the RedHawks was in Game 1 of a doubleheader in Colorado Springs on May 24.

Goebbert Goes Away: Yesterday afternoon outfielder Jake Goebbert was sent to Oakland as part of a trade for pitcher Travis Blackley, who will report to Houston. As of now, the RedHawks roster will remain at 24 players.

Buddy System: The Houston Astros have decided to implement an eight-man, four-day tandem rotation across their minor league affiliates to begin the season. The pitchers in each tandem will alternate who starts each time their spot comes up. The RedHawks pairs are Jordan Lyles-Paul Clemens, Jarred Cosart-Dallas Keuchel, Brett Oberholtzer-John Ely, and Rudy Owens-Jose Cisnero.

Nice To See You Again: Fourteen players on the current roster spent time with the RedHawks in 2012. Four players have been on the roster at some point during each of the last two seasons.

Hit King: Jimmy Paredes returns after a stellar 2012 season. Paredes set a new single-season team record with 161 hits, and what's more remarkable is he only played in 124 games. He notched 52 multi-hit games and also led the team in doubles (28), triples (7), runs (92), and stolen bases (37).

Melting Pot: Twelve players on the RedHawks roster came to the Astros via trade, including five acquired since Jeff Luhnow was named Astros General Manager in December, 2011. Four others were claimed off waivers since that time. Over half (13) of the players on the current roster were not with the Astros organization prior to Jan. 1, 2012. Only five were originally drafted/signed by HOU.

Keeping it in the Park: The RedHawks allowed just six dingers over the final 23 contests of 2012, spanning 206 IP. Opponents have not left the park in 81 consecutive innings.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE AND PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS (ALL TIMES CENTRAL)

DATE TIME OPPONENT OKC PITCHER(S) OPP. PITCHER

Saturday April 5 6:05 p.m. @ Memphis RHP Jarred Cosart/LHP Dallas Keuchel RHP Seth Maness

Sunday, April 7 1:35 p.m. @ Memphis LHP Brett Oberholtzer/RHP John Ely RHP Michael Wacha

Monday, April 8 7:05 p.m. @ Nashville LHP Rudy Owens/RHP Jose Cisnero RHP Frankie De La Cruz

Tuesday, April 9 7:05 p.m. @ Nashville RHP Paul Clemens/RHP Jordan Lyles RHP Tyler Thornburg (0-0, 1.80)

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